EXPLORE + WONDER

Two words that begin the creative process, for myself and client work. It's this approach that allows possibilities to be seen, and play to develop into strategic thinking. Often times, play goes missing when the work begins, this is a downfall. When we play, there are no mistakes, just fun and lessons in letting go. 

This time of the year is the perfect time to remind ourselves to let things go and be open to possibilities. As I venture into the New Year I can only set the course for new discoveries, collaborations, and explorations. WONDER, always wonder, play leads to discovery, and that's where the ADVENTURE lies.

This year's promotional piece was a reminder to Wonder + Explore. It was created for clients, hopeful collaborations, family, and friends. It's a tea towel that's also a calendar, of course. Some of you may remember your grandma owning them. The artwork was created from hand cut stamps that was then silkscreened onto the towels. The towel was folded to package a note card with and instagram shot from one of my walks in the woods. I used two quotes by Emerson for the card and the towel— "Live in the sunshine, Swim in the sea, Drink the wild air"  and "Do not follow where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail". I had a lot of fun making them.

Carving out time

 

Running a small business has it's challenges in so many ways.  In order to keep perspective, I try to find some time to infuse making into my work. By making, I mean not working on the computer. Sometimes, I have failed experiments. Sometimes things don't come out quite like I envisioned. At these times, I just say what ever. Experimenting gives me an opportunity to let go of perfect planned out equations or processes of working digitally.  Making mistakes teaches us, and it's all about perspective. I learned a lot today :)


 

I live here.

I try to explore the outdoors as much as possible. Living in Portland makes it easy. We have the most beautiful landscapes, and I catch myself saying, "Wow" I live here, each time I venture out and I discover something new. Last weekend we did a loop around Mt. Hood and stopped off periodically along the way. One of my favorite spots was heading to Trillium Lake. The last time and only time I was there was by cross country skiing to it. The mountain was not visible and we actually skied over the lake. It was beautiful, but not as striking as seeing it on a crisp fall day in the reflection of the still lake. Wow, I live here.