Instagram – Diana Kelley – Surface Pattern Designer

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Shadows of weeds, near and far; cyanotype on cotton sateen. It's amazing and kind of startling to me to realize that in the time we've been staying at home, muddling along with homeschooling and stepping on each other's feet (metaphorically, mostly), the sunlight on our porches has changed from slanted and early Spring-ish to strong, nearly Summer. ⁠⠀
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Last year at this time I was gathering materials and studying up on cyanotype, then all through the summer and fall I worked on it--when alone, while my son was at school or camp. And before, if you'd asked me to describe how I create, I don't think "alone" would even have occurred to me to say. It would have been like saying "I also breathe." It's only in this time of no-aloneness that this powerful habit has become visible to me. Wait until I'm alone. When I'm alone, I will think about this. I will do [x, y or z] when I'm alone. ⁠⠀
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I'm curious now, is aloneness really essential to me, or is it a habit I could change? It looks like I'll have lots of time to practice working not-alone this year, so I might as well test it out. How is staying at home working out for you, friends? Are you a Jane Austen, writing away on a side table while your family chatters around you? Or a Virginia Woolf, in need of a room of your own?

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Mom. She would have been 80 in March, but we lost her last September. I'm remembering her today as she seemed to me then--beautiful, incandescent, larger than anything. I loved her clothes, her bold patterns and colors and beautiful details, mostly made by her, repurposed from textiles she loved. (The band in her hair in this photo is a scrap of Hungarian embroidery from her father, still in her dresser drawer now.) As a toddler I was so attached to and fascinated by her knees--probably because they were eye-level when I clung to her legs, and always visible in her short dresses. She had a scar on one of them and I had so many wild ideas about how she got it. ⁠⠀
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As I began to sort through her things this winter I kept coming across little fragments of this time in her life: letters to her mother from the late 60s that my grandmother must have saved; invoices for weaving wool and swatch cards from defunct American spinning mills; a handwritten record from our pediatrician noting my height and weight and that I'd received a smallpox vaccination. I always think I need to be ruthless in decluttering and letting things go--and I would have said my mother needed to do the same!--but if she had, and if my grandmother had, I would never have seen these things. But I would give a lot to be able to ask her questions now, like what happened to the plan you told your mother about, to buy land in New Hampshire? How did you get started with weaving, and what were your ambitions? When you told your mother you were happy, was it true? ⁠⠀
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If Mother's Day is a mixture of happy and sad for you this year, I see you. ⁠And to all my friends who are mothers, or have mothers, Happy Mother's Day, this year and always.⁠⠀

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How are you doing, friends? I'm learning that I don't have a big future as a homeschool teacher. 😀 Also that however much I judged my daily routine before the current emergency as *insufficiently structured*, in its absence I've realized how much I relied on it, the little scattered milestones of a day that I barely noticed, but were there providing invisible support. ⁠⠀
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I may not have my "new" daily work process in order yet, but I did do this: Updated a pattern from last year, orchids in digital cyanotype, and ordered some cotton sateen yardage to make a simple summer blouse. And matching masks I guess, if I have enough selvedge? TBD.⁠⠀
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#surfacepattern #surfacepatterndesign #patterndesign #textiledesign #fabricdesign #surfacepatterndesigner #printdesign #textilepattern #makeitindesign #patternobserver #printandpattern #colorpalette #miidlivehub #fabric #wallpaper #wallpaperdesign #patternartist #showyourwork #textile #floralpattern #cyanotype #photoart #botanicalart

