Spirit Girl + My Work and Process + Four Amazing Women

Spirit Girl, 2014, digital illustration

Welcome. I'm sharing a bit about my work and process, then featuring several amazing women I admire. This is a blog hop of sorts (some will continue on with a post of their own). Keep on reading. 

What am I working on/ writing?

Spirit Girl – A recent illustration. She will grow into more – I'm not sure what just yet.
A painting – Truth Journey.
Building out my surface pattern design collection.
Developing more artful products & accessories, and getting them into more boutiques.
Discovering beautiful truths in myself and in others.
Documenting my journey.

How does my work/ writing differ from others of its genre?

Words are a big part of how I identify in the world. But not entirely in the traditional writer sense. I'm more of a visual artist in love with the strength and beauty of words. I'm a creative soul that layers words into my experience but rarely writes anything to completion. I use words to convey my deepest truths and journey. I use them in blog stories, in paintings, in typography experiments where the letters don't spell anything literal but instead hold space and energy. I once wrote poetry. Lots of it. Now my writing is less structured, abstract fragments that find their way into the artful pieces of my life. Words and visuals go hand in hand for me. It is hard to connect to something without having access to both. This is where mixed media art comes in - it brings both to life.

So what else. My work has an intensity to it, but a gentle intensity. It's not dark. But it's not really light either. There is a femininity to my work that's almost nostalgic. It's driven by beauty but also by the complexity of our experience. It's about real things,  emotions, struggles and growth that isn't easy. It's a mirror of the journey I'm on and what I witness in others around me. Sometimes it's easy to look at and take in, sometimes it's not. Yet it's always beautiful. Beautiful to look at in some way and beautiful to feel the impact it has on you. That's essential to me.

And one more thing. I play a lot with space – white space, negative space, the contrast between clusters of colour/ texture/ movement and the surrounding space. This comes from my designer persona and carries over into all my work.

Story, 2014, mixed media painting (inspired by this dear friend)

Why do I write/ create what I do?

I paint faces and I create intricate beautiful visual patterns. And I blog about it. This is what I am compelled to do. I've studied art, I've played in all the mediums, I've explored other subject matter, I've had other careers, and this is where home is for me. Capturing those small moments on a face, those moments that equal a life lived. Capturing the beauty of organic lines woven together to create pleasing patterns and spaces. That's where the beauty is for me.

I write about my experiences to feel part of something bigger than myself. I share who I am and I'm drawn to others doing the same. This is one of the biggest human motivations - to be connected. And I document my life and my growth and give myself a place to come to when I'm ready for the next step or feeling lost or simply reflecting and looking back on the time passed. My blog and my artwork has become my reference point and introspection tool. Plus it's a great way to capture inspirations to inform future work.  

two of my recent surface pattern designs

 

 

 

How does my writing/ creative process work?

I have creative blitzes. My instincts are there when I write or paint. I'm usually brewing over something that's close to my heart – an experience, an emotion, a big shift or a challenging period in my life. I'm pouring my heart out. And that's the heart of my process. I have creative outpourings followed by periods of silence. I honour that. I trust it.

Each creation begins as it needs to. Sometimes I have a plan, sometimes inspiration leads the way. And all of my work is layered with metaphor and depth of emotion. I am most in flow when I work at night and when I make time for frequent inspiration gathering excursions (like this, and this). And when I take time to be in nature.

Here are some peeks at my painting process and some great in-flow creative blitzes (and another one). Yup, it's like a tornado hitting. ;)

 
Now, meet these amazing, talented, inspiring women who I truly admire. Each of these women have heart and soul and are elevated in the quality of their work. So much to learn from each of them. 

Laly Mille is a French artist who lives near Tours, in the Loire Valley of France. Her soulful paintings and poetic assemblage pieces invite you to listen to your dreams. Laly is also currently working at a nursing home where she facilitates creativity and art workshops for the elderly. You can find her on Facebook or visit her blog at www.lalymille.com. Her beautiful artwork is featured in the July/August 2014 edition of Somerset Studio, the popular artist’s magazine.

Laly has become a cherished friend and creative ally over the past couple of years (though we've never met face to face – she's in France, I'm in Canada). Her soulful art and her positive caring spirit move me deeply. She invited me to do this blog hop.

