Crop Hunger Walk and Run

Just a quick pop in to say a little bit about this great event that I was lucky enough to design this year's shirt and artwork for! Taking place on October 20th, the Greater Greensboro Crop Hunger Walk and Run is a 5k event that is so impressive because it has an impact here locally in our little part of North Carolina but also globally. This year's theme is One World, One Community, One Step. Here are some details straight from the Greensboro Urban Ministry site:


The Greater Greensboro CROP Hunger Walk and Run is a 5k (3.1 miles) community event that raises funds to fight hunger. 25% of the funds raised go to Potter’s House Community Kitchen at Greensboro Urban Ministry. With the 75% going to Church World Service to meet human needs and foster self-reliance in over 80 countries.

Pretty neat, huh? Also, here is a nice article that I was interviewed for to promote the event and share the story about the inspiration behind my shirt design. Find out more about the event or sign up to participate, donate, or volunteer here.

Print Collective

You guys, I have the most exciting news! After almost two years of contributing to this project, Print Collective, is finally here!  Print Collective is a book of Screenprinting tips, projects, and techniques that I was asked to be a part of, along with nine other (such talented) artists from around the world. It hits the market on October 1st and you can order it right here or here. Crazy, right? People keep saying "you've been published," and it sounds ridiculous every time I hear it but it's true! Along with the two projects I contributed to the book, I also sent in tons of images, doodles, and designs that are now part of a CD that comes with the book that you can use to make your own prints. I worked with the nicest people, especially Jenny Doh and Lark Publishing, during this project and I can't wait for it to be out to the public.


Here is a more-detailed description of the publication:

In recent years, printmaking- and screenprinting in particular- has been experiencing a renaissance among crafts, designers, and artists. The popularity of designer printed fabrics, limited edition runs of tees, art prints, and more has fed the interest of crafters.

In Print Collective, each featured printer provides readers with a project of two that teaches a core technique. Examples include overprinting, screenprinting text, painting your prints, creating high contrast prints, using alternative exposure methods (like cyanotype) and more. You can truly choose your own printing adventure; in addition to the technique, each artist provides 15-20 motifs on the enclosed CD.

And a sneak peek of a couple of my pages!

Pattern Play

It's been a long time.  As in months.  But in my defense I have been transitioning jobs, going to school full-time, and doing an internship at a design firm one town over.  It's been great fun, lots of work, but most of all it has been eye-opening.  One of the things I have found myself most interested in working on over this season has been creating and playing with visual patterns.  Sometimes one repeated shape, other times several sketches growing into a larger design.  I can't get enough of playing with proportions, balancing positive and negative space, and manipulating color.  I just wanted to give you a little peek into what I've been up to and in the next weeks hope to share more of the specifics of some projects I've worked on and some of the exciting things that have been happening around the studio and the rest of life here lately.  

forming thoughts and making work

I've been doing a lot of reading lately about the process of design, not actually designing, but just the way we go about thinking, drafting, planning, and creating in the design world. Way too often I get wrapped up in having so much to accomplish, so many projects to finish that I don't really allow myself the time to just think about the design. My mind goes on autopilot, pulling inspiration from god knows where, and I end up churning out a design I am only halfway pleased with. The articles and posts I've been reading lately have inspired and challenged me to go about this whole process differently. To put the time into letting inspiration grow organically so your results don't feel like a hodge-podge of ideas you've seen somewhere before; and to just think about the early steps of design as being just as important as that moment when you sit down at the computer to execute an idea. I feel like this way of processing information and inspiration will also lend itself to a little more balance between life and work. I have a hard time processing inspiration I encounter on a day to day basis because I'm so rushed to instead be working, but now I plan on giving a little more breathing room to the simple acts of idea creation, sketching, and reflection.

Here are the readings that I am referring to, see if you can find the quote that I did the design below from.

AIGA: Beyond Craft & Tools

Inspiration vs. Imitation

The Fresh Exchange

Also a great video interview with Paula Scher.

What are your thoughts on finding inspiration, waiting for ideas to strike, and getting to work on any of your creative endeavors?

finding the light

 

The last month has been spent navigating the waters of this new schedule and new lifestyle of mine.  I've lost track of dates and have been working harder than I ever have before, but somehow enjoying every moment of it.  There is a feeling of calm and freedom that I have never enjoyed before; no matter how busy I am get; and that is priceless. 

Here are a few moments from the couple of last months, shot with my new 50mm lens that seems to discover in the most beautiful light ever.

pumpkin and goldenrod

In addition to adding some new work to the shop, last week also included working on some custom designs for an Autumn wedding. This is my favorite kind of work.

Every weekend for the next two months is booked solid for us and I am excited for the hustle and bustle of fall to start. Several of these days involve styling and design for some fun events that I am excited to work on; as well as a beach trip, baby shower, birthdays, engagement celebration, and a wedding to attend. I'll do my best to share our adventures with you here. Bring it on, Autumn.

chevron

I found and loved this little antler so much that I had the mister help me design a thank you card based on it. Will be up in the shop once we get a new ink cartridge.
bronze chevron antler by MadeByCassandraSmith on etsy.



ps The new Heart&Craft logo (designed by my sweet husband) is making an early debut above.

heyrabbit.

Hey Rabbit is my sister's band. We love them and when they asked us to design a flyer for their upcoming show we were super excited to get started. It is really interesting and fun and a bit challenging to work with the mister on a design and see how our two styles come together. He is graphic, modern, clean, while my style is more organic and subtle with some sort of hand-made touch. Besides our wedding invitations this was our first real design collaboration and I am happy with the result. Justin worked to give the graphic and layered, hand-printed feel and then incorporated my hand drawn text.
We hope to make this a much larger part of our lives- working together on design projects and just seeing what comes of it. I am really excited about that.

weekend warriors

Way too worn out to edit all of the photos from the engagement party. We had so much fun and I am so glad we could do it in our own backyard. It was back to work today and a 12 hours workday is not the most pleasant way to start the school year. But I am optimistic about what this year has in store for both my students and I. Time to get my hands dirty with some art again.

Here is just a sneak peek of this past weekend's festivities. More tomorrow... if things slow down.