My Story

orange painting

The painting that became my first pair of leggings

My first leggings

When the COVID lockdown began I decided to spend some time exploring my Creative Self. I attended online art classes and retreats and started reading books about creativity (special thanks to Flora Bowley, Amber Kuileimailani-Bonnici, and SARK, who played a significant role in my journey). 

I started playing with all types of art. My favorites became acrylics on canvas and digital art on my iPad. My heart was drawn to bright & joyful colors, which my art expressed. I wanted to share my joyful art with the world and started experimenting with having my art printed on items such as mugs, pillows and blankets with mixed success. 

In addition to my Creative Self, I also wanted to start taking better care of my body. I have always loved to dance, so when COVID restrictions were lifted, I joined a gym and started taking Zumba classes. Zumba is the perfect balance of dance and exercise for me. Zumba people love to have fun, and they love bright colors! 

Something clicked for me and I decided to try having one of my paintings printed on leggings for Zumba and see how they turned out. I photographed the painting, digitally manipulated it on my iPad, and had the leggings printed by a company called Printful. I wore the leggings to class and they were a hit. I tried putting some of my other paintings on leggings, then expanded to sports bras, tank tops, and other clothing. I’ve also been creating mandalas on my iPad and put one of these on a tote bag. Everything turned out wonderfully.

So I opened Dancing Joy Designs to share my art with you. I hope you have as much fun wearing these as I am having designing them!

Joyfully,

Laurie
Owner/Designer