Stephanie Ryan – Artist and Designer
Stephanie Ryan is an artist and designer with 20+ years of experience in the product development field. With her vivid watercolors, soul soothing garden scenes & prolific style, she’s routinely lent her talents to leading companies like Lenox, Waterford Wedgwood  and HomeGoods. Stephanie’s art centers around heartfelt encouragement, with vivid, sweet colors, bold, blossoming flowers, and inspirational messaging woven throughout. Her goal? To remind every journeying soul of their infinite potential; of life’s wonder when times are good, and of life’s grace when times are harder. www.stephanieryandesign.com

I've been admiring Stephanie Ryan and her work for a long time! Her wholehearted small sweet steps have lifted me up and helped me find clarity on many occasions, and her floral work leaves me feeling peaceful and inspired. (New addition - see her blog post from this blog hop here. Beautiful and inspiring post).
 


 

Stephanie Sauve – Writer and Story Strategist
Through VOICE and STORY, Stephanie strengthens everything from brands to websites, strategic retreats to internal visioning. To find the right words for her clients, she has helicoptered over the remote reaches of New Zealand, interviewed street kids in Africa, and walked the walls of a medieval silver mine in Mexico. In the end, it’s always her at her desk blending strategy, intuition, and imagination. www.stephaniesauve.com

Stephanie is a very dear friend and creative ally. We work and play together! Two of the art pieces featured in this post were inspired by her.

Thara Vayali – Naturopath & Yogini passionate about the art and science of medicine
Thara Vayali is a Naturopathic Doctor & Yoga Teacher in Vancouver, Canada. Thara is obsessed with intestinal and immune health, hormones, and pain-free movement. She is smitten with the body and its mysterious connection to our minds. She values the power of a healing hand and quiet breath. She is an avid reader and writer, loves Vancouver’s ocean air & making delicious, healthy food. And she is the creator of Change: Natural Medicine; Budget-Conscious, Membership-Based Health Advising. www.tharavayali.ca 

Thara is my chosen Naturopath and she is also a client of mine. I love her approach to health and her thought-provoking and inspirational (w)Ritings.

xo Ginger

Truth Journey

Truth Journey – New painting in progress, 2014

I'm sharing my first painting in the new studio, working on the floor, as I always love to do. I'm using torn pieces of my surface designs and my geli mono-prints, along with book pages, handmade paper with dried flowers in it, and inks dripping and running down the canvas. See the sketch taped up next to it? She's my truth, the inner me that I'm exploring and learning about, and she will likely end up the centerpiece in this painting.  

And these are new surface designs I'm working on, shown along with a stamp I carved last summer from the same sketch. I will use both in my paintings, and I the surface designs will be turned into giftwrap, wallpaper, fabric, art prints and will likely be featured on other products down the road.

xo Ginger

Studio christening with a dear friend

Recently my dear friend and I had a late night creative blitz and picnic at my new studio. Celebrating the space, the transition and change, the newness and possibility—it was memorable and so meaningful. Of course there was girl talk and geeking out over creative biz stuff too ;)

To top off the celebration she gifted me this beautiful necklace from The Barefoot Contessa, one of my fave boutiques on Main Street. It's by Little Wren, a Vancouver local brand. The type layered with the dried flowers are beautifully symbolic of our friendship (she's a writer, I'm an artist), and the words play and action feel particularly relevant for both of us – both doers and go-getters. Love it.

The studio is becoming home more and more every day. It felt good to give it a proper welcome.

xo Ginger

Papergirl Vancouver Event July 8-11

Making fine art prints of my work for Papergirl Vancouver.

Hi friends. Come check out all the great art at the Papergirl Vancouver event! Papergirl is a redefinition of street art combining Art, Philanthropy, and Bicycles.

The opening soirée is on Tuesday July 8 from 6-9pm at The Roundhouse in Vancouver, Canada. The art will remain on display until Friday July 11. Then it will be delivered on bikes around the city on Saturday July 19 from 11-3. For some beauty, community and a fun evening of music come out to the opening party. Everyone welcome - families, your peeps, anyone you want to bring along. It's kid and adult friendly and there will be live music. And for a chance to receive a gift of artwork from me or many of these other artists, head on out to the biking routes on July 19 and try your luck!

I participated in this project last year and just loved the premise of giving art to build community. The other thing is that honestly this is a very real experience with real people. The formality of a gallery experience is replaced with an inviting scene at the Roundhouse where you can walk amidst and under and around the art and touch it and truly feel at home. I really loved the vibe last year and am looking forward to it again. You can read about and see a few photos from my experience last year here.

Come on out and support the movement!
xo Ginger

p.s. if you want to submit art for the event the deadline is July 3. 

Nature Inspires

Inspired by these florals in my neighbourhood.

Allium? The beauty is in the delicate details.

Love this floral gift wrap from Front and Company, on Main Street, Vancouver. Given to me by a dear friend who knows my weakness for beautiful paper goods.

Painting Cherry Blossoms by Monique Lum - another New West artist I met recently and found very inspiring.

Out for a trail run and feeling invigorated.

