PAPAYA! BLOG

Finnish Inspiration: Anna Emilia

We are experiencing Fake February here in the Rogue Valley. Or Faux Spring. Or...sunny and warm on Sunday and snow flurries on Monday, igloo hibernation by Tuesday. But how cute is this one by Finnish illustrator Anna Emilia? 

She is from Iceland, lives in Finland and although I have never been, her palette looks and feels like what I imagine it feels like there. Soft, snowy, dusky, slightly melancholy. Lots of blues & browns, greens and greys but the tentative optimism of spring colors in her patterns.

Check out her blog for more of her paintings, drawings and thoughts on life.

Just a few more weeks and these blossoms might be the real thing. xo

 

 

PAPAYA! in Paris- Part Deux

Back in September, Mindy posted about a trip we took to Paris for meetings, Masion et Objet, and overall inspiration.
I'm a little slow to share. Partly because I can sometimes be a procrastinator and partly because it always takes me a little time after I come home from a trip to let it all sink in.
I'm probably more inspired by travel than anything else. New perspectives, new things for my senses to explore, a reminder of how good life is.
Cheese is one of my all time favorite foods, so the fact I could have four hunks of cheese for lunch was beyond exciting. Also, Mindy introduced me to Croque-Madame. I cried.
You couldn't walk a block without seeing inspiring examples of logos and signs.

I've never really been to an art museum, so visiting the Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay were mind blowing. I couldn't believe each masterpiece, stacked to the high ceiling. They were so powerful they seemed to suck the air out of the rooms. 
We spent just about every possible moment exploring. A fast/slow pace of seeing as many things as possible, but taking enough time to let it all soak in and appreciate the moment. 

Paper Moon

Paper Moon...what fun!

I found instructions to make your own paper moon photo set for a wedding or other special event at Lucky Duck Press.

Emerald City

And the winner is....Emerald Green! I read a magazine article recently titled "You Know You're an Artist When..." and one of the statements was "You care what the Pantone color of the year is." then was followed up by, "You know what a Pantone color is". How true.

I love this jewel shade--natural outdoor greenery meets electric fashion color. I have no doubt it will be making its way to the gift & stationery world at warp speed...welcome Pantone 17-5641, Emerald. xo

 

Just Arrived!

I LOVE to start planning/dreaming of this years travel adventures in the grey month of February. To tote your accessories in style, we are happy to introduce 6 new styles of Large Accessory Pouches and 6 coordinated Small Accessory Pouches. Here is a peek of a few of the styles available.

The addition of graceful creatures to the jaw dropping beauty of these palace, mausoleum, and holy sites piqued my interest in this series by artist Karen Knorr.

 This series, India Song is exploring a visual link to the stories, fables and myths of northern India.

Stunning!

 

Enjoy these hand made plates by London ceramicist Charlotte Mei for some Friday inspiration.

Happy Friday all!

Even after hand painting all the walls of our Winter trade show booths with white paint on kraft paper brown, I still LOVE the look! I found these whimsical hand made kraft paper dolls by Maria Dubrovskaya

 

New Cards!

It's always wonderful when new art transforms itself into new PAPAYA products. There are almost twenty new cards up and coming in our line...arrivng here this month! Here's a peak at what's to come.

Ain't no Saint...

Thinking of You...

Tiara...

and Diva! 

Inez Storer

California painter and print maker Inez Storer has captivated my interest for years. I have seen her pieces in person and their size, vibrancy and layered depths are incredible up close.

In her artist statement, she says this: "Most of the time I enter my studio with an agenda, but then something happens, and I let the painting take me on its own journey. To be surprised while painting is the real experience, the reason to keep on doing the work. I have objects, bits and pieces, images cut from a myriad of sources and whatever I can collect that inform my work, or sometimes I actually attach materials of some kind to the surface of the painting. It is a way of going shopping every time I am in the studio. And artists love to shop in whatever form that activity can take."

And she closes with this: "We are all like blotters. I am a blotter, absorbing all the different aspects of what I experience. Painting is evolutionary, and a grand experience."