The Unofficial New Jersey Tartan

 Yesterday (7/27) was National New Jersey Day.
I decided to post my my New Jersey Tartan Map artwork on IG.

It was easily found:

I couldn't remember if this was an official tartan (ratified by the state) or one that I designed.
I did some detective work...

I first looked here, on my "2016 A-Z" page and discovered New Jersey was missing!

(and nobody has called me out on it either!)

Next I looked at the "N is For... [Part 1]" post, just to be sure...
N is for NOPE

My next stop was Spoonflower -
I've uploaded all the tartan designs for all US states and Canadian provinces and indicated in the fabric names whether the tartan is Official or Unofficial

Unofficialdom confirmed

But why is this tartan different from my 2016 design?

More exploration ensued...

I searched my files for "NJ Tartan" and found a third design!

What is going on?

This design is my artwork from the entry in The Scottish Registry of Tartans,

which required permission for usage.

I think the Spoonflower version is my melding of the first design with the third.
And taking the colors from the NJ state flag

Hmmm, maybe my blue isn't quite right...

My next move will be adding the missing New Jersey to all the posts and pages.

Thus concludes my New Jersey rabbit hole, hope the journey was interesting!

All my Spoonflower tartans can be found here
Most are on Redbubble too

Spoonflower x East Fork Challenge

Time for another Spoonflower popularity contest.

For this challenge, we were told to be inspired by the glaze colors of these dishes from East Fork:

I took the actual pottery (and other East Fork items) as my inspiration!

Traced them in Procreate...

Worked some Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop magic, and, voila!

I call it "The Dish Ran Away With the Spoon"

There are 2158 entries in this contest (yikes... it gets worse every time)

• 03/28/2023: Submissions close at 3pm EDT
• 03/30/2023: Public voting opens
• 04/04/2023: Public voting ends at 3pm EDT
• 04/06/2023: Spoonflower will announce the winner

I wasn't even close. I gave up looking to see how many votes I got. WAY too many entries.

The rules: Artists must use both East Fork glaze colors, Butter (#F4EDBA) and Piglet (#F2DDDD) as the main colors. Additional colors can be incorporated, but we recommend only adding neutrals and keeping it simple with no more than 4 colors total (not including black and white) to ensure your design coordinates well with East Fork products. Honoring the glaze colors is key!

#AtoZchallenge 2022: R is for Fluevog Renee

The Fluevog Renee

Step and Repeat!

My R entry for the A to Z Blogging Challenge, 2022 edition.

(Don't know what I'm talking about? Read this intro post or click here for the official hub).

Just like last year, I've created an UNOFFICIAL Link Party for challenge participants.
Feel free to join in the fun! I also have a very long A-Z Blog Roll underneath this post.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

#AtoZchallenge 2022: D is for Fluevog Doug

The Fluvog x ANIAN Doug

Step and Repeat!

My D entry for the A to Z Blogging Challenge, 2022 edition.

(Don't know what I'm talking about? Read this intro post or click here for the official hub).

Just like last year, I've created an UNOFFICIAL Link Party for challenge participants.
Feel free to join in the fun! I also have a very long A-Z Blog Roll underneath this post.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

#AtoZchallenge 2021: X is for X Anian Tuesday

This month, I will be blogging my way through the alphabet,

as part of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.

One Fluevog shoe at a time.

#AtoZchallenge I is for Fluevog Illeana

Illeana link

Fluevog #vog_Liz New and Improved

This style comes in lots of colorways (as evidenced in this Google Image search capture:

I'll eventually get versions done.

In the original version of this, I couldn't decide, so I made a mixed plaid:

Compare this to the new version, and you'll notice the shoes are less distorted.
I traced the new version in Illustrator, using a stylus on my Wacom Cintiq.
Less character, more accurate.

For Redbubble, I made a "hero" image for some of the items:

Redbubble link [I get a commission]

And here's the Scarf with the repeat:

Redbubble link

I'm Enthusiast! #vog_enthusiast

I've polished up Enid's Enthusiast repeat and am happy to say you can now find lots of Redbubble stuff in the Black/Pink colorway. [I get a commission on my Redbubble product].

Here's the mug:

Here's the A-line Dress:

Here are Leggings:

Do you own another colorway of the Fluevog Enthusiast?

