Goodbye January!

That first month of 2018 just whizzed by …
Looking back with some January faves from my Instagram feed:

Happy February everybody!

P.s.: For those who might like to follow me on Instagram, here's my account: https://www.instagram.com/evamarion_art/

Figure and Room

"Here again so softly" – roomset courtesy of Minted

There's a new art contest on at Minted, the Minted Make A Statement Large Format Art Challenge. Art prints sourced through this contest will be available at sizes up to 48" x 70" (= ca. 122 x 178 cm), so really big! 

I had been a bit intimidated by the large formats at first, and decided that this contest wasn't for me. But then I became very inspired by the contest's special "Figures & Form Award". Minted is looking for the most interesting artwork featuring a human figure in large scale. I imagined my fashion/ figure drawings in large size in a room, and felt that this might look intriguing …

Today I'll show you a selection of my submissions, a mix of older and new drawings/ paintings.

"Here again so softly", watercolor and gouache on paper.

"Here again so softly" – the abstracted painting above was inspired by a walk in autumn fog, observing other walkers emerging like ghosts out of the white nothing. I aimed to express this ethereal feeling, painting a figure that could be here, there or elsewhere, or just a fantasy …

"Homage to Rahvis" – roomset courtesy of Minted

"Homage to Rahvis", watercolor and ink on paper

My watercolor and ink drawing "Homage to Rahvis" above leads us back to the 1940ties and was inspired by Clifford Coffin’s photograph of an iconic Rahvis evening dress. I aimed to weave my own story around it and created a reduced, delicate and dreamy drawing, imagening this young lady being in anticipation of a glamorous ball.

"I will dance through the Fire" – roomset courtesy of Minted

"I will dance through the Fire", mixed media (gouache, ink and crayon) on paper.

These two paintings above and below are part of a series of 4, featuring the various strengths of women. I aimed to create expressive female characters that would be open to merge with the viewer’s own stories. The series is inspired by heroines from literature, theatre and film, by fashion and by astrology too.

"I will dance through the Fire", as seen above, is related to the astrological fire signs and symbolizes power, spirit, passion, resistance and initiative.
Whereas "She Who Knows" as seen below, is linked to the earth signs. This lady is an old soul, a strong, earthbound and wise character.

"She who knows" – roomset is courtesy of Minted.

"She who knows", gouache and ink on paper.

The reduced "Elegance" drawing below features a woman in a ball dress, highlighting the lightness and soft drape of her gown as well as the elegant lines of her pose. I drew her with just a few quick lines and some watercolor accents.

"Elegance" – roomset courtesy to Minted

"Elegance", ink and watercolor on paper

 

"Swift", as seen below, is a bit of a throwback into the 1980ties. Drawn with just some sweeping lines the drawing showcases the figure's elegant 80ties silhouette and the rich drape of the garments. A fab print for fashion enthousiasts as well as a good option for those who aim to add a softer vibe and an expressive touch to minimalistic interiors.

"Swift" – roomset is courtesy to Minted

"Swift", ink on paper.

That's my selection for today! To see all of my submissions, please just hop over to my "Voting now" page!

If you would like to support me in this contest, please just click on the images. That'll lead you directly to my submissions on the Minted page and you'll be able to place your votes. Thank you so much! A certain amount of winning art will be sourced through public voting, so through your votes! The rest will be chosen by the Minted Editorial Council.

Voting is now open and will close on Wednesday, January 24th at 10am PST. 
(Please note: If you are not a Minted customer or a Minted artist yet, you'd need to set up an account on Minted to be able to vote.)

Heimtex trends 4 - "Wellbeing 4.0 - Enrich"

The fourth and last Heimtex trend post is about the trend theme called "Enrich your soul". The key word here is opulence. And a lot of it!

Theme Park … Source - Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Pietro Sutera

Source - WGSN

Enrich is about "opulent me time", about indulgence and luxury. The source for this theme can be found in the society's trend to value oneself, to do oneself good, to feed one's senses to the max …  and this means to invest in one's surroundings, to buy quality products that will last a longtime.

