Musings of an Artful Mind

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...

At long last, a new post! For the last six months or so, my artistic endeavors that have saved me from the dullness of urban living have been minor exercises in appreciation and experimentation. I began to carry an art journal around everywhere I went and forced myself to observe and capture the world around me in an effort to come out of my post-graduate under-employed shell. It is so easy to be lulled into the coma like state of endless movies, internet surfing, books, and playing with the cats that I could not ignore the need to express and create which ultimately brings me calm and a sense of completion. One such example was a drawing exchange I promoted on my FB, where I would create a one of a kind drawing 5x7” watercolor paper drawing and in exchange receive one in the mail as well. Twelve postcard sized watercolor and color pencil images of architecture, night & seascapes, space, sacred symbols, goldfish and cats where sent to three different states over the course ...

It’s t-minus three hours before the start of the 13th annual SomArts Dead of the Dead festival! This year there are 80 artists from all walks of life and cultural backgrounds. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of receiving my docent training for the event. Luckily, since it was the day before the opening, many artists were on site giving their installations, wall paintings, and altars some last minute loves. Please note, I tried to credit each picture with the artist and a brief description but apparently, I do not blog enough to wade through the HTML to make it look right. If you have any questions about specific pictures feel free to ask. I’d like to share with you some progress shots of the various embodiments of this year’s theme Illuminations. We are expecting quite the turn out this evening and this month of October with return patrons that have followed this event from infancy as well as, the fleet week crowd, all the new transplants to the bay area, (such as myself) and of course ...