Groundswell

Groundswell

It waited. Now it’s pushing up.

Groundswell collection mood board - hand painted spring bulb, pod and root patterns in magenta, olive, coral and lime on chalk white and deep plum, with wallpaper, pillow and fabric mockups

These bulbs came out of my Unquiet Ground paintings, where pods and orbs kept pushing up through someone else’s old paint. I drew them by hand first, then painted them in that same palette: magenta, olive, coral, a little purple, and lime where the shoots break through. None of them is a bulb you could plant. Some of them are pods. A few might be both.

The paint runs past the line and stays there. The roots wander off in every direction and some of them tangle. I left all of it, because spring doesn’t start tidy. It starts underground, when something swells, splits and starts to push.

Nine designs, on a chalk ground and a deep plum one. Which one would you plant first?

The nine

Click any one to see it bigger.

Groundswell hero pattern - hand painted magenta, olive and coral bulbs splitting open with trailing roots, lime dots and teal seed drops on a textured chalk white ground
Hero · Chalk — The one that’s splitting open.
Groundswell scattered bulbs - hand painted pink, olive and mauve bulbs with roots tossed across a textured chalk ground with lime green dots
Scattered Bulbs · Chalk — Everything from the hero, given room.
Groundswell packed bulbs - hand painted pink, olive, mauve and gold bulbs packed edge to edge with bold black ink outlines on chalk
Packed Bulbs · Chalk — Edge to edge, the ink holding it together.
Groundswell packed bulbs on deep plum - hand painted pink, olive and gold bulbs with black ink outlines on a dark wine ground
Packed Bulbs · Deep Plum — The same tangle, after dark.
Groundswell bulb outlines - hand drawn olive line drawings of bulbs and pods tossed in every direction on a textured chalk ground
Bulb Outlines · Olive on Chalk — Just the drawing. The quiet one.
Groundswell bulb outlines on deep plum - chalky hand drawn bulb and pod outlines tossed across a dark wine ground
Bulb Outlines · Chalk on Plum — Reads like a block print.
Groundswell lime dots - hand painted lime and olive dots in loose clusters on a textured chalk ground
Lime Dots · Chalk — Goes with everything here.
Groundswell lime dots on deep plum - hand painted lime and olive dots scattered over a dark wine ground
Lime Dots · Deep Plum — New shoots on dark soil.
Groundswell confetti dots - hand painted dots in lime, coral, teal, magenta and gold scattered on a textured chalk ground
Confetti Dots · Chalk — Every color in the collection, in one print.

On the wall, on the cloth

Flat squares don’t tell you how big a thing is. These do.

Groundswell packed bulbs on deep plum as wallpaper in an entryway above white wainscoting
Entryway — the packed bulbs, after dark, on a whole wall.
Groundswell fabrics folded in a stack - the hero, packed bulbs on plum, bulb outlines on plum and confetti dots
Fabric — four of the nine, folded together.
Groundswell hero pattern on a square throw pillow against white wood paneling
Pillow — the hero, on a cushion.

Where to find it

Groundswell is now on Spoonflower. See the whole collection on fabric, wallpaper and gift wrap, printed to order. If you’re a buyer, a maker, or anyone who wants this collection on something, write to me here.

Shine your light! Monette