Fun-A-Day: 1.3.11 - 1.6.11

We're tearing this shiz UP.

by Sarah (Whale)

by Sarah (Whale)

by Elizabeth (Squid)

by Sarah (Whale)

by Elizabeth (Squid)

by Elizabeth (Squid)

by Elizabeth (Squid)

by Sarah (Whale)

Fun-A-Day: 1.2.11

painted by Elizabeth (the Squid)

painted by Elizabeth (the Squid)

Fun-A-Day: 1.1.11

painted by Elizabeth (the Squid)

For our Fun-A-Day, we'll be making 30 (or more) small gouache paintings (5"x7"). These paintings are the basis of our upcoming "Cheaters" collection, a collection based off of "cheater" style fabrics.

painted by Sarah (the Whale)

Happy New Year!
<3 SquidWhale

"Cheaters" collection underway ...

Beth and I are working on a collection of original prints inspired by this unusual vintage quilt top (purchased at the wonderful shop, Harriet's Daughter, on Etsy) and cheater quilt fabrics.

 

Determining a palette ... still life with gouache tubes and some sketches by Beth

We'll be exhibiting 30 gouache paintings similar to the ones you see above in the fantastically fun annual art event, Fun-A-Day! You can participate in Fun-A-Day, too! Sign up at http://artclash.com/

We've also begun to list items in our new nautical vintage section, The Sea Shanty! Check it out!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
XOXOXO
Squid & Whale

Note Card Preview!

Hey guys! Just finished working my wizardry on the ol' Photoshop for upcoming note card sets we're rolling out in the next week. Printed by our local friends, Fireball Printing, and packaged with love and care from my partner, Whale, these cards will be perfect for the holidays, but also for any sort of occasion where you'd like to correspond in the olde-fashioned manner of the actual hand-written sentiments. One set is from our TURKEY RED collection of textile patterns, the other taken from these rare book plates we found while thrifting that we've curated into our collection.

Now, the preview:

Ok, luv ya!
Squid

MAJOR PROGRESS

Whale here with my first-ever blog post!



This has been a week of MAJOR PROGRESS at SquidWhale h.q. We've finally delved into working in color (gouache painting yes!) and went on our first flea market adventure together to hunt for vintage inspiration.

Let me start by saying that I am a fine artist by training and it is not easy for me to work in the way that Textile Designers do. I usually rely heavily on layering of wet and dry media, on rigorous mark making (ok, scribbling) and a lot of adding and subtracting. My drawing tools are filthy with graphite powder.

After much erasing, re-drawing, checking my measurements and much encouragement from Squid, I finally finished the contour line drawing of my first surface pattern design. Here, it's inset into our 4 ft. wide medallion of abstract florals:



















To prepare for painting my whole motif with gouache on board which is quite large, I started with just these two little plaid mice. They're seen with some of Squid's designs for our first collection:

Our designs amidst some of our vintage inspiration found at the flea market on Saturday. Please note the color litho plates from a 1939 edition of French Costumes. They're fantastic and will most likely be for sale in the SquidWhale Designs Etsy shop come June or July:

















Detail of the most amazing hankie that echoes our color palette and design choices:

















And lastly, a little vintage embroidered linen table cloth and leather-topped wooden table for our installation. I plan to embroider a few scurrying mousies onto the table cloth. They'll weave in and out of the black-eyed susans and the french knots that look, curiously enough, just like little mouse turds...






















More soon! Thanks for stopping by!

<3 SquidWhale Designs

The Learning Curve

So, in our trials and tribulations of setting up shop and all, we're learning a lot, and fast. Whale is new to the whole business of "textile design", though she's nurtured a long and passionate love affair with the printed fabric and it's many applications (you can see her penchant for vintage calicos in her Etsy shop as well as her own unique stylistic eye). As her counter-part, I'm lucky to have earned a degree in Textile Design and thus am able to help her achieve her goals (as well as mine). Also, I'm relearning a lot of things I'd thought I'd forgotten from my college daze, and all the while the voices of my hallowed instructors ring out in my head, their advice mostly of the sassy and endearingly bitchy sort, which always makes me smile (and of course, work harder).
Additionally, new technologies like digital printing have become much more accessible and affordable than they were when I was in school, This is forcing me to learn a lot about color calibration and such. The fabric below is a color chart we printed out with our fabric printer's facilities. It is going to save us so much frustration and time and money!

The possibilities are endless!

Whale's first design is deceptively complex.

Looking over what we are cooking up, we are both very excited about what's coming. As Whale and I learn and relearn the many nuances of achieving a cohesive and conceptually strong textile print, we only make our future endeavors that much easier.

Next up we'll be getting into the hand-painted part of our work. We'll sneak-peek them for you all in the next couple of weeks!

<3 SquidWhale Designs

A Full Day in the Laboratory

Sarah L. Hunt hard at work on her very first repeated print.

Sarah measuring & remeasuring for accuracy.

An overview of our 4ft. wide one-off wallpaper print.

Elizabeth J. Smith tracing all the little details of the design.

All of this will be revealed in full glory June, 2010 at Midwives Collective & Gallery!