Are you having a good winter? It is getting to the point in winter, past the Christmas season, when the cold begins to drag out. It’s then that I go looking for unfinished projects and loose ends to tie up before spring. In beginning this process, I realize that I have missed posting for the past few months! Hoping to catch you up on Inventus Art happenings and share a bit of winter inspiration.
Near the end of my Christmas craft fair season, I was approached by a couple of new clients to create custom artwork that has occupied most of my extra time this winter. I created custom stickers for wholesale to Let’s Shine Coffee, a coffee shop and food stand in Hillsboro, WI. I thoroughly enjoyed working with Marnie, the owner, and getting to know her business aesthetic to better represent it visually. You can purchase the stickers at Let’s Shine Coffee’s brick and mortar storefront now or their mobile coffee cart at local music events later this summer.
A friend also recommended me to the owners of two new Catholic radio stations opening in Platteville, WI and Dyersville, IA. These stations needed logos made to act as “mascots”, visually tying them together with the KCRD Catholic radio station in Dubuque, IA (currently represented by an ox/bull). After ironing out the concept and scrambling to create eagle and lion logos over the Thanksgiving holiday, the designs were very well received. Additionally, I was asked re-do their existing logos for Christus Rex Dubuque (“Christ the King”…the CRD in KCRD) and Aquinas Communications Inc. (the ox), and to create a logo for the new “Our Lady of Good Success Radio Network” that will unify all of the local stations/organizations. I am very happy and blessed to play a small part in bringing Catholic radio options to our local communities. The logos will be revealed in mid-March, so stay tuned!
Mid-winter being full of little colds and napping children, I took some time to arrange last year’s doodles into some repeat patterns for my first full fabric collection on Spoonflower.com. Spoonflower is a print-on-demand company that allows customers to custom print fabric, home goods, and even wallpaper with any number of patterns created by small, independent artists. My biggest collection is called “Catholicalico” and has floral prints and blenders containing the blessing of the Holy Family (+JMJ+ for “Jesus, Mary, & Joseph”), little crosses, and the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts. I also have uploaded Christmas and Patriotic mini-collections. Hoping to upload my sunflower designs from last summer later this spring.
Inventus Art is currently seeking opportunities for spring and summer craft shows, as well as opportunities for future custom work that fits with it’s mission and artistic strengths. If you know of any good shows or needs for custom artwork, please let me know! So far, we are scheduled to attend the Annual IGEMS PTC Spring Craft/Vendor Sale on Saturday, April 12 at Iowa-Grant Elementary/Middle School in Livingston, WI. I will send a reminder of our upcoming shows later in the spring.
Now on to those winter inspirations…
Firstly, I have to admit that I’m not the best at consistently playing outdoors in frigid temperatures with my children. I tend to stress not knowing if my littles can feel their fingers and toes, on top of not being able to feel my own, when the mercury drops below the mid-20s. At time’s I’ve let this make me feel like an outdoor-ed-hypocrite and a failure of a Wisconsinite. If you are from Wisconsin, you will understand this guilt when you see your neighbors walking around in light sweatshirts in mid-January. If you’re like me and want to hunker down to spend family time inside in the winter, there are still plenty of ways to appreciate nature together.
Since it has been a pretty consistently chilly winter this year, I have not gotten to take as many hikes and nature photos with my kids as I would have otherwise. We make use of the few milder days when we can (see photo above), limit our playtime to avoid frostbite, and create a tradition of gathering for stories (a favorite series here) and cocoa after our short excursions are over. We also like to take the time to look back at photos from our warmer-weather adventures, which sometimes inspires our creativity.
Most recently my artwork has centered on drawing/painting photos that remind me of warmer days. I completed a hummingbird so far and am looking to create similar drawings of my older photos of plant and animals to add to new cards and stickers before winter is through. My son was also inspired to draw seashells from our collection and to continue learning to digitally assemble greeting cards from his handmade artwork. His new summer "Shellabration” card is super cute and he will most likely bring some along to sell at my spring and summer craft fairs. To learn how to draw better from nature, I’d recommend plumbing the free videos from John Muir Laws (under “How to Draw - Archive”).
Please feel free to tell me more about yourself and share any prayer requests by emailing colleen@inventusart.com
God Bless You and Your Family,
Colleen Schwebach
Inventus Art LLC
+JMJ+
Hummingbird Illustration - Progress video
"Catholicalico" Collection on Spoonflower
Winter Wanderings video