This past December I took Rachael Taylor’s class called Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design.   Here is the final “design board” that I came up with.

It was a wonderful class full of inspiration and particularly helpful for me I think.  I tend to be a “just get it done” kind of person and sometimes that makes me skimp in the pre-work before actually starting a design.  This class was loaded with techniques to gather and organize the inspiration that leads to a good design.  I still have tons to learn, but an organized approach is so helpful.

For a peek into my tangled, messy creative process – this design started with felt owl Christmas tree ornaments that I saw on Pinterest (of course).  I decided I really wanted to make some felt ornaments, so I started looking at more – which lead to looking at folk art designs – which made me think about the Amish designs in my part of the country…

Meanwhile, I was taking an absolutely excellent class by Laura Coyle over at Renee Pearson called Ink and Paint for Illustrator which covers using the blob brush.

So all this got mashed up into a Polish folk art, Amish paint stroke, made with the blob brush kind of design…. (with some paisley added because I love paisley and its fun to make with the blob brush…)

Weird huh?

I decided to use these designs as the basis for my next digital craft kit – coming out tomorrow at my DigiChick shop.  Here is a little sneak peek…

So what’s next?  Well session 2 Creating Your Professional Identity of Surface Pattern Design starts Monday and I’m very excited!  (there is still time to get in if you want to join).

I’m hoping it will help me hone my style.  I tend to like everything and want to try everything.

I like doing detailed illustration,

and whimsical designs,

Even kind of a combo of both.

Focus!  I need focus!  LOL!  I’m excited to see where this will all lead.