Cynthia Oswald

Surface Design, Fine Art + Branding for Creatives

Briana Elliot

An Interview with Painter, Printmaker & Mixed Media Artist, Sally Richards | Chester County Studio Tour 2023

An Interview with Painter, Printmaker & Mixed Media Artist, Sally Richards

Chester County Studio Tour 2023

Last week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Sally Richards, painter, printmaker, and mixed media artist who will be showcasing her work in the Chester County Studio Tour this May. Sally just recently won 1st place in the Wayne Arts Centers, Annual Regional Exhibition for her painting, Picnic Spot at Seal Cove, in April 2023. During this interview, we discuss her process and a sneak peek at what you will see during the Chester County Studio Tour!

Some of my favorite excerpts from this interview: 

“Instead of [the work being about] subject matter, it became about recreating those feelings of really authentic, full out expression, the love of discovery, solving problems … all the fun things. So I taught myself how to do that, and I don’t paint unless I’m in that space.

“I think what’s interesting is people that have bought my work almost universally said about it that it’s that they find the work inspiring. And so when they’re with it, they find some kind of freedom or new energy, or a transformation of their space.

Take a listen to our interview to learn about her work and her artistic process. 

Check out her work at https://www.sallyrichardsart.com/ and follow her artistic journey @sallyrichardsart  on Instagram! 

Award-Winning Piece

Picnic Spot at Seal Cove
Acrylic/Mixed Media on cradled panel
12×12 ( framed)
$495
First Place Award 
Wayne Art Center 2023 Regional Juried Exhibition

An Interview with Mixed Media Artist, Emily Mullet | Chester County Studio Tour 2023

An Interview with Mixed Media Artist, Emily Mullet

Chester County Studio Tour 2023

Last week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Emily Mullet, a mixed media artist who will be joining Tina Crespo and myself at Studio #5 for the Chester County Studio Tour this May. Emily is the creator of the PXV Art Mag—an incredible platform she’s created to document and amplify artists in our local community. During this interview, we discuss how she encourages and gathers the local creative community, how she thinks about her collections, the stories behind her work, plus a sneak peek at what you will see during the Chester County Studio Tour!

Some of my favorite excerpts from this interview: 

“… letting myself stay in that zone helps me discover the meaning of my work versus just doing one piece and then move on to the next thing. I can kind of marinate in my thoughts and really be intentional about the work I’m creating. Even though I’m creating with this excitement and joy, it still is able to be distilled down into something really meaningful.”

“I’m really interested in limitations and how having limitations make you think outside of the box, and get you to unexpected places when you have to work within those.”

“If you cultivate your natural talents and strengths, you’re going to evolve into a way more beautiful, unexpected person than you would if you’re trying to just be good at what everyone else was good at, whether it’s personality traits or academic things.” 

Take a listen above and learn about her work and what inspires her to create. 

Join Emily and the Artists of Phoenixville community at the next Magazine Release Party, details here. Available risograph prints are listed here.

Check out her work at emilymullet.com and follow her artistic journey @emilymullet on Instagram! 

Behind the Scenes of the Vast Views Collection

Grounding myself in motherhood

Behind the Scenes of the Vast Views Collection

It’s 8:30 am on a Friday morning and I’ve already cooked breakfast, sang and danced, played restaurant, painted, and made a huge mess of my living area alongside my two girls (and two large dogs). We are busy over here—and by “we” I mean me—I’m busy wearing many hats. It’s just as I had hoped for, more than I ever could have dreamed, and also can be a real struggle to keep up with. Sometimes I feel like I’m 8 years old treading water and a little too far from the edge of the pool. I was never a strong swimmer. Other times, I’m in complete awe of how I can find rest by looking into their eyes, I can ground myself by caring for them, and I can find presence by being present. 

My girls are 1 and 4. They have reminded me of the little pleasures in life that fill my cup. Finding a grasshopper, discovering a new plant, soaking in a beautiful view, dancing when no one is watching, singing in the shower, goodness, even digging for worms can be exciting. I’m calling these simple pleasures into my life right now and drinking them in like my first cup of morning coffee because they ground me in these early years of motherhood. Motherhood in combination with running a business, nurturing a marriage, and fulfilling my own creative desires feels near impossible some days (notice I said nothing about a social life!). I paint the feelings I want to experience, I ground myself in the practice, and I sincerely want to create that sense of grounding and the ability to mindfully connect with the present moment for those that collect my work. 

This year I’m bringing back the mini watercolor landscapes for the 25 Days of Minis project with presence in mind. When I was a child, I would walk to the highest elevation on my parent’s property and climb a large tree that had a limb hanging over the fence row, overlooking the valley. I would walk out to the edge of the tree limb and sit there absorbing the landscape. It stirred up a well of emotions in my heart—excitement, hope, possibility. I think about how truly present I was in those moments. Free of cell phones, work, expectations, you name it. I was free to daydream and that is exactly what I did there while I looked out over the vast view. It was in those moments that the abundance found in nature seemed completely accessible to me. 

