Art, Love & Joy

May 2015 Update

noreply@blogger.com (Wini) — Wed, 06 May 2015 08:37:00 +0000

Hi Everyone, Today I'd like to share some mandalas that I completed over the past few months.

Feeling a bit sad by recent world events: - earthquake, executions, riots, war etc, so I'm focusing on peace, love and joy with these mandalas. I so enjoy creating these! The mandalas are hand drawn using black pen, coloured pencils, gel pens and metallic pens.

In other news, I have an interview over at Louise Gale Art and Design. Louise is a talented mixed media artist and creative guide with a passion for mandalas, colour and energy. I took a mandala ecourse from Louise last year, which kick started my renewed interest in drawing mandalas, and I'm delighted to be featured on her site! So if you would like to find out a bit more about me and my mandala journey, please go over and have a read.

I also have a Club Member interview over at Marmalade Moon and I'm happy to be featured! Kate England is the talented artist and illustrator behind Marmalade Moon, which is a space for exploring ways to express yourself in the digital environment. The interview is about my experience of Instagram. Please go over and have a read if you are interested. Have a lovely weekend and thank you for your visit! Wini xo

Happy Chinese New Year 2015!!

noreply@blogger.com (Wini) — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 15:30:00 +0000

Today is Chinese Lunar New Year of the Goat. Happy New Year and wishing you all good health, success, peace and abundant blessings! People born in the Year of the Goat are said to be gentle and kind. You can find out a bit more about Chinese New Year and the Zodiac, with some cute pics of goats and sheep here. Wini xo

Photos were taken at the Crown Casino in Perth.

Mandala Magic

noreply@blogger.com (Wini) — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 10:45:00 +0000

Hello Everyone, I hope you all had a great start to the year! Today I would like to show you some mandalas that I created over the past few months.

In my previous post I shared that I enjoyed drawing mandalas with black pen. After doing that for a while, I began adding metallic gold to the mandalas. I also created mandalas coloured in with watercolours, watercolour pencils, and gel pens and I found that the colouring in process was just as enjoyable and relaxing as drawing the mandalas! I also tried my hand at drawing more complex mandalas. I must admit that I struggled at times with the complexity and colours as I'm still learning. But I am really happy with the way these turned out.

Inspired by Deb from Inner Compass Designs, I have been working on planning the year ahead using the Unravelling workbook by Susannah Conway (free download), and my 2015 Cute Diary (there is a 30% off sale on these diaries right now) and To Do list from Kikki K. As you can see, I enjoyed colouring in the Unravelling Cover too! :)

Part of my reason for going through the Unravelling workbook is that I wanted this year to be one where I live from a place of intention and purpose. Time seems to fly by so quickly these days, and life is precious, and so I feel its worth it to take some time out to think, plan and dream about the year ahead. This is the first time that I have used this workbook although I have taken a class from Susannah Conway before. The workbook has a lot of questions, and some require a bit of thought. While I completed most of it in January, I'm still working on it, and adding to my answers. The workbook also includes a section for choosing a word to represent the year. I have been choosing a word for the past four years, but I haven't settled on a word this year yet. I have two in mind, but am still deciding. I hope that I can pick one soon!

In other news, I set up a public Instagram Account late last year, and I really enjoy it. I find its easy to use, and quite and interactive. I update a lot more frequently on Instagram than on this blog, and you are welcome to follow me there if you would like. My account is @artloveandjoydesigns. If you would like me to follow you back, please leave your details in the comments below.

Thank you for your visit today and have a wonderful week!! Wini x

A post about Mandalas

noreply@blogger.com (Wini) — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 14:17:00 +0000

Hi Everyone, Todays post is about Mandalas. I have been drawing and painting mandalas on and off for the past few years, but lately its become a regular practice.

This Mandala is inspired by Persian tiles. It was created using gel pens.

Back in April, I treated myself to a fun and informative online course called Mixed Media Mandalas, taught by Louise Gale. Louise shared a number of techniques to inspire one's creativity, but what I discovered was that I enjoyed the simplicity of doodling mandalas with just a black pen on white paper, or using gel pens.

After my Dad passed away earlier this year, I was having trouble concentrating and I found that drawing mandalas helped me to focus. I found it to be relaxing and meditative as well, and it became part of my healing process. There was something about drawing in a round that seemed to impart a sense of peace and balance. Each mandala also brought an element of adventure, as they were drawn without much planning, and it was quite exciting to see them take shape, and freeing in terms of my own personal self expression as well. I feel like I embarked on a new journey of discovery and renewed creativity with these hand drawn mandalas, and I became quite interested in drawing really detailed ones, like the one above.

Here are a few of the mandalas that I created as part of Louise's class and some that I have drawn over the past few months.

A series of quick 'warm up' Mandala doodles using black pen and
watercolour pencils, created during the Mixed Media Mandalas class.

8 point mandalas created during the Mixed Media Mandalas class.

I drew this black and white mandala in class, and I also used it in
my meditation illustration that I posted about here.

A Mandala created with black pen and watercolour pencils, created during class.

I spent a quiet hour or so doodling in bed with my sweet cat on my lap for company.

This drawing was inspired by Aztec art. Its a little rough as the pen started to run out of ink.

