#53 The End

This is the end, my friends. I can't believe that it's been a year since I started this project. What a journey! I can honestly say that I loved almost every moment of it, and I'm not going to deny that sometimes it was a lot of self imposed pressure but that was the point: commitment, discipline and to prove myself that I can do it!

Also I learned a lot about myself, about just doing my own thing and stop worrying about what other people might think about my work. I also learned that sometimes I cracked under pressure (specially when not inspired at all!), but that also my most creative job was done under that same pressure.

Something that I didn't have in mind when thought of this project was that the texts would be so vital, somehow some of them took the prime spot, and it's ok, I really enjoyed writing them (another creative side to explore!).

Lots of thanks to all my friends and family that supported me during this year, your words of encouragement were an inspiration and, of course, it's also nice to know that someone out there likes what I do! 

And as I said in the beginning of this blog, I will keep searching ways to express what I have inside, so next year, I will test the waters with interior design, and you never know, another blog may come this way...

Up there it's me, wearing my own designs! How very fashionable of me!

Down here, also me, in real life.

 Goodbye, Opy out.

#52 The Little Fox

Soon I will be having a brand new nephew in my life, and don't want to leave him out of my patterns just because he won't be born before the project finale next week. 

And so this little fox is for you Julian... the fox is my favourite character from The Little Prince for he teaches the Prince the most important lesson in the book. The fox meets the Prince when the latter is disappointed and lonely. He has just seen the garden of roses and realized that his flower is common, not unique and valuable as he had imagined. The fox, however, teaches the Prince that one cannot judge another by seeing with the eyes; instead, one has to see and judge with the heart. As a result, the Little Prince realizes that his flower is really very special, for he has loved and cared for it. Also the fox asks the Little Prince to “tame” him. He explains that one is tamed by being loved and valued. Since the Prince invests time and energy into the fox, the animal does become tame, and a close friendship develops between the two of them. The Little Prince always remembers the teachings of the fox, who proves that he is wise indeed.

“Goodbye,” said the fox. “And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” 

“What is essential is invisible to the eye,” the little prince repeated, so that he would be sure to remember.

Until next week, the last week of this project! Opy x

#51 Solitaire

Cherish your solitude. Take trains by yourself to places you have never been. Sleep out alone under the stars. Learn how to drive a stick shift. Go so far away that you stop being afraid of not coming back. Say no when you don’t want to do something. Say yes if your instincts are strong, even if everyone around you disagrees. Decide whether you want to be liked or admired. Decide if fitting in is more important than finding out what you’re doing here. Believe in kissing.

I found this quote while researching for the word solitude, it's by Eve Ensler, a playwright and feminist activist best known for the play The Vagina Monologues. Good, isn't it?

#50 Aiming high, high like a giraffe!

Honestly, most of my life I had aimed highish, I'd like to think as myself as a down to earth person, however as I grow older, my aims are becoming higher, because I realise, of course, that the rewards are even higher, as I'm learning to appreciate all aspects of an outcome, whether is what I had in mind or not; proof of that is this project, and as the end approaches, the higher I reach the higher I feel.

Opy x

#49 Do Your Own Thing

To be nobody-but-yourself — in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else — means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.

E. E. Cummings

#48 Keep Watching

Yeah, yeah, I know I am super extra late this week, or last week? but for good reasons, one of them being that the 19th was my birthday, so I wanted to make the pattern about me, or at least about something I specially love.... and you know when they say that to create something about ourselves is the most difficult, they are totally right! Complete blocked, blank mind... so after much stressing I decided to leave it to fate... so for inspiration, I took a random Frankie magazine, with my eyes closed, flicked the pages, point somewhere and funny thing, I pointed an ad with pendant of a hot air balloon! (true story!) A sign for sure.... because I absolutely love my first ever pattern "Watch, Lean & Fly", so here it is another version, besides recycling is cool!

                              If I were in charge of the world 

                              I’d cancel Monday morning, coriander 

                              and Crocs.

                              If I were in charge of the world 

                              There’d be an Ikea in New Zealand

                              and all plane seats would be first class (but without the price!) 

                              If I were in charge of the world 

                              You wouldn’t have rain on weekends. 

                              You wouldn’t have traffic jams. 

                              You wouldn’t have calories. 

                              If I were in charge of the world 

                              Chocolate be a vegetable. 

                              Ryan Gosling would be my husband.

                              And a person who sometimes forgot to txt back, 

                              And sometimes forgot to call back, 

                              Would still be allowed to be 

                              In charge of the world.

Of course what I really want is peace, a world free of hunger and starvation, a world where all people are treated with dignity, respect and equality, but you knew that... so this version is for your LOLs. This is based in the poem by Judith Viorst, I used it as base and just add my personal wishes. What would you do if you were in charge of the world?

