Gosh, it's been a long time...

...but I'm still here (you just couldn't see me)!

I've been meandering along various paths this past year. With renewed joy, I've circled back to here. My journey has included many online courses, exploring new mediums, thinking in new ways, letting myself play, and allowing things to develop as they may (not forcing square pegs into round holes). Amazing how that frees one up!

Here are a few examples of where I've been and how they came to be:

My butterfly friends came along for the ride. I created this image as part of Lilla Rogers Make Art that Sells (Part A) course, last spring. The assignment was to create a piece of wall art with mixed media. Honestly, I thought this was going to be a tough one for me, it's totally out of my comfort zone. I had to push through anyway and found myself on an unexpected path. This turned out to be my favorite piece to come out of the course. Lilla really pushed me to a new level, and if I may boast a bit, she discussed it in her weekly review (a coveted position). This experience made me want to expand my skills and to learn Photoshop as I've always been an Illustrator gal (thanks to Laura Coyle's incredible online tutorials on Illustratoring.com). It also made me think more about layering and adding more variety to my designs. I've always been pretty hard-edged and minimalistic.

all images © Sara Smedley 2015

Yes, a couple more butterflies... the pieces above I created while taking the Photoshop for Designers online course, taught by the amazing Sherry London via Pattern Observer.

Most recently I was inspired to the point of giddiness by the Creative Bug Fabric Design Series. I could watch that over and over... I'm also having fun with several other Creative Bug workshops.

Later this summer, I'll be taking the newest Make Art that Sells class, Creating Collections for Home Decor. I'll also be traveling to Ireland, in the middle of that course (which could be an interesting challenge, yikes). This promises to be an exciting summer!

One more thing, I've reactivated my Etsy shop, for a bit. I'm no longer making aprons and tea towels but I still have a few in stock, including my Flutterby series, so check 'em out and grab some up while you can!