I have been collecting images of different types of beautiful Mandalas via Pinterest and my Mandala board has become my most popular board. I've also started a new Pinterest board called Tile Mania, featuring images of amazing, intricate, and decorative tiles with lots of pattern and details. Please check out my boards, and you are welcome to follow them too.

If you are interested in drawing mandalas, you might enjoy this post by Andrea on how to draw mandalas.

Thank you for visiting me today and have a lovely weekend! Wini xo

New Products and Free Shipping

noreply@blogger.com (Wini) — Sat, 26 Jul 2014 11:04:00 +0000

Hi Everyone, I know I've been away from my blog for a while and I'm sorry about that. I've been busy with work and other personal matters. I've also been working on some new designs and I've added a few new products to my Society6 Store, so please take a look if you are interested. There is free worldwide shipping today and tomorrow. I hope you are enjoying your weekend! Wini xo

Just Breathe...

noreply@blogger.com (Wini) — Tue, 27 May 2014 16:06:00 +0000

Just Breathe on Society6.

"Meditate. Breathe consciously. Listen. Pay attention. Treasure every moment. Make the connection." ~ Oprah Winfrey.

Hello Everyone, In my previous post I shared that I have a few creative projects on the boil, and here is one of them. This is my entry for the May MATS Bootcamp assignment, led by Lilla Rogers. I was not able to participate in the first two rounds of Bootcamp, (due to personal reasons that I wrote about in my previous post) so I'm happy that I made it this time!

The theme is an illustration on Meditation for the health/wellbeing industry. The reference article was written by an author, who is a modern and busy girl, and a beginner to meditation. For my mixed media piece, rather than focus on the struggle, I aimed to create a soulful piece that invokes the feeling of inner peace, serenity and 'oneness' that can be attained when diving deeper in to this age old practice. The mandala represents the sacred space entered in to where truth and understanding are encountered.

This work was created using hand drawn and digital illustration. For the girl's pose, I was inspired by the poses of Thai statues that I saw during a trip to Bangkok last year, except that I drew her sitting cross legged rather than in the lotus position. I felt that as the author was new to meditation, this position would be easier than the lotus position. The cushion is based on a Thai cushion that I have at home. The mandala was hand drawn separately on paper and scanned in the computer to use in the background.

The words 'Just Breathe' sums up how I feel about meditating. If you pay attention to the breath and staying present in the moment, you can reach a state of calmness and peace.

This is the first illustration that I have created for a long time. I feel it represents a step forward for me in finding my own style. I have also made it for sale as an art print in my online store. Please also visit the MATS Bootcamp May Gallery to see the fantastic work of the many designers who participated in this challenge. Wini xo

Just checking in...

noreply@blogger.com (Wini) — Wed, 14 May 2014 12:40:00 +0000

Geisha Girl Flowers - Mum bought a beautiful Geisha Girl Topiary in memory of Dad. His favourite colour was purple.

Hello Everyone, A new blog post is long overdue, so I thought I'd better check in and give an update on what's been happening in my world. Back in Feb/March, I went through a busy, eventful, sad and stressful period in my life. My father passed away and his memorial service was held in March. Afterwards, there were his affairs to sort out, lots of time spent with family, time spent grieving and time spent healing.

My father was my greatest influence and role model. He was an intelligent, intellectual and creative person who wore many hats. He was a journalist, radio broadcaster, writer, actor, artist, singer and teacher, who also loved to read and learn. Despite his achievements, he was humble, modest, kind and full of integrity. He worked hard and led a full and active life. After retirement he always seemed to be helping people and spent many hours doing volunteer work. In his 70s, he went back to school to study a Diploma of Theology, proving that one is never to old keep learning and growing. He also spent many hours at his computer. We always used to laugh about him glued to the computer. We found out later that he wrote 100s of articles, and there are plans afoot to turn his work in to a book.

I share Dad's love of the arts, learning, books and history. His passing led me to reflect upon my own life. Although Dad is no longer here, I still want to make him proud. Firstly I hope I can embrace life the way he did. I too have spent many hours working in front of the computer, but I developed a sore back so I have decided to change things up a little. I am cutting down on time spent on the computer this year. This means that I won't be posting on my blog as often, however you will find me on Facebook and Pinterest.

I also decided that its time to move out of my home office where I have worked for several years, and I am going to rent a small office in Fitzroy, where I hope to be inspired and re-energised by my new environment. I also plan to get back in to yoga and meditation. I have a few new projects on the boil and I hope to share some of them soon. I am really looking forward to this new chapter in my creative life! Wini xo

Tropical Fusion Designer Showcase

noreply@blogger.com (Wini) — Fri, 31 Jan 2014 15:42:00 +0000

Hi Everyone, In my previous post, I blogged about my participation in the Tropical Fusion Blog Hop. I was so impressed by the talent in the group as I visited each blog in turn, that I wanted to showcase some of the beautiful designs on my blog. This post was also inspired by Emma Hawman's Tropical Fusion Blog Hop Picks. If you didn't have a chance to see everything during the event, you can view some of the designs here in this post, and I will provide a list of everyone at the end so you can go and explore everyone else's fabulous work too.

Happy Hour by Jolene Heckman. Delightful hand drawn design inspired by the

vibrant colours of tropical flowers.

Dawn Clarkson: Nice and Fancy Surface Pattern Design.
Bold hand drawn design with digital elaboration and featuring luscious vegetation.