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Yesterday when my son and I left the house we surprised a pair of mourning doves sitting in one of the hanging baskets on our porch. I hoped they were just gathering some of the fibers, but no--in the one day the basket was vacant (I just took out last year's old plants on Wednesday) they'd already assembled this little nest. "Maybe they'll change their minds now that they know how close they are to our back door," I said, hopefully. But last night there they were, snuggled up together in the darkness. ⁠⠀
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Obviously they're serious about this! So, time for Plan B: How to work around a nesting pair of doves so we don't scare them multiple times a day and can still water our plants sometimes. I thought, the basket is really low now (human eye level), would it be okay if I raise it a little? This morning I watched and waited, and when they were both out of the nest for a minute I dashed out and moved the basket a foot or so up the chain. Not a moment too soon, because there's an egg in there! Then I watched again until the doves came back. They seem unbothered and one of them is sitting placidly in the nest again. Only now it's above our heads, which I hope will make them feel better about us sometimes walking by. ⁠⠀
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For a few minutes yesterday, I was worried about having them there. My husband's brother is coming to stay with us tomorrow and in my head I've been envisioning using our porch as overspill living space. But there are Plan Bs for that too--focus on our front balcony for now, wait to move up furniture until it's warmer out. We have some plants from the nursery to put in, so that will be a test--can they ignore us, twenty feet away at the other end of the porch? Anyway, as a sign of spring, and of life continuing, I'm grateful for the Dove Family’s confidence in us. Good luck to everyone, I guess! #mourningdove #birdsnest #birdproblems

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When I told my son about #transmundanetuesdays and #quarantineartclub, he was very excited to join in. Like, he woke me up this morning to ask what today's prompt is. :D This is yesterday's prompt, "cat in glasses with a scepter." He would also like me to tell you that it's a cat Salvator Mundi; because as a loyal fan of @baumgartnerrestoration art-restoration videos, that's what "holding a scepter" means to him now. So, "Salvator Mundi, or Cat In Glasses With Scepter" by Efram, age 6. Stay well, everyone! #QACcatinglasseswithascepter #stayhome

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Thursday morning flashback to a favorite project. I hope your work week is going well, friends! #CMYK #uppercasemagazine⠀
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#surfacepattern #surfacepatterndesign #patterndesign #printdesign #makeitindesign #miidlivehub #uppercasemagazine #letters #illustratedtype #makeitindesign

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The pattern I couldn't stop recoloring now has a name, City Blocks, and a wee BB blanket mockup because how cute and squishy is that? ⁠⠀
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#winterschool2020 #newdawn @makeitindesign #surfacepattern #surfacepatterndesign #patterndesign #textiledesign #fabricdesign #surfacepatterndesigner #printdesign #textilepattern #makeitindesign #patternobserver #printandpattern #colorpalette #miidlivehub #fabric #geometricpattern #tilepattern #designforkids #kidsdesign #kidspattern ⁠⠀

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Color twin of yesterday's tropical leaves, now with more EXPERIMENT. One of a continuing series combining quilt geometry + wood grain + color + reflection + blend modes. I'm the worst judge of whether this pattern is awesome or crazy because I want to marry it, that is all. ⁠⠀
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#surfacepattern #surfacepatterndesign #patterndesign #textiledesign #fabricdesign #surfacepatterndesigner #printdesign #textilepattern #makeitindesign #patternobserver #printandpattern #colorpalette #miidlivehub #fabric #wallpaper #wallpaperdesign ⁠⠀
#patternartist #showyourwork #geometricpattern #tilepattern #photographicpattern #adobephotoshop #photoshopartist

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Tropical leaf design, prompted by the MIID Winter School design brief "Expedition", subcategory "Lucid Nature." I finally remembered to leave some negative space in a pattern! :DD I envision this as one column up the center of a fabric bolt. (I don't know what that type of layout is called. There must be a name!) I can see this as drapery or a mural but my first love is always upholstery, as you'll see from the chair mockup if you swipe. All the rainbow colors for your Thursday! ⁠⠀
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#winterschool2020 #expedition @makeitindesign #surfacepattern #surfacepatterndesign #patterndesign #textiledesign #fabricdesign #surfacepatterndesigner #printdesign #makeitindesign #patternobserver #printandpattern #colorpalette #miidlivehub #fabric #wallpaper #wallpaperdesign #floralpattern #maximalist #maximalism #tropical #photographicpattern #tropicalpattern

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In between making ALL THE COLORFUL GEOMETRICS, I've been continuing my experiments with cyanotype + digital photography in repeat patterns. Cyanotype of knitted wedding veil X digital image of Japanese cedarwood. This wood grain is so beautiful--it looks like so many things, from waves to sedimentary rock to the hearts of sliced-open radicchio, which is what this one looks like to me. Picture it in velvet and wrap it around your favorite chair. Gorgeous, no?

