Athena Dreams Design

aquarius : pinterest-ing pins

We are nearing the end of the sign of Aquarius, and I just wanted to do a little visual tribute to all my Aquarian friends. 

Aquarian Symbols: The Water Bearer. Element: Air. Favourable colours: Turquoise. Ruling Planet: Uranus. Lucky Gem: Turquoise. Gemstone: Amethyst. Flower: Orchid. Kewyword: Truth.

Aquarians are thought to be fiercely independent, unique, even eccentric, deep thinkers and deeper humanitarians.

(clockwise from top left):

Summer Beach by Cuba Gallery
Turquoise and the Sea on Black by Knitalette
Owls from Clayliscious
Amethyst Crystals from Design Seeds
Orchids from Joélisa
Aquarius by Cursive Arts

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Each week a different topic illustrated with some of my favourite images from Pinterest.

If you are a Pinterest user, pinning on pinterest please remember to "Link with Love" and credit the maker, the creator, the ideator, or the originator.

If you'd like to share on Pinterest you can find me here!

Pantone Memories

I've had a deep and abiding love affair with Pantone since my first year in art school. First year in most art schools means having to take a class in every discipline, even if you think you already know what you want to focus on, and I groaned when I saw that Design 101 was on my schedule.

Design was so not what I had come to art school to do, and funnily enough, it turned out to be fun, and something I was good at... funny how that works, skill and desire for something I never would have done on my own.

The first assignment was about illustrating a word. I got the word "naked".

We were given a list of materials we could use to complete the project and off I went to the school store to look at what my options were. It was then and there that I met Pantone papers, then printed by Letraset.

I had never heard of Pantone, never knew you could buy sheets of printed paper in colours that stretched though more hues and shades and tints then I had ever seen before. I was smitten. I was, truth be told, delirious. And if I had had thousands of dollars would have purchased one (and in some cases three) of everything. I did purchase a few in my favourite colours, and then purchased 5 shades of "naked", and completed my first design assignment (pre-Photoshop, Illustrator and etc).

In this wonderfully modern age of electronic everything, some things have gone the way of the dinosaur, and the pantone papers are no longer made, but you can find them here and there, every once in a while.

I still have some 3" x 5" sample sheets that I use sometimes. But mostly, I look at them and arrange the colours and remember the first time I met Pantone.

 

And what got me started down this particular memory lane? Well, just in time for NY Fashion Week, Pantone released their Fall 2012 Colour Report.

turquoise : pinterest-ing pins

Turquoise has always had a way with my heart... so shimmery, ethereal, and somehow, mysteriously it remains so grounded and deep. Turquoise is the colour of one of my favourite stones, the mediterranean sea with the sun shining on it, a perfect spring sky, or a beautiful shining pool.

In the last paragraph of Victoria Finlay's book Color: A Natural History of the Palette, she says:

When I was two days from finishing the first draft of this book, a friend called from New York in great excitement. "There's a text message on CNN. They say someone's found the color of the universe."... I grabbed my pen and wrote down that scientists at Johns Hopkins University had discovered the color of the light in the universe. And that it was pale turquoise*. I had no idea what it meant, but it suggested that my journey was not over. And that there was a whole world - no, a whole universe - of color stories still to find. -Victoria Finlay

*Johns Hopkins later changed their findings and made a second and slightly embarrassed announcement that the "colour of the universe" was not actually turquoise but beige, due to a computer bug.

Beige? Really? Personally, I am sticking with the first finding, that it is indeed Turquoise and not Beige that reflects the colour of the universe.

Enjoy some turquoise!

(clockwise from top left):

Painting by Alessandro Twombly
Turquoise Piano from Addicted 2 Decorating {via Classy Clutter}
Turquoise cupboards by Heinrich Ingenson
Turquoise Accents from SAS Interiors
Twinkle a photograph from Irene Suchocki
Glass Jar Tutorial from Martha Stewart {pinned by Mercedes A Averbuch}
Marrakech curtains from Anthropologie

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Each week a different topic illustrated with some of my favourite images from Pinterest.