Jacqueline van Roosmalen: Colourbook Studio

Photography combined with digital effects achieves a lovely, soft watercolour effect.

Lindsay Buck, Slumbermonkey: Funky, tropical inspired foliage pattern for fashion and home.

Tropika by Nika Martinez. Vibrant and eyecatching abstract zebra print with tropical flowers.

Floral Painting by Sherry London: Prancing Pixel Designs. Amazing iPad/iPhone art using FRAX.

Chloe Wood: Gorgeous watercolour design inspired by the rainforest.

Rainforest Paradise by Deborah Velasquez. Stunning design with watercolours

and hand carved block prints.

Radiant Rio by Femi Ford. Eyecatching abstract tropical foliage pattern inspired by Rio.

Anneline Sophia Designs. Bright and beautiful tropical floral design, inspired by embroidery and travel.

Tropical Fusion Jan 2014 Blog Hop List

1. Mary Tanana: Groovity Designs
 2. Lisa Rivas
3. Carrie Tasman Studio
4. Anne M Bray
5. Dawn Clarkson: Nice and Fancy Surface Pattern Design
 6. Maike Thoma: Pattern Jots
7. Claire Lordon Design
8. Nina May Designs
 9. Tina Devins: Dreaming on a Star
10. Sherry London: Prancing Pixel
11. Lindsay Buck: Slumbermonkey
12. Jessica Wilde
13. Jan Shepherd: Pattern Muse
14. Lesley Todd: Finch Five
15. Jennie Whitham: JW Illustration
16. Trina Esquivelzeta: Surface Hug
17. Joni Barriere: Studio Lulu
18. Kath-Kath
19. Anneline Sophia Designs
20. Onneke
21. Rebecca Stoner Surface Pattern Design
22. Anna Berger
23. Ludmila Adams: Fashion Chalkboard
24. Bethania Lima Designs
25. Nandita Singh: Life is Crafty
 26. Jacqueline van Roosmalen: Colourbook Studio
27. Jolene Heckman
28. Deborah Velasquez
 29. Jennifer Rogers Design
30. Femi Ford
31. Tina Olsson: Fyllata
32. Marie Delisle Holmberg: Chickaprint
 33. Chloe Wood Designs
34. Daniela Butunoi: Creative Doodlez
35. Nika Martinez
 36. Ellie Fidler
37. Wini Dougall: Art, Love and Joy
38. Virginia Njeri Kamau: Njeri Designs
 39. Rosie Simons
40. Majo Bautista: Majobv
 41. Leska Hamaty Design
42. Lisa Deighan
43. Kim Gann Art

I hope you enjoyed viewing these fabulous designs and that it whets your appetite to continue on and check out the other designers on this list (if you haven't done so already). Thank you for visiting and have a wonderful week ahead! Wini x

Tropical Fusion Blog Hop 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Wini) — Sat, 18 Jan 2014 12:11:00 +0000

Hi Everyone, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year and a great start to 2014. Welcome if its your first time here or if you have landed here after viewing Ellie Fidler's beautiful Dancing in the Wind floral collection. Ellie Fidler is from California, USA. I'm Wini and I am a surface/textile designer and artist from Melbourne, Australia. My studio name is ALJ Art & Design.

I am excited to be a part of The Tropical Fusion Blog Hop, which starts today, 18 January 2014. For those of you who might not know, a Blog Hop is an event where a group of bloggers post about the same topic and share links to other blogs, so that readers can 'hop' from blog to blog (like a daisy chain). Its a great way to generate interest around a topic, and for viewers to discover new work.

The theme of this Blog Hop is Tropical Fusion, and it also celebrates Radiant Orchid, which is Pantone's Colour of the Year for 2014. There are 45 fabulous international surface pattern and textile designers participating in this event, and each person has created surface patterns based on this theme, so there is a lot of artwork to enjoy!

I hope you like my contribution. Its quite experimental. I played with kaleidoscope and mirror layouts, and used photographic elements with layering, filters, saturation and blending effects in Photoshop. I incorporated photos of flowers that I took with my camera during travels, such as the Hibiscus flower.

I was going to design a third pattern but unfortunately ran out of time. I came back from vacation a few days ago, and had the flu which I am still recovering from. If I am feeling energetic next week, I might create a third pattern to add to this post.

Radiant Orchid: "captivating, magical, enigmatic"

Logo Design by Lisa Rivas

I would now like to take the opportunity to introduce Virginia Njeri Kamau, from Njeri Designs. She is a talented surface pattern designer based in Sweden. Please head over to her blog to continue the Blog Hop and see Virginia's beautiful designs. If you would like to start from the beginning of the Hop, please visit Mary Tanana, from Groovity Designs. A central list of participants is also included in her blog post. A big thanks to Mary who is also the organiser of this Hop! You can also view a selection of designs on the Tropical Fusion Group Pinterest Board.

I hope you have a fantastic time viewing everyone's designs! Thanks again for visiting me today. If you would like to keep in touch with me, please feel free to join my Google Friends list, Bloglovin, Facebook Page and Society6 store. Happy Weekend! Wini xo

Mandala Tote Bag

noreply@blogger.com (Wini) — Tue, 03 Dec 2013 05:08:00 +0000

Hi Everyone, I was quite pleased with my Mandala Tote Bag that I ordered from Society6 recently. (I shared my Mandala artwork in my previous post). The tote bag is made of poly poplin fabric, and has a black lining, which looks like fusible interfacing, and comes in three sizes. The design is bright and colourful and is featured on both sides. It has two black cotton webbing straps. The tote is well made and seems quite durable. It is also washable. Delivery time from America to Australia was about three and a half weeks.