#47 Retro Coffee Pots

I love coffee, I love tea, 

I love the Java Jive and it loves me 

Coffee and tea and the java and me, 

A cup, a cup, a cup, a cup, a cup! 

I love java sweet and hot, 

Whoops, Mister Moto, I'm a coffee pot 

Shoot me the pot, and I'll pour me a shot, 

A cup, a cup, a cup, a cup, a cup! Boy!

Dedicated to my brother in law, Sebastian, a coffee lover.... Happy Birthday!

#46 Wendy, I'm Home

Last week I watched again, after years, The Shining; superb Kubrick horror movie. Oh, the music! the photography! It's kind of obvious from the begining that Jack will go cuckoo (Nicholson is never up to any good). Even Wendy clumsy and quirky acting is good (and yes! she is Olive Oyl in Popeye!). 

Apparently Stephen King wasn't very happy about this adaptation, claiming it is not very loyal to the book... well Stephen, let the genius work... the movie stands as a thing of its own.

Also what I love about the movie are the carpets and wallpaper, who can forget the carpet on the hallway, where Danny cycles around (here in the pattern). Classic 70' design!

Heeeeeere's Johnny!

PS: in case is hard to read "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" as repeatedly written by Jack and read by Wendy

#45 Paper Planes

Spring is in the air and so are the airplanes! It is such a necessity to travel, specially when you literally live in a island: "Get me out of here!" my body claims at least once a year! 

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness.

Mark Twain

#44 Paisley

I super like paisley, this classic textile pattern is characterized by colourful, curved figures; it is named for the shawls manufactured at the town of Paisley, Scotland. When, about 1800, patterned shawls made from the soft fleece of the Kashmir goat began to be imported to Britain from India, machine-woven equivalents were made at Paisley to supply the insatiable demand that had been created for “cashmere” shawls. Paisley shawls, in silk and cotton and later in wool, with sober colouring, were beautiful in their own right. Their rich, abstract, curvilinear patterns, modified from their Kashmir counterparts and deriving ultimately from Mughal art, have continued to be widely adopted in modern textiles, especially for clothing. A motif resembling an enlarged comma (well-known in Mughal decorative art) is the one by which most people recognize a paisley pattern.

What I like most about them is the rhythm they communicate, specially when in strong colours. I think that they look great not only in cloths but also in linen, sofas, chair and cushions. They are making a came back this S/S 2012, if I could only dig deep into my teenager years closet to find that precious black & fucsia paisley top, oh well, will have to get a new one then...

#43 Potpourri Collage

Yes, that's it! Only 10 patterns to go, so some elements decided to have another 15 minutes of fame. A mix and match of whatever with some new elements (as if Marilyn was going to be left out!)

Going to the basics here, a sort of collage, remember them? I did plenty of those back in the day, love the cut & paste concept. And don't try to look for logic in the layout, there isn't really one (psychologist: enjoy!)

The main photos on the background were taken with my film camera, Lomography Diana Mini, (yeap, no digital here!) during different trips around the globe, can you see Montmartre there? or the beautiful Rio? Also my very special place in Argentina, my family farm Doña Leonor.

I love it, you like?

#42 Kaleidoscope: Candy for the Eye

Who doesn't love a kaleidoscope? Call it a toy or an optical device, it always put a smile on my face. 

Kalos, eidos & skopios meaning beautiful, form & view, respectively. Simple yet super smart! 

“Creativity is a lot like looking at the world through a kaleidoscope. You look at a set of elements, the same ones everyone else sees, but then reassemble those floating bits and pieces into an enticing new possibility. Effective leaders are able to”

 Rosabeth Moss Kanter

#41 Olympic Swimmer

Not even the Olympics can escape the geometric design trend, it's everywhere! 

I like most of the branding, especially the colour combos (can't you tell from the pattern? orange & hot pink! oh my!), however I'm not particularly fond of the mascot, Wenlock. What is that thing?! Is it like a Leela from Futurama? Is it a Minion from Despicable Me? "Simplicity is Beauty" obviously does not apply here. Olympic fail if you ask me! Bring Cobi back!

And if you are having an Olympic overdose, it's ok, don't panic! You are totally allowed, it is, after all, only every 4 years and not in many occasion we get to see sports that we (ordinary "non sporty" people) rarely ever get to watch. The flexible gymnasts (with all the glitter, of course!), the fast swimmers & the bikers with the futuristic outfits. What a parade of effort, agility & coordination! Thanks for the entertaining!

#40 Oh Deer

A wounded deer leaps the highest. 

Emily Dickinson

#39 Star Friends

Good friends are like stars, you don't always see them, but you know they are always there!

