I'm an artist, surface pattern + fabric designer, author, mama, and online teacher in Portland, OR. I believe in the power of art-making as a tool for radical self-care. I help people feel a little bit brighter and a little bit less alone through the art and products I make, the words I write, and the classes I teach. Come join almost 10k people in my colorful, uplifting world!
Are you actually bad at the thing you've always thought you're bad at?
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Hi Reader! I've spent the last couple of days doing a product photoshoot with my wonderful assistant Emily in preparation for the opening of my holiday shop on November 12th, and oh my goshhhhh I'm so excited to show you everything!! The calendar photo above is my FAVE, but I also can't resist showing you one more: Ornaments!! I mean honestly. Could this be any cuter? What's most interesting to me about these photos is that historically I've always thought of myself as being a "bad photographer". Prop styling and photography in general have never been my strong suit, and so I've basically done all I can to avoid it over the years (or to make it as quick and easy as I can). It's funny how sometimes the things that don't come naturally to us are things we label ourselves "bad at" and then never think twice about questioning whether that's actually true or not. Maybe sometimes all we need is a little exposure, a little practice, a little bit of playing with something new in order to see that we're not bad at something; we're just inexperienced. Everyone is a beginner in the beginning! The question "I wonder what would happen if..." can be super helpful in allowing more room for play and exploration and less judgment and perfectionism. So, while I still don't consider myself to be someone who these things come naturally to, I did realize in these past couple of days that a beginner's mind and a playful attitude will take me far! If I dedicate some time and effort and have FUN and PLAY in the process, I can actually create some images that I like and I'm not just uniformly bad at it like I'd been telling myself I was. Who knew?! Am I going to get super excited about photoshoots forevermore? Probably not. BUT I'll certainly feel more willing and happy to do it again next time around, and that feels like a big deal! I can't wait to share the holiday goodies and the rest of the photos with you! I currently have over 600 pics to wade through, save or delete, crop, edit, resize, etc, so..... wish me luck. Ha. I hope the rest of your day is wonderful, whatever you're up to and wherever you are. :) ps – what's something you've always thought you're bad at? Hit reply and let me know – I'm genuinely interested! LET'S BE FRIENDS ON IG!
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Jessica Swift.
I'm an artist, surface pattern + fabric designer, author, mama, and online teacher in Portland, OR. I believe in the power of art-making as a tool for radical self-care. I help people feel a little bit brighter and a little bit less alone through the art and products I make, the words I write, and the classes I teach. Come join almost 10k people in my colorful, uplifting world!
Hi Reader, and happy October! This might be my favorite month of all the months. I love when summer turns to fall. I love the cozy weather, and the sweaters, and the extra blankets on the bed, and the leaves and the light changing, and the pumpkin everything, everywhere... There's something so inspiring about this time of year! Do you feel the same way? The painting above is a bit of a nod to the spookiness of this season, with all those little white ghosts floating above the trees, in a...
Hi Reader, I'm so excited to share with you that my Pattern Camp course is happening again next weekend, October 5 & 6, and registration is now officially open! 🎉 >> Get all the details right here << I taught a free workshop yesterday called Fall in Love with Illustrator, because that's exactly what happened to me when I taught myself how to use Illustrator and to design patterns. It was slow-going and frustrating for me for a long time, teaching myself how to use Adobe Illustrator back in...
Hi Reader, Happy September! My GOSH was August a wild and chaotic bonanza of experiences in my world! I taught Pattern Camp, had a birthday (and a birthday sale!), camped at the epically beautiful Crater Lake, my son started 3rd grade, and I spent this past weekend in Colorado with my kids where we went to a college football game, did a super hard hike, spent a lot of time with my whole family, and I even got to go see my very favorite musician, Gregory Alan Isakov, at Red Rocks (with seats...