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Can't stop won't stop recoloring⁠.⁠ 😂

#winterschool2020 #newdawn @makeitindesign #surfacepattern #surfacepatterndesign #patterndesign #textiledesign #fabricdesign #printdesign #colorpalette #miidlivehub #wallpaperdesign #geometricpattern

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For the MIID Winter School trend brief "Visionary," still using my favorite palettes. I really like this rounds-and-crosses pattern--I keep trying things with it, sketchbook-style, and each variation pleases me in a different way. Swipe for a woodgrain variation. How do people choose just one option?⁠⠀
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#winterschool2020 #newdawn #visionary @makeitindesign #surfacepattern #surfacepatterndesign #patterndesign #textiledesign #fabricdesign #surfacepatterndesigner #printdesign #textilepattern #makeitindesign #patternobserver #printandpattern #showyourwork #colorpalette #miidlivehub #wallpaper #wallpaperdesign #geometricpattern #tilepattern

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Pattern inspired by bead curtains. I made it for the MIID Winter School prompt "New Dawn," but managed to stray so far from the brief I think it's its own thing now. Naturally I made 46 zillion colorways but here are two favorites--this lavender and orange that I call "Puffy Dress," after the Moncler/Valentino puffer gown collab that inspired it, and a muted one derived from a painting of pelicans. ⁠⠀
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#winterschool2020 #surfacepattern #surfacepatterndesign #patterndesign #textiledesign #fabricdesign #surfacepatterndesigner #printdesign #makeitindesign #patternobserver #printandpattern #miidlivehub #textile #textilepattern #colorpalettte #fabric #wallpaper #wallcoverings #wallpaperdesign #geometricpattern

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The Make It In Design Winter and Summer Schools are two of my favorite events each year. The experience of working from the same trend briefs with a diverse group of fellow designers is always enlightening. Highly recommended! @makeitindesign #winterschool2020 #makeitindesign⁠⠀
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#surfacepattern #surfacepatterndesign #patterndesign #textiledesign #fabricdesign #surfacepatterndesigner #printdesign #patternobserver #miidlivehub #letters #lettering

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Textile repeat pattern made from cyanotypes of ranunculus petals. I didn't notice it has eyes until later. 👀😄
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#surfacepattern #surfacepatterndesign #patterndesign #textiledesign #fabricdesign #surfacepatterndesigner #patternartist #printdesign #textilepattern #makeitindesign #patternobserver #printandpattern #showyourwork #colorpalette #miidlivehub #fabric #wallpaper #wallpaperdesign #floralpattern #cyanotype #cyanotypeprocess #cyanotypeprint #altprocessphotography #worldcyanoday

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When in doubt, make marks. ⁠⠀
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#surfacepattern #surfacepatterndesign #patterndesign #textiledesign #fabricdesign #surfacepatterndesigner #printdesign #makeitindesign #patternobserver #printandpattern #miidlivehub #winterschool2020 #newdawn #watercolor

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I set myself a simple list of art goals this year: (1) make lots of things, (2) practice small, (3) don't rush the prep. Of those three, the second, practice small, is super important; first because it makes (1) possible, also because working small lowers the stakes on any single effort: you try, you practice, you do multiples, get in lots of iterations of an idea as you work through it. If it goes awry, the investment is small and you can start another and practice some more. Sounds easy! (Also kind of hard, if you're a perfectionist with an aversion to rough drafts.) Anyway for my first work of the new year I made this. It's not small, and I didn't plan my palette in advance (not necessary for every work/everyone, but a problem for me because I never do it, and I should, hence (2) "don't rush the prep") but it's art, so. Something happy for my son's bedroom; watercolor, watercolor pencil, neocolor crayon. Warming up for a colorful year.⁠⠀
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#surfacepattern #surfacepatterndesign #patterndesign #textiledesign #fabricdesign #surfacepatterndesigner #printdesign #makeitindesign #miidlivehub #watercolor #watercolorpainting #colorpalette #geometric #geometricart #artforkids #artistsofinstagram

