Mother's Day Prints

Lily of the Valley Baby Bodysuit

Two new prints are in my shop just in time for Mother’s Day.

Carnation Baby Bodysuit

Carnations are a classic symbol of Mother’s Day. Carnations are thought to symbolize pure love, adoration, and affection and is a popular flower for Mother's Day. This original composition of delicate flowers is printed in black ink on your choice of a thick white printmaking paper or a colored Unryu mulberry paper (thin, but strong). Some prints also have a heart with the word "mom.” Also available in baby bodysuits, napkin sets, and tea towels. A sweet and unique gift.

Lily of the Valley Tea Towel

The birth flower for the month of May is the Lily of the Valley. The lily of the valley s a symbol of sweetness, purity, and motherhood. This original composition of delicate flowers is printed in black ink and available as t-shirts, baby bodysuits, tea towels, napkin sets, and paper prints. A wonderful gift for a May baby or as a gift for a special woman in your life.

Carnation Block Print

Lily of the Valley Napkin Set

Puffin Print

Puffin T-Shirts available in infant to adult sizes.

One of my most recent prints was inspired by favorite place, Cannon Beach, OR. In the background of the composition you can see the famous Haystack Rock, which is home to adorable puffin birds for part of the year. These little birds spend their summers on the coast (smart birds), and are one of the favorite sights for visiting tourists.

Oregon Coast tea towels make a great gift!

The composition I made captures the sweet puffin, Haystack Rock, sand and water, and a bit of sunset. It is all framed in a rope-like pattern.

This print was first intended to be only for fabric prints, but then I had an idea to try a 2 layer block print with this design. Since I didn’t plan it out from the beginning (oops) it proved to be a little tricky. For these prints I am using one block to print the color first, and then the original block I carved (also called the key block) to print on top of the color. In the end I came up with a set up that allowed me to layer the prints, providing some beachy color to the paper version of the prints.

Two layer puffin print with a coral to sand color gradient.

I was so excited that this print was so well received with fellow fans of the Oregon Coast and puffins. Have you been the the Oregon Coast? Do you have a favorite spot?

Poulsbo Farmers Market 2020 Art

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Poulsbo Farmers Market Poster

This spring I was fortunate enough to have my art chosen for the Poulsbo Farmers Market 2020 season! My design will be featured on various items, including their market poster. I am looking forward to using one of the totes myself while shopping at the market!

Creating this design was very enjoyable and I feel so proud to have it being used in the community. When thinking about what to draw I knew I wanted to create something cheerful, and also incorporate elements of the Poulsbo community and market. There is clearly a strong Scandinavian folk art theme combined with details of market produce and even a viking helmet! The use of the colors red and blue were inspired by the Norwegian flag. Combined with the whimsical flowers and symmetrical design I think it makes for a bold and joyful piece of art!

The Poulsbo Farmers Market is a wonderful local community event that brings together local farmers, vendors, and artisans. Currently the market is being help at Vinland Lutheran Church in Poulsbo on Saturdays from 10-2. You can see a preview of vendors on their website and even reserve items on their fresh list! Now more than ever it is so important to shop local and support our communities.

Thank you to the Poulsbo Farmers Market team for letting me be a small part of your market this year and including my art in your community event.

You can follow the Poulsbo Farmers Market for updates on their Facebook page and Instagram!

Heavy Jeens April 2020

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Heavy Jeens April 2020

I am so proud to be a part of Heavy Jeens for April 2020! My Puget Sound sea life design is this month’s poster-YAY! While you won’t be able to hunt for posters in person, they have something very special planned this month to make sure you still get a chance to take home some art. You can go to the Heavy Jeens and download a FREE April poster that can be printed at home or through a printing service.

If you would like the April poster you can still buy them for only $25 and they will be shipped free. As always they are a limited run so make sure to grab one while you can. Click here to shop!

I had so much fun making this poster and including some of my favorite animals. Everyone in my house has a favorite on the poster (my husband says the octopus, my son likes the otter, and I really like that smiling salmon). Reach out on social media and tell me your favorite!

Wolpertinger

For a recent show I created a new print featuring a mythical creature-the wolpertinger!

The wolpertinger is an elusive creature that resides in the Black Forest of Germany.  This mischievous animal is said to be part squirrel, rabbit, deer, and pheasant. While rarely found in the wild, stuffed wolpertingers can be seen in stores and inns throughout Bavaria. Creatures related to the wolpertinger include the Swedish skvader and the American jackalope.

This print is available on shirts, stickers, and as paper prints in black and silver! Shop my Etsy shop for wolpertinger items!

Butterfly Series

Last summer I began a series using the theme of butterflies. I have always been drawn to butterflies (high school friends can attest to my collection of 90’s butterfly accessories), and the thought of combining butterflies and love for traditional tattoo illustrations made me very motivated to create some new blocks.

My first in the series were portraits of women combining floral and butterflies.

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“Flutter” printed on a shirt

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“Masquerade” printed on fabric and embellished with embroidery.

