Wishing for Fall…

fall-wishlist-joanna-baker New York Fashion Week kicks off tomorrow and although fall clothes and sales are everywhere, New York is definitely still in a summer state of mind! It may be ninety degrees outside but that’s not stopping my day dreams of oversized coats, cozy scarves and the cutest red booties for the season. This tee adds the perfect touch of metallic and I’m in desperate need of some new Hunter wellies!

I’m excited to be able to attend a few events for fashion week while I work through commissions and keep up on the latest fabulous things strutting down the runways. Be sure to follow me on Instagram for of-the-moment sketches as they happen =) I’ll be busy, busy, busy! On your mark…. get set…. sketch!!

~Joanna <3

East Village Pop Up Shop!

Happy Saturday!! The past few weeks have been very busy… lots of things in the works and I feel like I’m going, going, going! But the most exciting thing right now is that you can shop my art in person today and tomorrow at 56 East 4th Street in the East Village!! So far it’s been great, I’m collaborating with five other designers and makers in the cutest little space ever…

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We have yummy smelling handmade vegan candles, vintage clothing (super cute denim cut offs!), graphic tees & tanks, edgy jewelry, and pretty makeup… not to mention all my art prints, stationery, coasters, tote bags and journals!

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Stop by today for lemonade, cookies, and champagne! We’ll be celebrating this gorgeous summer Saturday from 11:00am – 8:00pm and would love to see you there! If you can’t make it today, we’re also open Sunday from 11:00am – 6:00pm.

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Happy weekend, make it a good one!

~Joanna <3

P.S. There’s a pop up shop deal happening on all art prints – buy two of the same size and get $10 off! It’s the perfect way to start your new gallery wall =)

New Originals…

Happy Thursday!! It’s almost the happiest day of the week and I wanted to let you know first thing that I just added new originals to the shop! You choose the frame =) Once they’re sold, they’re gone for good. Wouldn’t you love to have these beauties hanging on your wall?

I have some exciting shop news that I’ll be sharing at the start of September along with a big reveal of a project I’ve been working on recently. It will truly be a labor of love when I’m finished and I can’t wait for it to make its debut! Stay tuned and stay cool… fall will be here before you know it!!

~Joanna <3

A Pointe Story…

seniorthesis-3-joanna-baker If you follow along on Instagram, I confessed my recent obsession with all things ballet. This is nothing new and I get the ballet bug every once in awhile but this time it’s really sticking with me…

Ballet was a large part of my life growing up, I danced for fifteen years and then pretty much abandoned it when I went to college. I haven’t danced since. I don’t really know why, maybe I was just enjoying being lazy for awhile =) But ballet has left such an impression on me and I still think it’s one of the most beautiful forms of art. I based my undergraduate senior visual art thesis around the study of ballerinas in motion…

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The final installation consisted of sixteen ballerinas created with pastel and charcoal in various stages of fragmented movement, frozen in time, suspended from the ceiling, and surrounded in floating white tulle. Beneath the images, on the floor I arranged some old pointe shoes my roommate and I had been holding onto from our dancing days. The heavy sand represented the gravity and weight that is always present and ever challenging but somehow the ballerinas effortlessly float above it. It took forever to install my work in the space and I had a labyrinth of fishing wire above holding it all together but I look back on it now, seven years later, and still feel its relevance in my life and in my love of ballet.

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I’m really excited because we just purchased tickets to opening night with American Ballet Theatre at Lincoln Center in October. Fingers crossed we’ll get to see Misty Copeland dance. I’ve started practicing ballet again in my apartment… (I just ordered a new pair of ballet slippers!) and am working up towards feeling strong and confident enough to take some beginning classes at the Joffrey ballet school. Maybe someday I’ll be able to dance pointe again. I’m obsessively watching all the videos on New York City Ballet’s website, I just saw this amazing documentary, and I’m pretty sure the number of ballet dancers I follow on Instagram is starting to outweigh the number of fashion bloggers. It’s been ten years since I stepped foot in a ballet studio but I think I’m about ready to go back. Here’s to rediscovering past loves and following your heart wherever it may take you.

Have a wonderful and inspiring weekend!!

~Joanna <3

Casetify x Joanna Baker…

casetifydebutsmall Happy weekend lovelies! I have some exciting news to share on the shop front. I’ve recently partnered with Casetify (a leading phone case manufacturer who prints on transparent cases so your golden iPhone can shine through!) and am now offering for the first time ever some of my favorite illustrations on cell phone cases.

It was so much fun choosing which illustrations to feature and I will definitely be adding more to my Casetify shop soon. If you have an illustration in mind that you’d love to see on a phone case, iPad cover, etc. let me know! I hope you have a fabulous Saturday and happy phone case shopping =)

~Joanna <3

P.S. – Thanks so much to the Marchesa team for featuring my illustration of their gorgeous clutch on Instagram! And a happy welcome to my new Insta followers, I can’t wait to share my journey with you!!