A few days ago I listened to the Creative Pep Talk Podcast on my way to pick up my daughter. It’s a drive across town and then there is a wait for class to end, so I had some time. One of the questions Andy asked was “What fuels you to do the work you do? Why do you keep on getting out of bed each day to do it?” It got me thinking and writing, and before I knew it my daughter had opened the door and hopped in. It felt like a blog post was in my scribbles, so here it is.

The one thing that makes being a surface pattern designer so rewarding is connection. Yes, of course, it’s a connection for me to the outside world, a way to begin a relationship with buyers, and a focus of my social media. A lot of my friends are designers. But it’s so much more than that too.

My work is a way of connecting with the world without words. It expresses something for me that goes beyond anything I can say or express any other way. Not everyone likes it, and that’s fine, but for those that do, we connect on another level.

When I see the work of other designers, sometimes it makes me gasp because it’s so striking and beautiful. It can be the use of color, composition, or some special detail that makes their work sing. I know it the moment I see it, and I feel an instant connection with these designers. I love that someone can create something that I love so much. It’s a sense of pure delight.

It’s this type of positive emotional reaction that I aim for when creating & sharing my work with the world. I want to create designs that make people stop the scroll, take another look, and dig deeper. I want them to take a second look at a product because my pattern is on it. I get up each morning and create new art and patterns because they are my way of connecting with and adding beautiful details to the world. It makes me happier than any other work I’ve done to date! How about you?