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I first discovered the ANKH, the Egyptian hieroglyph meaning "life" on a months-long trip to Egypt many years ago while visiting tombs, the Great Pyramids and the Temples of Luxor, Karnak and Abu Simbel amongst many others. Because ancient Egyptians believed that one's life on Earth is just a part of eternal life, the ANKH hieroglyph has come to also symbolize "Everlasting Life". It was because of this meaning and my love of Egypt, that I decided to get this symbol as my only tattoo (so far). So when I saw that this week's Spoonflower Design Challenge is "Talismans", I immediately knew that the Ankh would be the one I would use for my design. Here is my entry, coloured to emulate ancient scrolls! It's now available on fabric, wallpaper and home decor in my Spoonflower Shop! And check out the entries at the Voting Page!  
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Some of the ideas I've been playing with for a new collection I've been working on recently: unique colour combos, mix & match patchwork and pure abstraction and geometry! Although I'm working on another project (more about that soon!) that includes this new "Capri" pattern design, I thought it would also be perfect to enter in this week's Spoonflower "Create Room" Design Challenge which says: "The pattern you create should not only provide visual joy, but should inspire both you and others to create more", to use as a wallpaper backdrop in a DreamBox, an all-in-one craft room that folds away into a beautiful armoire, designed by Create Room. What do you think, does this design fit the challenge? In any event, I think it makes for a pretty cool bathroom! Check out the Voting Page!   I wasn't going to enter a design in this week's Spoonflower "ABCs of...Tea Towel" Design Challenge, but then I changed my mind when I came up with the idea for this "Geometric ABCs" design. It was a bit of a rush but I managed to finish it on time! I think it will make a great art print too...If you would like to see all the entries for this week's challenge, and maybe stock up on Christmas presents (!) you can link to the Voting Page and to my Spoonflower Shop too! Voting ends Oct 6 at 3:00 EDT! ADDENDUM: My Geometric ABCs came in 27th out of 437 entries! Thanks to all who voted!  I’ve just entered my new “Retro Rattlers” design in this week’s Spoonflower “Brightly-Colored Reptiles” Design Challenge! This is something a little different for me...OR is it? What do you think, does this design still look like my work? I’m very curious to hear what you think. I am very much liking this graphic “look” and I find my work is always a bit of a tug-of-war between clean, graphic shapes and a more hand-drawn style. Not sure if others see that too?? See it below with a coordinating design I think emulates a closeup view of snakeskin! Check out the Voting Page to see all the colourful entries! And I've just added this design to Throw Pillows in my New Shop...Check them out! 
Ah, feel that warm lavender-infused breeze! Even if you’re not biking through the south of France right now breathing in that summer air between wine tastings (but I digress)...Here is my “Sunset in the Lavender Fields” pattern design that I entered in this week’s Spoonflower “Aromatherapy” Design Challenge! Head over to the Voting Page to check out all the entries!  What do you think, would this design on your walls inspire relaxation? I hope you think so because I’ve entered it in this week’s Spoonflower “Quiet Spaces” Wallpaper Design Challenge! It’s also available on fabric and home decor as well! You can check out all the entries at the Voting Page! 
Last week I posted about how I was having a hard time getting any work done in the midst of all the bad news (see my June 2 post), so I decided to just work directly and freely on my computer, playing around with colour and shapes and with no real end goal. Well, one week later, those little quick thoughts have turned into a full collection of art prints and repeat pattern designs. I call it "Simple Things" because it is just an ensemble of little snapshots that came out when I decided to not over-think. I must remember to work this way more often...Each design (both art prints and repeat patterns) comes in Dark and Light complementary colour ways so you can mix & match several for an eye-popping feature wall (and maybe some pillows as well!). Purchase these art prints in my NEW SHOP! 
For this week's Spoonflower "East Fork" Design Challenge, Spoonflower paired with gorgeous ceramic maker East Fork Pottery. The challenge was to create a pattern design using at least one of East Fork's new collection colours Malibu and Tequila Sunrise (I used both)! Here is my "Tami" pattern design, one of a series of new mid-century-modern-influenced (!) designs named for popular girls names of the 50s and 60s. This one is now available in my Spoonflower Shop. And you can vote in the Design Challenge at the Voting Page!  I entered my "Cut Paper Snowflakes" design in this week's Spoonflower "Papercut Napkins" Design Challenge (you can see how I created it in the photos below)! I thought maybe snowflakes weren't the best theme for this time of year, but then I noticed a couple of stories in our local paper... The Rapid Relief Fund which was created to help local people in need in this time of crisis, has gotten a boost from the Times Colonist (our local newspaper) Christmas Fund which is donating $100000 to match and encourage other donations. For the first time in history, the Christmas Fund is being put to work in the Spring. And a local woman has suggested we all turn on our Christmas lights to show thanks to our front-line health-care and other public workers. So, I guess...Christmas snowflakes in Spring? Why not?! You can check out the Voting Page to see all the entries!
