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!
🍂 Hello, September!
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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 in the 7th row!). I was looking forward to this show for months, and it definitely didn't disappoint! We came home yesterday, and then this morning my girl started kindergarten!! It's been a true whirlwind, both physically and emotionally. Today is the first quiet day in the studio that I've had in many weeks, and I'm soaking it up and feeling so grateful for it! I've got lots of fun things in store for the coming months, and a lot to do to get prepared! Pattern Camp is coming again the weekend of October 5 & 6, and ahead of this class I'll be offering a FREE Illustrator workshop! Details about that are to come next week. I'm also working right now on a 2025 calendar and some other fun new products that I'll be releasing ahead of the holidays, along with a collection of original, one-of-a-kind paintings. Once I get my bearings and ease back into the rhythm of the school year and having quiet time to myself again, I'll finalize dates and give you more details about everything asap. Right now my brain is buzzing in a million directions, oof! I'm going old school and am starting to blog again! You'll find inspiration, information, and more. Check it out!
In the meantime, I hope you have a wonderful rest of your week. :) ps – here are my 2 little cuties this morning, ready for 3rd grade and kindergarten 🥰🥰 : 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!
Enrollment for Pattern Camp is closing this Friday, August 2nd! Hey Reader – Happy Tuesday! I hope you're having an awesome week so far. :) My kids are in camp this week and I'm spending my days in the studio putting the final finishing touches on my Pattern Camp course that's happening this coming weekend, August 3 & 4. I'm so dang excited about this course! Watching students go from frustrated to confident using Adobe Illustrator, from patterns being a mystery to being able to design them...
Enrollment for Pattern Camp is OPEN!Doors close on August 2nd. Hi Reader, Pattern Camp is starting in just 8 days! When I was just getting started as a pattern designer many years ago, I exhibited at a trade show called Surtex in New York City. One of my most vivid memories is of an art student who walked into my booth, already jaded and full of doubt, and asked me if I really thought I could make it as a successful pattern designer in a world that was already so saturated with pattern...
Hi Reader, I want to tell you a story about how I went from someone who barely knew how to use a computer and knew nothing about digital art-making to someone who's created hundreds of pattern designs and has artwork on products worldwide. I first encountered surface pattern design back in 2005 or so, when design blogs were a new, exciting, and very inspiring part of the internet. I saw people licensing artwork to places like Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie, and a lightbulb of knowing...