Oh the wildflowers. Imperfectly beautiful.

xo

Studio Tour

New studio - the design nook

I'm settling into my new space at 100 Braid St Studios. It's beautiful, inspires me, and so far I'm really loving this change. Many good things to come! Here is a tour.

My art table - for the making of all things small.

 Space to spread out - new surface pattern designs in the works.

My mini inspo-wall. 

A nook for aprons and coats. The fearless tin is inspiration from Anahata Katkin, an artist I admire greatly.

My cozy corner. For sprawling out and working on the floor, taking yoga and reflection breaks.

 View of my art wall. Originals for sale & some works in progress.

 Window view from the main galleria.


 
The main galleria. 
 

At dusk. Looking very tidy indeed.

 A peek at the early stages of moving in.

Lots of gratitude for all the help I had getting setup. It has been a whirlwind couple of weeks.

Come by for a cup of tea and a tour!

Ginger

My New Studio Space

The main exhibition, event and workshop galleria space @ 100 Braid St Studios. 

I’ve got big news friends – I’m thrilled to announce that I have a new studio space. 100 Braid St Studios & Gallery is a converted industrial building in New West that has been transformed into an inclusive working art studio, a dream brought to life by local artist Susan Greig. There are 14 artist studios, a gallery and exhibition space, a “splatter room” and workshop and class facilities. The building is urban chic, bright and spacious, community focused, and very welcoming. My studio sits along the south facing wall with lots of natural light and a cozy inviting vibe. And it’s a short few blocks walk from my home (walking culture, check). I am so excited about the connections with other creative souls and the business expansion this new experience will bring (creative community, check). On the home-front my family will reclaim some physical space and have a more present mama (healthy separation between my worlds, check). Collaborating with the studios will create more opportunities for exhibiting, events and visibility (exposure, check).

This collage of beautiful vintage windows was artfully conceived of and created by Susan Greig and her team - isn't it stunning? It creates an amazing play on the space, making the studios accessible yet separate from the public space. Love this design feature of the space.

A lot of thought is going into setting up my studio to create a sacred space that will inspire and nourish, and be practical for the three areas of my business – visual art, surface patterns and graphic design. My vision is for all three to carry equal weight, each with its’ own zone in the layout. Plus of course a cozy corner where all the great creative blitzes brew and percolate, and I take naps and daydream. And so important to me, spaciousness and lightness. Check out my Braid St Studio pinterest board I'm using for ideating and planning. And there's also the art workspaces/ studio board I've been pinning to for awhile now, dreaming of a studio like this (pretty close to a lot of the dream images I've pinned actually, especially the windows).

My new studio, setup in progress. Loving the clean minimal white mood. It's taking shape.

 I'm keeping this post-it note tacked to the side of my art cart, reminding me through my process to always trust my instincts.

I am so delighted to be joining 100 Braid Studios, and am so grateful to Susan Greig for being brave and going after her dream and bringing this amazing space to New West. All of us artists will grow and expand. And very grateful to my support system for having my back and encouraging me on my journey.

Stay tuned, more to come.

Ginger

Renewal

Here's a little peek at my renewal journey. Absorbing beauty and energy from nature, inspirations outings, and small moments of hands-on creating.

Also, I'm realizing taking a break from blogging is hard. I want to share the good things going on. That's part of my journey. So I will, when the moments feel right. 
 

Wisteria tree.

Patterns. At PaperYa on Granville Island.

Working on my back patio flanked by the garden & my yoga mat.

Studio Oh! Love this notebook art by Marisa Redono.

Urban Source on Main Street - alternative art materials. Lots of treasures here to stock up the art supply box. 

White peonies covered in raindrops. Got drenched in today's rain.

Surface pattern. Loved this issue of Uppercase magazine, and still learning lots from the Field Guide to Fabric Design book. Tucked in behind is a new pattern design I'm working on.

Sketching a weed from the garden. It will become a surface pattern.

My most recent shipment of art greeting cards - my spring floral series. Loving how they turned out. You can get the 5x7 cards on Society6 here or the 4x6 ones will be posted on Etsy soon, I'll put a note up when they're there.

With love.

Ginger

Life Sabbatical

An acrylic & ink abstract I did this morning with my family in the back yard.

Friends, I'll be writing less frequently for awhile & dedicating my time to fragile personal priorities. Don't go far – I will be back, and when I do I'll be strong and will have much to share of my journey. Thanks for walking with me.

Before I go I want to share with you two things:

Stand in your power. You are beautiful and smart and capable. You can do more than you know.

We are all more similar than different. If we can see this we can be more compassionate. We can drop fear and act from a place of love.

Go, be beautiful and brave.

Namaste.