From Sketch to Final Art: ABUELITA AND I MAKE FLAN

The story of ABUELITA AND I MAKE FLAN is a combination of several real-life events. I was inspired to capture a moment in time where it felt like everything was going wrong as a kid, but still able to find safety and love from my grandparents who accepted me as an imperfect child deserving of love. Anita, the main character, is a blend of real life people in my own family including myself. The Abuelita character was drawn from a combination of several real-life people including my great aunt, both my grandmas and their friends. 

What’s real-life inspiration and what’s not? I really did break a wedding dish, but it belonged to my mother, not my abuelita. The truth is my family did not bring much more than their suitcases with them from Cuba. I really did - and still do! - make a LOT of flan, but I helped my great-aunt, Marta, who had severe arthritis doing all the things Anita does in the book. In real life, I did more crafts like sewing, crochet, and cake decorating with my grandma. I chose flan because it’s delicious and it reminds me of our big family get-togethers which I miss very much.

I started work on ABUELITA AND I MAKE FLAN back in 2017. It was in large part thanks to SCBWI which connected me to a critique group which then led to a mentorship program at WNDB, critiques at SCBWI conferences, Highlights Foundation courses, Storyteller Academy and other educational resources and eventually my agent! Community has been pivotal for growth and feedback in the publishing world, and the success of this title making it to bookshelves everywhere.

Tumbling into A New Year - 2022 Wrap Up

 

Happy New Year!

The last few weeks of any year for me are typically about reflecting, month by month on the year that just finished. I snatch any quiet moment I can during the holiday rush to write down my thoughts on what went well and what didn’t professionally and personally.

 

Then the first few weeks of the year are a mirror of those last two weeks, and I take time to think about what I want my year to look like. I ask myself questions like: How can I participate in successful, fulfilling activities that re-energize or inspire me? What are some activities that drain me?

What elements of my life need to be edited out? I make a deliberate effort to imagine where I want to be at the end of the year, to imagine what success feels like, and then I write it down. This is how I set my intentions for the year. 

 

So it’s gone for six years now. 2022 brought to fruition a lot of seeds planted years ago doing these kinds of reflection and intention exercises. The path of my life has finally brought me here, to reflect upon the publishing of my first book as an author and illustrator.

This is no accident! It’s the course I set for myself, and worked toward year after year. It’s the learning and revising, and reflection all adding up. You too can set the course of your creative year, and I encourage you to take the time to reflect and set intentions for 2023.

 

Wishing you a super 2023!

-Adriana

Some favorite success-building creative activities:

• Reflection journaling or sketching like The Year Compass (https://yearcompass.com/en/ - it's a free journaling tool).

• Setting intentions and creating a plan for success

• Choosing a word of the year for motivation or focus

• Idea generation community activities like Tara Lazar’s Storystorm (https://taralazar.com/)

• Editing workshops or critique group meet-ups
• Accountability communities like 12x12 or Storyteller Academy or your local SCBWI conferences

Warmest Thanksgiving Wishes

This year is nothing if not unrelenting. I have had some great ups: Yay for book sale and art licenses! And my family and I have had some really difficult things to deal with. My uncle on my mom's side passed away very suddenly in July, and then my stepfather (my best father) died in September. If you've been having a stressful year, you're not alone in your sorrows! Regardless of what this year brings to this last month and a half, I hope you are keeping hope alive. Perhaps this blog post brings a bit of light and warmth into your day. Warm Thanksgiving Wishes, Adriana Thanks to everyone for your feedback on my holiday cards (on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook), I put the favorites on the shop for presale.  According to the printers, they should be at my studio 12/4 or earlier. I'll fold the cards, pack and ship pre-orders and they should go out by 12/4. This is set #2 for the Latinx market (my friends and family!). The final favorites are now available to pre-order!  yes on top of everything I also had a kidney stone this month. Please note, my new blog is here: https://www.adrianabergstrom.com/blog

My first online class!

