Jenean Morrison: Art, Design and Inspiration

Moving Day!

Hello Readers!

Thank you so much for spending time here with me on my Typepad blog!  I appreciate all of your visits and all of your emails and comments more than you can possibly imagine!  I've decided to move my blog to my main website and I hope that you will all follow me to the new location:  www.jeneanmorrison.net.

I've been thinking about making this leap for a while and have recently read a few things (which I'll talk about on the new blog) that have prompted me to make this move.  Until a short while ago, I had been maintaining two websites (one for my designs, one for my other artwork) and this blog.  I decided to combine the two artwork websites into one and since I am using Squarespace and they have a blogging feature, I've decided to do my blogging on that site as well.  Although I have a link to my website in the sidebar, I've noticed that people rarely visit the site.  I would like for readers to see more of what I am about and I think it will be nice to have all of my art and my blogging under one roof!

If you have subscribed to my blog (THANK YOU!), please make note of the new location because I don't want to lose you.  And if you have bookmarked me, please update your bookmarks.  Oh, and if you have been so kind as to link to me, would you mind updating that, too?  I bet you didn't think that my move would be so much work for you!

I will keep this blog up for a while with this post on the main page so you will know where to find me but eventually I'll be deleting this blog entirely.  I was able to import all previous entries so all of the posts you've seen here will be viewable on the new blog although, just a warning, some of the comments got out of order in the translation.  I also haven't had a chance to add my links yet, but I will get to that soon!

It is a little scary moving away from Typepad and blogging in a new location.  I feel like I've gotten to know so many of you and I'll miss you terribly if you don't visit the new blog!  In a way, though, this feels like a fresh start and I am looking forward to a new beginning.  I have struggled with finding a voice at times and I want to be more thoughtful in my blog posts and provide more interesting content.  If you have any suggestions about what you'd like more (or less) of on the new blog, I'd love to hear!  I get a lot of emails from other artists and designers who want to know more about getting started so I thought I might share what I know and talk more about my experiences (so far) in this career.  I also plan to share more of my knowledge about design.

One last thing:  Do you guys remember that post where I said I was going to stop apologizing and downplaying my work and instead post about it with pride and confidence?  It seems I forgot that and quickly fell back into my old habits.  Well, this time I mean it!  I'm going to focus on the positive and all of the great things I have to offer so I plan to unapologetically share more art!

Thanks again for spending time with me here!  Now get on over to the new blog and let's hang out!

Jenean

Drawing, Not Talking

I don't know why, I'm just not feeling that talkative today.  I'll let these drawings speak for me instead.

 

I hope you guys are doing well!  Any fun plans for the holidays?

More Happy Mail!

This arrived in the mail this morning!

 

My mom makes holiday ornaments every year and decided to make one using California Dreamin'. I'm so happy to have it this time of year because it looks so cool against the beautiful fall background!

Thanks, Mom!  I LOVE it!!

Cloudy Day, Bright Art

The last 8 days have been packed with sunshine here in Memphis, but as of this morning the clouds are back.  I already miss the sunshine!

Guess that is why I gravitated to such a colorful palette this morning!  Hope you guys have a great week!

Outside

Joel and I got a new roof on the house this week so guess what that meant for me?  I turned off my computer, got out from behind my desk and went out into the world!  It was so noisy with all the work going on that it would have been impossible to work.  Still, I probably would have stayed here and tried had it not been for Joel's encouragement to leave the house.  We went to the park and, wow, I should get out of the house more often!

 

It was SO beautiful out there!  And it was nice spending time with Joel.  We spend a lot of time together but one or the other of us is usually distracted by work.  I think the time we spent together this week could be considered "quality time".  And it was nice to have a little quality time with nature as well!

I guess I am a bit of a workaholic.  I know that I work a lot, but it wasn't until we stepped out into the great outdoors that it hit me how important it is to leave the house and get away from work every now and then!

I hope you have a great weekend!  Me?  I'm thinking about relaxing.  And maybe leaving the house again!

Happiness in the Mail!

I got a great surprise in the mail yesterday... a new scrapbook kit I designed for Publications International!

It is so fun to see my designs on real products!!

It comes with lots of different papers, stickers, labels... all kinds of fun stuff!

I can't wait to play around with it! 

Hope you guys are having a great week!

More Prints!

I've created a few more prints and I've already put them in the shop!  I'm still working on getting the Gocco prints listed.  The lack of sunshine around here is preventing me from getting some good pictures.  Still, I hope to get everything photographed and listed over the weekend.

