The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design - Module 1

Earlier this year I took the plunge and signed myself up for 'The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design' online course. I will be doing Modules 1, 2 and 3 (Hopefully module 4 at a later date)
I have been waiting patiently for months and finally today is the first day of Module 1! 

I am so excited. I found myself earlier this year at a real low point and decided that I needed something to look forward to but also something that would stir up my creativity. 
I love my work and the jobs that I get but sitting in my little studio on my own (with the exception of a certain spaniel on occasion) I find myself getting stumped creatively. It has been a few years since leaving uni and I wanted something to stir things up! 
I have always loved patterns. I think subconsciously I love them more than I realised until now. I have used found patterns and textures within my illustrations for years (I am an avid wallpaper sample collector. I have draws full of different wallpaper samples as I find the scraps of patterns so inspiring! The staff at the DIY shops must think I have one crazily decorated house!)
I played a little bit with making patterns at the very end of my degree when I made a pattern for the end papers for my childrens book for my final major project. I even got it made into a fabric sample (which I never saw again after my degree show, I wonder if someone used it to make a pillow) but I never really thought any more of it.

I got a job at a party company making sugar cake decorations. A few months in I started doing some design work for them. Nothing like I had ever done before but I agreed to do it as I love design and I love a challenge! 
I was designing a lot of products for them. Thinking about it now... it was surface pattern design really! I designed cake stands, cupcake wrappers, balloons, packaging. I loved seeing my designs on products in the real world!

When I found out about Rachel and Beth's lovely course I couldn't not join in!
It looked like the perfect course and came at the perfect time for me. 

Learning about Surface Pattern design! 

So Module 1 is about exploring your creativity and getting back to basics. Perfect.
I always find myself putting so much pressure on myself for my doodles to look perfect or fit in to a certain theme. This module will allow me to let it all go and just draw and create whatever I feel like at the time. 

One of my big problems is that I don't show my work. I have so many illustrations that I create and never end up showing! So silly when I think about it. 

I will be showing my progress and also inspirations throughout the course, on here and on twitter and instagram. 
I am excited to see where this takes me.