Most of my adult life has been spent in southwestern Ohio. I have worked professionally in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator for the last 25 years. Some of those years were spent altering files for print for southwestern Ohio’s packaging giant. I spent 10 years as a high end photo retoucher, for a world class printer, working on projects such as jewelry, automotive industry brochures and high fashion.
For 15 of those years I ran a surface design business as a side hustle, selling art prints in a very tight niche. These were mostly Mission, Arts and Crafts style prints. I supplied everything from reproductions to vintage floral, Art Deco and Art Nouveau styles. I also have a digital art portfolio and fine art portfolio, working in watercolor, acrylics, oils, and graphite.
For the last 7 years I have been a mural designer for an inner-city art school working with the juvenile court system. I have also done 3 public works as personal projects. With so much past artwork to draw from, I may never run out of material but it’s so much fun making new designs.
More patterns are coming soon.
During the years my sons were in sports, I was a quilter. It was a creative outlet that I could store for months while prioritizing the responsibilities of working and child rearing. I did much of the hand work while waiting at practice sessions for T ball, basket ball and soccer. So I have a soft spot for quilters and many new designs will be for the ditsy prints and blenders that make up their strips and borders.
Nature themes will make up a large portion of my designs. From Sunday walks in the woods with my father, where he taught us the local plants, to an endless variety of pets, I have had a life long love of nature and animals. While I am predominantly a dog person, cats, rabbits, ground hogs, pigs, skunks, raccoons, ponies, chameleons, gerbils, hamsters, guinea pigs, turtles, frogs, fish, and crows have shared my home. Currently, my husband Bob, and I have one small dog, Rojo, a sweet Havanese.
Thank you for visiting,
Gae Helton