 
These are digital prints on really nice, heavyweight inkjet paper.  I love how they look framed!

I really appreciate all the kind words about the new fabric collection and the new work.  You guys are so great!  I thank every one of you for taking the time to stop by this blog.  Your support and kind words mean so much to me!

Take care and I hope you have a wonderful weekend! 

New Gocco Prints

I've dusted off the Gocco machine and created some new prints!  I'm sure I've said this before, I just love switching from one type of art to the other.  It is nice to take a break from designing patterns and do something else that I love!  And I think it is good for my brain to explore different areas of art.  These were all made from original drawings.  I plan to have them listed in the Etsy shop soon!

You probably can't tell from these photos, but I used metallic ink so the images have a nice shine to them.

Here is the same print on black paper:

And one more:

Have a good evening, everyone!  I'm heading out for dinner with the husband so it should be a lovely night.  Bye for now! 

Another Great Trip to Market!

Hi guys!  I've missed you!  Please forgive me for taking so long between posts.  Sometimes when I travel it takes me a while to unwind and get back in the swing of things.  But I feel well-rested now and ready to go!

Well, Quilt Market was wonderful, as usual!  I got to see lots of old friends and I met a ton of nice new people!  I didn't get as many pictures as I would've liked, but I have a few to share with you!  Here is the quilt that Free Spirit had made for their booth.  I just love it!!  I love that it seamlessly blends both colorways and really highlights the medallions! 

 

Here I am in the Free Spirit Finished Products booth:

I'm holding one of the fabric-covered journals that matches my dress!

Oh, yeah... and check out the dress!!  I made it!  Yes, you read that right!  I sewed this with my own two hands (and a sewing machine) (oh, and some parental supervision)!

 

I used this pattern, but couldn't conquer the collar so I improvised with some ribbon instead. 

The collar was a little advanced for me.  I'll have to work my way up to that!

These are some of my Schoolhouse props, patiently waiting for their time in the spotlight.

And here are the dolls, hanging out in the classroom wearing their gorgeous dresses designed and created by Valentine Westphal!!!

Don't they look cute?!?

Giving my schoolhouse was SO much easier this time around!  A couple of things happened that made it all go a lot smoother than the last time.  First, my wonderful husband was with me and just having him near me really calmed me down.  And he helped with everything from setting up to passing out brochures and holding up the quilts during the presentation.  I'm pretty sure I'm going to need him at all future schoolhouses!  Second, the schoolhouse before mine was canceled, so I was able to get into the room 20 minutes before the class started.  This gave me more than enough time to set up so there wasn't the usual stress of trying to do it all in five minutes.  Third, having given a schoolhouse before I kind of knew what to expect so it wasn't nearly as scary.  And finally, the crowd was so friendly and responsive that it made me really relaxed.  I felt like I was in a room full of friends and we were all just hanging out!  The room was just as friendly when I gave my presentation in Pittsburgh, but I was so overwhelmed by it all that I didn't get to appreciate it as much.  This time I was able to really look at people and make eye contact and I felt a genuine connection.  It was very, very nice!  A special thank you to a most wonderful audience!

My apologies for making this Quilt Market recap all about me, me, me!  I saw so many beautiful booths but I didn't take any pictures this time!  I've seen some amazing market coverage, however, so I'm going to put up a few of those links for you.

I can't believe I missed seeing these girls, but it looks like they had a great time:  Craft Apple.

I love that Julie has an entire blog specifically dedicated to her yearly trips to market:  Julie at Quilt Market.

Jona from Fabritopia consistently has the best market recaps!  Her coverage is fabulous and she got some great pictures of Ashley's amazing quilts being shown during my schoolhouse!  She also said she has ordered the entire California Dreamin' line and she's expecting it next week!!  Stop Staring and Start Sewing!

As always, True Up has some fabulous photos and great recaps!  And there is much, much more to see at Show & Tell, Mod Kid Boutique, Ever Kelly, Fabric Family Fun, Confessions of a Craft Addict, and Juicy Bits!  I thought I had a few more sites bookmarked but this is all I can find right now.  Lots of great stuff to look at!!

It was so nice to see so many friends again and I loved meeting so many new people!  Thanks to everyone for making these experiences so fun and memorable!!   Can't wait to see you all again!

Off to Market!

I'll be taking a little blogging break while I head to Quilt Market in Houston this week with my new fabric line!

 

I'm looking forward to seeing lots of the friends I've met at past markets and online.  I've been a little slow with the Twitter updates lately, but I'm going to do my best to tweet from market, so if you'd like to follow me you can find me at twitter.com/jeneanmorrison.