If you are a Pinterest user, pinning on pinterest please remember to "Link with Love" and credit the maker, the creator, the ideator, or the originator.

If you'd like to share on Pinterest you can find me here!

Are You Sweating Something?

It's that time of year to gather the receipts and get going on the taxes. It's also that time of year when I get deeply into berating myself for not having kept up with the receipts and the spreadsheets every month. But this year I decided to stop that, and found that working with my natural inclinations and leaving aside the berating worked oh so much more smoothly. Visit Scoutie Girl to read the whole piece.

pattern designers: pinterest-ing pins

pat·tern [pat-ern; Brit. pat-n] 
a noun

1. a decorative design, as for wallpaper, china, or textile fabrics, etc.
2. decoration or ornament having such a design.
3. a natural or chance marking, configuration, or design: patterns of frost on the window.
4. a distinctive style, model, or form: a new pattern of army helmet.
5. a combination of qualities, acts, tendencies, etc., forming a consistent or characteristic arrangement: the behavior patterns of teenagers.
6. an original or model considered for or deserving of imitation: Our constitution has been a pattern for those of many new republics.
7. anything fashioned or designed to serve as a model or guide for something to be made: a paper pattern for a dress.

There are 15 definitions in the Webster's Dictionary for the word pattern so I took the top 7.

I love that Patterns can be a both repeating habit or action, and a visual and decorative motif that forms an "arrangement".

Pattern design is one of my great-est loves, the combination of colour and image and repeat contains a magic that I never grow tired of. Looking at the patterns that others have created, the colour palettes that they choose to work with and the imagery they choose to create and repeat is always a huge inspiration for me and my own work.

So please have a visit with some of these über talented pattern designers represented here: You can go and visit my Pattern Design Board on Pinterest, or just click on the links below.

Enjoy!

(clockwise from top left):

Retro Floral Pattern by Rachel Cole {pinned by me}
Fields of Honey from Harmony Art {pinned by me}
Flowers & Butterflies by Helen Dardik from Lagom Design UK {pinned by me}
Bolts of fabric from Amy Butler {pinned by me}
Victoria Dark Blue a wallpaper pattern from Camilla Meijer {pinned by me}
Valadier Fabric from Tricia Guild {pinned by me}
Blue on White patterns from Vintage Rose Garden {pinned via Vintage Rose Garden}
The Bees Knees designed by Terrie Mangat for Freespirit Fabric {pinned by me}

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Each week a different topic illustrated with some of my favourite images from Pinterest.

If you are a Pinterest user, pinning on pinterest please remember to "Link with Love" and credit the maker, the creator, the ideator, or the originator.

If you'd like to share on Pinterest you can find me here!

February 2012 .:. Biz Goals

 

So this is my cat, spying on the cat next door who's spying on a crow in the grass. It somehow seemed the perfect Meetup photo for this month. I think first because it made me laugh, and second, I love the intensity and focus that both of the cats possess. And the crow, well he/she knew the cats were there, and just ignored them. There was a deck and a fence between them, and the crow was busy picking up seeds.

They all kept their focus on the task at hand, and they all stayed on task. SO it's my new metaphor for getting the tasks at hand done: think cat spying on cat spying on crow, and crow continuing to do a crow's business.

January came and went, and since the goals I listed for January are really about Jan-Mar, they are MORE my first quarter goals. I've made progress on a few things, and getting close to completion on a few more, so I am going to leave this list up and keep updating and crossing out till it's DONE (and dusted), and then move on to the second quarter. I'm testing this out as a new way to function and a way to keep up on those larger goals as well as all the small actions that accomplish those larger goals.

Am feeling ready for February and good about my progress so far. Wow. that feels good to write!

