Bee's Knees Industries

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A Few of My Favorite Things no. 5: Vintage Illustrators

With the work that I did for MATS class on children's books, I spent a lot of time this month poring over children's illustrations that I really admire. There are a number of illustrators from the past that are so inspiring to me. Some of them I knew when I was a girl, and some are new to me now.

1. Eyvind Earle

I'll never forget the first time I watched Sleeping Beauty on VHS. My copy somehow actually had special features, including an interview and mini documentary about Eyvind Earle. He did much of the design for Disney's Sleeping Beauty and is responsible for the incredible style throughout the film.

2. Gordon Laite

I recently rediscovered Gordon Laite's Golden Books and have been studying them to try to pick up just a little bit of the beauty he instills in his images. Each of his images is so rich and full of detail to enjoy. Amazingly, there is no web presence for him and his work, but a Google search will give you lots of images to peruse.

3. The Johnstone Sisters

I found these ladies when searching for reference images of white cats for my class assignment. Their work is so fantastic. Layers and layers of richness with plenty of whimsy thrown in for fun.

4. Mary Blair

No list of inspiring vintage illustrators is complete without Mary Blair. If you're unfamiliar with her work, you need to check it out right away and prepare to be amazed.

A Few of my Favorite Things no. 4

I'm back with new installment of A Few of my Favorite Things, and this time I'm sharing the work of a few of my talented friends. I'm lucky to have some of the most amazing friends a person could ever ask for (I can't wait to post my wedding photos and show you how many wonderful things my splendidly talented and generous friends created for the event), and I find so many of them to be constant inspirations.

So I thought this time around, I'd show a little bit of what some of my friends create.

1. David Wolk

I met David at the second craft fair I ever did, in a little coffee shop in St. Louis. We loved one another's work and personalities and became instant besties. He is such a creative person, using lots of found pieces and mixed media in his art, and he has the most impressive collection of craft paint I've ever seen. Leaving behind our regular crafting dates is one of my biggest regrets about leaving St. Louis, but I'm still confident I'll get David out to the West Coast one of these days.

2. Hello Miss.Quito

Monica of Hello Miss.Quito is one of those types of folks who brings magic to every little thing she touches. She's wildly creative and never seems to shy away from a challenge. She has worked in so many different media (including my favorite: baking), but she's currently focusing her energies on beautiful pieces for Blythe dolls, like the embroidered dress above. She also happens to be one of the funniest people I know, and every visit with her ends with aching cheeks from laughing the night away.

3. Lea Koesterer

I like to refer to Lea as my "Other Mother," but not in the scary Coraline way. Her daughter and I have been absolute best friends since the day we were born (her birthday is the day before mine), so Lea has been a big part of my life. She works in stained glass and mosaics and creates absolutely stunning pieces. Her work was immensely influential on me as a little girl, and she's a huge part of the reason I chose to go into art. When I was little (and had no artistic talent to speak of), her work seemed like pure magic. As a working artist (and having tried my hand at stained glass in her studio), I'm even more in awe of her creations.

4. Parasol Doll

I've shared a few of Maggie's Parasol Doll creations on the blog before, but I couldn't resist adding her to this list. She is a truly dedicated designer and one of the best artisans I know. She approaches each one of her pieces with such care and skill, and it shines through in everything she does. Seriously, you just have to see one of these miniature creations in person to appreciate how skillful she is, but even in photos you can see how adorable her work is. I've recently become obsessed with this latest design, her Mod Marie Antoinette dress. So cute!

A Few of my Favorite Things no. 3

I'll admit it: I'm completely hooked on Instagram. It took me a little while to warm up to another form of social media, but it has quickly become my favorite platform. These are a few of my favorite Instagram obsessions, though I love and follow many, many more.

A photo posted by Jennalee Auclair (@jennaleeauclair) on Apr 6, 2015 at 6:45pm PDT

Jennalee Auclair is a very inspiring artist. She has a creative style that shines through in everything she does, and she's generous with her knowledge as well. Many of her posts (on Instagram, Tumblr, and YouTube) really helped shake up the way I was thinking about my drawing and pushed me to a much more confident place.

