PATTERN-MEETS-SPIRIT-CHALLENGE #29

I guess, I am drifting down the road of geometric patterns lately. I don´t know why but somehow I am drawn to these clean and clear designs. There is the feeling inside of me, that my pattern-meets-spirit-challenge is coming to an end and something new is about to knock on my door. Very exciting!

The quote: "Be the warm yellow light that pours all over everyone you love" made me want to combine in with a bright colour that helps transport the feeling of yellow light. Isn´t it a nice thought to pour oneself all over the loved people that surround us? It will make them feel comfortable and loved. I´d also love to have somebody who is the warm and yellow light for me.
XxOoXx,

SHE

Welcome to my this week´s She-motif. It is about putting down our masks. We all wear several masks in our lifes. One as a daughter, one as a wife, one as a mother, one as a workmate, one as a friend, etc.
With every mask we often act a little bit different depending on the people we are together with in each situation.

It takes some courage to drop these masks and show who we truly are in our hearts. We let our guards down, showing a vulnerable heart (maybe filled with pain), scared of getting hurt even more. On the other hand we show who we truly are, with all the scars we collected during life. They show lessons we learned on our journey and the growth inside us that came with them.
Be true.

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY "ICECREAM"

A wonderful, new topic was posted from Illustration Friday and it fit so well for this weeks heat.
Ice-Cream is on and I desperately had to make a pattern with popsicle sticks. I love the summerful colours and could almost smell the sweet fruitful taste of raspberries, strawberries and lemon. Mmh.

Of course my popsicles are 100% organic, made out of real, delicious, juicy fruits, sweetend with grape-juice. This has to be mentioned of course:-) Oh great, now I feel a longing for an ice-cream. I guess, I´ll get some frozen pieces of mango out and make myself a nice-cream out of it. And I truly want to try a new recipe of strawberry-mint-ice-cream.
Lots of love,

PATTERN-MEETS-SPIRIT-CHALLENGE #28

Right now I am a little bit drawn to the geometric parts of design since I love bold, clean patterns with a bright backround. Since my home is surrounded my green trees and fields I felt like bringing these into a motif. I love looking out of my windows seeing all the different shades of green. In colour psychology green is a great healing colour. No wonder we feel good after spending some time in nature. Even here, looking at the motif, makes me feel balanced and healed.

Move on with happy spirit - my quote is combined with the healer power of green and trees because if we move on there is sometimes a tree blocking the road. We can climb over it and leave it behind if we stay positive and happy. It is important for a positive, joyful life.
Have a happy day,

SHE

She speaks with the rhythm of her heart - this is my number one lesson these days. It is so important to speak out of the heart with the rhythm of the beat. If we do that, we become clearer who we truly are. We also feel, what feelings we still hide inside our hearts who we are. It also shows us what stands in our way of opening our hearts for others. If we look at this, we are one step closer to heal.

I found the perfect music for this motif of mine. The wonderful Faroese musician Eivor Pálsdóttir found me and I loved this song so much. It is an absolute heart-opener for sure. Iceland is on top of my vacation-wishlist. Faroese, Iceland and Denmark are on top of my vacation-wishlist, especially Iceland.

It is such a beautiful country. I love the surnames of the Iceland people, the landscape and their natural, public way of living with elves and other mystic creatures. My shamane heart sings with them. Have fun listening to this beautiful song.
Blessed be,

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY "PORTRAIT"

Illustration Friday´s this weeks topic "Portrait" brought the idea to me of a paper cut looking silhouette of a woman. I am not such a big fan of having old-school-designs like these in my own home so I brushed it up with a modern backround.

A couple of days ago I saw some influencer wearing the color combination red and pink and I liked it a lot. So I took it over for my design and made a polkadotted aftermotif out of it. Red and orange also look great together (I heared so often as a kid that these colours don´t match). Now I have to get rid of this believe system.
OOXXOO,

PATTERN-MEETS-SPIRIT-CHALLENGE #27

Since I try to fill my portfolio each sunday is the day for collecting new ideas for patterns. Last year I collected all the quotes I use and wrote them down in my planer so I know every week what quotes I want to use and bring them together with a motif. Planing ahead is quite good because I don´t get in trouble using quotes twice with that system.

This weeks quote is about how important it is to be with people who lift you up. Surround yourself with people who make you feel good and loved. The key is to make them feel good and loved as well. It is the law of attraction - when you send out love it returns to you.
So here comes a feel-good-note for you, dear wonderful reader of my blog. Thank you for coming by. You mean the world to me and I am so very happy to see you here. Have a wonderful day, you wonderful light. You are a true sparkler.
Herz.Licht.

SHE

In a couple of minutes friends will arrive for a BBQ. Before this happens I truly want to post my weeks pattern for my she-series. Here it comes.

She knows she can change the world is the quote I picked for this week. Whenever I can I try to make a difference in everydays life to change the world. One goal is to avoid plastic wrapping while grocery shopping. I saw a movie showing all the plastic in our oceans. Another one goal of mine is bringing love among people, so I smile and feel love in my heart whenever I pass somebody, no matter if it´s a stranger or a known person. I also try to be conscious and positive in my thoughts because that is energy that other´s recieve.

Herz.Licht.