I think that this post will probably be my last one for the year. I am going on vacation and will be back in February 2014. I would like to wish you all a wonderful and joyous Christmas and New Year! May the spirit of Christmas fill your hearts and homes with love during this season of giving and sharing. Thank you for your friendship, support and comments this year and see you in 2014. Happy Holidays! Wini xo

Goddess Chronicles Travelling Art Journal

noreply@blogger.com (Wini) — Sun, 03 Nov 2013 15:08:00 +0000

Hello Everyone, At the beginning of the year, I wrote out a wish list, and one of my goals was to participate in an art collaboration. So I was delighted when Sofia Dabalsa put out a call to participate in the Goddess Chronicles International Travelling Art Journal. Sofia is a special lady with a beautiful, shining spirit, and a passion to enrich people's lives through encouraging and facilitating creativity.

Artwork by Sofia Dabalsa

Sofia's idea was to put together an Art Journal with art created by artists around the world, to inspire girls and women to Dream Big and remember the beauty that is present in each day. I felt that this project seemed like a very worthwhile and meaningful way to touch hearts and lives. Sofia also set up an FB group so all the artists could connect and share. There were 44 women from countries including USA, Canada, Sth America, Europe, Netherlands, Spain, Israel and Australia. I was moved and inspired by the love, attention, joy and beauty that each person brought to their work, and I was happy to be a part of this wonderful group of women helping to change lives via art! I would also like to extend a huge thanks to Sofia for all her hard work and dedication to this project.

The Journal is available for purchase and part of the proceeds will be donated to Girls Inc. of San Antonio, which is an organisation that 'inspires all girls to be strong, smart and bold.' You can find out more information about the project including the story behind it, the artists, their work and how to purchase your copy of the book HERE, so please do check it out if you are interested!

We Are One Mandala

My contribution to the Goddess Chronicles was a hand painted, mixed media mandala, titled 'We Are One', which represents the strength of unity. I was inspired by this beautiful song by Faith Rivera while I was creating it. Thank you for being here today and have a wonderful week! Wini xo

Find New Designers

noreply@blogger.com (Wini) — Tue, 15 Oct 2013 02:31:00 +0000

Hi Everyone, Find New Designers is an online global resource of 150+ new and established surface pattern designers, and it was launched this month. It also incorporates the Little White Book of Surface Pattern Designers, 2nd Edition. There is also a Facebook page where you can keep up with the latest updates. I am delighted to be included in this directory alongside so many talented designers.

This fantastic website was put together by surface pattern and textile designer Gill Eggleston from Pattern Addict's Design Garden. Thank you Gill for your dedication and hard work on this project!

My inclusion in FND prompted me to create a new name and logo for my art and design biz, and my Society6 store. The new name is ALJ Art and Design. The reason for the change is because I wasn't sure if Art, Love and Joy reflected the design side of the biz, and I didn't want to make a drastic name change, so I shortened 'Art, Love and Joy' to 'ALJ'. I am still keeping the name 'Art, Love and Joy' as the name of my blog and website.

I am still adjusting to the new name, and am a bit unsure if it will make my online presence a bit confusing? Anyway, I will see how things go. Thank you for visiting today, and have a lovely week! Wini xo

Rainbow connection

noreply@blogger.com (Wini) — Fri, 04 Oct 2013 09:41:00 +0000

Hi Everyone, A few weeks ago I saw a double rainbow, something I have not seen for ages! It was a bit of a dreary day and I didn't feel like going out, but I had to buy groceries so off I went.

After making my purchases, I walked out to the car park and I saw this double rainbow which stopped me in my tracks. It was really beautiful and I couldn't believe that other people just continued about their business and some didn't even look up. This photo doesn't do the rainbow justice as it only shows one part of it, but it was a full rainbow and it was also much brighter and more colourful in real life too. Needless to say, I was glad I went out that day and had a bit of time to stop to enjoy the beauty of nature's wonder and inspiration.

Seeing the double rainbow reminded me of the rainbow colours in some of the photos that I took during my USA trip a few months ago, and I thought I might share them with you today. I just LOVE colour and it makes me feel happy, and its inspiring me in my creative work as well.

Rainbow coloured wall panels at the MET, New York.

Colourful Store Display, Uniqlo, 5th Ave, NY

This eyecatching staircase was lit by rainbow coloured neon lights

that changed colours, Uniqlo, 5th Ave NY

The Mineral Rainbow display featured gemstones of all different colours.

Museum of Natural History, Washington DC.

Do you like rainbows and rainbow colours? If so, please let me know in the comments. I hope you enjoyed these photos. Thank you for your visit here today. I'm off to have dinner now. Have a beautiful weekend! Wini xo

A post about my Kaleidoscope Flowers Design

noreply@blogger.com (Wini) — Sun, 29 Sep 2013 11:13:00 +0000

Hi Everyone, Sorry that I haven't been posting lately. Work takes up a lot of my time and I haven't had time to blog. Recently I was speaking to my friend and fellow blogger Kate England about blog topics, and she suggested doing a post about how a design was created. She has been posting these on her online journal with great interest from readers.

