Handmade Art & Surface Design

Handmade Art & Surface Design

Abstract pattern with yellow, brown, green, and white lines and dots on a yellow background.

Thoughtfully crafted to elevate what matters most.

A floral pattern featuring large orange and pink hibiscus flowers with yellow stamens, and green leaves on a beige background.
A pineapple growing on a plant with long green leaves in a south florida garden with soil, rocks, and other green plants in the background.
Pattern featuring stylized pineapples in blue, green, and pink with striped backgrounds.
Hand painted textured palm pattern featuring white palm leaves interspersed with orange and dark green elongated leaves on a green background.
A vibrant oil painting of white and dark purple lillies with narrow green leaves and stems set against a yellow background.
Artist Charlotte Kirkholt Ferri paints pink plumeria flowers outdoors in her garden studio.The woman is focused on her artwork, which depicts pink fangi pangis with yellow centers.

Every piece begins with a spark of inspiration—whether found in nature, captured in a photograph, explored through painting, or assembled in a handmade collage.

Some artworks inspire surface pattern collections; others remain as original paintings and collages. Moving between fine art and design allows ideas to evolve naturally, creating work that is both artistic and thoughtfully crafted.

Created by hand, guided by curiosity, and never AI-generated.

A Bit About Me and My Pattern Design Process

  • Boats docked on Nyhavn in Copenhagen, Denmark with colorful buildings in the background.

    Scandinavian Roots

    Florida, USA is my home now, but I was born and raised in Denmark. Thus my art and design principles are imbued by a distinguable Scandinavian flair. But the sub-tropical influences from South Florida (and my garden) have definitely left their mark in my color choices of bold, yet soft, luscious colors.

  • Person operating a screen printing frame near a window, with orange and yellow background visible outside.

    Artistic Roots

    I graduated from the School of Danish Design in Copenhagen (now KADK -Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts) with a degree in textile print. The strong hands-on artisinal foundation I received is the bedrock of my approach to design albeit the end product is now digital.

  • Gray pencil sketch of a pigeon pea plant with long leaves, pods, and flowers.

    Inspiration

    In my exploration of landscapes, botanicals and everyday objects, I attempt to uncover the intricate beauty hidden within nature revealing mesmerizing patterns and rhythms that exist in both micro and macro scales. I find that the natural world is teaming with rhythmic patterns, sometimes symmetrical, sometimes asymmetrical, while always pulsating with life.

  • Two pieces of artwork created with blue paint on white paper. The artwork on the left features an abstract, graffiti-style design with looping lines and dots. The artwork on the right depicts a stylized landscape with trees and water, using short horizontal and vertical brushstrokes.

    Creative Process

    My creative process begins with either a simple “shorthand” sketch, a loose painting, or free play with composition and color in the medium of collage. They all afford me the freedom to play and embrace “accidents” (Joseph Frank called it “accidentism”) which adds a dimension of delight and spontaneity, unfolding the essence of the subject.

  • Abstract pattern featuring various sand dollar shapes with overlapping shapes and line-drawn in shades of blue, beige, and white.

    End Product

    Creating a repeating pattern from the subject involves playful, spontaneous improvisations in order to balance line, color, form and composition . As I play with motifs and color, I aim for visual appeal and to infuse joy into a living space. My ultimate goal is to brighten up the walls and surfaces of a room because in the realm of design, beauty isn’t just seen - it’s felt!