Today is launch day on the new mini-print line and I am so excited to finally share these pieces with you. This little collection is a bit different from my usual work. I've gotten to work with some different themes, subject matter, color schemes and inspirations and create something that I just love and wanted to see in the world.
This winter was a tough one for me, I battled through one of the biggest bouts of creative block I've had - and when your career is 100% dependent on your creativity and your ideas, creative block is quite a scary thing. I usually have a long list of ideas to work from in my notebook, but nothing was sticking and I just felt such a disconnect to those things - they weren't making me feel alive and excited in the way that I usually feel when I'm creating art. These pieces are the ideas that pulled me through that time. The concepts that popped into my head and gave me that jolt of creativity and imagination I had been craving during the dreary snowy winter months. These three prints are probably some of the most special, and absolutely the most personal, work that I have made or put out there and I truly hope that they resonate with all of you as much as they do with me.
I don't usually get very deep behind my pieces, they're usually just fun and silly and there's not much of a story to tell, but with these ones there is so much within each one of them that they truly feel so special and so unique in my body of work. The first piece, "Look On The Bright Side" can really be taken for what it is - finding positivity amongst the negative. These little lightning bugs are encased in a broken lightbulb and although that situation may not be ideal, they've found beauty and purpose within this space to light up the world. In every situation we face, even in the worst of times, there is always something that we can take from these experiences and circumstances to put our own light into the world, and I wanted to create something that encapsulated the beauty of even the smallest glimmer of hope in a rough time - whatever that means for you.
The second piece, and admittedly my favorite piece "Grow Your Own Way" is heavily inspired by the beautiful lyrics of Fleetwood Mac. I have loved them for as long as I can remember, and a few months ago "Go Your Own Way" came on shuffle and just struck me at the perfect moment. It was that thing of hearing exactly what you needed to hear, even though you didn't know you needed it and I felt the excitement and the awakening that I was hoping for during the months of feeling creatively drained. This was actually the first piece that I thought of and started for this collection, although it took the longest and was finished last. The concept, the imagery, everything about it felt so special to me that I had a hard time calling it "done". I am so happy with how this one turned out, and it is my favorite piece of artwork that I have created to date. I love the message, the imagery, and the challenge of drawing some hand lettering that had the inspiration and aesthetic of the 1970's in there too. The color scheme is light and playful and it just perfectly radiates everything that I wanted it to. During a time where I felt like I had to justify all of my actions and decisions for self-improvement and self-care to others who couldn't relate I had that striking realization of "no!" We do not need to justify our actions of betterment to anyone, we are all entitled and allowed to grow in our own way. We are all beautiful, and unique and special, and no two paths are going to look the same. This was the message that I needed to hear and I honestly am just so in love with the final product.
Finally, "You're Full of Magic" brings it all full circle. From finding the glimmer of hope, to planting your roots and growing, to recognizing the things inside of you that make you purposeful and magical, this collection just makes me so incredibly happy and tells a story of the past few months of my life and getting to this absolutely wonderful place that I am in now. We are always going to have ups and downs, all of us - no matter who you are or what walk of life you come from and that is not something we should be ashamed of. This mini-collection is all about celebrating that. Finding the light, and appreciating the strength that it takes to push through the bad times while basking in all of the beauty that is feeling your purpose and how refreshing and energizing it feels to be on the other side of a bad situation.
I am honestly just so thrilled to share these pieces with you, I hope that you all love them and find connection with them in your own way and that they can mean as much to you and help you through whatever you are going through too. I've always been about finding and creating beauty in the everyday and I feel like these three pieces just embody so much of that. I can't wait to hear what you all think!
All photography in this post by Brittany Viklund
I absolutely LOVE your new pieces girl!!! I love where they came from too. We all have been through stages like that so they are definitely relate able and so beautiful! Great job hun!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Jennifer, it means so much <3
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