Kaleidoscope Flowers gadget cases on Society6

So I thought I might have a go at sharing a bit about how I created my Kaleidoscope Flowers design. This is my first kaleidoscope pattern and I had fun making it. Firstly I chose a photo that I took of white Rhododendrons at the National Rhododendron Gardens, and altered the colours using blending filters in Photoshop.

Next, I cut a wedge from the altered photo, made a mirror image of it and placed the two wedges together, side by side. Then I duplicated the new shape 5 times to make a hexagon. The hexagon was then copied and repeated to make the kaleidoscope pattern, with the addition of flowers in the centres of the hexagons. And thats how I created this pattern!

For anyone who might be interested, there is FREE worldwide shipping in my Society6 store today, Sunday 29 September, until Midnight Pacific time. This offer excludes framed prints, stretched canvases and throw pillows with inserts.

I hope you enjoyed this post. Would you like to see more posts showing the design process? If so, please let me know in the comments. Have a lovely weekend and thank you for visiting me today! Wini xo

My New York Holiday

noreply@blogger.com (Wini) — Fri, 30 Aug 2013 00:17:00 +0000

Hello Everyone, Sorry its been so long since I last posted here. After returning from my trip to USA in July I have just been flat out and haven't had much time to sort through and organise my photos. I have finally put together a selection of photos. I hope you enjoy them!

Photo taken as I was walking along the High Line.

I spent an exciting two weeks in New York and I had a fantastic time with lots of eating, shopping, sightseeing and walking. I did a lot, but there was a lot that I missed out on too, like the Guggenheim Museum for example. But its ok, it will give me a reason to go back to visit New York again one day!

The 4 July Independence Day fireworks was truly spectacular and was definitely a highlight!

We stayed for five nights at the Edison Hotel in Times Square. This historic hotel was apparently opened by Thomas Edison who turned on the lights. I loved the grand Art Deco style hotel lobby, and Times Square was a very exciting and busy location to stay! Although the crowds wore me out a bit.

Times Square is a major tourist attraction and is lit up by large illuminated signs at night. It was very impressive! These photos were taken on my iphone around midnight. There were still lots of people milling about.

I saw Kinky Boots and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a heartwarming, feel good musical with music by Cyndi Lauper. The story was centred around the friendship between the owner of an ailing shoe manufacturer and a drag queen, who try to turn around the fortunes of the company by developing high heeled boots for men. Sounds unusual, but its based on a true story. I thought the show was fantastic and I loved the music, dancing and costumes, especially the boots!

I spent a wonderful morning at Michaels looking at all the arts and crafts, and I felt like a kid in a candy store! They had some great deals on when I went. 40% off one item, a two for one deal on the sketchbooks, and 20% off the total purchase. Here are some of my purchases, not that I really needed to buy more supplies, but of course there is no such thing as too much!

It was a treat to visit Barnes and Noble and to browse through all the magazines. I miss doing this in Melbourne since the local Borders closed down. I bought three mags to take home with me. Where Women Create Business features Anahata Katkin, one of my favourite designers, as well as Melody Ross, Kelly Rae Roberts and Beth Kempton. I couldn't resist the Noro Magazine because I love the rainbow hues and handmade texture of Noro yarns. I have some Noro yarn at home and one day I hope to knit something nice. Mollie Makes is a delightful craft magazine and its a joy to browse through. Sadly, I haven't done much crafting lately apart from crochet, because I don't have time, but I love looking at crafts.

Manhattan skyline, Sunset. The gap in the buildings is 42nd St.

I enjoyed meeting up with lovely fellow blogger Christine from Happy Lady Decorates and her husband, for dinner one night. And I met bubbly blogger, Anna from Be Healthy, Well and Inspired, for an afternoon chit chat. It was fantastic to meet them both!

A highlight was the gospel choir in Harlem. The singing was loud, resonant, uplifting and inspiring!! I also enjoyed listening to jazz at a Swing Club (can't remember the name) and Birdland Jazz Club.

Thank you so much for your visit today. Wishing you a wonderful weekend and take care! Wini xo

June 2013 Update

noreply@blogger.com (Wini) — Thu, 27 Jun 2013 10:36:00 +0000

Hi Everyone, I hope you are all well and happy this week!! In this blog post, I would like to give you an update of what's been happening in my world over the past few months.

Firstly, I received this beautiful mixed card deck last month as part of the Inspirational Card Deck Swap that I wrote about in a previous post. Thank you to everyone whose cards I received. I was so touched by all the lovely art and inspiring messages. And a big thanks to Jessica Brogan, the organiser of the swap. For anyone who might be interested, Jessica has just announced a new Card Deck Swap. You can find out more details here. I won't be joining in this time around, but hope to join in next time.

Over the past few months, I have made it a point to get off my behind, and get away from my computer and do some offline activities. So I have been to see a few exhibitions and shows and have felt very inspired. I have also been doing some reading, went for a little holiday at the coast, finished a painting, and bought some yarn to knit something (not sure what yet, probably a scarf!). I have also enjoyed time with family for get togethers and celebrations. (The yummy Easter figoli in this collage was made by my Mother In Law).

