Organic Fruitation

Well, it’s a trend and maybe even a way of life we are all succumbing to, by desire or by demand, it’s here for all to experience. “Eco-Ethical Living” is the latest buzz word for what used to be known as saving, growing, reusing, remaking and not wasting.

My parents grew up with that lifestyle, not so much by desire, but because everyone needed to live that way back then. Many families had gardens, not for the pure joy of growing lovely flowers and a few tasty vegetables, but because it was the family food. It was eaten fresh in the summer and preserved, canned, frozen and dried for the other seasons. It was necessary, but it was enjoyable as well. It forced patience and perseverance, but rewarded with a bounty from the earth.

Well, that way of living; growing your own garden, sewing your own clothes, graciously accepting hand-me-downs and even reusing wrapping paper a few times is lost to many of us now. Don’t get me wrong, I like the accessibility in my life. I like being able to get any fruit or vegetable at the market any month of the year. I like being able to find trendy clothes that can be purchased from a store only a few blocks from my home. I even like designing wrapping paper that I know people will use for only a few brief moments before being crumpled up and tossed into the trash after the gift is uncovered. Well, in all honesty, that one hurts a little!

I am grateful that we are fortunate enough to have these accommodations so accessible. Our lives are easier and better than any other generation before us. I don’t want to forget that. I don’t want to take advantage of that. I want to be respectful of what has come before us and I want to be conscientious of how I treat my world.


The collection Organic Fruitation I have been developing is designed to speak to that eco-ethical lifestyle. We need to be responsible for our earth, think about our actions, and find little ways to make a difference where we can. Go green or grow greens, but more than anything else, learn from those who came before us and put into practice something from their basic lifestyle which really was eco-ethically lived.




And don’t forget that you also need a little “confection” in your eco-friendly life. I’m sure Ben or Jerry would agree to that!

Nurture the gift you are given

Each year I make a new baby collection for the Surtex show in May. I have been working on a new collection called Sprout that is designed to appeal to those who have a strong desire to nurture, as well as an appreciation for nature.

As I developed the images for Sprout I wanted to incorporate a few babies into the art, as though they are the new beginnings or sprouts being nurtured. Something kept pulling me back to an image from my own childhood of my younger cousins who were born and being raised on a farm. On occasion we would receive snapshots in the mail of the little tikes, three in a row, always in order from oldest to youngest, bundled up in their little hoodies, no matter the season. Because we lived too far away to see each other often, this became the image of my farm cousins that would last even into the years when we all grew much too old for those kiddie snapshots.


Well, we are all grown now and some of us have had tikes of our own. Sadly, John, the little tike in the white hoodie was taken from us by cancer as a young man. I remember him fondly with an impish smile and a disposition that was sweet to the core. John will never be forgotten, and for me he will always be the inspiration and joy that brings meaning to Sprout.

These are some of the illustrations for Sprout. The image of the little tike in the flower pot in the upper left corner is how I remember John, with that little mischievous smile! Below is the collection of patterns developed for Sprout.


When you remember your own family, young and old, never forget to nurture those gifts you are given and you will always be blessed.

Gon Tiki

I have been working on another collection that started a few years back when I wanted to come up with a container to store the blades from my x-acto knife as they became dull. I had been working at a company with many other artists who has this same predicament. In a few locations throughout the building there were soda cans and water bottles marked to keep dull blades in. Now, come on, how artsy and creative is that? Not! So, I went to work creating our own handy boxes to contain the dull blades.


I designed the Tiki X-acto Protecto box. I wanted to do something in a tiki style and when researching tiki history I found that Tiki was known as the God of the Artist. How fitting. This little tiki box became the long needed protector of the artist, or at least the artist’s hands. If you look closely you will see the tiki bird’s tail feathers and beak and what they are made from.

The little tiki box style developed into a theme that I have now been able to create into a collection that will debut this spring for one of my clients. Here is a sneak peak at some of the patterns in the collection done in two different colorways.

Now it’s all Computing!

The time has finally arrived for the technical gizmos to complete the new studio. I have been able to use the studio for all of the cutting and pasting and organizing, but it is only now that we were able to move the computer and it’s many attachments into the studio. I know that this is a major task, but of course I have a technical guru who likes to get all of the tweaking done on this type of work. He’s done a great job, a number of things I can’t begin to comprehend. Lucky me, I didn’t just find a great husband, I got a bonus deal that comes with all of his technical expertise. How would you know that twenty years ago? Well, call it luck, call it fate, but what I know is that I called it right!

Far East, but not so far away!

I have been working on a collection that started a few years back when I had the opportunity to develop a few goodies for all of my teacher friends. We were having a teacher appreciation luncheon with asian food and I made each staff member a little take out box with fortune cookie, a tea bag container and a menu-thank you card. The little tiki box that you see in the photo was for another project, I will explain that another time.

That little asian set developed into a theme that I have now been able to create into a collection that will debut this spring for one of my clients. I will also be using it as a collection for the Surtex Show in May. Here is a sneak peak at some of the patterns in the collection done in two different colorways.