I'm lucky, I have a good share of very different friends: some are tall, some are short, some are fun, others a tad serious, some are free spirits, others are conformists, some are open minded, some think the world revolve around them, some are creative, others like numbers, some are tidy neat, others are messy, some dance, some are goofy, lots cook heavenly, some are parents, a few are blood family, with some I can talk for hours, with others I can share silence. In any case, I've chosen to have them in my life, as well as they accept me to be in theirs. I'm thankful for their persona, they sure enrich and make my life colourful! Happy "Friend's Day"!

#38 Today

As we all know, life could be a bit unpredictable, sometimes we cannot know what's around the corner, so would it be crazy to live and enjoy every day as if is our last? well yes! but we can at least try, no?

And I don't mean bungyjumping, or some extreme activity that will raise your adrenaline, making you feel "alive". I believe its more about the little things, about being greatful and not giving things for granted. Things that seem simply but most times get overshadowed by routine (among other nonsense). 

Carpe diem quam minimum credula postero

Seize the Day, putting as little trust as possible in the future

#37 Buildings

A bit inspired by the movie Sidewalls (Medianeras), set in Buenos Aires, Argentina.. showing beautiful (and not so beautiful) buildings... I loved it from the beginning until the end, my kind of feel good movie. It has some killer quotes in regards to swimming, texting and internet dating, but you will have to watch it if you want to hear them.. in the mean time I leave you with Martin's opening monologue... it makes more sense with the images but anyway...

"Buenos Aires is growing uncontrollably and imperfectly. Its a hugely populated city. A city in which thousands of buildings rise into the sky arbitrarily… Next to a tall one, there’s a small one. Next to a rational one, an irrational one. Next to a French one, one without style. These irregularity reflect us perfectly… irregularities that are both aesthetic and ethic. These buildings without any logic represent bad planning, just like our lives; we have no idea how we want them to be. We live in Buenos Aires as if it were a stopover; we’ve created a tenant culture. The buildings are becoming smaller and smaller to make space for even smaller ones. Apartments are measured by the number of rooms and range from 5: with balconies, playrooms, and maids quarters to 1: a studio apartment, or a shoebox. Just like almost all manmade objects, the buildings reflect the differences between us: there’s a front and a backside, high and low apartments. Privileged people have the letter A, sometimes B… the farther back the alphabet goes, the worse the apartment. The promised views and brightness rarely coincide with reality. What can be expected of a city that turns it back to its river?"

#36 Seagulls by 8 Year Old Me

Recently my mother and father moved houses, in the process they found a drawing I made back when I was 8 years old, they sent it to me and amaze by it, I couldn't believe the unusual seagulls that I drew on the sky, so It was decided that I will use it as an element for a pattern.

The pink seagull is the original from my drawing, the rest shows how the figure for the pattern was constructed

Dear 8 year old me, 

25 years later, I am writing to you with some piece of advise:

- Your Barbie is made of plastic, it won't come alive, so stop praying and wasting energies on useless things.

- Don't worry about silly things, and don't overreact, nothing is so bad. The sooner you realise this, the better you will enjoy the little things. 

- Love your body at every age, you are not as chubby as you think. But please when you reach your late teens take example from your friends and start exercising. 

- Concentrate on searching on what drives you, on what makes you happy.

- Screw Disney and their Prince Charming. The only person that you have to impress is yourself!

- Early 2001, take out of all your saving from the bank, if not by the end of the year your Government is going to screw you, big time! 

- In 2003 you will move to two little islands in the South Pacific, a very good decision! But remember they are NOT tropical islands!

#35 Eat Cake!

Happy Birthday my precious Franca!!!! 3 years old, but not little at all! I wish I was there to blow the 3 candles with you, my darling. Maybe next year. I'm just grateful to your parents for bringing such an adorable creature to my world. I'm also grateful for free Skype. I promised I practice my Italian, so we can have better chit chats. And I hope you enjoy your first My Little Pony, it was one of my favourite toys when I was a kid! Remember there is not such a thing as too many brushes to that beautiful plastic pastel hair! 

Querida Ana, happy twentyten birthday to you, my mexican soulmate! Where would I be if it weren't for you? You are the dot to my i, the chimichurri to my meat and the heroin of my comic life! Total thanks! now... lets dance!

#34 Dot, Dot, Dot

Paul Klee said "A line is a dot that went for a walk", well then, here we have a crowd of lines, walking? talking? connecting? Or are they people in a concert? or peas in a soup? or lost full stops? 

what ever you want them to be, they are! 

Ah! you are so great, and I am so small,   

I tremble to think of you, World, at all;   

And yet, when I said my prayers to-day,   

A whisper inside me seemed to say, 

"You are more than the earth, though you are such a dot; 

 You can love and think, and the earth cannot!"   

William Brighty Rands 

This is also another thanks to ApetitPois, for your post and because you suggested it! Enjoy! Opy x