The best compliment is when I witness a child absorb my artwork. I’ve seen my one-year-old giggle when noticing a ladybug in a pattern I designed, my 4-year-old is constantly trying to procure paintings for her bedroom gallery, and when children that aren’t part of my family appreciate my work, my heart literally sings a little tune. It’s a song about daydreaming into the present moment, finding joy in the smallest pleasures, and soaking in the moments that we are in, right now. My hope is that this work can serve as a visual reminder to focus on flourishing, see the beauty and magic in the present moment and that the wild abundance that exists in nature is also accessible to us.

mini watercolor landscapes
Mini Watercolor Landscapes from the 2021 Collection

Transform your space into a sanctuary of peace and natural beauty. Explore my collection of original art, linen wall hangings, and bespoke wallpaper, each piece crafted to inspire tranquility and well-being. Interested in a custom creation that perfectly matches your vision? Let’s collaborate to bring your unique idea to life. Reach out today to discover how we can enhance your environment with art that resonates with the soul. Together, we’ll create a space that reflects the beauty of nature and the essence of your personal style.

Visit my shop here

Curate Your Brand In Really Meaningful Ways

Curating your brand in meaningful ways by using the 80/20 rule

In today’s world, it is easy to get caught up in trying to do all the things, do them perfectly, or make them more complex than they need to be. What is hard to do, and something I have been really intentional about focusing on is to do less.  Something I have found to be really beneficial for me to truly curate my brand in meaningful ways is by taking the time to reflect and figure out how to pare down my efforts and focus on the things that make the most impact. 

I learned this strategy from one of my favorite books: Do Less by Kate Northrup. In this book, she explores the Pareto Principle — otherwise known as the 80/20 rule. In the exercise, she asks you to list out all of your biggest wins. Then next to it, she has you list out all of your biggest efforts — for business this could be marketing efforts, sales efforts, or any way you have put yourself out there to grow your business and move the needle forward. Once you have the lists side-by-side, draw a line from your biggest win to the effort that you put forth in order to make that win a possibility. By the end of the exercise, you should be able to see that out of all of your efforts, 20% of your efforts brought 80% of your results. 

This exercise should help you see what is working best for you and what you can potentially eliminate or pare down on to give you some more time back in your business. How does this work with curating your brand? Instead of spending time doing all the things, spend time doing the things that are going to bring you the biggest impact with the time you have. 

My top two were writing and relationship-building through in-person events.

In my business, this looks like writing blog posts, and most recently, being intentional about showing up on video as a form of a blog — vlogging. When I do a video, it is quick to transcribe and a lot faster to create blog content if I can get good at it.

In person events are something I absolutely love! It doesn’t feel like it requires as much effort to build key relationships when at in-person events. What stinks is I figured this out right at the beginning of the pandemic, so I had to start brainstorming how I could still authentically show up to build relationships without being in the same room as someone — the solution for me was the use of video.

What efforts are your biggest business wins connected to? As you’re gearing up to do impactful work with curating your brand you want to be thinking about how you can do it with less so you aren’t spending more time. Take a minute to do the exercise Kate Northrup suggests — jot down your biggest wins, line them up with the effort that you put forth in order to get that win & see where you should put most of your effort going forward. 

Do you have a logo in mind that embodies your business or vision, or are you looking to create one? I’d love to hear from you. Share your thoughts or reach out for a consultation to bring your vision to life. And if you’re a designer, why not take these principles and apply them to your next project? Let’s create logos that don’t just exist but make a resonant and lasting impression.

Bring your logo to life

3 Simple Steps to Bring Awareness to Your Preferences & Brand Cohesion

Bring awareness to your preferences and establish brand cohesion

Step 1: Define what is holding you back

Have you ever been in a situation where you’ve toiled over and worked on something all day long and it still just doesn’t feel right or as good as it could be? Then you go to sleep, and wake up the next day with this sudden clarity and you just know exactly how to move forward or what to tweak to complete that task or project? This happens to me quite often. Oftentimes, it takes a tiny little shift in perspective, taking a step back or removing something — giving yourself the space to reflect on what is working and what is not that helps you move forward. 

So take a few moments to define what’s holding you back within your brand materials. What brand materials am I referring to? These would be your visuals, your voice, and your communication platforms. Think about what is not feeling right? What is disjointed? Define it so that you can take it off the table and move forward without it for the time being.

Step 2: Collect the brand assets you like

It’s really important to acknowledge what’s currently working and collect it. Put it all together in one spot —create a brand assets folder on your computer to house these items. Add any colors and/or images that you like or that are working well across your branding platforms and any copy that is really speaking to you or your audience. Keeping it altogether makes it easier to see and visualize how it all can work together for your brand.

Step 3: List what is currently working

Write down what about your branding is working? Why is it working? What is it that isn’t working and why you think that is? This is an exercise in awareness. Knowing this things is going to help you in every decision that you make going forward relating to your brand and it’s going to help you be more cohesive automatically. 

I’ve written about this topic in a prior blog article, but I wanted to dig in a little bit deeper in this latest video. If you want to take a look at the prior post, click here.

Need someone to bounce ideas off of? Or need someone to help you figure out your next steps?

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