I have also decided to make a bit of a change to my creative direction. After focusing my attention on art for the past two to three years and doing numerous eclasses on art and ebusiness, I realised that being an online entrepreneur with an online arty store on Etsy was causing me more stress than joy and fulfilment. I realised that I wanted to create without having to worry about other things such as marketing, printing, packing and shipping, and I felt happier to just paint for my own enjoyment as a personal growth and healing tool, and go at my own pace. I have now opened a new online store on Society6 which I feel is a simpler way to offer work for sale. And I will add new work as time permits.

Earlier this year, I completed the Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design, and I decided that I would like to have a go at creating and selling patterns. I recently signed a contract to create patterns for a design studio in New York. There is also another project in the works which I can't talk about right now because the cat is not yet in the bag. So I will see how I go with this new direction over the second half of the year. I feel a sense of anticipation and quiet confidence.

Don't forget that Google Reader is closing down in July. I have joined Bloglovin instead. It was really easy to import all my Google Reader blogs to Bloglovin. So if you are interested, please join me there. Here is a helpful tutorial about it by Blossom Heart Quilts.

I would just also like to mention that I removed the option to leave comments under Anonymous, and I apologise if this inconveniences anyone. My blog was bombarded by Anonymous spam recently so I had to put a stop to it.

Next week I am going on holiday to New York and I am really looking forward to the break! Take care in the meantime and I will be back here on my blog in late July/early August. Wow, I can't believe I wrote the word 'August'. How time flies!! Thank you for your visit today. Wini xo

15 June 2013: Pattern Design Pin Hop

noreply@blogger.com (Wini) — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 08:05:00 +0000

Hello Everyone, thank you so much for visiting me here today! And welcome if its your first time here as a visitor from the Pattern Design Pin Hop or Jennie Whitham's blog. This is my contribution to the Pin Hop and I hope you like it.

My colour and design inspiration are based on Patternbank's Theme Optical Day. The feel is bold, bright and geometric!!!

Thanks again for your visit. Please head to the Pinterest Pin Hop Board to view all the other wonderful patterns from the other designers in the group, and click on each design to see more work from each person. I would also like to take the opportunity to introduce Julie Hamilton, an amazing surface pattern designer who is also featured in the Hop. And I would like to say a big thanks to Tina Olsson from Fyllayta for organising this event!

If you would like to check out my Pinterest Boards, there is the LINK. I hope you have a lot of fun with the Pin Hop!! Happy Weekend!! Wini xo

Pattern Design Pin Hop June 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Wini) — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 14:27:00 +0000

This Saturday 15 June, I am participating in an exciting online pattern design event... a Pinterest Pattern Design Pin Hop!! Nearly 50 talented surface pattern designers from around the world will be presenting new designs as part of the Hop.

The Pattern Design board will feature one pattern from each designer. You will be able to click on any of the designs and these will direct you to each participant's blogpost where you can view more of their work and find out more about each person.

Patternbank, Trend Forecast AW13/14

All patterns will be based on one of four themes chosen from Patternbank's trend forecast for AW13/14. This Pin Hop is organised by surface pattern designer Tina Olsson from Fyllayta.

So if you are a Pattern Lover and a Pinterest Fan, please check out this fabulous online visual pattern feast on Saturday, and also please check back here to have a look at my designs. Thank you for your visit today and have an awesome weekend! Wini x

My New Online Store

noreply@blogger.com (Wini) — Wed, 01 May 2013 16:43:00 +0000

Dear Friends, Here is another post for today!! As the saying goes, it never rains it pours! One of the projects that I have been working on lately is my new online store on Society6 and I am pleased to officially launch it... Yay! Some of you have been asking me about whether my art is available for sale and when I will be reopening an online shop, and I'm happy to finally be able to share the link. I do hope that you will please check out my new store and let me know your thoughts!

Society6 is an on demand site where you can purchase products including art prints, canvas prints, cards, cushions and decorative covers for iPhones, iPads, laptops, with designs created by thousands of artists around the world. My store features some of my acrylic and mixed media art, and some surface pattern designs developed during and after the ABSPD eclass that I wrote about in my previous post. I am delighted to be able to offer this variety of products to my customers. I am also happy because I design in different mediums and have been wondering how to bring it all together and I think this is a good solution. I plan to add more designs over the coming months so stay tuned.

You might also like to check out some of the other fabulous art on Society 6. Although I am new on Society6, I really enjoy being there. I am inspired every time I visit! I have also been working on my website. If you are interested, please visit here.

Thank you for being here today. Take care and have a beautiful weekend! Wini xo

Patterns Please

noreply@blogger.com (Wini) — Wed, 01 May 2013 15:51:00 +0000

Triplex

Hello Everybody, Back in February, I completed the Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design ecourse led by Rachael Taylor and Beth Nicholls/Kempton. Its a fantastic ecourse for anyone interested in learning how to earn a living from surface pattern design, and its packed with information and inspiration. Rachael comes across as warm and bubbly and she is generous with sharing her knowledge and photos of her work etc. There are interviews with designers and live briefs as well. I have a background in woven textiles, and I really enjoyed getting back to the basics of drawing, sketching, designing patterns, learning about the surface pattern industry and how to monetise designs. Students in the class included a mix of beginners, and people from textile and other design industries. I highly recommend this course!

