this blogging thing is a good thing

i had big plans for today, like finishing the moodboard for my 50's inspired floral collection. but for some reason i woke up at 3am and couldn't go back to sleep. all day i couldn't wait for my daughter to nap, so that i could nap myself, which i did, but not before painting this tab for my photo box.

september tab for photo box

if i didn't have this blog, i don't think i would have found the energy to draw even one raindrop! i wanted to have something to share at the end of the day. i could write 5 posts about how much fun we had with my daughter today, but that's not what this blog is about. i am very happy that blogging kept me somewhat motivated even when all i wanted to do was sleep.

good night. 

seashells in the snow

it's been snowing since mid-morning, so daycare was closed today, which means i didn't have as much time as i thought i would. my plan to create new work will have to wait until tomorrow. this doesn't mean that we slacked all day (slack we did, just not all day)! we made this clay tablet with my daughter, something i had been meaning to since we came back from greece last summer. we pressed the seashells she had collected into a slab of clay, and it made us dream of summer.

seashell project

speaking of summer, i'm glad i was able to work on the june/july/august tabs for the photo box. three more tabs to go and i can cross this one off my list!

summer months photo box tabs

i am reminded of an important decision i have to make

the photo box project is slowly advancing. i am working without thinking too much, and that's always fun.

may tab for photo box (april tab in background)

painting these flowers reminded me of this illustration i had done a few years back for a kids' magazine (see below). which in turn reminded me that i still need to add a mini portfolio page of my illustrations on this blog. currently, you can see my illustrations on alikart.com (in need of a massive update). 

flower | march 2010 

i need to figure out how to present my surface pattern collections and illustrations side by side on the same website...would they work together or should i have separate websites? it's a good question, to which i am hoping to find an even better answer asap!

30 minutes

today started lazy and ended crazy, and i'll spare you the details. what matters is i did manage to squeeze in half an hour of painting, and i am one small step closer to finishing the tab project i started yesterday. i have been working on these without any prior plan or sketch, something i am not used to, and i am enjoying the freedom that comes with the knowledge that these will end up in a box that will be opened mostly by me.

march tab for photo box

it finally happened: i have a blog

this blog is not about my personal life, but i am starting it for personal reasons; i am starting this blog to make sure i keep on creating something every day. as the mother of a 2 year old girl, and  with another baby joining us in a couple of months, i am anxious that my time and energy will soon drain into the black hole of everyday moments. and although i cherish these moments, i am not fully satisfied with my day unless i have designed, made, painted something, or at least spent time thinking about it. how will this blog help me?  i am hoping a few daily lines or images documenting my work, inspirations, process, ideas or plans will keep me focused on what i love to do. it will give me the sense, however delusive, that i am in control of my day, my life. and that will make me happy. 

i love to make lists and here's one about my goals for the first months of 2013.

• i just opened a little Etsy shop, which was my goal for january. that's done. you can take a look at it here. 
• february's goal was to start a blog, and that's also done.
• need to complete work on 10 pattern collections by march. working on it.
• march 15 is the day when my website needs to be launched. not even close.
• and then i'll have this baby around april first. that's inevitable. then we'll go from there...

to do list, january 2013

and what was i up to today? i started painting these tabs to separate each month's photos in last year's photo box. i think they're more fun than the plastic ones that came with the box. should have more of them tomorrow evening, hopefully.

january tab for photo box (written in armenian)