A photo posted by ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ · M Y K I E · (@mykie_) on Apr 29, 2015 at 7:16pm PDT

One of my earliest creative aspirations was to be a special effects artist in film. As the industry shifted more and more toward CGI techniques, my interest waned, but I still love learning about that world. Mykie is a seriously talented SFX and traditional makeup artist with tons of tips and tricks for any type of makeup you might want to do, and her work is always so original and fun.

A photo posted by Miriam Bos (@irrimiri) on Jul 4, 2015 at 11:59am PDT

I found Miriam Bos a couple of years ago when I was stalking researching the Surtex hashtag. Her work is sophisticated and playful and a huge inspiration to me as I work to become a professional illustrator in that world.

A photo posted by @maruti_bitamin on Jun 3, 2015 at 3:36pm PDT

Maruti Bitamin creates watercolor pieces that make me swoon every time. There is so much energy and color in each piece, and I find the characters so charming.

Who are your favorites on Instagram?

A Few of my Favorite Things no. 2

I'm back with some more of my favorite things! All of these relate to my work to expand my creative business, and they might be helpful to you for that same reason.

1. Leonie Dawson

This year my focus has been self-improvement in business and art, and Leonie Dawson has been a big part of that. I heard about her Shining Year workbooks at the end of last year and decided to give it a go. They're really affordable and do a wonderful job of helping you identify major goals and break them down into actionable steps. It's how I got myself together enough to quit the day job, and it's keeping me on track as I work to build my business. I'm looking forward to trying more of her business coaching programs, too.

2. Hello Brio

Hello Brio is a new-to-me blog that I found while looking for a few tutorials in Illustrator to help out with my Make Art That Sells course. Her blog is packed with tons of great design tips and tutorials that I found very inspiring and easy to follow. Making my own font has never seemed so doable before!

3. Kyle T Webster

As I mentioned previously, I'm working to improve my digital illustration in Photoshop, as well. I didn't realize until recently how much of an impact having good digital brushes has on digital illustration (seems obvious, now, of course...), and Kyle's brushes are tops. So far my favorites are his gouache brushes and the Tilterrific pencil (so perfect for digital sketching!), but I'm looking forward to mastering these runny inkers to capture that fun early 80s illustration of my youth. The only downside is how much I want a Cintiq tablet, now...

4. The Land of Nod Room Gallery

The main reason I decided to sign up for Lilla Rogers' home décor class is to learn to design items for kids' rooms. The Land of Nod is a dream client, so I've been researching their aesthetic to put together a trend board to work from for my next collection. Luckily for me, they put together some serious eye candy in the form of a room gallery, where you can browse rooms decorated with their beautiful items. I know the products are intended for children, but I could easily seem my home filled with their work.

A Few of my Favorite Things no. 1

I love reading link roundups on other people's blogs. Seeing the kinds of things that other people find inspiring really gives you a sense of them personally, which is the best part about blogging, in my opinion. I also enjoy finding out about some seriously cool stuff that I wouldn't have found otherwise, and it's fun having that cool stuff all listed, nice and tidy, in a single blog post.

So I thought I'd do the same.

I spent most of my creative time in the month of March drawing from life, and part of that means getting out of my studio and into the real world. Russell Stutler has some amazing tips for sketching in less-than-ideal situations, but my favorite were his ideas for tiny, handmade watercolor palettes.

Over at &Stitches, we're working on an embroidery swap with the theme Freaky Flowers. All the &Stitches writers have been gathering freaky floral inspiration, like these naked man flowers (giggle!) at our Pinterest board. I love seeing what everyone else has found!

Do you guys read Faerie Magazine? Because you should. It's a quarterly publication about (you guessed it!) faeries and all manner of magical bits and bobs. I have to ration mine out each quarter, and I'm so excited to have brought home the spring issue this week.

One of my favorite witchy authors, Deborah Blake, has teamed up with the stupendous illustrator, Elisabeth Alba to create a witch-centered Tarot deck that I'm pretty darned excited about. Deborah has been sharing some really interesting process photos and thoughts as they work on the project.

So those are the things that have been stirring my heart lately. How about you? What kind of inspiration are you working with this month?

Speaking of animals...

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

I found this lovely video on The Small Object's blog, and I just had to share it.

