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 18k+ people in my colorful, uplifting world!
Exactly what I didn't know I needed
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Hi Reader! Every other Tuesday I spend a couple of hours with my friend Becky Hershey and the ladies in The Inner Magic Art Club, and my favorite way that we describe what happens inside the club is that it's "always exactly what I didn't know I needed". We gather together to take a pause from our busy lives, to show up for ourselves and for each other, to make art in community, and then to talk about it. But I feel better after every single time we gather. Sometimes it feels hard to make the inner space, when there's a lot of stuff competing for my attention! But when I can allow myself to slow down enough to really get quiet and sink down into my inner self while we're gathered together to make art, it creates the space for me to check in with myself and to feel what's actually going on inside. I'm often too busy, externally and internally, to make the time to really truly tune in. Can you relate? But when I use art-making in this way, it fills me up every time and what comes through my hands and my heart often surprises me β today's creation in my sketchbook certainly fits that bill! I'm fascinated by the way images can communicate to deeper parts of ourselves than words can. I think making art and creating visual images can allow you to bypass your thinking mind altogether and can instead give you a way to speak directly to your soul.... that little voice inside you, the mysterious part of you that's connected to everything and that has all the answers you'll ever need for yourself. I like combining words and images, though. They both move me. This piece, to me, feels both ominous and freeing. Dark and uplifting. Heavy and also a little humorous. Both/And. It's one of those images that feels like it's got a lot of personal meaning for me, which will continue to be revealed each time I look at it. I don't ever start with a plan when I create β I listen and wait for the first move to make itself known... an intuitive impulse. It might be a shape, or a color, or a word... today it was a giant octopus and a black ocean, and the rest evolved from there. π€·π»ββοΈ Art-making is a fun adventure when approached this way β I don't actually have to do anything other than listen and follow the "instructions" I hear. You don't ever have to do anything to prepare except show up and do your best to quiet your mind to create a clear channel so you can access your inner voice's guidance. It's pretty simple! It felt good to give myself the space to create today. As ever, it was just what I didn't know I needed. Ironically, as a working artist I don't consistently make time to create new art (there are so many other things that need attention all the time, too!), but I'm going to change that in 2025. More art-making in 2025!! β I can get a little long-winded sometimes in my emails, and I've tried to figure out ways to be more concise and make things might "bite size" because "the experts" say we all have the attention spans of gnats nowadays and that no one wants to read long emails.... but it feels better to just write the emails that flow intuitively and naturally out of me, and if they're long and they're not full of bite-sized bullet-pointed lists, well then.... that just is what it is, and it's all ok. My woo-woo long-windedness is not going to be for everyone, and that's ok! But if it IS for you, well then β I'm glad you're here and that you've read all the way to the bottom of this now extra weird email. :) I'd love to know what keeps you reading my emails, if you care to share. Hit reply! I'd love to hear from you. And on that note, happy Tuesday to you, and I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day! More soon, and big love. LET'S BE FRIENDS ON IG!
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βJessica 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 18k+ people in my colorful, uplifting world!
Hi Reader, It's Spring Break for my kids this week, and we're staying put in Portland this year since we're going on a big adventure to England this summer (my little family of three's first international trip!). which means I'm doing the ultimate juggling act right now, trying to work with 2 kids here 24/7 and also make time for fun stuff so they're not just sitting around in front of screens. Basically I'm bouncing between things like zoom meetings to going to the pool to hosting live...
Hi Reader, Last week I told you about a super special collaboration I've been working on with my friend Sarah Watts, and today I'm excited to share that registration is OPEN for The Variety Show: Surface Pattern Design Edition! The Variety Show is a weeklong workshop β coming up March 31stβApril 4th β all about surface pattern design. Sarah and I are hosting it together, and weβll be joined by a couple of very amazing special guests β artists Jen Hewett and Peggy Dean. Yes! And, weβll have...
I turned the drawing I shared in my email last week into a repeating pattern! Hey Reader, Happy Tuesday! Today I've got pattern design on the brain, and it's always a good day when I get to focus on patterns because making them is pretty much my favorite creative thing ever. :) I'm working on designing a new fabric collection right now, which has been super fun but I've also felt a bit rusty. I don't like feeling rusty, but I know by now after being a working artist for so many years that the...