The third piece is a butterfly embellished with celestial symbols and eyes.

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Butterfly printed in gold ink

My latest piece was inspired by a photograph of a vintage tattoo featuring a butterfly women. This is my own version with this whimsical creature set in a flourishing garden. I left many of the flowers in this piece open to white space so they could be hand painted later. This print calls for being embellished with color!

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Mother's Day Giveaway

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I am so excited to announce a giveaway with some wonderful women owned Kitsap County businesses. This Mother’s Day 2019 giveaway is aimed to treat a special mother with amazing products and services.

One special person will win:

-A set of floral tea towels from Melissa Pothier Art

-A Mommy and Me photo session with Jen Shaffer of Liquid Sunshine photography

-A deluxe gift basket of bath and body items from Burley Bubbles and Things

-1 hour house cleaning services from Cat’s Cleaning

Do you have someone that deserves this special Mother’s Day package? Want it for yourself? (I know I do!) Entering is so easy! Head over to my Facebook page, like the giveaway post, and comment I’m in! ENTER HERE

Fine Print:

Pickup for all items is in Port Orchard, WA. Photoshoot must take place in Port Orchard, WA within 30 days of giveaway announced. Winner must contact us within 24 hours and follow all of the instructions, or we will choose another winner. Cleaning services must be scheduled within 30 days. Cleaning services are available in the following cities only: Silverdale, Bremerton and Port Orchard. Must be 18 years of age to enter. Giveaway ends on May 1, 2019.

February Birth Flower Print - Violet

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Printing violets in violet!

The February print for my birth flower series is here! This month the flower is the violet and is currently available in tea towels and cards sets. I have to say, of all of the flower prints so far, this might be my favorite. I did a bit of a different composition with this one and tied the little bouquet of violets up with a ribbon, which I think adds a sweet vintage touch to the design.

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I also printed a slightly different version of this month’s tea towel. Using purple ink (it is a violet after all) I printed the entire towel in the violet flower print in alternating directions. After I finished the first towel it made me want to print yards and yards of this design on fabric to sew into a dress!

Violets are thought to symbolize innocence, abundance, and true love. I think this would make a great February wedding gift, housewarming gift, or thoughtful gift for a special teacher.

EACH of the twelve flower bouquet prints are hand stamped so there will be slight variations between each one, which with any block printed piece makes it uniquely wonderful.

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I have also released my first set of birth flower themed card sets with this violet design. It is a set of 4 card printed on kraft paper in archival black ink.

You can shop all of these violet items, or request a special order at my Etsy shop: www.etsy.com/shop/melissapothier

Embroidered Anatomical Heart Print

The February Bremerton First Friday Art Walk is this Friday and I am so happy to be a participant this month. A local female artists group (Kitsap League of Artistic Women) will be featured at Fingers Duke in downtown Bremerton. The theme for the show is anatomical hearts, but the mediums and any other details are completely up to the individual artist. It will be fun to see the variety of art that is created based on this one theme.

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I knew that I wanted to create a block print of a heart, but wanted to do something beyond just a framed paper print. In college my art concentration was fibers and I am always drawn to adding in elements fabric, sewing, or weaving into my art work. Perhaps why I prefer to print on fabric rather than paper!

After designing and carving my block, my son suggested I print it in gold ink! He’s obviously a genius! I used Cranfield gold relief ink, which is a dream to print with! On the black fabric it has a subtle sheen and prints crisply. I then added hand embroidered floral deigns in a variety of colors. I did not plan out any of the flowers and instead just made it up as I went along, as if I was just doodling with needle and thread. This part of the process was quite time consuming, but so enjoyable. I loved choosing the colors as I went and seeing the forms literally grow from the heart.

I hope for this to be just the first of a series, and I already have fabric printed with hearts waiting to be sewn.

If you are interested in purchasing this piece or requesting a custom piece, please feel free contact me.

NEW Triceratops and Strawberry Prints!

I have been so excited to release my first prints for 2019!

First, a dinosaur (and MY favorite dino), a triceratops! Over the years I have had many requests for a dinosaur print for birthday shirts. I tried a few different line textures in this block, and gave this print a little more depth. This cutie is available in a few styles, colors, and from sizes 12 month to adult. I also have some triceratops dinosaur pillow/stuffies in the works!

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Dinosaur Print in Olive Green

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Triceratops Shirt in Peach

I have several small strawberry stamps I made over the years in my collection, but always wanted to make one LARGE berry stamp. This oversized strawberry print is made using two stamps and is available in my Etsy shop on shirts, tea towels, and (very soon) mini pillows! I think this strawberry shirt would be especially cute for a farmer’s market, barn yard, or picnic theme birthday party. There are also plans for this print on tanks this summer-YAY!

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Baseball Strawberry Shirt

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Strawberry Tea Towel

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Toddler Berry Shirt

What other prints do you want to see this year? More dinosaurs? More fruit??? More vehicles??? I love hearing your ideas-let me know!

You can shop all the new items in my ETSY SHOP.