Musings of an Artful Mind

What do the holidays mean to you? Are they just time day off of work, time with friends and family a chance to eat copious amounts of pie? For me it is a sacred moment on the calendar. A gold star if you will. Where you are awoken from the slumber of your daily routine and awaken into authentic self spending time with people doing the things that give you satisfaction. Hopefully you and your guests part with the nutrition, friendship, and gratitude for a time well spent. Like the saying goes, merry meet and merry part. It would be lovely if that rose tinted picture were true for everyone. However, I have seen and experienced the other end of the holiday spectrum. I end up rushing around; shopping crazy, there is a need to get it just right. I imagine you and the family would be perfectly fine just having a simple meal and watching a movie. Right? The stakes all the sudden seem to be higher when they are big commercialized holidays looming such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Chris...

This October a two year long project was brought to completion. My talented illustrator and graphic design business partner Julianna Roberts and I conceived this lofty yet realistic plan of self-publishing graphic novels and children’s books while on holiday together with our husbands in Astoria, Oregon. We imagined as entrepreneurs it would meet the need of our creative selves that were not being fully utilized in our day jobs. Even while we attended Pacific Northwest College of Art, many moons ago, we noticed that our personalities meshed well and our diverse technical talents would apply well to a working business model.  Carolina Medina-Dupaix and Julianna A.B. Roberts circa 2011. Here we are in Astoria, OR. The beginning of Visual Elements Press would later come into being over a delicious bowls of clam chowder.  Under the Hallow Moon is an illustrated full color art book about the thirty-one days leading up to  Halloween. It began as a tiny seed, a persisten...

Aloha, devoted readers, friends, and family.  Please forgive me it has been more than a year since I have blogged!! I know it is a cardinal sin to let your art page go dormant for a month let alone over year but, riding the waves of life can be intense and learning balance is a lifelong exercise.  Thank you for you patience and support. This year through the connectivity of the internet and social media a two yearlong project has bloomed. It is a graphic novel/ art book called UNDER THE HALLO MOON and produced by Visual Elements Press a new small business co-owned by Julianna A.B. Roberts and myself.   Julianna and Carolina of Visual Elements Press Graphic novel /paperback Available at lulu.com http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/under-the-hallomoon/15322664     I also participate in the monthly art jam group called New Moon and our community’s work can be seen here, newmoonart.blogspot.com  It is administered by Phoebe and Steve ,...