Michelle Parascandolo is a surface pattern design and illustrator from New York City. She fell in love with textiles and patterns while getting her BFA in Textile/Surface Design from the Fashion Institute of Technology, loves to work with a bright, fun color palette and draw inspiration from nature and everyday life. Michelle is the author of From Petal to Pattern. We asked her a few questions about her creative process.

Quarto Creates: How did you first become interested in art and design?

Michelle Parascandolo: I have loved art since I was a child, and first discovered surface pattern design when I was in high school. I knew I wanted to study art in college and choose a creative career, but wasn’t sure exactly what area I wanted to concentrate in. I learned that the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York offers summer programs to high school students and I enrolled in some surface pattern design classes. I was drawn to these classes because they mentioned a high concentration on drawing and painting flowers and nature has always been one of my favorite subjects. I absolutely loved the classes I was taking and ended up majoring in Textile/Surface design at FIT.

QC: What is your advice for those who want to try it but aren’t sure where to start?

MP: I think it’s best to just jump right in. Take beginner courses and read books on whatever topic you are interested in and begin to practice the skills needed in order to create that type of work.

QC: What’s changed in the art/design world since you started your creative career?

MP: When I first began learning about pattern design there was an emphasis on creating patterns with the intention that they would be screen printed. In that case the pattern would need to be in specific repeat sizes for the screens, and would have a limit on the amount of colors per design. However, in that time, digital printing has become very popular and accessible. When printing digitally, the pattern can be any repeat size and can consist of an unlimited amount of colors.

QC: What artists and designers do you look to for inspiration?

MP: I look to William Morris the most for inspiration when creating my floral patterns. I also really love the work of current artists Alison Janssen, Olivia Victoria, and Dylan Mierzwinski.

QC: What is the most important lesson you’ve learned from creating?

MP: You really learn the most by doing, so just start! You don’t have to have everything figured out in the beginning, and you can always pivot and make adjustments along the way.

Learn more about Michelle's work on her website michelleparascandolo.com and on Instagram @michelle.parascandolo