awake my soul: December 2016

Just thought I'd share a couple of artists that have been tickling my creativity lately, in case it sparks a little somethin' in you as the year comes to an end! I'm one of those people who loves to set goals and dream up crazy project ideas at the beginning of a new year, so here's to 2017 and turning all my creative dreams into reality. Let's do this.

Laura Berger is a Chicago-based artist “inspired by rituals, symbols, nature, dreams, travel, our quest for self-development and freedom, and how we piece it together to create personal meaning and a sense of belonging to the greater whole." I've often seen Laura's artwork sprinkled throughout my Pinterest feed; I finally took the time to peruse through her entire collection of work, and let's just say I am BLOWN AWAY. Major creative crush, if that's a thing. I'm in love with the playfulness and naivety of the human forms in each of her illustrations. Each composition draws a certain curiosity out of the viewer and the two-dimensional characters are so amiable and relaxed. Don't even get me started on the flawless color palette of soft pinks, blues, and flesh tones. The paintings below are just a handful of my favorites...be sure to check out the rest of her work at lauraberger.com!

“Because, Honestly" by Melody Hansen is (in the words of the artist) “a series to tell you how I feel when I don't know how else to say it." Simply put: it's raw, it's vulnerable, it's relatable, and it's beautifully human. The imperfect interaction of handwritten words, ink, and paint transcends the page and strikes something deep in my little beating heart. I guess they're all a bit sad, but I love how the artist seems to be celebrating life's harsh realities with these delicately straight-forward art pieces. Maybe it's the sense that we're all struggling, we're all flawed, and we're all a little broken—but we have each other. You can peruse more of her work at melody-hansen.com.