JAN-MAR 2012 Goals

1. Identify and contact 2-3 potential licensors over the next 3 months - Have identified 5, and now need to put together queries.
2. Get packages off to the 2 companies that are interested in my design work
3. Re-work and FINISH artist statement for website and for portfolio - working on it!
4. Pattern design - create 2-3 series
5. Start flower painting series for licensing. 12 images. Seasonal. Pen & Ink and Paint.
6. Put a list together of 10-12 people I know and ask them about what methods they have used to market their work.
7. Write announcements and press releases about my current work. Target 10-15 blogs and SEND them out!
8. Work more on branding and ask for testimonials/words from peers. - putting a list together of people to ask for "praise".
9. Re-evaluate ALL of these things as the days and week pass, and listen to my own voice and re-evaluate their importance/priority
10. Add to this list with any new ideas/possibilities
11. Create for FUN and JOY.

February is making it's entrance, and now for the year that winter never really, truly arrived in many parts of the world (I know some of you have been snowed in but not to many) so, will Phil see his shadow on the 2nd? Hope you all have a great start to February!

And for anyone working at better writing skills, better branding and beng an alla round better publicist for your own work: a new book is available called: Recipe for Press by Amy Flurry. I just ordered my copy, and hoping to get some great tips.

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IF you are new to The Meetup or would like to play along, here's the scoop:

• Post a list of your business related goals for the current month on the 1st of each month on your blog. {If the 1st falls on a weekend, post on the following Monday.}
• Come back over here and leave a link to your goals blog post in the comments of my current month's goals.
• And then {and this is the most important part, since we are a community} visit all the links in the comments, stop in and say hello, have a conversation, meet and greet and etc.

At Work on Ideas: pinterest-ing pins

Seeing sketches in mid-creation, or drawing tables filled with the tools of a craft, journals being worked on and creativity in session always gives me a thrill. I love to get glimpses of how others work, aspects of the processes that other people use, a peek into someone else's world.

(clockwise from top left):
journals on Wild Thyme Creative {pinned by Theresa L.}
A Canvas for Creativity by Lucrecer Braxton (found via Liz Lamoreux}
Journaling 101 by Chookooloonks {pinned by Trish W.}
Pen & Ink by Nicola Hensel {found via Pia Jane Bijkerk}
Sketches by Emerson Made (pinned by me}

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Each week a different topic illustrated with some of my favourite images from Pinterest.

If you are a Pinterest user, pinning on pinterest please remember to "Link with Love" and credit the maker, the creator, the ideator, or the originator.

If you'd like to share on Pinterest you can find me here!

Some Frost: pinterest-ing pins

December was not very winter-ly, and up until now, neither was January. But this week it seems, winter has begun in earnest in the bay area (and other places as well).

Frosty beatiful things from Pinterest (clockwise from top left):
Midwinter Daydream by Elle Moss {pinned by Jessica Snyder}
Window Frost by Girl Behind the Red Door {pinned by Kayla Haykin}
First Frost by Jodi Martin {on her POV board}
Frozen Clover Flower by  Scott Heppell {pinned by Sophia Roberts}

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Pinterest has definitely become a part of my regular life on line, and I love all the sharing and inspiration and joy it brings. this post is the start of a new regular post series where I will be sharing some of my favourite images on Pinterest organised by a different topic every week.

If you are a Pinterest user, pinning on pinterest please remember to "Link with Love" and credit the maker, the creator, the ideator, or the originator.

If you'd like to share on Pinterest you can find me here!

Testing the Temperature

This morning I got up and when I let the cat out, the thermometer outside the back door told me it was 32. Yeah, 32F. And just so we're all clear, this was not an early rising kind of day, it was 8:15am. I decided it was a good test. I'm leaving for New York early tomorrow morning, and I'm told it's much much colder there right now at the same hour of the morning. So test things I would: I put my walking clothes on and went out for a walk.

And came right back in.

I need a hat. I need mittens. I need things for my neck, and other things to stop any and all drafts from creeping up my back or down my legs. Putting on socks, a t-shirt, yoga pants and a heavy sweater on top was just not going to do it.