I'll be giving a Schoolhouse Friday afternoon from 2:50-3:05 in Room 382B.  The awesome Tina Givens will be giving her presentation in the same room right before me.  And Jane Sassaman, who was such a great help to me at my first market, will be giving her Schoolhouse right before Tina.  So come to the room around 2:10 and stay for a while!  I hope to see you there! 

The Quilts Have Arrived...

And they are gorgeous!!  Ashley from Film in the Fridge made three wonderful quilts for me to take to Quilt Market next week and I love them SO much!  I can't stop looking at them!  How's a girl supposed to get anything done around here?

This quilt was made using the "Venice Beach" colorway from "California Dreamin'".  The cute pillows were kindly made for me by my wonderful mom and my equally wonderful aunt!

 

Here is the back of the quilt... I love these stripes!

Ashley added the selvedge to the back of the mini-quilt.  It really is my own personal quilt!  I hope to get some shots of the quilt in its entirety and I'll photograph the green one soon, too.  Okay, back to daydreaming while I enjoy my new quilts!

Thank You, Film in the Fridge!!

Ok, if you haven't already been, please immediately go to Film in the Fridge and check out the wonderful, fabulous, absolutely amazing quilts Ashley made for me to take to Quilt Market!!  I'm so excited about them!  They should be arriving any day now so I had planned to take my own photos, but she has such gorgeous photos on her site, that you must, must, must see them all!  Here are a couple I pulled from her blog:

I'm seriously drooling this morning!  Wait until you see what she did on the backs of these!

I'm completely getting ahead of myself and need to backtrack a little.  I've been a fan of the Film in the Fridge blog for quite some time and am a huge fan of Ashley's quilts.  I contacted her to see if she could do two quilts for me, one in each of the colorways of California Dreamin'.  These quilts have completely exceeded my expectations and I haven't even seen them in person yet!  Ashley was also kind enough to make a mini-quilt, which looks just as awesome, and you can view it here.

Thank you so much, Ashley!  I'll be on my front porch watching for the mailman until these arrive!

Just a side note... I've decided I want to move to South Burlington, Vermont.  Or at the least, I'd like to vacation there very soon!

Peaceful Painting

I've spent the last month or so working like crazy to get ready for Quilt Market.  My new fabric line is coming out and that means brochures, the Schoolhouse, Schoolhouse giveaways, projects... lots and lots of stuff to do!  I've even been sewing!!  Yes, you read that right!  I sewed a dress and so far it hasn't fallen apart.  Of course, I haven't worn it anywhere yet.  Maybe I should try it out around the house before I wear it to market, just to make sure it will stay in one piece while I move around! 

While you might expect this post to contain photos of all my hard work, I'm saving that for next time.  This post is about what I do to stay calm during the stressful moments.  I've kept a painting in the floor of my studio and I've turned to it all throughout this month.  Painting relaxes me and gives me time to collect my thoughts and step away from the craziness.  Just a few minutes a day calms me down and once I've had a little break I find it much easier to focus on the day's tasks.

I think working with these soothing, calming colors has been a great help.

The house is all nice and tidy, so here are a couple of shots of the painting in its new spot:

It looks good there, don't you think?  Of course, I have a million of my own paintings, so maybe it would look better in your house!  I'll be listing it in my Etsy shop soon! 

Designing Happy

Hillary at Designing Happy is doing some really fun things with Picnic Parade!  She answered my call for help a while ago when I was looking to have some dresses made from Cynthia Rowley patterns.  She and Dana at House of Roux both made some really fabulous dresses for me; I'll be sharing some pics of those soon!  For now, take a look at these fun things Hillary has made with the leftover pieces of fabric!

I've linked all of the pictures back to her blog because not only has she made all of this cute stuff, she has provided awesome tutorials for each project!!

I adore these embellished jeans! 

And this rug is my absolute favorite!!

Thank you, Hillary!!  I just love all of this! 

Rugs!

Hi there!  I hope your week is going well!  A big thank you to Jennifer Bertrand for sharing her story last week.  Don't forget that the fundraiser for Winston is coming up this weekend!  Here's a link to that site:  http://24forwinston.blogspot.com.

Today I'd like to share these rugs that I designed for The Rug Market.  I shared these on my Facebok page last week, so I apologize to my Facebook friends for the repeat post, but I must share them again here because I'm SO excited about them!  I think the blue one is my favorite!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've been busy, busy, busy this week and have tons of more work to do so I'm making this a quick post and I'll post again once I get caught up!  Bye for now!