JenMarie Zeleznak creates work that’s introspective, emotional, and spiritual. The animals in each piece represent the self while retaining their own gestures and forms, all of this occurring in an in-between space that Zeleznak builds with watercolor pencils.
I need to establish physical and emotional intimacy with my process and subjects. Anxious mark making fills in my animal forms, as layers of gradients and nuances of color blend together. I meditate in these moments. I work with watercolor pencils in a manner both sensitive and crude, using my saliva and sweat, hands and fingers to manipulate the material onto paper. This personal and direct connection, much like caressing or grooming an animal, gives me the intimacy I need in the work as I bring the animal into being, inducing an empathetic response.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made the mistake of dipping my paintbrush in my coffee or coming this close to taking a swig of the paint water! Lucky for all of us who can relate, illustrator Hallie Bateman’s created this set of Paint Water / Not Paint Water Mugs.
Last year, from April to July, paper artist Reina Takahashi asked the Instagram community to tell her about their favorite or most memorable breakfasts. From there she created 100 of them, entirely out of paper, in 100 days! Any anecdotes from the person who suggested the meal are noted in the captions on Instagram, where the entire project can be found under #100paperbreakfasts.
Because of the sharp lines and side-by-side high contrast artist Siobhan McBride uses, many of her pieces look like collages at first glance. But look for a little while longer and you’ll start to notice subtle shading and other intricacies that can only be achieved by the skilled brush of a painter.
Now that we know it’ll be the Philadelphia Eagle and the New England Patriots facing off in Super Bowl LII, we can get onto the very important task of party planning. Or more specifically menu planning. Because if either of those teams aren’t your favorite – this Pittsburgh Steelers fan included – then the most important thing happening at the Super Bowl party you’re hosting or attending will likely be the food.
I’ve only been to two types of SB parties in my lifetime – the kind that includes paper plates and cans of beer, and the type where it would be frowned upon to throw the plates or glasses into the trash. In other words, basic and fancy. Basic parties include the old standbys while fancy parties step outside the box a bit more. Both types of party foods are fantastic and delicious, and I wouldn’t turn down an invitation to either!
The Monday after this year’s Women’s March seems like an ideal day to share Johanna Goodman‘s The Catalogue of Imaginary Beings! All women, all fierce, all powerful. Each elongated figure is a collage combining elements of art, design, and architecture with references to cultural artifacts such as talismans, idols, and totems.
I’ve barely started this post and I already feel naked. Last year was difficult for a multitude of reasons, and the hard and fast truth of it is that my business was one of the bigger ones. I won’t sugarcoat it or try to distract you with pretty words – although maybe some nice photos might help? At times this journey with FreshBooks has felt like picking up the rug only to discover the dirt underneath, or putting on makeup to hide the flaws. It’s made me take a very real, very deep look into my future and the future of this site.
Blogging is a funny business. It’s not even one that existed in a professional capacity when I started Design Crush almost eleven years ago, and it’s definitely not a career path I planned for myself. But I fell in love and absolutely adore what I do here, and at times probably border on being a bit of a workaholic because of it. But what was once one person sitting behind a desk or on a couch or at a dining room table putting something out into the void of the internet is now a career that includes teams, financial backers, and the dreaded pivot to video. Algorithms seem to change with every week, decimating audiences that have been hard-fought for. Then there’s the game of comparison, and reminding oneself that someone else’s endgame isn’t going to look the same as your middle. So is this my middle or am I nearing my end? Who knows.
What I do know is that even ten years later I’m still figuring it out as I go.
Last year I was able to get the financial side of Design Crush on lockdown with the help of FreshBooks, and I can honestly say that thanks to them I don’t hate dealing with money nearly as much as I once did. Having all of my invoices present and accounted for on a platform that’s well designed and intuitive with a slew of other features that I actually use has made it loads less painful. It’s so gratifying to see the charting of my earnings throughout the year, and time previously spent on my finances can be dedicated towards making those numbers go up! (Because no, product offers unfortunately do not pay the bills.)
Like I said, I’m far from having it all figured out. I don’t want to hire a team or have financial backers or pivot to video, and I never did. But one of the most important qualities any small business owner can have is adaptability and I’m certain some changes will be inevitable. And when they show up I’ll learn to roll with the punches just like I have over the last decade. (DECADE!)
Thanks for coming along with me on this four part journey! It’s been eye-opening and mildly nauseating to say the least, but I wanted to give you an honest look at what goes on behind the scenes and through my mind – usually at all hours of the night. If you missed the first three parts of the series with FreshBooks you can catch up here, here, and here.
This post sponsored by FreshBooks. All words and opinions are my own, as always. Thank you for supporting the brands that help keep Design Crush creating fresh content!
Zara Picken is a UK-based illustrator with a very graphic style that’s reminiscent of mid-century art. Each piece, commissioned or personal, has a strong concept and lots of visual punch featuring her trademark 2D flat perspective.
