dressin up

I'm home from NYC, and with me I brought back many ideas and quite a bit of inspiration. Oh, and also $80 worth of fabric from Mood....! One kind of fabric that I got is this lightly striped linen. With it I decided to make a vintage-inspired dress. It was sort of ambitious, considering that I haven't sewn a whole lot lately, and I didn't even have a pattern. But that didn't stop me. I created my own pattern, based off one of my dresses from UO, and got sewing.

 It took me three days total to make it. That means three days of spending 80% of the day in my room sewing, pinning, cutting, accidentally stabbing myself with pins, throwing piles of thread onto the floor, and forgetting to eat lunch. But it was all worth it! I am in love with how it turned out. 

Absence

I have not kept up with my blog lately. I have, however, been keeping up with my Snapchat and Instagram (@ophiblu) but I've neglected this place! I am hoping to return soon though. Tonight my family and I are leaving for New York City, and when I get back I will (hopefully) have lots to share. But in the meantime, this is a little watercolor and pen illustration from a few days ago.

wildflower insides

 

I've recently been in somewhat of an artists block, and not really able to figure out my style. So, what sometimes helps me, when that's happening, is to just paint something I already know, and like to paint. I started painting some lungs, not really sure where it would take me, and next I added flowers. Then came the torso anatomy with plants, a bunny, a bird, until I had a whole garden of illustrations growing. I am really excited about how this series turned out. They've sort of directed me where I want to go for now.
And by the way, happy spring! Hope you're all having a great week.

homemade

In my last post, I mentioned that I had sewn something new, so here it is! I used the Wiksten tank pattern again, as a base, but made some adjustments. I altered the length of the shirt, and added sleeves (!!!). I have never made anything with sleeves before, so this was kind of fun. I love figuring things out on my own, so I created my own sleeve pattern and sewed them on the way I thought made sense.

 I only had a yard and a half of fabric, and that made the process more difficult, since I messed up a few times. But in the end, I made it work (I've watched too much Project Runway) and I'm really happy with how it turned out. Also, I am started a right-side pocket revolution! I've never seen a shirt with the pocket on the right side, and this one is.

Friends and French Food and Feeling Good!

The past few weeks have not been the greatest for me. Artists block, winter, and dreading school don't make life very fun. I didn't really feel like I had any friends that were really like me, or that I connected with. Mentally, I was not in the best state. But that didn't last for very long! I sort of realized, with the help of my parents of course, that in order to be happy, you can't just wait around for things to get better. You have to do something about it. So I did some rearranging in my life. (and in my room too! But I'll post that some other time). I've started hanging out with some different people. I also know that being productive makes me happy too, so I made a shirt, and did some paintings without thinking, just putting paint on the paper and seeing where I got from there, (both of which I'll post soon!). But today was the best! My friend Kira-who has been a friend over instagram for a while- and I hung out for the first time today! It was so lovely, and made me kind of buzzed and inspired inside. 

So, if you're in a place (mentally or physically) that does not make you happy, do something! Listen to some happy tunes (I'll be making a playlist soon!), go to lunch with someone new, make something, cook something, paint, read, dance in your bedroom, climb a tree, do yoga, sit in the sun, pet a dog, take a bath, hug someone, just do something to make yourself happy! 

 xoxo - India

Dreeem

It is almost March, which makes me very sad inside. That's because in March last year, I met Perfume Genius. If you don't know of him, he's a shy musician, with the most powerful, yet emotional, songs. The night I met him may have been the best night of my life, or one of them. So, whenever I think about it being March, that's what comes to my head. But anyway, this is a painting I recently did of Perfume Genius, (or Mike Hadreas) in watercolor and gouache.  

gettin' back into it

After the very long break I took from sewing, I have finally returned to it. 

I was sort of surprised by myself when I randomly got a craving to do it. I've been into sustainable living all year; local and organic stuff, handmade stuff. etc. This sort of just fit right in. Also, I was inspired when I heard about the slow fashion movement.(Read about it here) For Valentines day my mom got me the Wiksten dress/tank pattern, and some linen, and I got started right away. 

It was an adventure for me to make this after a few years of not touching the sewing machine, and I learned quite a bit. When I sewed before, I always just made my own patterns, and avoided all difficult neck bindings, or seams that were anything more complicated than just sewing one piece of fabric to another. Making this dress, I followed a pattern, and learned how to do bias binding, and french seams! Oh, and adding a pocket in a more professional way too. I'm so happy with how it turned out, and I want to make more clothes soon. I forgot how much I enjoyed sewing.

sam, you have a beautiful body

Trying to get back into watercolor portraits. This is my most recent one; an illustration of one of my favorite TV characters of all time. Sam Weir, from Freaks and Geeks. 

live simply

I wish that it was easier and more common for people to shop locally. I wish that everyone could have a garden in their yard, and be able to be somewhat self sustainable. I wish that all eggs came from chickens who live happily, and not in cages. I think that in the future, in order for the Earth to easily house the abundance of humans living on it, we will have to go back to a simpler way of life. Materialism has to decrease. People will need to walk more, rather than drive. Everyone should provide more for themselves. I only wish it could start now. 

That is why this year I am starting to get into the Slow Fashion movement, and have gotten back into making my own clothes. I also am planning on helping my brother in the garden this spring! Both of which I will try to keep you updated on. 

Also, I was thinking of maybe making this into a t-shirt design in the future. Would anyone be interested? 

What I've Been Listening To Lately

foxygen, in watercolor and gouache.

With parallel styles to The Velvet Underground , and hints of Violent Femmes, Mac Demarco, and the Kinks, Foxygen is too good to come from this generation. Sam France and Jonathan Rado come together so perfectly, and I can't get enough of them. So many bands make good music, but it all sounds the same. Take Tame Impala for example. I love them, but I can only listen for about half an hour before all of their songs mesh together in my head. Foxygen, on the other hand, has so much variation in each song, you can't really get bored. 

If you're into lofi music like this, I definitely recommend Foxygen. Start with "San Francisco," which is their most well know, and then check out "Middle School Dances," which is my personal favorite. 

making art for money?!

 Last week I was asked to create multiple different pieces of art to help advertise a contest. It was my first commission, and I still can't really believe it happened. Art is something I do for fun, something I've done since I was little, something I grew up on. But now it is also something I got paid to do. These are all of the pieces I did as part of the commissions. I enjoyed doing it, despite the short deadline. And I am open to any other commissions people may have for me.

a quick apology

Hi everyone! I just want to say sorry for my lack of activity on this blog lately, and on He Grew, She Drew. I have a lot to share on here, and will be posting more soon. Right now I am in the middle of my first commission (!!!) and that (along with school) has been my main priority. Above is one of the pieces for the commission.

Well, I better get back to work. Thanks for reading!

Mushroom pattern #1

Hey! So I found this piece that I forgot to post on here! It is mushrooms, done in watercolor and watercolor markers. Currently I am taking a quick break from watercolors and painting in general. I'm just not feeling it. But I am sewing again, and I will be posting about that soon (unless everything I make is a total failure!) and hoping for the best.

Thanks for reading!