About My First Class on Skillshare

My first class is about learning to use Adobe InDesign (which already comes bundled with many Adobe CC accounts) to make beautiful, clean, perfectly aligned contact sheets that are easily edited, updated, and exported to help you sell your work.

I created this course to help de-mystify InDesign. A lot of creatives, artists, and photographers pay for Adobe CC, but are not sure how to take advantage of all the software it brings. So, this is my effort in making Adobe's publishing software work for you. InDesign is a really robust piece of software and the perfect companion for Illustrator and Photoshop when you're looking to put it all together and publish your work.

I created this course to help de-mystify InDesign.

I've used InDesign to produce all kinds of promotional and informational materials throughout the years: business cards, mailers, postcards, booklets, portfolios, and contact sheets.

I focused on contact sheets as a way to explore InDesign and learn concepts that will easily translate to a lot of other projects. If you'd like to learn more, you can check out the class here on Skillshare.

I'd love to hear what you think!! And, if you've never used Skillshare before, here's a link for a  free 2 month trial of their premium membership - the link's limited to the first 10 who use it though, but take advantage while you can!

Advent Calendar Fun!

This is our third Finch & Foxglove collective advent calendar! I wanted to share with you the first of my illustrations which is this friendly penguin. This year I've decided to paint them directly on canvas and then upload them digitally! Here's the first one (above).

Our group calendar can be viewed here on our calendar page: http://www.finchandfoxglove.com/advent-calendar-2017/

Or alternately the beautiful images from my colleagues and I can be seen on our collective's Instagram account here:
https://www.instagram.com/finchandfoxglove/

New gallery, New exhibit!

At the end of the summer, I secured a spot in a local co-op gallery, Carolyn Seiler & Friends in Cocoa Village.

So now some of my original paintings and giclee prints are available for sale, and you can come see my stuff in person if you're in the area! I also have an upcoming exhibition at the local library, the Merritt Island Library starting November 2nd! 

I'm very excited to show my latest paintings!

If you're further away, I now have an online shop so you can see my work and buy it if you would like a print! I'll post once it's open. It's OPEN!

In the meantime, if you'd like to buy my cards, I now have two retailers where you can always find them: 

• Blow! Birthday Cards (an online card shop that ships from the U.S.) 
• CardIsle (various kiosk locations around the U.S.)

And lastly, I'll be moving my blog to my website at www.adriprints.com/blog!
Have a great week and Happy Halloween!

We moved, Irma came and went, we're okay!

I need to catch you all up! I want to get the blog back up and running, and things are finally settling down enough to get back to it...

My little family moved back to Florida in May. When I say 'back', I must say that Florida is my home state. It's where I was born and my family has resided for the last 50 years. So, when husband got an offer, we packed up, left California, put an offer on a house from the 60's and moved to an island between two rivers near Florida's Atlantic coast.

Lots happened this summer between tradeshows and new-home tasks and starting a new school...

And then Irma.

I was beyond terrified by the size of the storm. I hadn't lived in hurricane country in over a decade, it's a new-to-us house and we have big trees all around the house. I evacuated us as fast and left as early as possible just in case. My art is now at a nearby co-op gallery, and after I checked on the art gallery, we shuttered the house, packed up supplies and drove north. And drove. And drove. And drove. We made it to Georgia in pretty good time, and the next morning I drove some more and we made it to a friend's house where we watched from afar the storms progress.

Every day, we were glued to the noaa.gov site watching the very slow progress of the storm as it headed toward Miami (where much of my family resides). The predictions of the storm's path kept shifting from east coast to west coast of Florida, but it didn't matter. Hurricane Irma was so huge, if you were in Florida, you were gonna feel it. In fact, even in north Georgia we felt Irma's winds. Even that far away from the center of the storm, we were out of electricity for a few hours. Once we knew the storm had passed, we made our way back.

As we drove back to Florida, we saw a lot of fallen trees and blocked state roads. When we got back home, it was dark, but we could tell some of the traffic lights were out. Electricity had just come back online, and we were a boil-water notice for a while BUT, there was water coming out of the tap. I'm counting our lucky stars there was no significant damage to our house (just a small leak in the front entryway)!

