June 2025
Hello, my dear friend,
As I sit down to write, the air is thick with heat—summer is truly here. I’m almost finished listening to Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson; I have about an hour left out of over 60 hours!
I’ve also started re-reading Nobody’s Boy by Hector Malot with my daughter. It was the first "big" book I read as a child. It felt enormous back then, but it’s only around 300 pages (whereas Wind and Truth is over 1,300!). The story follows an orphaned boy’s adventures, and is at once heartbreaking and beautiful.
Reading it now as an adult is quite different from when I first encountered it as a child. Things I was oblivious to then seem obvious now—and yet, some passages still make me feel childlike all over again.
I recently visited the Royal Library Museum in Brussels and was inspired by an animation of a rabbit playing a harp. Here is the resulting pattern.
You can find it through Spoonflower and Redbubble and as a digital wallpaper.
Sketchbook
I’ve started experimenting with Posca markers in my daily sketchbook. I like their consistency and opacity, but I’m not entirely convinced by the colors. I have a basic set with mostly primary tones. I’d like to paint more often, but the extra setup and cleanup still hold me back—that’s also what’s keeping me from painting on location. I suppose the best approach is to make my kit as compact as possible, and then simply accept that if I want to paint, I’ll have to carry some materials with me.
Other news
I’ve finished painting a pattern with peonies and craspedia, but I’m not convinced by the result. I think it’s because I planned the design in advance, which took away some of the freedom and spontaneity I usually feel when painting directly. Still, I’ll go ahead and process it to see how it looks as a pattern.
We also had the end-of-year exhibition at the art academy, and here are the pieces I showed:
And finally, here’s a photo of me at the Romanian celebration in Halle. Thank you to everyone who stopped by—it was lovely to see you!
Have a wonderful summer, take care!
Ema
Find all my patterns and illustrations below:
As an illustrator and pattern designer, I believe in the power of imagery to bring joy.
My work centers on hand-painted repeating patterns, inspired by the fantasy and magical realism stories I love to read.
I work in both traditional and digital mediums.
Long walks with my little dog are one of my favorite pastimes.
If you're interested in collaborating on a project, feel free to reach out and ask about my availability.
