How overcoming obstacles can lead to achieving your dreams.

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During my conversation with my friend, we discussed running, and I said, "Oh, I can't run. I've never been able to run more than a mile." After leaving dinner, I found myself reflecting on that statement and questioning whether it was true, much like when people tell me I can't become a full-time artist. At that moment, I realized I had to prove that I could run.

The Running Journey Begins:

When someone who hates running decides to run, there’s an inner battle: Can I do this? Do I want to do this? It's going to be hard. But I knew there was a greater purpose behind my decision to start running. At the time I felt that it was because I needed to prove to myself that I could succeed, and the best part was that I was in control.

I committed to start running at my local gym. I decided to begin slowly and gradually increase my pace. I wanted to push myself but ensure I didn't overdo it, so I would want to keep running. I settled on running at least twice a week. Once I got into a rhythm, I began having the most creative ideas during my runs and cool-downs. What I used to hate transformed into a valuable tool for expressing myself and sorting through the ideas that were swirling in my mind. This felt like a win for me, and I would have been happy with just this realization.

It wasn't until 6 months into running that I discovered it was much more than just exercise. In the first couple of months, I had so much pent-up emotion, as I was going through a challenging time in my life—something that was altering everything for me—a year after moving to a completely new place. I didn't have the space to understand why I was running in the first place. Yes, I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it, and by that point, I had already demonstrated I could run more than a mile, sometimes even more than two. However, I felt that there was something more. 

My "Aha" Moment:

Eventually, I came to this realization: I kept running because I could. I was showing up, doing the work, and sticking to it. A light bulb went off in my head: Where else in my life was I showing up, putting in the effort, and remaining committed? It dawned on me that my art journey reflected this. I had running, which I could control, and then there was being an artist, where some aspects were within my control while others were not.

I flashbacked to every time I felt like giving up while running or thought I couldn't do another lap. In that moment I reminded myself that I could do it. I was exercising a mental muscle that I desperately needed in my life to keep showing up for the business I was growing. I was proving to myself that just because something’s hard doesn't mean I can't do it. 

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Note: Next time you think you can't do something, do it anyway. You never know what you'll discover in that discomfort.

Love, Mikayla

Creating A Surface Pattern Design Collection

I stumbled upon the world of surface pattern design by accident. I looked into it and it turns out I have all the skills needed to become a successful one. What is surface pattern design? The basic definition is creating art for the surfaces of mass-manufactured products. Some examples are wallpaper, wrapping paper, upholstery, quilting fabric, apparel fabric, and floor coverings.

It's a big industry and for now I'm focused on building my art licensing portfolio. Here's a look into my first theme Treasure Island and the steps I took to create it.

Step 1: Pick a Theme

I had created a color palette for the theme treasure island and I immediately knew this theme would make really fun exciting patterns.

Step 2: Paint your motifs

A motif is any design the goes into your patterns. I decide that my motifs would be hand painted since my medium I use the most in paint. Watercolor offered the lose and whimsical vibe i was going for

Step 3: Scan your artwork

Step 4: Remove white background:

I use Affinity Designer to do this because its not a subscription app, You buy it once and it's yours. I learned how to remove the background from Youtube academy and the figured out what works best for me.

Step 5: Create your patterns.

There are many different types of patterns. I recommend starting with the full drop and half drop. You can find youtube tutorials for both that make creating your first pattern easy!

Since I'm currently building my portfolio I will not be sharing my patterns but eventually they'll be on my website!

Tips for creating watercolor motifs:

-if your drawing and then painting your motifs, make sure your pencil marks are light

- create as many motifs, and variation as you can. I created 3-5 versions of my smaller motifs, and my bigger motifs a just created 1.

- the scanner will pick up everything, so be aware of that. You'll want a defined edge that you can see. It can be light or dark depending on your style.

Tips for Scanning:

- I got my scanner on FB marketplace for $20 so search that in your location before you go and drop a bunch of money.

- The scanner i use, Canon scanner lide 220, it works great. But any scanner you see that the internet says is good for scanning artwork and can do 300 dpi will be great.

Tips for digital pattern making:

- pick a color palette and theme

- start with an art board so you can layout your motifs, color palette, an your whole growing collection in front of you

- play with size, color, layout, composition, swap in and out motifs

-if something isn't working for you, try a different way.

-I played and play and played with different motifs, and sizing and colors until I liked the color, composition. I had a feeling each time I knew the pattern was complete so search for that "feeling" all creatives get.

The Road Less Traveled

I had to memorize a poem junior year of high school. Without knowing anything about poetry I decided to choose The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost. Funny enough I was watching Zack and Cody or Sweet Life on Deck and heard them talk about Robert Frost so it rang a bell. If you haven’t read the poem it is all about acting independently and going against the grain. I'm not sure I knew at the time how profound this poem would become in my life. I memorized it line by line for class and it turns out it would become a message I’d carry with me for the long haul.

Poem link: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44272/the-road-not-taken

As I get older it is more of a reason to follow things that light me up. A huge part of my art journey has me allowing myself to be on this road less traveled. That sometimes the hardest thing is staying somewhere where most people aren’t. To accept that there isn’t some set path for me has been hard. There is a pretty set path for most jobs, a ladder you need to climb. As an artist, you create your own way and with that comes a lot of self-doubt and questioning. After a while I just decided to choose every day that I wanted to create my own path and with this comes its challenges but it's something I am grateful for. It wouldn't be me to leave a dream behind.