I've included photos so you can see the nearby boardwalk after the storm. As of this writing, a few weeks after, boats that lost their moorings are still tipped over the former boardwalk edge. Piles and piles of foliage and debris are still on people's curbs, but they are receding each week.

Cocoa Village Park, 9/2017

Boats that lost their moorings, 9/2017

Bright & Cheery Tea Set

Project Brief: Design a cheery tea set for a Sunny client. 1x tea cup, 1x saucer, 1x napkin

The brief called for the design of a teacup, saucer, and napkin... but who could resist not designing the entire set?! Not I! I love tea!

What should it have on each piece? I'm not a big fan of the lacy, teensy, frilly flower on my tea sets as many traditional ones do.  And lately, I've been really enjoying working with traditional printmaking methods especially linocut. I made a bunch of patterns and arrangements using stamps I made on my own, and some I took into the digital realm and began testing repeats that way. I was really excited to use my recent patterns on something I'd love to own and see every day. I'm a big fan of tea and the paraphernalia that comes with drinking it.

So I set about sketching and came up with a concept that I'd love to have in my own home. The sketch gave me a general idea of how I'd present my work, and then I set about testing colors.

My first tests with pink...

Oh, I was so unhappy with this color combo! It's not me at all! I'd never buy it. After asking my fellow finches why I hated this so much, they reminded me I don't usually use pink in this way... and they're right, this is not really my shade of pink, nor do I own any pink tableware or pair it with sunshine yellow. Out went the pink!

Once the bright aqua and seafoam green went in, I was gelling. The work just came together so quickly. I knew I had to have sugar tongs and a sugar container, a little creamer, too! Finishing touches...

And lastly, I went to work balancing the tea-set. I wanted to have a nice mix and match tea set and napkins that could work in many different combinations. So the second saucer carried the more intense color, and the mugs match. The tea tray got a nice under-pattern and texture to match.

There you have it! Tea for two... a cuppa for me and one for you!

Simple Guacamole Recipe

Looking for a simple, delicious guacamole base that your kids will eat? You can add spice to your own batch, but this one's plain delicious and even toddlers will eat it (at least mine does).

The most basic ingredients:

2-3 Hass avocados

1 small/medium red onion

1 handful cilantro

1 clove garlic

Lime juice to taste

Salt to taste

...

After that, add what you like! We usually add tomatoes if they're in season. My partner loves adding spice so he usually adds jalapeño pepper and some cayenne.

Also, for best results, don't eat it immediately. Let it sit in the fridge for an hour or so, to let the flavors blend together.

Enjoy!!

(You can see the large version of the illustration here on They Draw & Cook )

Summer & June Gloom

My Summer Finch for the Finch & Foxglove site!

Did you know about June Gloom in Southern California? I just learned about it at the end of last month. I actually really like it!

So what is it? It's this weather phenomenon where clouds form over the ocean along the coast and the winds move these clouds onto land creating a foggy, cool atmosphere. I LOVE the cool mornings!

All this talk of beach and clouds and such has me all in a tizzy making artwork about fish and water! Did you see my new summer finch up top? It's now live on the Finch & Foxglove homepage, too.

Thinking about the beach...

And the water...

And I've been sewing too, I just haven't had the chance to photograph the garments I've made for my son and me. I participated again in MeMadeMay but again didn't post photographs. I wore lots of me-made clothing for Surtex in fact! I must do a sewing recap post soon.

Pre-Surtex Sneak Peek

May Flowers bring Spring... 

& Surtex!

I cannot believe it's May and time for Surtex!!

It's heeere!!

I've been prepping all year long for this surface design and textiles industry trade show, and it feels a little unreal that it's only a few days away. 

May flowers are an appropriate metaphor I think. I've been planting seeds since last year, and now is when they are starting to bloom...

