New Year Has Begun: a Perspective on Resolutions

With the New Year beginning it is time to check in once more and see where I was a year ago and where I want to be a year from now. I don't feel like my resolutions are in fact the life altering go from zero to a hundred type but more like am I on track?... What can I do better? ... How has what I've done fit into my goals and are my goals still the same... What can I do to move forward

Warning! This shit is going to get personal.
I want to be a Surface Pattern Designer and Illustrator...

The Next few Images are chronological order to give you some idea of where I came from!

One of the very first handmade Repeats I ever made, uploaded to Ai
and loosely put together. Late 2013

Original on vellum (Still a favourite drawing surface).

What have I done this past year to make that happen? I have developed mad Illustrator Skills- I never believed that I could learn such a complex thing. For 2016 I want to make it part of my daily routine... Practice Practice Practice. My family has been priority number one and often I use that as a distraction to not practice, so developing my skills has been a tad slow and I have not seen the results I always want. So in 2016- make more time for myself. Yes kids that means more chores!

Figured out how to clean it up early 2014

And turn it into a repeat!

By 2015 it was a matter of practice!

Early 2015

Spring 2015

October 2015

Style is another area I felt that was lacking- I have a personal style but had not had an illustrative style- I have always been here there and everywhere picking up on on different mediums, trying new techniques, in truth my drawing style has always been more lifelike renderings... I have had in the past wanted perfection- I have a personal mantra: If you can do it right then don't do it at all. Meaning don't do a job half assed (for me it is all about craftsmanship) but somewhere I started using it as a cop out to not do things I was not good at and I was limiting myself to only doing what I knew. So this year I started playing around which led to doodling and letting go. And it turns out I was still doing the best job I could do but it was different. Through experimentation I discovered I do have a natural drawing style that feels somewhere between a doodle and accurate representation, that is both slightly quirky and realistic. It also reflects my interests in food, drink, travel, minimalism and abundance. In 2016 I want to see that grow and turn into a solid body of work that I can call my signature style.

Turns out I love black and white!
I also love color but that is for another post.

In 2015 I said I want to be a Surface Pattern Illustrator, this year I am declaring this is who I am. I need to present that to the world. By honing my in on my strengths, skills and developing my style. My outward goal for 2016 it build my brand, sell myself and get a gigs... Personally I want to pay for a house cleaner and buy a Shasta camper, but hey I will take doing what I love, feeling fulfilled and contributing to my family, being a positive role model and good example as a job well done.

PS... I added the images after I wrote the post and I can see that I have had a slightly similar aesthetic all along!

How to Follow on Instagram?!

I have been working on my Instagram Persona, switching it up a bit. I have been reading several how to get more followers (I am an artist and I want to show off my art!) on Instagram type posts on various blogs, many sharing their own experience and the general concenous is:

My current profile picture.. love the bleached white against the blue background!

1. Keep business with business (but show that you are real person) Family may be interested in what I am doing but they do not want to be inundated with process, product and inspiration shots. So I am going to try the two account thing. If you follow me on my personal account I invite you to head on over to my Scrappy Carp account. I will be making my MeganHCarroll account private. 
2. Follow Inspirational people, whose style you gets you motivated! Some of my favorites people who I look to each day for inspiration are @goinghometoroost-Surface and Pattern Designer, @mathewland- local Pacific North West Photographer, whose images are stunning, @lisacongdon- visual artist and illustrator and friend @ColettePenketh- makes beautiful frilly things for brides!
3. Comment and share the Love! (see above list)
4. People want to see process and have a little sense that they know who you are- PS I love food and wine so you are probably going to see a little bit of both- but don't worry I won't share every meal!
5. Beautiful Images, people who use Instagram are visual people. Give them what they want. 

I hope to see how this advice helps as I start my new account! And please share tips of your own! 

A new leaf.....