In order to make the most of the course, I think its a good idea to set time aside to study and do the exercises as there is so much information that its really easy to fall behind. Lessons are posted from Monday to Saturday each week for the duration of the class. I was not able to keep up and still need to revise some of the material. I also feel that a working knowledge of Photoshop and Illustrator really helps. One possible 'negative' is that there is no critical/pushing feedback given by the teacher in class. So those wanting guidance will have to seek it via feedback from the other students. I think it helps to share your work in class for this reason and there is a class flickr group for this purpose.

My Triplex design was featured in Part 3 of the graduate showcase on the Do What You Love website recently. Yay!! Thank you Rachael and Beth! I was very happy to be included along with everyone. :) I have more projects on the boil and will share more news in my next blog post. Thank you for visiting today! Wini xo

My Finished Card Deck 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Wini) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 14:03:00 +0000

Hi Everyone, I hope you are all well. Wow, its been a long time between posts! Sorry that I've been absent longer than expected. Today I would like to show you the finished card deck for the swap that I wrote about in my previous post.

I used playing cards and painted them with acrylic paint, added stenciling, and decorated them with labels, flowers, transfers, stickers and washi tape. The writing is a combination of rub ons, stamping, hand writing and ready made words. (I owe a big thanks to Kaiser Craft for a lot of the decorations!)

Looking at my cards, I notice that I have used the word 'Shine' several times. All I can say is that Shine is a great word and it was also my Word of the Year in 2012. It looks like it is still inspiring me now! I enjoyed every minute creating these although I think I spent waaaay too much time on the project. I loved playing with colour and combining all the elements together. I also enjoyed writing out all the inspirational sayings, even though the stamping was a bit frustrating, as I mentioned in my previous post. If you look carefully at the second photo, you might notice an upside down letter... Lol! But as Tracy pointed out in her comment on my previous post, the wonky lettering is a little 'wabi-sabi'. I love this idea. I hope the recipients will like it too.

Other news:
I gave away my dog because he was becoming too much to handle. He was challenging my authority and being aggressive. It was one of the hardest and most emotional decisions I have ever made recently, but it was the best thing for all concerned and I am at peace with it all now. My dog is currently being fostered by a very kind person prior to being rehomed and I trust it will work out well. This episode is part of the reason why I haven't been blogging as much for the past couple of months. I stopped creating for a while, and am now really behind on everything.

Quite a few people have been asking me about my canvas paintings. I am having a break from it for a while while I concentrate on other projects. I am really far behind on 'Painting the Goddess Within' and I probably won't be able to catch up. I will just do it in my own time. I plan to return to painting in May.

I am signed up to the Playing Big program with Tara Mohr, and it started two weeks ago. Tara's teachings really resonate with me and I am loving the class so far. Playing Big doesn't mean becoming a famous celebrity, its about self actualisation, authenticity, and growing in to yourself. Even after all this time I still have fears around putting myself out there and I feel that Playing Big would help with this. It also fits well with my word for the year, Attuned. If you happen to be visiting from Playing Big, Hello and I'm happy you are here!

That's it for now. I hope you all have an awesome weekend! There will be more news coming soon, I promise! Wini xo

(iPad photos taken with Instagram)

Card Deck Swap 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Wini) — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 07:45:00 +0000

Dear Friends, I have been away from my blog for a while, and sorry it was longer than intended. I have been caught up with life, travel and work lately, and I haven't done any painting for the past few weeks. Anyway today I would like to share some photos of my Inspirational card deck that I have been working on this week for the March Swap organised by Jessica Brogan from In Search of Dessert. I started this last year but I didn't finish it in time for last years swap. Its a fun project to participate in!

A few weeks ago I bought some lovely goodies at a Scrapbooking show in Melbourne, including labels, flowers, washi tape, stencils and shimmery watercolours. I am using some of the labels, stencils and washi tape to decorate the cards.

Some painted backgrounds using acrylic paint and stencils

I also bought a rubber stamp set and discovered that I am no good at stamping. Apart from wonky lettering it seems that I can't tell 'b' from 'd'. (Or 'n' from 'u', or 'i' from 'l'). LOL! Anyway its all a learning process. Its slowing me down a bit though and it is a bit frustrating too. I think I might either hand write the messages or print them out on the computer instead. I still have half the deck to go so I better get back to it. Thank you for visiting today and have a beautiful week!!! Wini xox

Happy Valentine's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Wini) — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 09:41:00 +0000

"A loving heart is the truest wisdom." Charles Dickens.

Dear Friends, Sending love to you on Valentine's Day and wishing you a beautiful, love filled day. Thank you for your friendship and for following me on my blog and Facebook. I am grateful you are here. I also created a heart picture to share with you and I hope you like it.

Here are 5 Valentines links for you to check out:

1. Living from the Heart. Inspiring Free Ebook by Louise Gale. Features 19 creative souls, including me! Its an honour to be included amony such illustrious company. Thank you Louise!

2. Heart Dancing Meditation free download by Chakradance. Beautiful music and its fun to dance to!

3. Four Free Valentines Printables by Laura Winslow. Lovely messages such as Follow your Heart, Do all things with Love and Love is all Around.

4. Tutorial to make a Valentine Rolled Paper Wreath, by Mitzi's Miscellany. A very pretty craft project!

5. DIY Love Heart Message Pocket, via Poppytalk. A very cute project.

Thank you for visiting today and have a wonderful week! Wini xo

Happy Chinese New Year 2013!

noreply@blogger.com (Wini) — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Happy Chinese Lunar New Year! Wishing you all a Happy, Healthy, Prosperous and Abundant Year of the Black Water Snake! I will be celebrating with family over the next two weekends.

