Pattern+Source is an online archive of multi-media surface design that includes fabric, painting, graphic design, product design, fashion, and more. I created this site to organize and share stories about pattern design techniques, history, and to showcase contemporary work. I divided up the categories so that "historic" covers work that is pre-20th century, "retro" 20th century, and "contemporary" 21st century. I hope you enjoy!
—Debra Kayes
Debra is an artist, designer, and teacher at Columbia College Chicago. She earned a Bachelor of Science from Skidmore College, a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a Post-Baccalaureate degree in graphic design from Columbia College Chicago. In her art and design work, she is greatly influenced by patterns. This ranges from repetition of shapes and marks in my paintings to designing surface patterns. Debra is the creator of placepattern, a pattern placeholder site for web code, the author of Pattern+Source, an online archive of multi-media surface design, and the author of Participatory Learning Strategies, a site for teachers to gain techniques on how to lecture less in the classroom. Debra has shown her art and design projects in venues such as the Illinois State Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the Chicago Artists Coalition, and the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts. She a former Convergence Academies Research Fellow and Chicago Artists Coalition Hatch Projects resident. See her work at debrakayes.com.