Morning Glory Illustrated Quotation

Although I'm quite wary of a lot of the 'positive thinking' quotes that circulate on the social media, I think I am a generally a persistently optimistic person, which is not quite the same thing.

So I try to choose quotations to illustrate that convey a mood of optimism, as I hope this one does. I like the fact that it says 'some of Life's beautiful things . . .' - hinting at a possibility rather than claiming to know for a fact.

Please feel free to save and print this A4-sized,
high resolution image if you wish - or just 'pin' it!

Apart from being a quote from a book called 'Morning Glory', I felt this one was a very appropriate quotation for such a brilliantly coloured flower that can brighten up a dark corner of a garden, well into the autumn when the shade lingers longer. 

That's exactly how I think of Morning Glory flowers. 

I've only once succeeded in growing them; mine always seem to succumb to either the slugs or the frost, or possibly both. And that's why they gave me a lovely surprise the year when they did survive, blooming so brilliantly in a dark corner of my garden, well into September, after I'd given up hope of seeing them and forgotten I'd even planted them!

So this is for anyone who ever experiences 'dark moments' -

and I expect that includes almost everyone!

The (highly addictive) Joy of Pattern-making

Have you ever been told that you work too hard? Or that you spend too much of your time on a computer?

I have - and so, it seems, have many of my friends who are designers or pattern-makers. It's perfectly possible to get so absorbed in making patterns that the hours fly by, while the dinner burns in the oven, the washing gets soaked on the line - and our nearest and dearest start to feel decidedly neglected.

So is it the computer that draws our attention away from what's going on around us? Or is it the designing? 

I think it's probably a mixture of the two, though I do know people who work on computers all day who can't wait to get away from them at the end of the day; which seems to suggest that the designing is probably the main cause, especially if it involves making patterns.

What is it about pattern-making that is so absorbing, almost to the point of 'addiction'?

Is it the fact that our brains are hard-wired to make patterns? Partly.

Is it the fact that, unlike most other forms of art, pattern-making can constantly surprise us? I may think I am in charge of the plan for a pattern but what actually happens is that, at some point in the pattern-making process, unexpected effects, 'happy accidents', seem to occur quite frequently! I don't think I ever create a pattern without being, at least once, 'surprised by joy!'

And that's another thing - the designer, aided and abetted by sophisticated designing software, can experience pure joy whenever a pattern comes together in just the right way. 

But so can a landscape painter, a photographer or any creative person whatever creative activity they pursue . . .

So what is about pattern-making that is different? What makes is so absorbing that the hours disappear and nothing else seems to matter?

I think it is the 'what if?' element. 

We know that curiosity and the willingness to risk failure are components of creativity. Small children will try all sorts of things in the spirit of wondering, 'what if . . .?' "what if I colour my bedroom wall with my crayons?' "what if I mix up all the spices in the kitchen cupboard?" "what if I put the cat in the drawer and close it . . .?"

When we are absorbed in creating our patterns, in a sense we are back in our early childhood - but with the advantage of having an adult's ability to use a computer to extend and enhance our original ideas. And time becomes as irrelevant as it is to a small child who can't understand the urgency of getting to school on time!

Some adult thought has probably gone into the original design - like this one that I painted a few weeks ago.

But then, after scanning it and the tedious process of tidying it up and making the background transparent on the computer, we enter the magical world of 'what if . . .'

What if I try different background colours?

What if I take one of the little blue flowers and make it into a 'polka dot'?

What if I take the individual flowers and 'toss' them around to make a completely different, but coordinating pattern?

Stripes maybe? And even a plaid or a matching check gingham?

And then - what if I put some of them together in mix'n'match designs?

  

Or even a faux patchwork?

And then, maybe, just maybe, I can take a piece of the original painting and use it to make a border? I wonder whether that'll work . . . ?

Of course, I've made it look more straightforward than it probably is! It doesn't always run so smoothly. 

As well as 'happy accidents', there are the unexpected results that are far from welcome too! Finding patterns that work together can take time . . . and that's when other things can get neglected, as we wrestle with the 'ingredients' that we know will eventually fall into place, if we just keep working at it!

And then there's the placing the patterns on products - more 'what if?'s!

How will the border look on a teapot? Can I use the mix'n'match to make a greeting card . . .? What will the faux patchwork look like on a laptop sleeve?

Here's a pillow/cushion that I think came out quite well -

Nostalgic Blue Morning Glory Pillow or Cushion by poshandpainterly

Of course, I always hope that others will enjoy my 'creations' as much as I enjoy creating them.

.......

So if you are one of those people who suffer from a friend or family member getting so caught up in their pattern-making that you feel neglected, please don't take it personally! 

I very much hope that the process I have described here will go some way to helping you understand what's going on - and it may even, maybe, help you to share in the excitement and ultimately, the joy as well.

And if you are on the receiving end of grumbles about your 'obsession', don't let the negative remarks stop you doing what you love! Remember, nobody else can do what you do - your 'talent' is your gift to the world and, as Louise Hay said, 'somewhere, someone is looking for just what you have to offer'. 

Try to accept that a 'balanced' life may not be for you - in fact, I sometimes think that the concept of the 'balanced life' is probably the handy invention of those who lack the courage to embrace their talents whole-heartedly, never daring to ask 'what if?' - and that could never be said of you, could it?

