Fashion, wigs, makeup and a full circle moment back to art... | Artist And Pattern Designer

The long and winding road to May Annella!

For as long as I can remember I have been artistic. As a child I had a little wicker basket with flowers on the front that held all my crayons. If you’ve ever been around well loved art supplies you’ll know exactly the smell I mean when you opened it. That basket went everywhere with me. Apparently the times I was quiet as a child usually meant I was busy drawing murals on any available wall. Ironic that the thing you got told off for turns out to be a career.

Early passion for the arts

As I got older I always knew I wanted to do something creative. I had grown up dancing and singing so the theatre was another love of mine, so in my final year at school I designed costumes for a ballet as part of my Higher Art, I still have the tiny dress I made. It had to be small as it was sent away for marking but honestly I’m still slightly amazed I pulled it off given that I had no idea how to use a sewing machine or draw up patterns at the time. Somehow I made it work.

Discovering fashion and design

My screen print from my college days!

After school I went on to study fashion design and that’s where my love of design really took root. Colour was always something that came easily to me and I loved creating storyboards and designing from them. We even did a bit of screen printing on silk which I enjoyed at the time. While I was at college I worked in a fabric shop on a Saturday and learned more about different fabrics and how they were used. I had the chance to go on and study textiles as a degree but at the time I chose a different direction.

The world of entertainment

As long as I’m doing something creative I’m happy. My love of theatre returned and instead of being onstage, I worked backstage, in the world of wigs, hair and makeup in the entertainment industry. It is the kind of environment that I have never worked in before and probably never will work in again. I had some amazing experiences, have made life long friends and was lucky enough to travel the world as part of a highly creative environment. I could write several blogs just about those years. Maybe one day I will write a book.

Rediscovering art and design

My Rainbow Forest Limited Edition Art Print

I found my way back to art and design after some really tough life events, that I won’t go into detail about but had a huge impact on my life trajectory. They changed me completely and made me look at everything differently. I realised I couldn’t keep up the pace of constantly being on the move, while missing out on so much of ordinary life.

I started playing around with digital art and fell in love with it immediately. Then I discovered the world of repeat patterns and everything slowly built from there. My inspiration comes from nature, animals, the ethereal, music and the places I’ve travelled to. Japan was one of the biggest of those. I spent a month there through work and we travelled from one end of the country to the other. I have never been anywhere quite like it.

Embracing an unconventional path

My career path has not been the most straightforward but then the best things rarely are. I’ve never been afraid to try something new and throw myself into it completely. That’s how you learn. That’s how you grow and that, in the end, is what makes the whole journey worthwhile.

If any of this resonates with you I’d love for you to have a look around the shop and see what I’ve been creating.