So it got me thinking about testing and temperature, and decisions: You know how when you decide to make a radical change in your status quo, or take a stand for yourself in a situation that has been troubling you, or just rearrange the living room furniture after a few years, and all the little creepy crawlies, bugaboos, and other annoying creatures of doubt and unease and uncertainty come out to harangue you?

Well, what if we "dressed" for a change we are planning?
What if we planned for the cold? or the heat?
What if we welcomed a change in temperature and because we were ready for it, it was all smooth sailing?

I've got my hat on, and all other important surfaces are covered by warm cozy things, and back out I go. It's 9:07 and it's now a balmy 33, and I'm ready to walk. Tomorrow, I'll deal with the real cold, today is a test.

January 2012 .:. Biz Goals

Oh Lucky Cat*, welcoming in this new year... your left paw raised in the universal sign for good luck and good fortune, and your right paw raised to protect all that luck and fortune, I will be keeping you in my mind's eye, every day.

So we are already a week into January, a week into this new year, and I am lagging a bit with the goals. I've been trying to re-imagine how this Meetup might work, and make it more action-able, more accesible, more helpful for everyone who shows up here every month - and in the midst of that and all the other things that have been going on this First Week, I lagged.

So without further hesitation, I want to pose this question to any and all re: their monthly goals:

DO you find that there are broader goals that are getting left undone each month, maybe for months on end, because you are so busy working on the smaller, more immediate goals (like getting orders out, and making your product, and taking work that pays so that you can keep making your own things)?

I do. And I'd like to change that. Like, now. This first quarter of 2012. I was hit with the realisation that some of these larger goals are going to be important to me and my business a little further down the road, and I am not reaching my destination a little further down the road because I have not tended to the larger goals.

It's all a full-circle conundrum, isn't it?

Okay so long term goals, for the first quarter: I went back through 2011 and looked at all the long term items that were not finished, and they are:

1. Identify and contact 2-3 potential licensors over the next 3 months
2. Get packages off to the 2 companies that are interested in my design work
3. Re-work and FINISH artist statement for website and for portfolio
4. Pattern design - create 2-3 series
5. Start flower painting series for licensing. 12 images. Seasonal. Pen & Ink and Paint.
6. Put a list together of 10-12 people I know and ask them about what methods they have used to market their work.
7. Write announcements and press releases about my current work. Target 10-15 blogs and SEND them out!
8. Work more on branding and ask for testimonials/words from peers.
9. Re-evaluate ALL of these things as the days and week pass, and listen to my own voice and re-evaluate their importance/priority
10. Add to this list with any new ideas/possibilities
11. Create for FUN and JOY.

I hope all your January's are starting in a splendid way, and hope to hear about your goals - long and short term. OK, stepping into 2012, and here we go!

________________________

IF you are new to The Meetup or would like to play along, here's the scoop:

• Post a list of your business related goals for the current month on the 1st of each month on your blog. {If the 1st falls on a weekend, post on the following Monday.}
• Come back over here and leave a link to your goals blog post in the comments of my current month's goals.
• And then {and this is the most important part, since we are a community} visit all the links in the comments, stop in and say hello, have a conversation, meet and greet and etc.

*The Maneki Neko (招き猫^?, literally "Beckoning Cat"; also known as Welcoming Cat, Lucky Cat, Cat Swipe, Money cat, or Fortune Cat) is a common Japanese sculpture, often made of ceramic, which is believed to bring good luck to the owner. The sculpture depicts a cat (traditionally a calico Japanese Bobtail) beckoning with an upright paw, and is usually displayed—many times at the entrance—in shops, restaurants, and other businesses. Some of the sculptures are electric or battery-powered and have a slow-moving paw beckoning. In the design of the sculptures, a raised left paw supposedly attracts money, while a raised right paw protects it. (from Wikipedia)