If Early Man had listened to his wife and led a 'balanced life', if he had never allowed himself to to wonder, 'what if . . . ?' the wheel might never have been invented.

Now there's a thought!

September Birth Month Flower -

Morning Glory!

Lots of Gifts for the Home

over on

Mugs, Mousepads and More

A Lesson in Persistence!

The Morning Glory design turned into quite a lot of greeting cards:

It wasn’t quite the right shape, though, to make into a repeating pattern easily. And as a one-off, it was too tall and thin for some of the products I would have liked to create on Zazzle.

But I think it does look quite pretty on this tea pot 

Blue, White, Green Tea Pot, Morning Glories by helikettle

 - and on this Ladies T-shirt:

Blue, White, Green Ladies T-shirt, Morning Glories by helikettle

I was decidely premature last month in thinking that Spring had sprung. We’ve had a fair amount of sunshine in April, but biting cold winds and showers of rain, sleet and hail, with snow on the mountain tops!

Sadly, I think the pair of blackbirds who built their nest just outside my dining room were also caught out by the changeable weather. On Wednesday I had seen the two ‘chubbies’ sitting outside the nest and on Thursday morning one of them was on my back lawn with Father Blackbird.

But that was the last I saw of them and the nest remained empty all day.

Father Blackbird spent practically the whole of Friday, perched up high on my garage roof, giving out his warning song and by the time I closed my curtains in the evening, he was looking quite forlorn and bedraggled! Meanwhile, Mother Blackbird banged into my kitchen window whilst attempting to land in my window box where she often comes to peck out my seeds!

She seemed fine though the following morning, when I spotted her building a new nest, high up under the eaves of the house next door, where I can see it more clearly than the one under my honeysuckle bush. It’s a much bigger nest and it was finished by lunchtime, so she’s obviously learning from her experience. And Father Blackbird has been treating us to his usual beautiful song ever since!

What a lesson in persistence for all of us, when we are tempted to give up because of setbacks!

Somewhat inspired by her persistence, I made up my mind to tackle the December birth month flower, Poinsettia. I'd been putting it off because it didn’t feel like the right time of the year to be working on something so Christmassy.

I was also wondering how I could differentiate it from a Christmas card and I hope the solution I came up with – using a non-Christmassy colour for the pot and the lettering – will work.

Here it is, my Poinsettia painted paper collage, and it completes my set of birth month flower greeting card designs.

I’m sure I’ll also be using the image as a Christmas Card design and maybe a Christmas T-shirt or Apron? In fact, it’s not too soon to be uploading Christmas designs for next year from the search engine point of view . . .

Designs that look forward to summer!

This is how last week's repeating pattern turned out and although it was a lot of work, I’m really quite pleased with it!

Mock Orange and Weigela Melamine Dinner Plate by helikettle

Once again, I had to spend a lot of time digitally ‘tidying up’ so that the repeats matched up perfectly. I just wish I could work out why, however meticulous I am in my measuring and in spite of taking a lot of care with the painting, I can’t seem to get the pattern repeats to line up exactly with one another first time around.

I think, though, that all the work was worth it and for the first time I succeeded in making a large enough image to cover the whole area of a Messenger Bag in one piece, in spite of warning notices about running low on memory popping up frequently at the bottom of my screen!

Mock Orange and Weigela Messenger Bag by helikettle

I seem to have turned very ‘flowery’ recently but that’s mainly because I’ve set out to design Birthday cards with at least one  for each month’s Birth Flower. 

This weekend I’ve made a start on a Water Lily design, one of the designated Birth Month Flowers for July.

The alternative for July is Larkspur, a lovely cottage-garden flower, that, sadly, refuses to grow in my garden! For years I’ve sown the seeds in the spring but they never even germinate. So this year I’ve given up – though I did think about trying them in a large tub until I realised that the less time I spend in my garden, the better, especially now that my pear tree is in bloom.

This photo was taken a couple of springs ago, before I had so much trouble with the pollen

I still have a lot of work to do on these lilies – the leaves and centres need some detail and then there's the text to add. Sometimes, choosing the font can take me as long as painting the design!

Until I searched for some reference photos, I didn’t realise how complicated and irregular their pattern of petals was!  I would have much preferred to have done one of my rather impressionistic pastel paintings of water lilies, avoiding too much detail. But unfortunately, Monet got there first and I wouldn’t want to appear to be plagiarising!

Once these water lilies are finished, I’m left with just two more Birth Month Flower designs to work on – Poinsettias for December (can’t quite get in the mood yet!) and Morning Glories for September. 

That’s one I’m very much looking forward to! I particularly like bright blue flowers and I succeeded in growing some in a pot last summer by placing the pot on my garden table out of reach of the slugs and snails, who seem to head straight for them at ground level. They didn’t bloom until well into the autumn but by then they made a very welcome, cheerful splash of colour as other flowers faded - and they remained 'glorious' all day, not just in the mornings!

I think the way that Morning Glories grow, twining themselves around anything they can reach, could make for a lovely repeating pattern. But will I be able to come up with a design that can equally well serve as a Birthday Card?

Hmmm. I’ll have to give that one some thought . . 

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