Meet Designer Pam Vale

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The Ocean State

How does this make you feel?

Scenic shores, quaint coastal towns, seaside cottages, fresh seafood, sailing, surfing and miles and miles of beautiful beaches.

Honestly, it makes me swoon.

Rhode Island is a weird and magical place that has significant meaning for me and my family. You can imagine how happy it made me that my first fabric collection with Jaftex and Studio E would be inspired by and bear the nickname for Rhode Island… “Ocean State.”

Do you believe in fate? A chance meeting over 25 years ago led me from the west coast to this special place. The place where my own parents met each other almost 60 years ago, even though they were both from New York.

As an artist, I was inspired by the beauty of the landscape, soaked up the colonial history and marveled at the Newport Mansions. We spent 22 blissful years in Rhode Island, built my decorative art business and raised our family there.

As our youngest neared college age, we made the decision to head back west. The year before we moved, I was thrilled when Studio E approached me about collaborating, using one of my coastal art collections.

That set things in motion and this will give you an idea of how my creative process works.

1. I gather reference material for the theme. Usually this is done surfing online.

2. I create quick sketches or lists as I start to build out the collection.

3. I move to the computer, generally with my cat on my lap and draw freehand in Photoshop.

4. I work on a magnificent machine that fills my life with joy and wonder!

It is the Microsoft Studio 2 and it completes me.

People are often surprised that all my painting is done digitally. It is miraculous what you can do on a computer with digital brushes. I can switch between watercolor, gouache, oils, pastels and more on the fly. The best part is if I make a mistake or need to make alterations for a client, I can do it with the click of a button.

5. I create a color palette and pick a title.

6. I begin painting the main images and adding coordinates.

7. I create mockups that show how I picture my art on products. This helps the manufactures see how versatile my collections are.

8. Lastly, I create digital folders for my agents and send them the final, clean files, so they can show their clients.

The day we moved into our new home in Arizona, my Ocean State fabric samples arrived. It was so exciting to see my art translated onto fabric and to be connected to a little piece of home.

Early in our Covid pandemic, my sister in Long Island reached out to let me know she was sewing masks for a local nursing home and was using some of my Ocean State fabric.

Like so many others, to date, I have made and donated 100’s of fabric masks to many organizations and have used all Jaftex fabrics. They are a dream to sew on.

What I am working on now…

Just recently, my follow up collection “Blooming Ocean” was released with Studio E. I loved creating the art for this colorful collection. It was inspired by the fun trend of detailed, layered, applique quilting. I cannot wait to see what you all do with it.

Along with a medical themed juvenile collection, I have been busy completing lots of fall harvest, tropical, Halloween and Christmas art! Here’s a sneak peek! This art will be used on all kinds of items from kitchen textiles, office supplies, garden flags, wall art, home décor and more.

While I love Arizona, it was 112 degrees today and days like this make me miss being able to head south, stopping at a little seafood shack on the water for some of Del’s lemonade and lobster bisque.

If you are ever lucky enough to visit Rhode Island, do yourself a favor and make a date with a plate of lobster nachos at The Red Parrot in Newport…you’re welcome.

I seriously love seeing what you make!

Please be sure to share your projects with me.

Happy Sewing!

Pam

Here is where you can find me:

www.pamvale.com

facebook.com/pamvaleartanddesign

https://twitter.com/PamValeArtist

https://www.instagram.com/pam_vale/