Creating with Design in Mind

I'm super excited to be working on two new projects- both inspired by great design!  The first is a hand drawn and cut paper collage floral border for a set of three beautiful wedding invitations.  The invitations themselves are stunning and my job is to unify them without overpowering them- here's the mockup!

The purple and orange color scheme was picked based on the gorgeous invitations (roughly sketched here).

The flowers were selected based on the state flower of Rhode Island, where all three weddings were held!

The other new project is based on this stunning bouquet for my lovely friend, Emily!  Chris and I were overjoyed to celebrate with Emily and Mike this weekend and I can't wait to help preserve the bouquet from their special day using paper :)

How lucky am I that I got to keep this gorgeous bouquet!!

Papers so far- the invitations, hand painted magenta, hand colored orange, textured ivory and I'll be picking up this gorgeous yellow tomorrow from Paper Source!

Home and Honor

Last week I wrapped up an etsy order for a home portrait for a couple's anniversary gift.  The house of inspiration is absolutely charming so it made this project really fun!  Here's the result:

Since the start of summer, I've also been working on a very special series titled In Honor, which is inspired by the work of the Lone Survivor Foundation.  A close friend of mine commissioned the series and has really helped me develop a second line of work using paper and paint on canvas.  Here is the first large scale piece in the series called Never Quit.  This piece was a donation and 10% of future sales of this series will go to the Lone Survivor Foundation.

Memorial Day

The pat two weeks I've been honored to work on a very special project for a friend of mine.  This piece will go to the winner of a competition being hosted to raise money for the Lone Survivor Foundation- an organization dedicated to never giving up on those that never give up on us (their motto)- http://lonesurvivorfoundation.org/
It took me several days to even come up with ideas about how to make art to honor this organization and even more so that honors the veterans it serves.  After a lot of research, I came up with these five options:

It took some time to figure out how to incorporate paper into the pieces, which were originally commissioned as paintings.  I've been wanting to push into mixed media and this presented the perfect opportunity to infuse paper and paint.  The result is really exciting because each piece is better with combined mediums than if they were made entirely from paint or entirely from paper.

After presenting the five options to my friend hosting the competition, he picked this one for the winner!

I'll also be making these two in 16x20 as separate commissions and am hoping for more from the competition!

Week in Review

This week has been a busy one- new etsy order and a ship out date tomorrow.  The work being shipped out is a surprise so all I have is a small snippet of the piece.  Check it out-

more photos coming soon :)

I've also been working on a mock up for a magnolia family tree.  The order may not end up happening, but nevertheless, it's a great opportunity to show what a mock up looks like at c by carmmarie.

Back from Break

Hi everyone!  I can't believe that last time I posted was over spring break... what an epic fail on my 2014 business goal- get the c by carmmarie name out there :(  At least I've been holding up the other end of my 2014 goal- making tons of artwork!  Guess that will be my "excuse" for not posting.  Anyways, lots of updates and I'll let these pictures do the talking!

Amanda's bouquet in it's new home in Virginia!

One of my first silhouette cuts made shortly after Nelson Mandela passed away.  I've been waiting to give this as a gift and can't think of a person who embodies this quote more than Mindy!  She now has it on display in her fabulous e. Nashville home :)

A new family tree commissioned by the beautiful Ellie P for her mom!  Can't wait for her to receive it next weekend!

A happy mother's day gift :)

Two family trees, please!  Big ship out date last week- thank you UPS.  #buy"local" Gotta love my Louisville based shipping co.  They charged WAY less to ship these, now they are my "go to!"

Couldn't resist posting this gorgeous shot from last Saturday morning.  Love Louisville.  The balloon race is probably one of my favorite derby events since I grew up right across from the start of the race!  Hoping this photo finds it's way into some of my late summer work!

Sorry it's been so long!  Look for a new post every Sunday- promise!  I'm also hoping to make a separate facebook page so all my fb friends can choose whether to see these posts and so I can do a little better job with that goal I've been slacking on!

Happy May, y'all!

Seagrove studio turned studio

Turning this studio into a studio!  Even though it's vacation week, I can't drift too far from my work!  This beachy studio is so cozy and relaxing, but it also bright and beautiful for getting some creative work done!

Lovely Landscapes

Whew, even though I've only taught 3.5 days this week, I am tuckered!  Thankfully, I got a second wind just now and have managed to finish two mini-landscapes inspired by this lovely photo by my father in law, D. Noel:

Isn't it an absolutely gorgeous photo and lovely source of inspiration?!   After a recent critique, I've been reflecting upon developing a new line within my work that pushes into a more fine arts realm.  So, this is what I've come up with... which do you like?!  

Image 1- Mixed media (paint, paper, oil pastel on canvas board)

Image 2- Entirely paper (wanted to push myself to adapt my current medium)

I'd love to know your thoughts- you can't hurt my feelings (I teach high schoolers, remember?!)