Trudy Wilkerson, Trudy’s Impressions, Design Challenge Winner, September 2022
Christmas Tree Typography Presents Star Streams around Decorated Tree card
Please list the URLs of your 3 favorite cards in your storefront and why they are your favorites.
Sunflowers have always been a favorite flower of mine due to the message they seem to suggest, which in my opinion, is happiness, brightness, and hope. Although, I have designed many sunflower cards, this particular one I really love because of its down-home country feeling it seems to scream.
Country Sunflowers, Birthday, mom, Brown Texture, Tied Knot card
I love designing with bold colors, thus I have created what I titled, KALEIDOSCOPE COLLECTION, whereas I have designed images in bright colors in abstract forms. One of my first cards in this unique collection. My favorite is: Hi, Hello, Colorful and Happy Frog in Kaleidoscope Collection card
My third choice would probably have to be a religious Christmas greeting honoring Christ’s birth.
Christmas – Religious – Baby Jesus/Manger – Greatest Gift card
Please list any of your professional social media sites.
Basically, I don’t indulge too much in social media, however, I do enjoy visiting Facebook to see what my peers are up to and keep in touch with family and friends.
What was your inspiration for your winning card? Please walk us through the process of how this card went from an idea to a greeting card.
When GCU announces the new monthly challenge, it often gets my designer juices flowing and I am eager to challenge myself to come up with something new and fun for it. The thought process for this typography holiday card was simply to focus on my favorite upcoming holiday, Christmas, and then I began thinking of all the words that immediately popped up in my mind that best described that holiday. Then I incorporated all those words into the form of a Christmas tree, and then it all fell into place quite easily.
What sparked your interest in art? Did you start as a young child?
I have always loved art since childhood. After my mother passed back in 2000, I thought to myself, life is short, so I focused on learning photography, and that became a real passion of mine. From there I was introduced to stock sites and of course GCU. At first, I just started with photographs of flowers over and over again, but soon discovered there were millions out there of gorgeous flowers. That’s when it dawned on me to start learning via digital designs and quickly discovered how much I absolutely loved it. Over the years, I self-taught myself how to design digitally through the use of tutorials and more on the internet and slowly started adding programs that I could use along with photoshop, and the rest is history.
Do you have formal training or are you self-taught?
I started with photography taking a year course through the New York Institute of Photography and then later I self-taught myself techniques in designing through many, many online tutorials.
Is your work done by hand and then scanned or do you work entirely on the computer?
First, I so admire those who are natural artists and draw by hand, simply amaze me with their talents. However, I 100% design everything on my computer through either or both Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop. I usually go back and forth between both programs.
Have you ever/do you currently have a job other than as an artist?
Yes, I previously was a Realtor for 27 years. I loved helping people find their dream homes. Once I started dabbling in photography and then on to designing, I found that it relaxed me and gave me great peace of mind by shutting out the stresses of the world.
What GCU artist(s) do you admire?
There are so many inspiring artists out there, too many to mention that I like. However, like many of us, Corrie Kuipers and Doreen in our Community Blog, have both inspired and educated us with their ideas and suggestions to improve ourselves. I appreciate their hard work and steadfastness.
What would we be surprised to learn about you?
On a very personal note, I’d like to share something about myself that I discovered I had within me, but never knew just how strong I really was. Two years ago, I discovered I had cancer, and sadly a very aggressive
cancer which I was told, that even after chemo, women don’t survive more than two years. At first, fear gripped me to the core. I wanted to see my grandchildren have children and families. Then with God’s almighty grace and with the support of my family and friends, I took on the belief that I would be one of the 9% that could survive this. Thereafter, everything I looked at in life became less important but at the same time, I wanted to strive to be a better person, more caring, more loving, and appreciate every moment that God allows me to have here on this beautiful earth. These past few weeks, I did have a scare it may have come back, however, after undergoing cat scans, and many other tests, my doctor advised me that at
this point I am in remission and cancer free. Now that dreaded two-year mark is only two months away.
The reason I am sharing this personal information is to encourage anyone that is struggling with something in their life, to not
give up, and to fight tooth and nail for what they need to conquer, and with God’s grace, you can pull through it.