What I love about the designs of Joan McLemore is their ability to take inspiration from vintage fabrics and subvert them through wild colour and digital overlays into things that are quintessentially modern. Saturated turquoise and red, vectored outlines, multiple overlays in different hues and intensities all make for a spirited mix.
blossoms of blue
Joan came to digital fabric design in a very roundabout fashion. “In the pre-internet years I designed and sold bridal veils. When not doing that type of project, I was commissioned to create artworks for the public. When our special needs daughter came into our life, needing continuous care, my attention was directed a bit differently.”
paintbox
paisley flair
“Then came the computer years and I fell in love with creating wild digital abstract art. I had gained a good bit of digital art experience when I was hired to work on a special needs grant a few years ago. The state science curriculum had to be converted to special needs programs to simulate ‘hands on’ science for children that had disabilities. The project enabled an opportunity to be creative while honing digital art skills, as well as assisting my daughter by having these terrific programs. I was able to work at home and send artwork to the other members of the team via email.
“Then a relative of mine, who has always been a tremendous fan of my abstracts, heard of Spoonflower and contacted me about the possibility of getting some of the designs on silk for a sari.” And it all kind of snowballed from there!
retro leaves – aqua
rockabilly rose
“As the designs in my Spoonflower shop have begun to discovered, it has been fun to see the ways that other creative people envision using the fabrics, including two opportunities for some of my fabrics to appear in theater.”
Besides Spoonflower, Joan has her designs available through Society6. Although it’s only been there for a short time, she has been quite overwhelmed by the response, particularly for her iPhone cases. “That project was something I began working on in January this year and didn’t really expect to sell a single one. I’ve had sales FAR beyond my expectations.” It’s not surprising to the rest of us though, they look spectacular!
rose of my heart – iphone case
You can find more of Joan’s iPhone cases on Society6 here, and more of her fabric designs on Spoonflower at Art_is_us.
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With thanks to Joan for kindly sharing her words and images.