Art and creativity from UPPERCASE readers

SURFACE PATTERN DESIGN 
Free Mini Course with Bonnie Christine!

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What stage are you at in your surface pattern career? Take the quiz. You can also follow her career map and download a workbook. *

If you've ever thought about becoming a surface pattern designer—and making it your dream career—Bonnie Christine has a free mini course starting on Monday, February 10. She has shared a preview of the content with me and I can say that it is going to help so many aspiring designers!

Bonnie and I will be chatting in the UPPERCASE Circle on February 17. You can ask Bonnie about her career path, how she creates her beautiful designs and find out more about her Immersion course, too. Sign up to get your spot. The replay will be posted in the Circle. Thanks!

TEXTILE RETREAT 
Heather Jones 
Hand Sewing & Quilting at Goodnestone
 

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Heather Jones (her Story of a Quilt is included in my book Quilted) will be leading a retreat this October in Kent, United Kingdom. The Textile Retreat Company organizer Clare Bungey describes: "The improvisational quilting workshop will take place in a beautiful house near Canterbury in Kent. The house we are staying in was frequently visited by Jane Austen who was a keen needlewoman and made an amazing coverlet in the 1800s. Heather has used this quilt for inspiration for her design and each guest will hand stitch their own quilt. We've got lots of trips out planned during the week and delicious food, wine and the time to meet other guests and enjoy their like-minded company."  Discover more about the retreat. Sounds quite lovely to me!

ANNE BUTERA 
Explore Winter in Your Botanical Sketchbook

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Flowers are the main inspiration for my art. I prefer to work from life, a stem of something brought up to my studio to paint. But I live in Wisconsin so from October (or September) through April the flowers in my garden are all dead or hibernating. Photographs and houseplants sustain me during those months, but nearly every year my inspiration, creative energy and motivation lag (sometimes they’re non-existent). There’s a natural ebb and flow to creativity. Time for rest is important. But I know from experience that my lagging creativity can lead to a more lasting slump. This winter I challenged myself to find inspiration in the season itself. I discovered it in plant skeletons, tracks in the snow, colours in the sky. I played with that inspiration in my sketchbook and it became my new class. I hope it will help you rediscover your inspiration, too.

ILARIA BENEDETTI
Pretty Pencil Studio

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This is my Etsy shop: I paint personalized wedding invitations, stationery to fit people's needs.

➸ My B-School Story and why I'm helping amplify Marie Forleo's course. *
➸ Marie's latest free training video 
➸ What UPPERCASE readers are saying about their B-School experience

CURRENT ISSUE

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Selling print materials online is a challenge since you don't have the benefit of the tactile, beautiful paper and slightly inky smell (intoxicating!)... so the best thing I can do is offer a complete visual view of what you'll get when you subscribe. Flip through the current issue here. If you're not a print subscriber yet, please join us and you'll get access to the UPPERCASE Circle online community as well.