Friends, Foodies & Design Junkies...

I have felt a little guilty about my last two posts on this blog. Not because it isn't what I'm dealing with and excited about right now... but I guess it's the venue. I'm torn between writing about my family... and my 'job'. Well, I don't have a job... per se. I have a passion that I'm hoping will earn me some money. Thing is, I meant it when I said I was following some sage advice... I read that you should be doing for a living what you do when you procrastinate. I doodle, I look up fonts and color palettes... therefore I am. A lovely design life IS for me. For me this is the ultimate serenity where the flourish of a pretty calligraphy font meets those countless procrastination doodles in my sketchbooks. I can't help it that I covet pretty paper and heavily weighted pens. That at this very moment I have coffee, tea, water and soda on my desk simultaneously because I sit here for long periods of time getting inspired, or trying to inspire others.

To remedy these two parts of my heart... I've started a new blog! Just for the design junkies. I will keep My Prairie Valentine strictly for my family and life ranting related posts. And I will have the font and color palette love on my new blog... found here... http://flourishanddoodle.blogspot.com/ 

I hope you will appreciate that decision. I will get back to posting recipes ASAP! I love all of you... and thank you for making me feel like my writing is well... worth writing. I am also working on a new blog template so be patient with me. I'm excited to be working on it and didn't want to start changing parts until I have it all done. xoxo

P.S. I DO want to tell you that I got 3 design jobs today!! Of course they are all pro-bono. blah, blah, blah... Yes, I know. But, I need confidence right now. I feel like I'm building my non-existent portfolio. Bear with me... I am designing posters for 2 big events in the area. My name will be visible and the organizations promised to promote me. That also goes for a logo that I'm designing for a non-profit arts agency!! (who also asked me to be on their board of directors...) As for PAID work from said pro-bono folks, I have leads for a few other logo and branding clients. Just wanted to say... woo hoo!!

Coloring Outside the Lines

I never was good at being perfectly inside the colorbook lines. I always got excited to see the finished product and rushed. I tried the outlining, the soft color... nope. Just always ended up getting a little around the edges somewhere. Now that I'm older I can appreciate that it is just my style. When I was a kid I just thought maybe I should try something else. Maybe I wasn't good at coloring. I've learned that getting a little bit of paint, marker or pencil outside the lines adds a special quality that is mine. It gives me a solid feeling of 'mine'. I own that color outside the line!

I love looking for color swatches and palettes as much as I love fonts. I get tremendous pleasure in matching up a funky pair of colors and watching them harmonize! Even in my own closet, I will grab a peacock teal shirt and start immediately searching for the terracotta or coral hue that will suit my mood... Yes. I like to name my colors as well. As if they were jumping from the pages of Mr. Peterman's catalog... or a nice J. Crew ad. Today I wore grays and purples... It was a gloomyish day. I dress for my mood. Next time I make a reference like that I will attach a photo. I need to take more photos.

Font-tastic Monday. Is this heaven?

I am working very hard on becoming proficient in Illustrator. It is similar to Photoshop but then takes everything up about 20 notches. There is so much freedom to sketch (even in perspective), text, edit patterns, objects and lordy, lordy! Freedom which as you know can be frustrating and exhilarating all at once! Pretty much if you can think it you can do it. I've done a few tutorials on YouTube that still have my head spinning. I've learned some things I can do with lines and swirls that I can't yet comprehend how I will begin to use them. Sigh. Love it! I have to learn to let go and just go for it.

So, I need my focus... I've set aside specific days to work on particular projects. Monday is the day I have set aside for font exploration. Yes... a whole day dedicated to fonts. Downloading them, creating them and designing with them. I am thrown back to the days that my mom would bring me home typography books from the architecture firm. I would browse slowly through them tagging and coloring the pages that I loved.

Another False Start... My Heart Hurts. But It Will Heal.

My first post... Well, I did try to look at the silver lining of things and understand where I was etc. Worried about my life as an architect gone bye-bye... And excited about my life as a mother. As you can guess, I am still glowing and smiling about my little Xan. The budget thing I wanted to do is still SO difficult. When you can't make ends meet I don't even know how to have a budget. Somehow we find a way to make it, but money is so tight it literally takes my breath away. However, being home is still priceless. I love, love, love being at home with the baby. He changes so much everyday. I hang on his every coo and little movements that are turning into real gestures.

I had an epiphany today while browsing pinterest... yes, I'm as obsessed as everyone else... and I realized I was actually missing something significant from my daily life. Believe or not, as an artist here in La Junta, I do not have an office/ craft/ creative/ studio space. I actually haven't had one up and running since I was "removed" from my job in 2010. It is as if my soul is packed away in boxes and bags. I get to haul them out once in a while and make an unbelievable mess that bugs me... but hey what's a gal to do.