Welcome!
Once a scribbler, always a scribbler...
Rich and plentiful opportunities have allowed me to perform graphic design across the country. I’ve been jumping coasts all my life (La Jolla, Denver, San Francisco, Pensacola, Coronado, and Norfolk). Alexandria, Virginia is my home and the center of my design world.
I have a BFA in graphic design and fine painting from the University of Denver. My success has varied from extensive experience in retail, the custom wedding & stationery industry, to professional brand design & development for The North Face.
Since 2007, I have been creating personalized vintage style art prints and stationery under the name of Seahorse Designs. Seahorses are symbolic of good fortune, friendliness, generosity and patience. They evoke in me childhood memories on the beach, and gazing into the aquarium at the Marine Room where I had dinners with my grandparents. Trips to the seashore with my husband and our children keep these memories alive. I am charmed by the beauty, confidence and grace these little creatures display. They will always speak to my spirit and remind me to go with the flow. Don't be surprised if these little guys continue to pop up in my work!
Life provides new journeys and challenges...Art evolves and WISDOM Grows...
Golden Lines and Silver Linings came to fruition when I started giving titles and narratives to my work. I found that the titles were as special as the scribbles and markings I had made on paper. My love of books, quotes, spirituality and following your intuition sparked the creation of designs with “words and themes to live by”. My illustrations and images are inspired by the land & sea, decorative and ornamental design, figurative subjects and all things patriotic — these are strong influences in my work. My style leans classic but not fussy; timeless yet simple. I am often inspired while I am antiquing, visiting museums, gardens, flower shops or in nature. I love fine papers, printing techniques, engravings, watermarks, antique monograms and typography along with beautiful fabrics, furnishings and especially “mother earth”. I strive for a marriage of my painting and graphic design skills; each original is painted with gouache, watercolors or shimmery metallic.
My hope and intent is to create art and gifts that display optimism, encouragement and inspiration in your life. —JJH
Professional Organizations:
NATIONAL WATERCOLOR SOCIETY
Virginia Watercolor Society
The Art League (Alexandria, VA)