of rooftops and pickle jars

do you remember the metaphoric safe i had stored all my work in? it just burst open! in a nutshell: i decided it's better to share my work than to sit on it. so i started a tumblr sketchbook, which i have been updating with a doodle everyday.

so what happened? first, common sense. who's going to care that i am making things if i don't show them to anyone? second, i came across this book by austin kleon, "show you work", in which, among many others, i found this motivating quote by dan harmon:

"find your voice, shout it from the rooftops, and keep doing it until the people that are looking for you find you."

i am currently working on patterns with fruits, and here are some oranges from my sketchbook:

oranges

when a person doesn't make use of something they own, in armenian we ask them, "are you making pickles with it?" if i don't want my oranges to become pickled ones, i'd better shout them from my rooftop.

shouting from the rooftops.

throwing out of the pickle jar.

bursting the safe open.

just show your work!

great news!

yes, i have great news to share! and no, it's not another baby. or maybe it is. 

so here it is: my submission to the UPPERCASE magazine surface pattern design guide was accepted! it means my designs will be published in the magazine i can't stop reading and looking at! every page of it unravels a new treasure, and now my work will be on one of those pages!!!! these might seem like too many exclamation marks, but given how happy i am, they're not even close!!!!!!!!!!

cover courtesy of Uppercase magazine. cover art by Jan Avellana

what's more: i will be in amazing company. in addition to the other 99 designers who were selected, there will be expert advice from Lilla Rogers, teNeues publishing, Print and Pattern, and my design hero, Lotta Jansdotter, to name a few.

i honestly can't wait to get my copy. i know it will be packed with valuable information, it will be beautifully designed, and it will be a great read. to find out more about the issue,  you can watch the video below where the editor, publisher, and designer Janine Vangool discusses its content, and also shares great tips on how to stand out in the crowd in surface pattern design. and apparently, i have a point of view. watch the video, you'll see what i mean.

and here comes the best part! consider yourself lucky to have read this: you can use the code "USPDG2014" and get a $15 discount off your subscription. just go here. you will not regret it.

so how was this for great news? it's wonderful news, if you ask me. minus the sleepless nights.