Ironic Beauty of the Desert

Apr 27

I am thrilled to introduce you my second collection with PBS Fabrics - SAND & SUN!

This collection was inspired by the sceneries and unique plants of the desert.

The scorching sun and barren lands are filled with lives that are tenacious and distinctively beautiful. This collection portrays the ironic beauty through bold textures and contrasting color combinations.

The idea for this collection started when my family took a day trip to Santa Cruz (CA) after a three-month lockdown in 2020. In the beginning of the pandemic, I was scared and over-cautious. I refused to even take a walk outside not knowing how depressing it can be to stay inside all the time. And along with online schooling going on for my kids, I quickly got exhausted.

The day trip we took was nothing special or exciting, but it was enough to infuse a breath of fresh air into my soul. Inspired by the desert plants I saw (including these cute ice plants), my mind started to dream of beautiful desert scenes.

But something was missing in the picture and I couldn’t quite turn my inspirations into a solid design idea.

A while later, my Kindergartener son was doing an art homework for his school. He listened to the story of Georgia O’Keeffe driving to the deserts in New Mexico and painting the scenery from the back seat of her Ford Model A. She would sometimes camp out for days to paint. I got curious and wanted to learn more about her. I remembered that I had an old book of Georgia O’Keeffe’s paintings and letters. I had bought it from a library book sale, but never got a chance to read it. I opened the book right away and became totally fascinated with how she got inspired by the desert. I couldn’t stop thinking of the images of her camping in the desert, painting, and how she decorated her adobe house in New Mexico (called the Ghost Ranch).

Just by reading her story, I could feel her persistent passion for painting, and perhaps it was contagious. I ended up with a bunch of sketches and paintings, and turned them into repeat patterns on my computer.