Mushrooms are Everywhere and Evergreen

When you delve into the surface pattern design world you hear two words often: Trending and Evergreen. A surface designer needs to learn what is trending now, and what are evergreen patterns. Evergreen patterns are ones that tend to stay around for decades. Kinda like evergreen trees.

Enter a Pattern Design Challenge

In Mid February Shannon of Sketch, Design, Repeat kicked off her 3x3 Design Challenge for three weeks. Her challenge is about growing your portfolio with evergreen patterns. She picked mushrooms for the third and last challenge. Mushrooms happen to be trending at the moment.

The Process

With a color palette in hand (from the challenge) I began my research into mushrooms based on:

• color (yellow, red, blue)

• location – focusing on Alabama

• Plus edible Mushrooms

• leading to my collection title: Mushroom Edibles

As I found mushrooms I began having pattern design ideas.

The Indigo Milk Cap Mushroom gave me the thought of a rosette pattern. Chanterelle mushroom tops I thought of fish scale or scalloped patterns. Then the red lobster reminded me of the art deco patterns, the ones with lotus or papyrus patterns. I located two other mushrooms—black trumpet and saffron milk cap—to complete a lotus pattern.

View the video to see the finished project rewind the steps taken:

• Research Notes

• Pencil Sketch

• Watercolor Mixed Media paintings

• ink & water soluble pencil for the chanterelle and indigo milk cap

• graphite pencil for the saffron milk cap

• charcoal for the black trumpet

• Creating patterns in Photoshop

• first removing the paper background

Green at Pattern Designing

Recollections of patterns seen in the past, or of patterns seen in nature, occurs. But getting them pulled together is another story. It takes books about pattern designs to gain a better understanding of the elements of a particular pattern. Seeing them and then pulling them off in a never ending repeat – that takes practice to develop this skill. Seeing images is helping me to learn to read how a pattern is put together.

The Rosette pattern – after a year of trying to create patterns and taking classes for several years before – that one came together without any review of material.

I never wish to copy, I wish to offer my own quirkiness with the connections I make, while bringing nature to the everyday.

The books that helped guide these Patterns:

• The Complete Pattern Directory 1500 Designs from All Ages and Cultures By Elizabeth Wilhide

• Create Patterns with Different Layouts 18 By Jodoin Studio

What Were the Other Two?

The first week of the design challenge: Snowman.

You might recall I was challenged with snowman in 2022. I created the Gnomes for the Holidays Collection. This one is a work in progress involving smiling snowmen faces and the word Joy. It's not ready to share.

The second week was an Ocean themed collection. Also a work in progress that I shared a FB/IG story on. An ode to the endangered Loggerhead Turtle and the food it eats.

I have no current time table for when these might become a collection. If you want to stay in the know, scroll to the footer and sign up for LZBTH Creative's Newsletter.

Using the below affiliate link, where Elizabeth earns a little more without it costing you anymore, you can see the Mushroom Edible collection on wall art, home decor and more.

View the Mushroom Edible Collection

Thank you for reading, and viewing, my latest.

Your Painterly Artist Who Loves Playing in Colorful Puddles,

Elizabeth