Michelle Parascandolo - From Petal to Pattern: Design Your Own Floral Patterns. Draw on Nature

DESIGN YOUR OWN FLORAL PATTERNS

michelle parascandolo

Once I had received my BFA from The Fashion Institute of Technology, I did the complete opposite to what I had set out to do with my life: I quit creating art and gave up on design.

I had majored in textile/surface design, and had every intention to pursue a career as a pattern designer, but after graduating, I began to think my decision to go to art school had been a total mistake. After going to countless interviews, I realized that every company was asking me the same question: Can you change your style to fit in with ours? For a while this didnt bother meI knew not every company would be a match for my style, I just needed to find the right one. But as the months dragged on, and the right one didnt come around, this question began to get to me. My confidence took a hit, and I began to doubt my artistic ability. For the first time in my life, I felt in opposition with myself over what I wanted to choose as a career. Before that, it had never even crossed my mind to be anything in life other than an artist, and I had no plan B. I tried to push myself to stick with art. I reminded myself how my favorite professor in college always used to tell us, If you can draw a flower, you will have a job for the rest of your life.

Whenever she said that, I would imagine my future self in a sun-drenched studio, surrounded by bouquets, spending my days drawing and creating exactly what I wanted, how I wanted. Much of college was focused on drawing flowers and I had become obsessed with them, wanting nothing more than drawing them as a career. But in the end, I convinced myself I had been lied to, and this glamorous job was a dreamt up fabrication of reality.

I went back to the only other thing I knew how to do, which was bartending. I felt a sense of resentment towards art, and pushed it out of my mind. But slowly, over time, bitterness softened to nostalgia, and a few years later I found myself wondering what my life would look like if I hadnt given up. I knew that if I felt like this after a few years, I would probably feel like this my whole life and I didnt want to look back later with regrets.

CREATIVE NOSTALGIA

I began practicing pattern design in my free time, but my early attempts felt awkward and unnatural. I had not drawn or painted for years, and felt incredibly out of touch with my creativity. I found myself having a rough time getting into a creative flow which led me to reminisce about my time in college, where my creativity had been at an all time high. I remembered how excited I would get any time professors assigned a project, and how my mind raced with millions of ideas. I thought back to my favorite class, nature study, where I truly felt the most at peace, capturing the lines and shapes found in nature, through my artwork.

RECONNECTING WITH NATURE

I began to reconnect with nature, drawing flowers incessantly. It dawned on me that I should be working in the same way that I had in college, and I began assigning myself projects based on different floral motifs, design styles, layouts, and eras. Giving myself a theme gave me structure and guidance, and allowed me to have a clear idea of what I was trying to communicate with my designs. Creating different prints across such a broad range allowed me to get back into my own style. It reminded me how to create artwork that was authentic to me, while weaving in hints of inspiration from elsewhere.

I started building up a portfolio and began posting my artwork online, and within a few months I had a company reach out to me saying that they wanted to license my patterns. I was completely floored by this and read the email at least twenty times! At this point I was still not convinced that I could turn art into my career. But having just one company interested in my work boosted my confidence. Maybe the job I was fantasizing about was out there after all.

I poured everything I had into art, and slowly began to license my patterns to more and more companies. After a few years, I was making a living from my artwork and was able to pursue it full time. Since then, I have licensed my artwork for products that go far beyond what I ever could have imagined, from clothing to interior accessories, and everything in between. I have freelanced for multiple design studios who have sold hundreds of my patterns to companies all over the world. While I am proud of thisand still cant help but freak out every time I see my work on a productI am most happy about how design has changed me as a person. Being tapped into my creativity allows me to see the world in a different light. I notice beauty in things I would have found mundane before. I feel so connected and appreciative of nature and life in general. I feel as though I am exactly where I should be, living the life I am supposed to, and I cant think of anything Id want more than that.

ABOUT THIS BOOK

In this book, before jumping into the projects, I go over some of the fundamentals of pattern design and show you techniques to create patterns using any medium of your choosing. The project section of the book is based on the projects I gave myself when I was trying to get back into a good creative flow. The focus is always on botanical patterns, but concentrating on different design styles, motifs, layouts, and color palettes. Each project is meant to be used as an inspirational guide, so that you can research the topic further, ultimately forming your own interpretation and therefore creating a design that is completely unique to you.

MINDFUL CREATIVITY

Each project is accompanied by a short mindful affirmation to reflect on and provide inspiration as you create your designs.

WHO IS IT FOR?

The hobbyist: This book is perfect if you love creating floral illustrations and are interested in turning those illustrations into patterns. The methods for creating seamless repeat patterns start at a beginner level, showing how to create an exact repeating pattern that can be uploaded to print on demand sites, where you can order fabric with your own prints. If you are not interested in the technical aspect of creating perfect repeats, you may create an implied repeat, which takes a more relaxed approach that will still leave you with a beautiful piece of artwork in the end. All of the projects can be applied to your creative practice, no matter what your experience with creating patterns.

The professional: Each project is meant to leave you with artwork looking totally different to the last. Creating a range of different types of floral patterns has been incredibly beneficial to my design career. Not only has it helped me to become a versatile designer, but it is also my lifeline when I am having a dip in my creativity. As an artist, it is natural for creativity to ebb and flow, and this can be terribly frustrating. I find that when I am not in the best creative headspace, looking outward for inspiration may lead me to compare myself to others, which can have a counterintuitive effect. Instead, I begin to look back at my own work and find references there. By having such a large variety to look at, I have more of a chance to find inspiration from a piece I have previously created.