I am turning over a new leaf... well actually it is an old leaf, in the form of lots and lots of doodles, drawings, inspiration, memes ect and so on... if you are an artist or a creative OF ANY KIND you know what I am talking about... it is this the reams and reams of paper you collect with little tiny ideas or big ones. It is the work in progress- The eureka moment!!! Sometimes that moment loses momentum and well you're left with a random scraps, a half thought- something that you will save for later.

In love with this motif, I have revisited it a lot of times for borders.

Well later has come and and I have decided to get off my butt and  and do something with all those little ideas- and maybe just maybe you can do something with them too. Each time I discover one of these half form ideas I am re inspired and taken back to the original thought- I love discoveries, even if they are rediscoveries!

So bright!

Introducing Clip Art... Maybe it is just the thing you needed for your scrapbooking project or you just want to make a little inspirational card for someone and you just need the right the illustration to embellish your thought.... whatever have you I thought I would share some of my best little drawings with you. I want to let them out into the world to live and breathe as their own thing.  So please follow along as I add more and illustrations to my Shop on Etsy!!!

Remember these are for personal use, if you want more information, colours, designs etc I am happy to help or even if you want to add them to a pattern or use them for commercial use contact me.

Better late than never....

I've been trying to post once a day to keep me accountable,

but not only that, to keep me inspired.

Thinking constantly about what it is I love and what 

I want to do is keeping me engaged with my creative

side.

So even though this post is late, 

it is better than never.

I wanted to do a quick share of an upcoming project

with my beach combing finds yesterday....

There may be a little Macramé action going on.

Ps... Truth be told I am drinking wine and eating good food,

on a mini getaway with my husband 

(shh don't tell him I am blogging). 

I am posting this in between decadent meals

at wildly hip restaurants!!!

In my Sketchbook inspiration for print and pattern.

In my Sketchbook, ideas for print and pattern. 

One of the best sources of inspiration can be found in your everyday life.

This summer we added a pond to our back yard with a few Lilly pads, 

lotus flowers and large fancy Gold fish.

The Best time of day was sitting around the pond in the evening, floating candles watching our fish catch the tiny bugs that would inspect the water. 

Scrappy Carp Card

  You can find my fish illustrations on simple blank cards in the Scrappy Carp Etsy shop.

Looking for your own inspiration?

Tomorrow I will be starting a new class... Seven Days of Paper Love!

Join me and share what you create!

Make Today Count

What will you do today?

I would like to add to that...And Everyday!

This is what I doodled while watching Lisa Congdon's Becoming a Working Artist! 

Behind each pen mark is a thought, a word that resinated with me... Something that inspired me. Just listening and doing Lisa's activities, her message and the impact of the audience makes me want to make every second of today and everyday Count.

A Reason to Love the Process

One of the reasons I love doing things by hand is because of the results... Because you never know what you are going to get! I work both  digitally and completely by hand. From Silkscreening, Block printing to Hand dying fabric. Every process is something treasure and quite often my finished product is not what I had imagined. Here are my most current experiments with Shibori.

A simple  Running stitched resist, to make long stripes!

I used old scratched Up CD's to make large dots!

This was the most interesting.

 I folded it in half, one side as a triangle and the 2nd

side in a rectangle.

Really only the top runner stitched example was the one that came out most like planned, the Second and third examples were truly experiments though they too came out close to what I thought they may look like, just less striking than my imagined goal...

And Speaking  of Goals! I have been working hard on pattern and surface design, this passion is leading down roads I never knew where possible, my little shop Scrappy Carp Living is growing growing growing and my soft opening goal was to add 30 items! I did that last Friday. To celebrate I am having a soft opening sale. Please go check it out... Give me feed back, tell me what you think, what would you like to see added? and yes Clothing is coming soon.... I will have a Hard Opening at a later date.... Like any good restaurant, there are still kinks to work out, but I will announce that at a later date.

If you are so inclined please check out Scrappy Carp Living, enjoy a 15% off couponcode SOFTOPENING on all purchases over $5 until August 10/14 .... You will find more Shibori, Scarves, Macrame and Block Printed treats.