Learning and Re-inventing

You are never too old to learn...

Over the year I have been doing a lot of soul searching about my artwork and business. I love doodling and creating my mandalas, but I definitely have gotten in a rut as far as producing products with my artwork. Being a one woman show, I have done so much repetitious production that I forgot the joy of drawing and creating. I needed to reconnect with my inner artist... the voice that called me to start this adventure in the first place.

In December I found a wonderful three part online course given by Rachael Taylor and Beth Nichols on surface and pattern design. Pattern design has always intrigued me and I have wanted for a while now to explore ways to use my art as repeats for fabric, stationery etc. The first part of the e-course was about learning how to be creative again, sketching and inspiration, which I so desperately needed. I was excited for the first time in a long time. The second part of the course was more technical on how to take your designs and sketches and get them into the computer to manipulate. I learned so much and created some cool repeats. I also learned about trends in the marketplace both here and all over the world. The third part of the e-course starts at the end of the month and is geared towards monetizing and marketing my work. I can't wait. Below is an example of a collection I created for one of the exercises. You can find more on my website and Flickr account. I am working on finding my own signature style that stands out from the crowd using my mandalas and doodles.

Time to reinvent myself a little...

While I was getting all excited about my new course, I began looking at my own identity and branding that I have been using. I decided it was time for a little facelift to freshen up what I had. I wanted the logo to look more fun and whimsical like my work, while still keeping a familiar look. After I liked what I came up with I began recreating all of the banners for Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, this Blog etc. to coordinate.

By far the most exciting part of this transformation is completely redoing my website. I had used iWeb before, which no longer works on my new Mac. This time, with the help of my son to get it started, I created a fun, clean website I am proud of in Adobe Muse. It links to everything, my online social accounts, online shops and is a portfolio of all of my work, from doodles to graphic design. I'm very excited! It still needs some tweaking but I hope to launch it any day now. 

Ilene Price Design's Art will be included in The Artisan Group's 2013 Earth Day Celebrity Gift Bag!

Hello Spring! 

The Artisan Group Collaborates with PR firm to Gift Some of Hollywood's Most Environmentally Conscious Celebrities in Honor of Earth Day 2013!

I'm am so excited to announce that my new Earth Day mandala print will be included in The Artisan Group's Earth Day celebrity gift bag for 2013. The bag is a collection of green gifts from 50 artists, myself included. The Artisan Group teams up with PR firms to direct access to high profile celebrities. They have an outstanding reputation in the industry for showcasing artist's fabulous products to some of the biggest trendsetters in Hollywood. It's an awesome opportunity.

The celebrities that will receive the gift bags are Hayden Panettiere, Ginnifer Goodwin, Edward Norton, Adrian Grenier, Kate Bosworth, P!nk, Leonardo DiCaprio, Rachel McAdams, Emily VanCamp, Woody Harrelson, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Daryl Hannah, Malin Akerman, Ted Danson, Orlando Bloom, Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Hartnett, Sting, Barbra Streisand, Alicia Silverstone, Courteney Cox, Cameron Diaz, Sheryl Crow, Mark Ruffalo, and Natalie Portman.

In the past, when I have participated with TAG, I gifted notecards, jewelry and t-shirts, but this time around I knew I wanted to design a new mandala and gift a print instead. Each image is printed on recycled paper, matted and then carefully wrapped in a handmade rice paper envelope tied with raffia and affixed with a sticker. Inside with the print is a business card and a two sided bio/information card about myself and my artwork.

My new print will be available online in my Etsy Shop very soon just in time for Earth Day as well as smart phone cases in my Zazzle Shop. Keep an eye out in the coming weeks for a Mother's Day print that will be included in their 2013 Mother's Day gift bag!