Hi, I’m Carly!

My mom will say she knew I was going to be an artist at age 3. She’ll go on to tell a story about the time we were in the doctor’s office, about to go in for my pre-school check up. I had to recite the alphabet, numbers, animals… and colors. This was where it got a little tricky. The doctor held up colored pieces of construction paper, and quizzed me. I was doing just fine until he held up the red piece. I said I didn’t know that one.

As we were leaving the office, my mom stopped and asked why I had skipped over the red sheet of paper. She knew I knew that color. I replied matter-of-factly, “I couldn’t decide if it was magenta or rose”.

I have always had a curiosity for color.

In 2017, a neck injury and subsequent health issues led me to leave my job as a graphic designer. While things around me seemed to fall apart, I found myself going back to my roots to cope with chronic pain. Colors make me happy. I started making cards for my friends and family using my leftover Coloraid paper scraps from college (RIP CVA).

I kept on making, and started working larger and larger after a friend gave me a set of vintage Pantone Letrafilms from her grandparent’s print shop. I love the history that’s held in the films. Some are really brittle and tear easily. Some are already scraps with pencil lines from previous projects. Some are discolored and curl at the edges. But the color is beautiful and luminescent and so rich. I only have a limited supply so when they’re gone, they’re gone (and uh, I’ll have to find a new medium to work with!). I save and use every tiny scrap; I like knowing that something new can be created from picking up the pieces.