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Just seeing how watercolor looks on polymer clay. How's your Monday?⠀
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(You can't just watercolor on polymer clay though. This piece was painted with Schmincke Aqua-Grund watercolor ground first. Still testing different surface options; maybe absorbent acrylic gesso next?)⠀
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#experiments #polymerclay #watercolor #watercolorpainting #schmincke #artistsofinstagram #showyourwork

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When you’re on the phone for ages but you need to do An Art. (I don’t usually work with wax pastels, but a little semi-forced time with them has encouraged me to give them more of a trial. What new materials are we all looking forward to trying this year?)
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#sketchbook #colorstudy #neocolor

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Amid the holiday bustle, I'm still trying out little experiments. This is my first test of cyanotype on polymer clay, and it turned out pretty well! I previously tested watercolor pencil on this same little piece, so the background color isn't white--also a useful experiment. I'm going to hang this little cutie on my tree to represent 2019. Happy Christmas Eve, friends! .
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#cyanotype #cyanotypeprocess #cyanotypeprint #altprocessphotography #blueprint #handmadeprint #alternativeprocesses #altprocess #sunprint #prussianblue #photogram #worldcyanoday #cyanotypeonclay #cianotipo #cyanotypie #polymerclay #showyourwork #designprocess #surfacedesign

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Friends, Society6 is having a special artist promo right now, where you can get 35% off anything in my shop using a special link (click the linktree link in my bio to get the promo). The sale lasts until 12/16--which is also the holiday deadline for standard shipping. I recently put some new holiday-ish designs up, so please think of me when you're shopping for Christmas and Hanukkah! .
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#society6 #society6art #society6artist #society6shop #shopsmall #holidayshopping #surfacepatterndesigner

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Long ago when I was a new knitter--15 years ago maybe?--I knitted these mittens for my mother. I came across them last week when I was at her old home for Thanksgiving, continuing the trying but necessary work of sifting through her things. I'd lost my own mittens a few days before and so I brought these home with me, where a few days' wear revealed the weak threads, the tiny nibbles of moths. I still have the yarn I used to make them, and my first thought was to match the thread, an invisible repair. My second thought was this. Visible repair, wool on stranded mittens, in loving memory.
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#visiblemending #darning #mending #knitted #knittedmittens #handknit #wool #mothweek

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Such a fast turnaround from Thanksgiving to Christmas! I'm feeling holidayish but also like the year is speeding to a close before I'm ready. I'm updating my Society6 shop today with some new designs especially suited to gift wrap. Hello December, let's get a few more things done in 2019!⁠⠀
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#surfacepattern #surfacepatterndesign #patterndesign #textiledesign #fabricdesign #surfacepatterndesigner #patternartist #patternillustration #printdesign #textile #textilepattern #makeitindesign #patternobserver #printandpattern #showyourwork #colorpalette #miidlivehub #geometricpattern #tilepattern #wrappingpaper #giftwrap #society6artist #society6shop #holidaydecor

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Surprise sun today, so I have some cyanotypes cooking. We'll see how they turn out, but meanwhile this is one from earlier in the summer--the days of cooperative light, how I miss them. 🙂 Cyanotype of embroidered netting on Canson Montval cold press paper. Happy Friday!⁠⠀
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#cyanotype #cyanotypeprocess #cyanotypeprint #altprocessphotography #analogphotography #blueprint #handmadeprint #alternativeprocesses #altprocess #sunprint #prussianblue #photogram #worldcyanoday #cameralessphotography #worksonpaper #vintagelace #canson @cansonpaper #jacquardproducts