The inspiration for “Opalescence” sparked from a blue morpho butterfly in a shadow box I got from a market. The iridescence, vibrant color, and beautiful pattern within the butterfly was so captivating, I knew I wanted to make a pattern collection inspired by butterflies and these majestic qualities. I chose specific species of butterflies to recreate, hand-painting them with gouache and watercolor, and then layering with colored pencil to achieve finer details, texture, and greater depth. Designed for silk output, these designs are highly detailed and intense in color. The natural sheen of the silk gives the butterflies more life and luminosity, making physical prints of them far more intriguing to view.