Think classy, eye catching, shimmering materials. Lots of metallics, and highly decorative elements. For this theme, more is more!

Source - WGSN

Origin luxury wallcoverings … Source - Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Jean-Luc Valentin

Source - WGSN/Shutterstock

Theme Park … Source - Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Pietro Sutera

Colourwise rich tones are key: there's the red spectrum ranging from bronze orange to carmine red to plum. As well as the metallics: gold, brass, bronze. Blues and cool colours are rich too: deep dark blue, turquoise, dark rich greens …

Source - WGSN

Koninklijke Textielfabrieken J.A. Raymakers & Co B.V. … 

Quelle - Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Jean-Luc Valentin

Patterns come on strong! They are opulent, decorative and ornamental. Oriental influences are important. Based on cultural references designs play with classic patterns, sometimes staying close to the original, sometimes doing their own modern interpretations.

Origin luxury wallcoverings … Source - Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Thomas Fedra

Beijing Jinboxiangqi Cloth Co., Ltd., Hangzhou Aico Home Textile Co., Ltd., Hangzhou Huachen Flocking Co., Ltd. Huatex International (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd., Linan Beibei Household Textile Co., Ltd., Suzhou T-land Textile Co., Ltd.

Tongxiang Yidong Textile Fabric Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Innovation Textile Co., Ltd. 

…

Source - Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Thomas Fedra

M/s. Tal  … Source - Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Pietro Sutera

I love it :-) Lots of possibilities for pattern designers!

That's it – my little trend series is now complete. I hope you'll enjoy it!
To read about the general "Wellbeing" trend, the other 3 trend themes and some general info about Heimtex, just scroll down to my last posts.

On another note, voting for the Minted + West Elm Round 4 Art Challenge has started! If you'd like to vote for me, please find my entries on the "Voting now!" page. I hope you'll like them! Thank you so much!
Will tell you a bit more about some of my favourite entries next week …

Heimtex trends 3 – "Wellbeing 4.0 – Nourish"

Here's my third trend post on the Heimtex trend "Wellbeing 4.0". Today's trend theme is called "Nourish your body" and is based on the human need for a natural environment.

Now this one definitely is a very "me" theme :-)

Theme Park … source - Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Pietro Sutera

"Nourish" is derived from the growing interest in sustainable life, in protecting nature, in planting green spaces, in urban gardening: reclaiming abandoned areas to plant new life. It is the ecological vision of uniting city and country, man and nature.

Source - WGSN

Theme Park … source - Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Pietro Sutera

Think sensory and nature oriented designs. A purist but earthy elegance, a quality feel, products that are handcrafted and/or using pioneering techniques. Transparency and natural materials are key.

Source - WGSN

Hermann Pichler GmbH + Co. KG … Source - Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Jochen Günther

Christian Fischbacher Co. AG

Source - Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Jochen Günther

Curt Bauer GmbH … Source - Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Jochen Günther

Sander GmbH & Co. KG … Source - Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Jochen Günther

 
Colours are all about plant life and the soil, and use the whole natural palette of greens, beiges, whites, browns and greys.

Source - WGSN

JAB JOSEF ANSTOETZ KG

Source - Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Jochen Günther

Patterns show mostly natural or nature inspired, abstracted motifs, like stone, wood textures or plant motifs.

Rioma S.A. … Source - Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Jean-Luc Valentin

Handmade and craft is getting more and more important. The source – the way things were made, the "story" – is as important as the final product.

Fiorete Group S.p.A. 

Source - Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Jean-Luc Valentin

Source - Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Pietro Sutera

 

I think that's a very good direction for all us independent designers, and especially for those who are designers/makers. It as well tells us how important it is to share our motivation/ our story and to show our work in progress!

The next and last theme is "Enrich" … coming up soon!
If you'd like to read about all themes, just scroll down! You'll find the "Protect" and "Energise" themes in my two previous posts.

Heimtex trends 2 – "Wellbeing 4.0 – Energise"

The second theme under the main trend "Wellbeing 4.0" is called "Energise".
It is quite an opposing influence to the first "Protect" theme.
This time it's not "switch off", rather "switch on" – and energise your being!

