Shay's Wedding- ( and my bridesmaid screw ups)

Being maid of honor means making sure everything runs smoothly on the big day. Well, I think I did pretty good. Even if I screwed up on some things such as...

1. Running out the door I thought of ONE thing only. Grab her wedding dress. ( Which of course meant I would forget my own bridesmaid dress only to realize it at midnight a few hours before the wedding ceremony)

2. After a midnight panic attack and tears ( which we made sure the bride to be did NOT see) my amazing boyfriend drove almost an hour or more to go get my dress and bring it to the hotel where we were staying in the wee hours of the morning.

3. A few hours later when we were back on track getting the bride to be to look her best.  Which meant I would be running around like a chicken without a head and would  proceed to burn a fist size hole in the lining of my chiffon bridesmaid dress while trying to iron it. ( yes, the one that almost never made it).

4. Panic ensues as the girls do their best to cover up and do damage control. Alas, the bride never knew till after the reception when I showed her the mess that was my dress under the top layer of chiffon.

You wouldn't know all the stuff that went down from the AMAZING pictures taken on her big day.

-Wendy

PS: Can I say how obsessed I was with the way the bouquets and hand painted table settings turned out?! They were all a unique combination of gorgeous flowers. 

* Credit to J&R Photography who snapped these special memories.

When artsy friends get married

My best friend Shay is married ! Helping her plan this wedding was a blast even though we spent late nights changing color themes and discussing fonts for her invitations.

This is what happens when you have two people who are best friends (more like sisters) who both bonded as kids over art and now as adults work in graphic design and fashion. It was the perfect recipe for brainstorming sessions and DYI projects. Shay designed her own invitations and letterpress plates. YES, we hand made her invitations and save the dates. This meant rolling on the ink and pressing down the letterpress at home till it was perfect. It also meant hand painting tiny canvases for all the table #'s during the reception.

All the work was worth it when you saw how happy she looked on her big day. I will post more pics of the big day on the next post. For now, below are some shots of us flower shopping in the flower district in NYC brainstorming bouquet ideas.

-Wendy

Katazome @ TAC

I've been spending some time at the Textile Arts Center this summer and I can say it's been the best use of my weekends. It's my time to just play. This project was experimenting with Katazome Resist Dyeing ( really cool Japanese technique). Of course, my sketch was of bold spring birds which would pop against the indigo dye. It went from sketch - to stencil- to applying resist paste - to indigo dye. Super happy with the result!

-Wendy

  

My Creative Space

Hello!

Finally made the time to sit and update the pending blog. 

Currently, I've been working on organizing my dream creative space. It began with a little messy corner (below) and over time it has become an ongoing progress. Some pictures below of some time spent at my little corner studio ( when it started, and still in it's messy state! I'll use this blog to update on the progress)

-Wendy <3

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About

Hello. Hola! 

I'm Wendy, I'm a Guatemalan born textile artist and new mom to a chunky little one. I've spent most of my life in NYC and currently living in NJ. I am the happiest when I'm in my little art corner or playing with dirt outside, this was my escape as a kid and still is today. Maybe it was the clash of the colorful Guatemalan memories with the urban streets of the Bronx growing up, but all these things influence and inspire my work ( You can read more about My Story here ).

Many of us lose that creative explorer kid inside us as we grow older (I am guilty of that myself). I've worked in fashion & graphic design in NYC and one of my many loves is exploring and being inspired by both my homes (NYC & Guatemala) so I hope you enjoy the pieces of colorful adventures and creations here on this blog.

You can shoot me a msg here: wendy.quiroa@gmail.com

Why yes, I'm on :Instagram , Pinterest , and LinkedIn. 

-Wendy

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My Story

I figured I could make one blog post where I could share the whole "enchilada". So here goes.

I was born in Guatemala and still have tons of family there. I visited a lot as a child and teen and spend summer vacations in grandpa's house where I was born. This is the same house where my dad and his 7 siblings grew up. It used to be a house made of adobe which has been fixed up over the years and has a lot of history.

my two aunties outside grandpa's house in the 50's.

Me and my parents moved to NYC, " the concrete jungle" when I was about 3 years old. I grew up in the Bronx playing outside in the bursting hydrants in the summer or rolling around in the snow in central park in the winter.

My life involved learning english as a young kid and learning to fit in. Believe it or not, there weren't that many Guatemalan kids in the Bronx. I would come home to eat tortillas and frijoles and lay on blankets with colorful Guatemalan patterns and colors.

the patio and garden in Guatemala.

tiny me feeling lost in NYC. What are all these layers?

I've been drawing for as long as I can remember and art was a way for me to get away and go into my own little world when it was a little rough fitting in. So it made sense that I gave up my gym class in middle school to take art class ( I had a better chance at succeeding there) and went to the High School of Art & Design next and FIT for my BFA.  I've been blessed that NYC has been my playground in HS when our school was just a concrete building. Central park offered the biggest playground a kid could want.

These days, I'm balancing working as a textile designer and making sure I don't ever stop playing and just getting my hands dirty doing what I love. This little place on the web is just a little piece of my world to share my doodles.

On a recent trip back home.

-Wendy