The Year of the Snake is said to be a year of readjustments and steady progression. The studious quality of the Snake will mean that focus and discipline may be required to achieve goals, and work will require attention to detail. It might also be a year for healing and transformation as we let go of the past like a snake sheds its skin. Here is a link to a general Horoscope for the Year 2013, where you can read some more about it!

Thank you for visiting today and have an awesome week and year, Wini xo

Days of Summer

noreply@blogger.com (Wini) — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 13:09:00 +0000

Dear Friends, How are you? I'm well and enjoying the days of Summer... reading, catching up with friends, seeing movies and spending time in nature. However its been hot and dry, with bushfires in the countryside and no rain for quite some time. Fingers crossed for rain soon. Over the past few weeks, I've been reflecting on 2012, finishing up projects from 2012, painting on canvas, planning the year ahead using this useful ebook and this one too, and embarking on two new ecourses, Art of Surface Pattern Design Module 3 & Painting the Goddess Within. Off to a busy start!

Letting Go

I signed up for the Painting the Goddess Within eclass as a way to focus on my Word for the Year, Attuned. Included in the eclass are Qi Gong videos presented by Cheryl Irwin. I love doing her series of beautiful, soulful, energy shifting exercises. At the start of the year, I tried to help a friend with health issues but I felt that my efforts did not bear fruit, and things remained unresolved. It was an emotional time that also drained my energy. I learned a big lesson that sometimes we can't do anything more and we just have to let go and Trust that all will be well. When I first started doing the Qi Gong exercises, I felt a lot of tension in my heart area, and I had trouble breathing and yawned a lot. I felt it had to do with clearing. When I asked about it in class, I was told it was normal and it was suggested that I embrace and even celebrate it. Also that it was my heart stretching, releasing and learning to be more open. I felt that the Qi Gong helped me to release the heartache surrounding this incident, and other ones too. I feel a lot of peace, well being and gratitude when doing the exercises. It is a soothing and grounding practice. Re the painting lessons from the eclass, I am a bit behind and hope to show some work later on.

Alfred Nicholas Garden, Mt Dandenongs

A new routine
I have been looking at ways to create some space where I can go within and connect with my Inner Self, journal and have time to relax and dream in the beauty of nature such as in the picture above, and to concentrate on my creative projects. When I assess my days, I see that a lot of time is spent on social media, so I have decided to decrease the time spent online this year.

This means that:
I won't be updating flickr with my blog photos regularly, but perhaps just once every few months instead.
I will be on twitter infrequently.
I will be posting here on this blog twice a month instead of 4 times per month.
I will be pruning my FB groups list and will only be actively participating in a few of them.
I may not be on Instagram as much.
I may not be able to get around to visiting everyone's blogs as often

However,
I will still be around on Facebook and my Facebook page.
I am a Pinterest addict and will still be pinning whenever I can! :)

I hope this is ok with you all, and that you will all understand.

Angel of Healing and Compassion. (She has a heart of Gold. She wears her heart on her sleeve)

Up, Up and Away
A chorus of large and small Angel prints are finally heading off to new homes this month (as part of the 300 Facebook Followers Giveaway which I held late last year)! I am really sorry for the delay everyone. To those who have been waiting, many thanks for your patience!

This and That
I have signed up to participate in the The Goddess Chronicles Art Travelling Journal organised by Sofia Dabalsa. The idea is for each participating artist to create a piece of art for the journal and then ship it to the next participant. The theme is Goddess Chronicles that inspire young and old, girls and women with messages from the heart to Dream Big. The completed art journal with everyone's work will be donated to empower young girls at Girls Inc in San Antonio TX. If you are interested to join in, please check out the details here. Please be quick so you don't miss out!

By Sofia Dabalsa

Worriers to Warriors is a new ecourse run by intuitive artist Sarah Baron. It starts in February and is a 7 week online transforming anxiety art therapy program. I think this eclass sounds excellent for anyone suffering anxiety and wishing to overcome it. I have suffered from anxiety issues in the past and its not pleasant. I wish a class such as this was available when I was going through it!

The Creative Courage eclass led by talented artist/illustrator Stephanie Levy will be run for the very last time, starting on 28 Jan. I took this eclass back in 2010 and loved it and highly recommend it! The aim of the class is to guide you in reaching your creative art and biz goals. It also includes inspiring interviews with successful creative women. So tempted to take this class again... but I have so much on my plate already! Please check it out if you are interested.

I was inspired by this interview with kiwi artist Jenny Grant on the Jennibelle Studio blog. Jenny comes across as having a beautiful spirit and her art is lovely too.

I love this post by talented, soulful artist Sorayah Nulliah. Sorayah's art is on the cover of this months Art Journalling magazine and she also has an article inside about art journals she created on the theme of being an outsider. I can relate to the feeling of not fitting in and so I was really inspired by the way Sorayah has turned the outsider feeling in to something to celebrate, and how she learned to appreciate the gifts that come with it.

Thank you for visiting and reading this longish post today. I hope that there was something of interest to you amongst all my ramblings. Happy Australia Day and take care! Wini xo