Theme Park … Source - Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Pietro Sutera

At the core this influence originates in using modern technology for wellbeing, for enhancing our  lifes. The offline and online worlds get more and more blurred. The internet gives us "digital dreams", offers inspiration abound and opens up larger worlds, providing us with new levels of energy.

Theme Park … Source - Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Pietro Sutera

Theme Park … Source - Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Pietro Sutera

 



Think high energy, brilliance, bold and loud designs.
A lively aesthetic, dynamic shapes and a good dose of humour too.
Colours play with contrasts, fluorescence and intense, electric shades.

Source - WGSN

Source - WGSN

Source - WGSN

Light is used as a "material", so designs play with gloss, refractions and reflections.

Theme Park … Source - Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Pietro Sutera

Theme Park … Source - Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Pietro Sutera

Patterns are bold and vivacious, and sometimes kaleidoscopic.

Muller-Textiel BV …
Source - Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Jean-Luc Valentin

Abbas Nishaburi  …
Source - Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Jochen Günther

Kayoom GmbH  …
Source - Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Jean-Luc Valentin

From a personal view this theme is not sooo much my cup of tea … still I think accents in high colour and bold pattern can be gorgeous. If contrasted with neutrals I even like fluorescence. It really depends on the dose I guess! But ok, that's just me … there are certainly lots of people around who like it more bold! And if it really gets too much? Well ok, then switch off again ;-)

Novartiplast Italia S.p.A.  … 

Source - Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Jochen Günther

Next post is about the "Nourish" trend theme.
To find out about the first theme "Protect", please just scroll down to my previous post.

Heimtex trends 1: "Wellbeing 4.0 – Protect"

As promised – though a bit later, sorry! – these are the 2016/ 2017 trends from Heimtex.

Rather than showing several different trend directions, this time a strong overall "umbrella" trend is predicted, called "Wellbeing 4.0". 

Source - Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Pietro Sutera

 


It's all about a "better life": more relaxed, more calm, more comfortable, less cluttered, less complicated … well who wouldn't want that? The international trend table (let by the WGSN Group from the US) sees a design direction with a stronger appeal to the senses, bringing the human factor back into design.

Within this overall trend, there's 4 different themes: Protect, Energise, Nourish and Enrich.

The trend "theme park". Source - Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Pietro Sutera

The trend "theme park" was located in a big hall with lots of space around. All themes were displayed in different "circles". I felt they were like cocoons in itself. And though this theme park might not have been as spectacular as former presentations, I liked the concept of centering information within these cocoons – while at the same time they stayed open and accessable, like the 4 themes flowing into one another.
I as well loved the display/collections of textiles on little tables placed all over the hall, inviting the viewer to check out all kinds of combinations and touch the materials as well.

The trend "theme park". Source - Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Pietro Sutera

The trend "theme park". Source - Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Pietro Sutera

I'll show you the first trend theme here today (and then progress to the other ones post by post in the next days).

Source - WGSN/Shutterstock

 
So now … switch off! "Protect" your mind …
"Protect" is the antidote to our modern 24/7 life, to being online and available all the time, to being constantly connected, taking in information, acting and reacting. It's all about having quality "me time", about relaxing, detoxing and keeping your mind fresh, uncluttered and sane.

Think purity and silence. 

Quality materials, a clean aesthetic, cocoon shapes, sensorial and often understated designs. 

Colours are mainly light, or neutrals and black. 

Patterns are pared down and often textural, like 3D weaves or knits.

Source - Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Jean-Luc Valentin

Source - WGSN

Source - WGSN

Source - Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Pietro Sutera

Source - WGSN/Shutterstock

Source - Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Pietro Sutera

"Protect" is based on a real psychological need and because of that I personally think it will be a strong design influence for quite some time.

So far for today …
if you'd like to have some general information on Heimtex and my visit there take a look at my last post (please scroll down a bit to get to the part about the fair).
And then it's the "Energise" trend theme next up!