My seeds (preparations) included creating over 180 images, making booth banners, promo bookmarks, promo books, fabric swatches, greeting cards, brochures, and sewing some hand-printed zip pouches! My fellow members of Finch & Foxglove, my art collective, have also been prepping their hearts out in order to make our collective's Surtex debut a success!

Prep Talk: Little Cards, Big Thanks! One of the things I love doing is making things with special touches -- a handmade embellishment, a touch of real texture, a tiny print, or very intricate background. In preparation for Surtex, I created teensy tiny cards that I printed, scored, and cut myself in order to give thanks to visitors, art directors, or art buyers who stop by our Finch & Foxglove booth. I also sewed some zipper pouches that are fully lined inside! The outside fabric is my own work, and it's so nice to see it on an actual product!

This is a general overview of the items I'll be bringing with me to exhibit at my debut Surtex, and I will be doing a post-Surtex review once all is said and done. I'm excited to figure out what works (as well as what doesn't)!

Wish me luck!!

And, if you're going to be at Surtex in NYC this Sunday to Tuesday, you can find me and my work at Finch & Foxglove's booth #543.  Can't wait to meet you! 

Wishing you a wonderful week!

P.S. Let me know ahead of time if you'd like to meet up with me so I can be sure to be at the booth - we're taking shifts since we're 8 artists in a 10x20' booth.

On a Holiday Roll

I feel like I'm an elf in Santa's workshop!  Over here at Adriprints Press, I've been working on many things in preparation for Surtex which is in just a few weeks.  One of the things I've been working on is my holiday-themed portfolio. It's nice to finally see it come together and be able to share it with you all!

Without further ado, here is my Adriprints Holiday Lookbook!

Just in case the embedded issuu viewer is not available through your viewing device, you can access the lookbook here via link too.

Cornbread Recipe

I've got another fun illustration for you all!  This one is a really nice cornbread recipe I made last Thanksgiving.  I was pleased with the results and will be making it again. Next time, for added texture, I might add canned or fresh cooked corn to it for a bit more added texture and cut a bit of the liquid.

Either way process was interesting for this one.  I started back in November with a little sketch I did by the recipe itself... and finally got the time to finish it!

Enjoy!

Surtex Prep!

Here at the studio, I'm in full-out Surtex prep mode!  Yes, it's only March, and Surtex is in May, but I hate leaving things to the last minute.  I tend to avoid last-minute frenzies and prefer instead to work at a steady pace...

So that's where I've been... in Surtex preparation!  (Ahem... getting ahead of myself, eh?) Ah yes, I should explain. 

What is Surtex?  It's a tradeshow for licensing illustration and artwork.  

What do I mean by licensing? That's when you rent your work out to different industries that need visuals for their products.  And, that's my aim along with meeting art directors interested in collaborating with me and asking me to illustrate people or flora and fauna for them!

My top three areas of focus are...

1) Surface design for apparel / home decor / gifts

2) Illustrations for children's literature

3) And greeting cards and stationery

I'm getting so excited!  I just sent my files to be printed as fabric swatches and I cannot wait to SEW with my own designs!!  I made my first prototype for what I'll be wearing during Surtex today, and I might very well be bubbling over with excitement!  (bubble bubble bubble)

Oh, are you going to be at Surtex too?  Let me know!  I'll be exhibiting as part of my art collective, Finch & Foxglove at Booth #543!

Butternut Squash Soup Recipe

Don't know what to cook tonight?  How about Butternut Squash Soup?!
I'm just mentioning it because I completed a really fun illustration for They Draw & Cook, and wanted to share it with you all.

So, if you do want to make the soup, it's really simple...

Hello 2016!

Whoah!  Where did 2015 go?  It just flew by I tell you!
I can't believe it was already a year ago I was sitting at my studio in Munich getting ready to get my illustration career back on track, and here I am now in California ready to launch the sales portion of my career!

In 2016, I hope to make some sales of my artwork as greeting cards and prints, as licenses on products and fabric!  Lots of work to do!  I'll keep you posted... and don't forget, you can always see my most recent work on instagram here.

