What do sea urchins, Aboriginal art and Be Here Now have in common?

It all started with a picture from Pinterest.

“Mom, can you make a rug with a design similar to this picture I found on Pinterest? I want something bright and crazy on the floor.” So this was the first of my Circle Rugs. Her rug was quite large, 8’ x 10’ to cover the living room floor. I incorporated words like Be Here Now and All You Need is Love. I used a mosaic design for a circle and well, doodled with bright colors.

I went on to sell this as a runner and a circular shape for a shower and bathroom. Did I mention dogs LOVE the canvas rugs?

After this rug, I was craving to paint it with earthy colors, burnt orange, olive green, mustard yellow, and flower pot red. So I created the black circle rug. I used ethnic designs from Africa, Aboriginal art, Mexico, and Central America. While showing at an art fair a woman bought it to use as a wall hanging. It was 27” wide and 6 feet long. “It will go perfect on my wall,” she said.

I’ve since used this design on a 4’ x 6’ as an entrance rug, and it was on the border of a large area rug with a stamped center. Spectacular!

And finally, the sea urchins..

Later a friend asked me to paint the circle rug as a housewarming gift for her friend. “I want it in a bright blue for her beach home, with sea urchins!” I discovered sea urchins come in all colors. Her friend wanted bright pops of reds to stand out against the blue, and so the red sea urchin was born. The Blue Circle rug incorporates shells, sea urchins and a mosaic circle as well as doodle circles.

The Blue Circle rug has been the favorite so far. The only consistent part of this rug is the red sea urchin. Although there are shells they are always different as well as a mosaic circle. I have done this as runners and a popular shape is a round rug.

It all started out as a gift for my daughter, who gave me permission to play and have fun. It’s become one of my most sought after designs. I think people like them because they ARE fun and they make people feel playful.

 I can do these in any size. Also, the background can be in any color. I think a turquoise rug would look awesome! Some clients ask me to omit a color or add more of a specific color.

Not only are they pretty to look at, but they’re also a nice diversion, looking at the designs and sometimes discovering sayings written in the circles.

Art is supposed to be fun and I’m having fun and making others happy too. Write to me if you want to play!