When I was in high school, I used to live in an eighth-floor apartment that had a wonderful view of this kind of bird activity. I would sit on the balcony with my best friend and watch for ages each day. Moreover, the apartment was always swarmed with seagulls who would eat bread out of the air if you threw it. You had to be careful not to hit the not-so-understanding little old lady who lived across the street as she tried to get into her car, though.

Nowadays, I get my amazing-bird-action fix from the masses of chimney-roosting swifts here in Portland. If you're in the area, I highly recommend getting out to see this. It's a great excuse for a lovely picnic dinner, and you get to be stunned and amazed by the awesome power of nature at the same time. Win-win!

Blithely Blythe

Yesterday I ordered a new batch of Blythe dress designs from Spoonflower, and to wile away the time as I impatiently await their arrival, I'd like to share some of the Blythe photos that have inspired me as I worked.

1. All About Ladybugs 2. We want some, too! 3. sleeping beauty... 4. Deneb sueña... 5. Stuff On My Blythe 6. ...go around the corner of the barn, 7. My Little Peanut <3 8. Doll shelf 9. Untitled

I've always found fashion to be a wonderful art form for self-expression, and I enjoy the freedom that comes with creating clothing for a small doll, since the materials are so much less expensive and the construction need not be so perfect. However, my recent foray into Blythe fashion definitely has piqued my interest in sewing human clothes, a task I hope to take up again sometime in the next few months.

How about you? What sorts of things inspire your own sense of fashion?

Moss Handmade

Oh, poor blog, you've been so neglected lately! I didn't even mention that I had a table at Crafty Wonderland last weekend. Well, I'll at least let you know the results: a great trade with Moss!

First up is a delightful embroidered bee necklace. Bees are one of my three or four favorite animals, so when I saw this, I knew I had to have it. Unfortunately, I was a few dollars shy of the asking price, so Kieran (my trusty sidekick) initiated a trade. (Trades, of course, being the most favorite of my favorite animals.)

The lovely proprietress of Moss, Lady Diana, seems to love trades as much as me, and we began the delicate "No, your stuff is underpriced!" "No, your stuff is underpriced!" "No, I insist, take two!" "No, no, you take three!" argument that is so amazingly free of ego (ah, the undervaluing of one's own goods...) and resulted in this lucky girl walking home with this beauty as well:

A tiny crocheted acorn! This piece is so beautiful and delicate. She crochets them out of embroidery floss, to give you an idea of the size.

Of course, now I'm coveting one of these, so I'll have to save up before the next Crafty Wonderland:

I just love a good craft fair.

Rachel Sudlow Jewelry

How could I not love a jewelry shop that sells Frog Eyes earrings?

As soon as I get off of my self-inflicted "no frills" lifestyle (a.k.a.: as soon as I find a decent job...), I can't wait to purchase a thing or two from Rachel Sudlow's jewelry shop. Everything is oh so quirky and yet still beautiful.

Magritte-inspired jewlery? Yes please!

My favorite thing about her shop is what a wonderful variety of work she creates while still maintaining a cohesive collection. Beautiful!

Some Etsy Favorites

All too often, I feel that my blog dries up. I'm constantly working on things, but sometimes those things just can't be shown. For instance, I've been reading up a storm these past weeks, doing research for a couple of new projects, but I can't very well show off the new synapses in my brain. (Or can I..?) Until further scientific photographic advances become affordable, I'd like to start some new features to ensure that I always have something to write about.

Another thing I've spent my time on these past few weeks is getting a head start on spring cleaning. We've cleared out the cupboards and filled boxes and boxes with all sorts of miscellany that never should have been moved from St. Louis. Now I'm in the mood to dress up my home with things that I actually want. First up, I can't wait to get started on planting some seeds for new houseplants. (None of my old plants survived the 2000 mile trip in the cab of a U-Haul.)

Of course, I couldn't very well just use plain terra cotta planters, so I have my eye out for unique and unusual planters. From a rather extensive search on Etsy, I discovered my favorites all came from one shop, Fruit Fly Pie. Wendy, the artist behind these brilliant ceramic pieces, creates work with such a great sense of humor that is filled to the brim with kitsch. How could I not love it? I can't wait until I can own a piece or two for a little herb garden, since they would look absolutely perfect in a kitchen. (Or is that kitschen? Yuk yuk!)