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY "LOVE"

In two days the new motif for Illustration Friday must be posted so I hurried with my pattern for this weeks topic "Love".

The yellow hearts bring me in cheerful mood and I loved drawing the backround in wild strokes (it´s a fantastic way of stress relief, though).
Lots of love,

HOMEMADE ZUCCHINI-PESTO (PALEO, RAW, VEGAN)

We harvested our first zucchini´s out of our own garden for this year. My husband is not that keen into these vegetables and I tried a lot of recipes to bring a friendship among them. I cooked, steamed, grilled and filled the greenish friends but nothing worked, except zucchini cake.
Yesterday I tried to make a zucchini- pesto and served it to my spouse. Total success. He fell in love with it instantly. So here comes the husband proofed recipe for my pesto.

HOMEMADE ZUCCHINI PESTO:

1-1/2 cups chopped zucchini

2 cups basil leaves

3 tbsp. olive oil

2-4 cloves garlic

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1/2 cups pine nuts

Give all ingredients in a mixer and blend it until you get a nice textures with tiny bits of nuts and leaves. Don´´t blend it too long because the mixtures would get very smooth and oily then.
Serve it on cooked, plain potatoes or noodles or as a lovely sandwhich spread.
I doubled the recipe because my zucchini was big and so we have pesto for 2-4 days.
You can keep it in the fridge and it will stay fresh for about five days.
Have fun trying it yourself.
Bon appetit,

PATTERN-MEETS-SPIRIT-CHALLENGE # 26

It is such a beautiful day today. The sun is out, my herbs grow in front of my window and things run smoothly. My today´s pattern had to be a birdcage with an open door so the bird has the chance to get out of there. I guess, it must be frightening first for the bird having the option of leaving. Once the decision is made, a new life is about to take part. How exciting is that!

The todays quote says: Believe in yourself and you will be unstoppable. It is about being brave on the path of life´s journey. If you know your talents and follow the voice of your heart, wonderful power and strenght will come to you and carry you and your ideas. New doors will arise and open when you are brave enough to open them. And remember: Courage is always rewarded in life.

Have a happy day full of love and laughter,

"12" INSPIRING DESIGNERS: MAY LEONG

The summery month of July is about to start and it is time for a new designer of the month.

Today I have the pleasure to introduce you to: MAY LEONG

May is a Surface Designer from Malaysia who loves to create bright, colorful and cute art for kids and those people who used to be kids.

Feel free to visit her homepage on www.mayleongdesign.com 

or her blog: http://www.mayleongdesign.com/blog

You can also find her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mayleongdesign

or Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mayleongdesign

·         

       So, hello May and welcome to our todays interview.

       1. When did your interest in design/illustration/art first start and how did that come about?

       Since a very young age I drawn and made birthday cards for my friends. I kept some of the   

       bookmarks that I drawn and made until today. It was a hobby then as I did not know I can  

       make a living out of it. After I left my corporate HR job I read about the life of a surface pattern 

       designer. My interest was reignited. I took Lilla Roger´s MATS, Rachael Taylor´s ABSPD and 

       Pattern Observer´s Textile Design courses. The true calling came after my holiday visit to  

       Helsinki and found out that Art can bring joy and laughter to people and make the world a more  

       beautiful and happier place.

       2. What steps did you take to get to where you are now as a designer/illustrator/artist?

       It took many professional and trade related e-courses to horn my skills and practise sketching, 

       drawing and coloring art every day. I even flew to New York to walk the Surtex and National

       Stationery Show in 2015, to get a first hand experience of art licensing world, to see the 

       stationery products and also to meet my artist friends. It was a huge investment of effort, money 

       and time as I have to flew more than 20 hours from Kuala Lumpur to New York City.

        3. How would you describe your style?

        Fresh, bright, colorful and supercute.

        4. Who are your favorite designers?

        They are just too many to mention. Charley Harper, Josef Frank and Henry Matisse if I must 

        name a few.

        5. What kind of designer do you want to be known as?

        A designer who bring a smile or add some beauty to them and their loved ones as well as 

        someone who is authentic and inspire them to go for and live their dreams. 

         6. What is your favorite medium you like to work with?

         I started taking Chinese Brush and watercolor courses in the beginning. Later, when I learnt  

         and pick up Illustrator, it became my favorite tool of trade.

         7. What are you currently working on?

         Creating designs for Greetings Cards and stationery products.

         8. How do you fuel your inspirations?

         I am a hoarder, I kept magazines, snapped photos and images of what I see and likes and store  

         them digitally for easy reference all the time. I read design books and take short courses for new

         ideas. I also love to travel to new places to look for new exposure, ideas and insights.

       

         9. How does your creative process look like?

         Most of the time, I started by sketching by looking at the "reference materials" that I have

         gathered. Then, I scan in my sketches and coloring them in illustrator by using blob brush tool.

         10. What are your major goals for the next years?

         I would like to create more commercial appealing portfolios and doubling my marketing effort

         including exhibit in trade shows, most likely in Surtex New York again. I may take up new courses 

         to enhance my design skills as well. 

   

         Dear May, thank you so much for the interview. I am impressed about your journey to pattern

         design and you also made it to Surtex. How great is that.

         All the best to you to Malaysia and all the best for your future goals.

         Herz.Licht.