Starting at Zero - Retaking Surface Design Immersion
Studio Notes Volume 4 | March 12, 2026
Starting Something New is Messy
I am deep into Module 2 of Bonnie Christine's Surface Design Immersion course this week. I took this course in 2024 and it completely changed how I thought about my artwork and the possibilities for growing my creative business. I'm taking it again this year because I am looking to level up my designs and I know it is the best hyper focused environment to do so.
However, I definitely have gone through a full range of emotions over the last week:
Full of excitement to get started.
Immediate overwhelm and regret.
I had to give myself a personal pep talk that consisted of reminding myself that there is absolutely no one judging how I complete this course except me, so maybe I should take a chill pill.
What I really had to do was get comfortable with not what I needed to accomplish, but what I needed to completely let go for the next couple months:
Watercolor landscape painting is not my focus right now.
Selling/ marketing/ Etsy is not happening in the next few months.
Content creation, especially on socials, is in a maintenance mode.
Other fabric collections are on hold.
(Ugh, calm, rational Jesse is so annoying!)
Immersion is going to need 80% of my creative energy. I have a very specific plan that I'm following; I can do other art things if/ when my Immersion tasks are finished. Does this plan feel uncomfortable, yes. I feel like I'm slacking off in those other areas, but my Immersion collection will be stronger for it.
Immersion Behind-the-Scenes
A section of my mood board for Immersion 2026.
Week 1/ Module 1 was all about gathering inspiration and brainstorming ideas for my collection/ final project. I knew this part of the course was coming, so I have been gathering reference photos for the last few weeks. The big project at the end of Module 1 was to create a mood board for my collection. Here is a peek at just a section of mine. Can you take a guess as what my theme is going to be? I'll have a full blog post on this stage soon, but I'll also be sharing a lot of Immersion stuff over on Instagram.
In addition to gathering lots of my own reference photos, I also took some time researching historical references (history-museum nerd here 🙋♀️ remember). I found this 1898 map of Colorado from an early travel book (below left). What I love about this is how the mountains are drawn. I also found an 1885 travel journal Wildflowers of Colorado by Emma Thayer, which had these wonderful watercolor illustrations.
Map detail; 1898 Colorado Outings
Colorado Columbine; 1885 Wildflowers of Colorado
Module 2 and the the Implementation week that follows are all about creating artwork. I have a few pieces that I am already in love with, but you'll have to wait until next time to see them.
Studio Scenes
My usual watercolor practice is taking a back seat as I focus most of my energy on Immersion, but what I love about smaller paintings and drawings is that they can be finished in a shorter period of time. They are a quick dose of creativity when I start to feel overwhelmed or just need a break from thinking about my emerging collection. You can also see that my painting practice is definitely inspired by the fabric collection I am starting to develop.
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In the Wild
Each season, I've notice that Vasya and seem to pick one place that we visit over and over again. This season it is Penitente Canyon, which is tucked into the San Louis Valley here in Colorado. We've been there twice so far this winter and will be heading there again this coming weekend. It's this canyon seemingly tucked in the middle of nowhere, but you follow the hiking path from the parking lot and then immediately there are red rocked cliffs on either side of you. It has been the best way to disconnect this winter.
New on the Blog
The blog is about to take a serious Immersion-focused turn in the coming weeks, but I squeezed in one more watercolor post before that happened. If you have been following my mini-watercolor journey, you know I have been spending a lot of time experimenting with my Gansai Tambi Japanese watercolors. I have a delightful, if overwhelming, 100-pan watercolor set of these paints, but this winter I took a deep dive into the graphite colors. These paints are dark, moody, and the perfect palette for winter. I document my thoughts about these paints in Exploring Gansai Tambi: The Graphite Colors.
I work my way through Immersion this year, I want to be more intentional about documenting my own experience of the course. This time around, I plan on sharing regularly about what I am working on, what I'm struggling with, and what is really starting to click for me. I haven't quite figured out the cadence of the posts, but the first post, Why I’m Retaking Surface Pattern Design Immersion in 2026, gets us started.
You Might Also Like
What we're watching: Vasya and I just finished watching season 1 of Cross on Amazon Prime. Honestly I think the show was better at the beginning of the season than towards the end. I get annoyed when people who are supposed to be not just smart, but like crazy smart, suddenly forget all their smartness and make dumb decisions. Like, dude, there is no way you would let yourself get played like you are getting played right now. But I digress. It was entertaining enough that we will be watching season 2.
Book rec: I just finished my second book by Catherine McConaghy, Migrations, and it was pretty much as heartbreaking as her most recent book Wild Dark Shore. If you want fiction, complicated female characters, and admittedly themes of climate disaster that might make you anxious, she is the author for you. Also tears by the end, lots of tears.
I recently discovered Leila Hormozi when she was on Jasmin Star's podcast and I have been binging her entrepreneurial content for the last week. I find her tough love approach to leadership and entrepreneurship to be a nice contrast to a lot of the art-business podcasts I listen to. One piece of advice I really took to this week when Immersion got a little overwhelming was the idea of "no side quests." I need to stick to my plan and put my blinders on.