Hi guys! Today I'm excited to share with you the work of surface pattern designer, Lettie Mae Pieck-Smith. In this interview she shares with us her creativity journey and talks about how embracing creativity helped her overcome the grief of losing a child. While this is a heavy topic, it is also an inspiring one that I hope will show you the power creativity can have in helping us through tough times.

Lettie Mae is a really lovely, sincere person, and I think you will appreciate how candid and honest she is in this interview. Enjoy!

Hi Lettie Mae! Please tell us a little bit about your background as an artist and how you got into surface pattern design.

For as long as I can remember I loved the process of creating and working with my hands. I never really considered myself an artist, but more of a crafty person. I knew I had an eye for detail and enjoyed a creative outlet. Over the years I ended up exploring a lot of different arts and crafts: pottery, cross-stitch, woodwork, stained glass windows, cookie decorating, silhouette paper cutting and scrapbooking, to name a few.

After our sweet baby daughter passed away I was left with a beautiful decorated nursery that NEEDED a new purpose. So I turned her room into a craft room; an escape and a place where I could be creative. I combated the grief by teaching myself to sew. Shortly after I started selling my handmade items. I loved sewing, but I was especially drawn to all the beautiful fabrics and collections launched on the US market, something that Germany didn’t have to offer back then.

About a year ago I discovered Bonnie Christine’s Skillshare class on surface pattern design. All of a sudden a whole new world opened up to me and I was ecstatic to find out that I could learn this as well. Up until that point I had no idea that this was “a thing”. I loved that I could create something and then turn it into a beautiful end-product. I had falsely assumed one needed to be professionally trained and no one would ever hire a designer that hadn’t attended art school. Bonnie Christine’s class was not only a huge inspiration, but an amazing way to learn the how-to’s. Since then I have been excitedly applying what I learned and continue to learn something new every day.

After the loss of your daughter, did you instinctually know that you needed to find a creative outlet to help you deal with the grief?

In my case it was more of an organic process. I think it goes all the way back to a situation in which the funeral home we had chosen let us down and we ended up having to organize every single aspect of the burial and funeral ourselves. What seemed like a huge burden at the time, turned out to be a blessing in disguise: I was able to paint on the casket and decorate my daughter's final resting bed. Not in my wildest dreams (or nightmares!) did I think I would ever be able to do such a thing. But it gave me the opportunity to practically do something for my daughter, and it was a way to express myself creatively.

After her passing I started working on a scrapbook documenting her short life. This was naturally part of my grieving process. I soon discovered that working creatively and ending up with a finished project or work of art that I could share or make part of our home, gave me immense joy. This still holds true for me today.

What advice would you give to others who may be in a dark place and be struggling to even take a step towards embracing the creative side of themselves?

I would suggest you embrace your feelings. Don't let anyone tell you how you're supposed to feel and how fast you're "supposed to" move on. I think the first step to healing is finding an outlet for your feelings (because it can be quite overwhelming and paralyzing if you keep them trapped inside). First and foremost, it's important to realize that there is not only one way to discover your inner creativity. Try out different things until you find something that you start enjoying; something that wakens a deep joy or satisfaction inside of you. Secondly, don't focus on the initial outcome or compare yourself to "experts" in the field. Just ask yourself if what you're doing is bringing you joy. And if it does, keep going.

Of course, this was my personal creative discovery and journey. Others may benefit from the additional support of a counselor, therapist or pastor.

How would you describe your signature style?What has the process been like discovering your style?

Generally, I seek beauty and find things that will spark any kind of positive emotion within me. After losing my daughter, I soon realized I had to make a decision of whether I wanted to stay in a very sad and dark place or if I wanted to try to embrace living life to its fullest again. Remaining in your grief is a very lonely place and for the sake of my husband and firstborn son, I knew I had to try. It became my therapy and it has influenced my style and how I create. Everything I create is a reflection of my seeking beauty and documenting it. In some ways it’s like a gratitude journal: the more I seek and write down, the more thankful I get.

I continually try different techniques and push myself to get better. In the end I can only hope that my finished designs will spark an emotion, a connection or a smile. I love to create designs that have meaning and a purpose.

I am still in the process of finding “my style” and staying true to it. Right now I am enjoying the freedom of trying out different things, but since blue is my all time favorite color, you’ll definitely find a lot of different shades of blue in my designs.

Can you tell us a bit more about how your artwork acts as a gratitude journal? Do you have a specific ritual or always create beauty?

I don't have a specific ritual, but I always try to assess what I am feeling and take it from there. If my feelings are upbeat and joyful, I let them spill into the artwork and will try to create intuitively. If I am feeling more melancholy, I will seek beauty around me and direct my thoughts to things I am grateful for. This helps me to create art that is very personal but always with a positive outlook. When I look back over my artwork, I see a beautiful gratitude journal, documenting the transformation of taking any kind of emotion and turning it into something positive. This positivity releases more creativity, which continues a cycle of gratitude, creativity, purpose and joy in the creative process.

What are some challenges you’ve faced so far in your career?

Being self-taught can be quite challenging at times. Having a vision in what I want to create but not knowing how to technically or digitally achieve that certain look or style, has been challenging as well. But it is also much more rewarding once I’ve overcome those obstacles.

Being in the beginning stages of my career I am currently focusing on creating lots of patterns, building a portfolio and designing my own website. These are big projects full of challenges, but I consider them part of the learning curve.

What advice can you give others who are following a similar path?

Discover and focus on what you are drawn to; keep learning and step out of your comfort zone. Share your work and embrace the wonderful community of aspiring surface pattern designers. Stay true to yourself. Create something that you can be proud of today. If you do that every day, you will make progress!

Can you tell us a few fun things about you that we wouldn’t already know?

I got married the day after my high school graduation, which means I have a ton of wedding pictures but not one single graduation picture. Clearly I had my priorities down even back then ;-)
Besides creating art, baking is therapeutic for me. Eating “my creations” is part of that therapy.
I LOVE DIY and home improvement projects! My husband and I fixed up an old house six years ago that we are proud to live in.

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Want to see more of Lettie Mae’s work?

You can find her here on Instagram.

Using your creativity to heal with Lettie Mae Pieck-Smith