Meet Quilter & Surface Designer Martha Brenna
If you’re experiencing the winter blues, then this week’s spotlight with Martha Brenna will feel like a nice cup of hot tea.
Martha is a quilter, and she also really loves to draw. She joined my Pattern Design Academy® program earlier this year. In this spotlight, Martha shares about the challenges she has experienced along the way, as well as how she overcame them.
The video of my interview with Martha is over on my YouTube channel HERE. Please subscribe to my channel when you pop over there to watch it.
Here are a few encouraging tips from this interview:
#1 – Artists get growing pains too.
Martha lets us in on how stressful it can be for her to draw or paint, and I love how she always tells herself “it’s okay to be super stressed out because you’re growing.” Martha has always been a quilter, so learning a different form of art can sometimes get difficult, and that’s totally okay.
We often talk about how fun and exciting it is to learn Surface Pattern Design and reinvent yourself as an artist, but the other side of that is it really can be stressful to pick up a new skill that you’re not used to. I encourage you to treat these stressful moments like growing pains because they are a sign that you are growing in new ways.
#2 – It’s okay to feel scattered.
During the interview, Martha talks about how scattered she feels because she has so many ideas and she is trying new things. She says, “I’m all over the place, but I’m in the right place.” And she has given herself a year to discover her style as a Surface Pattern Designer.
This is a great reminder when you’re just getting started in Surface Design, or if you’re a multi-passionate creative. It’s easy to get lost in all of your creative ideas, but remember that you are in the right place, even when you feel like you’re all over the place.
You can also follow Martha’s example and dedicate a certain amount of time to finding your style as a Surface Designer. This is less about giving yourself a deadline, and more about committing to your own growth.
One step at a time, and it will all come together.
#3 – Do it before you’re ready.
I love how Martha started uploading her designs to Society6 and Spoonflower even before she felt she was ready. She is still finding her style, but she dared to put her artwork into the world.
You may never feel completely ready to hit “publish,” but sometimes you just have to do it scared. As an artist, and a creative entrepreneur, we can get lost in the details or a sense that there’s one more thing we have to fix or change before we’re ready to publish our work. Keep moving forward even when you don’t think you are ready! Don’t let fear or perfectionism hold you back.
You can do this, my friend!
Interested in my Black Friday surface design bundle? Get five (5) short-form courses for the price of one. Just $197 and you keep them forever.
Click HERE for all the details.
Bye for now, and I’ll see you next week!
xo,
Anne
P.S. Watch the video interview with Martha by clicking HERE. Please subscribe to my YouTube channel when you pop over there to watch it.
xo,
Anne
It’s Never Too Late to Create®
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MEET ANNE
Hi…I’m Anne!
My creative inspiration comes from a lifetime of observation. I grew up in Paris on the Place St. Sulpice and walked to school through the Luxembourg gardens. And that was only the beginning… Learn more by watching the video on my About page.