The Nugget Play Couch created by nuggetcomfort.com is a kid’s play couch that is “Part-furniture, part-toy, and all-around the best thing to happen to playtime since, well, ever!" Sounds like my kinda furniture! This week Nugget partnered with Spoonflower for this week’s “Nugget Couch" Design Challenge: to create a pattern to be used on a limited-edition Nugget to come out later this year. Some of the design elements they requested: colour-blocking, non-directional, bright colours (max 8), geometric, fitting into multiple room styles, design for stylish parents who might lean to minimalist style. And also remembering when my kids were younger we read endless books about shapes, sizes and colours, and played with building toys endlessly (I think we had every building toy out there), plus keeping older kids and "stylish” parents in mind, here is my entry which I call, not surprisingly, "Shapes Sizes Colours” (which I also quite like on bedding, pillows, table linens and wallpaper too!) This challenge is a FUN one, so I would be grateful for your VOTE on this one! Have a look at all the entries at the Voting Page!
My Entry For This Week's Spoonflower "Faux-Textured Wallpaper" Design Challenge is...Snakeskin!3/12/2020 This week’s Spoonflower Design Challenge is “Faux-Textured Wallpaper”! Influenced by my recent desert-themed designs, my texture of choice is...SNAKESKIN! And I do love how this design looks with that white mid-century modern couch! To check out all the entries, go to the Voting Page!  
 Here's a question: can a design be both Art Nouveau and minimalist at the same time?! I actually call this design from my archive "Art Nouveau" so I thought I would enter it in this week's Spoonflower "Art Nouveau Wallpaper" Design Challenge! When I designed it I thought it felt like Art Nouveau albeit a bit pared-down and minimalist! What do you think? Does it "feel" like an Art Nouveau design to you?! Check out the Voting Page to see this week's gorgeous designs! ADDENDUM (on Jan 23 2020): This design won 30th place in the Art Nouveau Wallpaper Design Challenge (out of 581 entries!) As a result, it is immediately available for sale on Spoonflower, and it's already been sold a few times! Link to it HERE! Thanks so much to all who voted, I very much appreciate your ongoing support. All the best! J  I'm a bit late posting about this week's Spoonflower "1-Yd Abstract Landscape Wall Hanging" Design Challenge since I was away on a much-needed holiday with my family on the Wild West Coast of Vancouver Island. But here is my new "Blood Moon" design which I though was fitting given we just spent the better part of the last week walking long beaches, storm-watching, and going for forest hikes! If you want to vote, you should hurry since voting will close tomorrow January 7 at 3:00 EST! Here is a link to the Voting Page! ADDENDUM: Because "Blood Moon" ranked highly in the Challenge, it is now immediately available for sale in my Spoonflower Shop! Thanks for your votes, truly!  Here is my latest design in a series of floral abstract prints I've been working on recently, and I'm really torn! I just can't seem to decide between these two background colours: blue-silver or bright teal. I think the flowers pop a bit more on the blue-silver, but the teal background just makes the whole design, well, brighter! This design is also one of a series I've been working on and both seem to work in the series equally well...Please help me out and comment about which one you like better! Thanks!
Here is one of my abstract designs that I re-coloured with all these crazy colour combinations and submitted to this week's Spoonflower "Kaleidoscope" Design Challenge. Look closely...How long do you think it took for me to decide on the colours? Don't ask...If you want to check out all the cool designs (and this week, I think "cool" is the right description), you can link to the Spoonflower Voting Page here! Voting ends Nov 19 at 3:00 EST.  |
AuthorJackie Tahara of UnBlink Studio Archives
March 2021
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All images on this website are Copyright © Jackie Tahara. All rights reserved.
If sharing, pinning or blogging my images, please always credit me and link back to my website. Supporting artists is a good thing to do! Thank you!
If sharing, pinning or blogging my images, please always credit me and link back to my website. Supporting artists is a good thing to do! Thank you!