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!
Everyone starts at the beginning 😎
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Hi Reader – Would you believe me if I told you that I drew that elephant? Well, I certainly did draw that elephant. A long time ago I had a dream of being a surface pattern designer. I'd discovered design blogs and saw artists who were collaborating with companies to get their pattern designs onto products like wallpaper and bedding, and a lightbulb turned on in my brain – I immediately knew that's what I wanted to do. I remember feeling kinda mad that no one had ever told me this was a job I could have! The trouble with this dream, though, was that I had no idea where to start. I didn't know how to use a computer. I didn't know any pattern designers. In 2007, the resources available on the internet were slim to none, and so I got myself a copy of Adobe Illustrator For Dummies and a book about how to design repeating patterns, and I got to work. It was slow-going, and frustrating at times, and it took me over a year to finally create a pattern that repeated seamlessly. At first I drew everything on paper to use in my patterns. Then I decided to buy myself a Wacom tablet – if you're unfamiliar with what that is, it's a digital drawing tablet that you plug into your computer, so you can draw directly on your computer screen. What I discovered is that there's a steep learning curve with a Wacom tablet! Instead of looking at my hand while I was drawing, I had to look at the computer screen. So there was this weird disconnect between my hand and my eyes, and it took a while to figure it out. That elephant at the top is my first drawing on the Wacom tablet. As I'm getting ready to launch my Pattern Camp course (get on the waitlist right here if you want to be the first to know more), it's amazing to look back at that funny little elephant drawing and realize just how far I've come. Thankfully my digital drawing skills improved a lot over the years, and my dream of becoming a pattern designer and seeing my artwork on products did come true. It's amazing where you can end up when you have a dream paired with a hefty dose of persistence, patience, and determination. We all start at the beginning. Small, consistent action toward what you want can stack up and lead you exactly where you aim to go (or maybe even somewhere better)... What's your dream? How are you (or aren't you) moving toward it? Until next time, my friend! 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! I hope you're having a wonderful week. I'm enjoying a quiet Thanksgiving week at home this year with my kiddos instead of traveling to see family like we often do (well, more like a "quiet" week – I hear C and G bickering about something in the background right now, which is pretty standard), and it's funny how things work out so perfectly sometimes... We loosely planned to go to California for Thanksgiving and then decided to go in December instead. Then we made plans for a...
Hi Reader! The refrain-on-repeat in my house right now is "I'm sooooo excited for Christmas!". I wonder how many times I'll hear that between now and Christmas morning? 1,000? A million? Infinite? I still remember that feeling so well from when I was a kid – the bouncy, tangible anticipation so huge I could barely stand it. Waking up in the middle of the night on Christmas to sneak into the living room to stare at the presents under the tree in awe. Removing one torturous ring each day from...
Hi Reader, What a day here in the United States. I took myself for a long walk earlier today to absorb the news and to wrap my mind around the huge changes coming our way that will impact us in the months and years to come, both here in the USA and around the world. Wherever we each fall on the political spectrum, we're ALL on the human spectrum, and I think most of us can probably agree that there's a lot of darkness in the world right now. A lot of division in this country, and a lot of...