Passion & Pattern

Yesterday, after a long day of intensive labor, a friend (and integral part of my aforementioned network) and I spent the drive home (he’s also my roommate) talking about artistic success. He insists upon the inevitability of my finding success one day because I possess a rare quality among creative people–passion.

Passion drives me to continually strive for the next level in the creative process. Passion allows me to see the world optimistically, even in the worst of times. Passion disregards the fact that I may not leave my room at all on any given day. After all, I am making art.

I find new inspiration everyday. Most recently, this one:

I believe that I find the repetition to be calming, and this pattern in particular is cheery and uplifting. It reminds me of Easter–the second favorite holiday of any Irish-Catholic.

My sister referred me to a blog called Creative Curio that runs a tutorial to create your own pattern using Illustrator. If only I could learn to do the same with acrylic paints. Last weekend, I found a newspaper listing for a class in Chicago that teaches Printmaking for Painters. They specifically listed pattern making among the curriculum. I can’t afford to take the class now, but at least now I know that it can be done. I’ll be exploring the option within the coming years. In the meantime, I’ll be focusing on graphics and the website.