[Image swiped from Fluevog.com]

I could use your color matching help!
Grab this handy color chart JPG,

Right click or Control click on image

print it out [do not try to match from your screen],
and let me know which color codes best match ALL the colors on your shoes in the comments below.
Also add a link to an IG photo, if you can.
I will be VERY grateful!

I'm not even sure how to deal with the contrast T-Strap style... maybe put that in the plaid?
Also wondering... make the shoe outline the buckle color? Keep it white? So many possibilities!
Back to the drawing board, as they say.

[Update, 40 minutes later]
You can also add a link to your #vog_enthusiast IG photo below and post the codes as your title.

#AtoZchallenge L: #vog_liz #ifjm2017

Fluevog Liz link

The Lake Plaids

I have a Facebook friend who posts photos of a lake near her home every morning.
It struck me, with a recent shot that was a snowy scene of grey bands, that it would make an interesting plaid.

The same day, I was planning to teach my Digital Surface Design class my method of creating plaids (which normally I make with solid bands of color) and I thought, "Why not add something a bit crazy at the end of the demo?"

So cool, right?

Now every morning, I'm making Lake Plaids!

Maybe I should try it with my own Good Morning shots of Mar Vista?

I think the answer is YES!

Spoonflower's Betabrand Challenge and Contest

See the plaid in the upper right? That's my entry for the Spoonflower's Betabrand contest.

Some of the prints that I voted for. Yes, I voted for myself! 

The design brief:
"Our Betabrand Double Take Design Challenge seeks designs that invite a second glance to add to their lineup of prints. We are looking for quirky new takes on classic patterns, designs that reveal more than meets the eye upon a second glance, an allover print that could be two things at once..."

A closer look:

Link to design

Winners are determined by popular vote and with 568 randomly displayed entries, it's a lot to slog through. I haven't figured out if there's any way to direct you to my entry. Sigh.

My source images, which I found in the kitchen:

Steamed rice in a saucepan

Chopstick

I edited the imagery in Photoshop, then built the repeat in Illustrator. 

Joining this challenge was part of an effort to do more personal design work. It's difficult to get inspired to do my own projects after spending four full work days creating repeats for the money job. Baby steps!

Adding this to Shelbee's On the Edge of the Week linkup. Maybe I'll generate more votes?

[7-28] The winners are here.

#AtoZchallenge Reflections on the A-Z Challenge

Wrap-up time for the A-Z Challenge. 

What did I learn?

1. This is a good place for me to work the challenge --
the posts didn't get mixed in with other posts (as happened last year).

2. I liked having the framework of the challenge to force myself to get this body of work refreshed.

3. It's much easier to create ONE new piece of art a day vs TWELVE (I'm looking at you, "N").

4. I am ignorant about the Canadian provinces.
I will remain deliberately vague about that and will quietly update my error.

5. Already thinking about possible themes for next year,
and will start working on the art to see which direction I want to pursue.

6. If I have my posts prewritten, then I can spend more time reading other A-Zers.
My social A-Z game was abysmal this year.

[Original Map of North America with US States and Canadian Provinces by FreeVectorMaps.com]

#AtoZchallenge Z is For...

AriZona 

Read about the Arizona tartan here.

Thus concludes our tour of the US and Canadian tartans from A to Z, A-Z, AZ. 

I am still recovering from "N". 

I also overlooked an "L". Oops. "L" comes before "N", so I have no excuse. 

At some point, I'll be refining all the graphics so that I can offer posters, tees, etc. on Society6. These were all created at postcard scale, and some of the tartans I resized for a better layout with the map outline. I want the scale of the twill weave to be consistent. [OK, nerding out now, I'll stop].

#AtoZchallenge Y is For...

Yukon 

Read about the Yukon tartan here.

#AtoZchallenge X is For...

TeXas  

Read about the Texas tartan here.

#AtoZchallenge W is For...

Washington, West Virginia,
Wisconsin, Wyoming  

Read about the Washington tartan here. 

Read about the West Virginia tartan here. 

Read about the Wisconsin here. 

William Drummond Stewart, a Scot who explored Wyoming in the 1830s, inspired my choice of the Stewart tartan for Wyoming. I recolored it in these colors: Blue, Red, and White for the state flag, Black for the rich deposits of coal and oil, Jade Green for the state gem -- jade.