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 only way out of that feeling is through. It all comes down to just making a lot of art! So I've been drawing in my sketchbook and painting and drawing on my iPad and making things I don't like and making things I do like, and it's all part of the process. One of my painting professors in college used to say "you have to be willing to make the bad art in order to get to the good art", which is just another way of saying that it all counts. It all matters. It's all part of the process and helps you get where you're going. No art is bad art, in reality – it's all useful, and useful is good. Art is just art, marks are just marks, and we can let them exist without judging them. Isn't that interesting? So often we judge it all immediately!

There's no magic trick to being an artist; you just have to make a lot of art, put your blinders on to what other people are doing sometimes, and trust yourself as you go along.

It's fun to look back on my older work from my early days as a pattern designer, and I found this photo recently of my booth at a trade show called Surtex in New York City, in 2013. I remember making some important connections at this show!

I exhibited at Surtex a few times, shipping and shlepping all my booth materials to NYC, meeting with art directors, walking the show, talking to aspiring surface pattern designers who were walking the show.... and I absolutely loved it. It was hard work, designing a portfolio of patterns, designing a booth and all the collateral that comes along with that (business cards, postcards, freebies to give away, etc), reaching out to potential clients, and so forth. It was exhilarating, learning about art licensing and connecting with cool companies, and meeting creative kindred spirits who were building their own creative career the way that I was.

One of the artists who I met in those early years was my friend Sarah Watts. Sarah and I have been friends for nearly 20 years now, and she's one of my faves. One year we shared a hotel room in NYC when we both had booths at Surtex, and I have a very vivid memory of us getting ready for the show in the room which was the size of a shoebox; Sarah was standing with her feet inside her suitcase because there was so little floor space between the wall and the bunk bed and it was hard for two people to be in the room at the same time, and we had to share a bathroom with every other person who was also staying on our floor. Oh, the memories!

Anyway. I'm excited to be collaborating with Sarah on a very special project right now – The Variety Show is going to be a week-long live event that Sarah and I are hosting together from March 31-April 4, focused on surface pattern design. You’ll get a peek into my process, Sarah’s, and those of a couple of other special guest artists as well. You’ll get a look at Photoshop, Illustrator, Procreate, and some analog techniques, too. Our intention is to pull back the curtain a bit and show you that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to creative learning, and there are lots of ways you can learn how to design patterns if that’s something that you want to do.

Sarah and I are both pattern designers, but what you may not know is that our processes are pretty different. She primarily uses Photoshop, I primarily use Illustrator. We both use Procreate on the iPad, but in slightly different ways.

What’s so cool about being an artist is that there’s not just one way to get where you want to go. For example, Sarah and I both design fabric, for different companies, and have really different design processes using different programs entirely. But the result is the same – colorful, quirky fabric. It can be really tempting to follow someone’s advice when they tell you they know the way to your success, but the truth is – the creative path is different for everyone. Sarah and I create some of the same types of things, but our paths have been different and we’ve each created our own versions of creative success that don’t look like each other’s or anyone else’s. And that’s how it should be!

Details:

The door fee is $27, and the dates are March 31-April 4th. The event will be held live, and there will be replay options. You don’t need to download any programs to join in. No experience whatsoever is required! Sign ups start in just a few days. Mark your calendar, and stay tuned for more info SOON!

MORE PATTERN FUN COMING SOON The next live session of my Pattern Camp class is coming up April 12-13, so you can whet your pattern design appetite at the Variety Show and then join me in Pattern Camp to learn how to design patterns using Adobe Illustrator! Registration opens in early April. LEARN MORE >

GREAT GIFT IDEA Looking for a great and unique gift? May I humbly suggest my Animal Allies oracle card deck! The deck includes 50 cards and a lovely little booklet full of wisdom and guidance from the animal kingdom. This is a well-loved best-seller! GRAB A DECK HERE

NEW ART SUPPLY LOVE I recently because obsessed with these fineline applicators, which I put thinned-out acrylic paint in and was able to apply the most beautiful, precise, painted lines ever. WAY better than I could ever do with a brush. Highly recommended fun new art supply to try! BUY HERE

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I hope your week is going great so far and that you're not feeling too groggy and bleary-eyed from the time change. (But for real whyyyyyy do we still change the clocks it's 2025 omg somebody dooooo something pleaseeeee. haha)

Sending color, pattern, and good thoughts your way!
Until next time...

LET'S BE FRIENDS ON IG!

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