Merry Happy Christmas!

Wishing you and yours a very happy holiday season!  A very Merry Happy Christmas to you from me!





To see all the images from this year's illustration advent calendar for the members of the Finch & Foxglove art collective, take a look here!

Process: Advent Calendar Noel Image

Hello! I just wanted to introduce myself in case you hadn't met me before.  I'm Adriana Hernandez-Bergstrom!  I go by Adriprints on my work, and  you can find me really easily with that moniker.  I'm the founder of the Finch & Foxglove art collective, and I did the first illustration on our digital Advent Calendar.

I am a really process-oriented person and I love learning how others get to the images they do.  I hope you can learn a little bit from my process too!

The "Noel Peppermint Bark" illustration started off as a doodle that I did in August or September.  I was at my mom's house playing around with an old watercolor set that I had left at her house in case all my luggage was lost.  In my mind, I was working on a tropical-Christmas kind of theme...

In between then and now, our group came up with a wonderful color palette for our advent calendar.  We looked at vintage Christmas postcards to get us started.  These colors were rich and wonderful, but not really tropical... and I really wanted to use the "Noel" lettering.  So I traced the lettering in Adobe Illustrator with the pen tool, used a color from our palette, and started working on composition with the other illustration assets that matched the palette a bit better.  I had created these assets or icons a few weeks ago by painting in watered down gouache.  They were extras from the greeting card project I did in October, and I did a direct "live trace" using Adobe Illustrator to capture them...

Once I had a composition that I liked, I brought each element separately into Photoshop, converted them to Vector Smart Objects and began to add texture and depth...

I really wanted a rich feeling like chocolate in the background, and at first I tried mint + chocolate with the lettering...

But, as you can see it looked a bit too cold in this version.  It read like mold or marble or something unappetizing.  So, next I tried peppermint, and that is what you see in the final image.  A little bit tastier, I think!

This is just one of the many illustrations in our wonderful digital advent calendar.  Follow along on our Finch & Foxglove Advent Calendar page!

Chicken Picnic

This is my final piece from the Make Art That Sells Course (Part B).  It was a revelation for me to just do what I do in response to a brief, and use my icons that were created on a whim earlier this year and then put it all together.  It's a revelation to just be in a flow and making work.

I asked my teammates from Finch & Foxglove for feedback and adjusted accordingly.  It's been really nice to be able to get into a groove and feel like you had a place to turn for a dialogue about your work.

As for process, at the end of the summer I painted these chickens in watercolor and gouache.  This past week I drew most of the rest in marker, brush-pen, watercolor pencil, and gouache.  The textures I've been collecting all year, and I made some more.  I shared some of my textures recently on a live Periscope broadcast too!

I thoroughly enjoyed MATS B as it seems the topics suited me better.  In addition, though, it looks like I've grown some confidence between MATS A in March and MATS B in October.  Cheers to vast improvements and self-confidence!

Also, I'd like to invite you all to follow along with our Finch & Foxglove Advent Calendar starting December 1st.  Watch the advent calendar page here!

Ravelry Indie Designers Gift-Along 2015

I can't believe it's November! And, this means it's time for Ravelry's most amazing time of the year for independently published knitting patterns.  This year is no different, and I'm participating as a designer with 14 patterns on sale for 25% off their usual price...

AND, I'm offering a physical prize, too!  I'm offering a giclee (fancy term for high-quality inkjet) print of my knitterly illustration "6 Fabulous English Sheep Breeds".  So, if you're interested in winning it and/or hundreds of other prizes, check out the Ravelry Indie Design Gift-Along page full of information on the super-fun events to come.

• Prizes
• Games
• Contests
• Knit-alongs
• Crochet-alongs
• Machine-Knitalongs

All the details are on the Ravelry Gift-Along page and the magical gift code in order to make your 25% off of my knitting pattern dreams come true is there too!  Have a great time, and I'll see you there!