My Philosophy/Statement:
Art is frequently considered an expression of one’s self. As an artist, my greatest designs are created by the removal of “self “ which allows a design to flow. Designs become stronger as a collaborative expression of beauty that better fits the client’s exact specifications. My passion for pattern and design, intrinsic artistic ability, and strong communication skills facilitate a co-creation process. Understanding the needs of the client, and drawing out their ultimate goals gives me the ability to create striking, successful designs. It is similar to divining for a vein of gold and equally rewarding. It is more than simply meeting the client’s specifications; it is working with those specifications to create elegance in simplicity or rich, absorbing designs. Ultimately pattern with impact draws customers to purchase my clients products.
My Services:
Although I paint primarily with gouach, I also enjoy working in an assortment of other mediums such as watercolor, dyes, crayon as well as pen and ink. My computer designs are created in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. Cohesive computer designs flow in the same manner as a well done hand painting, not stiff or un-moveable in nature as commonly found in the marketplace today. My skills cover a wide range of contemporary and classical styles using a large variety of techniques. From a children’s design to a finely detailed Jacobean, it is my goal to be so flexible in my approach one would not know that they were created by the same artist. This allows me to better serve my client with different projects. My skill set includes: watercolor, dry-brush, warping (Ikat), cuts (cut flowers), knits and weaves, plaids, textures, toiles, paisleys, baroque ornamentation, co-ordinates and repeats. Whether creating a complex, overlapping all-over or a simple, elegant tossed pattern, I can easily place them in repeat for specified roller size and create as many co-ordinates as desired. I create marketable color pallets, do precise color matching, or weighed in color combinations.
Background/Bio.
Born on Cape Cod, Armista grew up on the outskirts of a small rural town in Nova Scotia. She spent her summers wandering the rugged beauty of the coast with an entourage of a pony, dog and occasional cats. There were fields of wild flowers, a hillside of runaway daffodils and hidden deep in the forest, the rare ladyslipper. While winters were long and harsh, they were also a magical time, full of creative activities. Armista’s parents were both skilled craftspeople. Her mother a stained glass artist and her dad a fine furniture maker. Art was always her favorite subject in grade and high school. In College she studied Biological Anthropology at the University of California at Davis. She returned to Cape Cod where she met her husband Chad, the town’s harbormaster. She worked a variety of jobs during the summertime, including commercial fishing and even spent a season working as a sternman on a lobster boat in the gulf of Maine. The winters were again a time for creativity; being drawn to beautiful and unique quilting fabric, she began to quilt and expressing herself through pattern and color. Fabric became a rapidly growing obsession and her passion for quilting continued and soon she was designing her own quilts. After moving to the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, Armista happily found California School for Professional Fabric Design. There she learned to design for the industry and began to work as a surface and fabric designer. Armista currently lives in her studio with her husband, Chad, and their cat and dog. Chad is a native Hawaiian, so they take regular trips to the Big Island, which is a fantastic and inspirational place full of lush foliage and gorgeous flowers that regularly make their way into her designs.