Meet the artist: a Q&A with myself!

photo credit: Mariah Milan  

I’ve been doing some major business organization and really focusing on what I’m doing in my business, how I’m doing it, and why I’m doing it. I’m constantly reading material & taking classes about creative business. In all of these venues of learning, they ask you questions to help guide your business. So I thought I would share some of them with you so you can get to know me better!

Who are you? 

I’m a wanderer and a daydreamer. I’m an artist and a photographer and a writer. Everyone calls me a baby-whisperer, and I now call myself that too. I’m a thinker. I’m a reader. I’m a frolicker. I’m a lover of too many things to keep track of. I’m an extroverted introvert & a hermit. I’m a major family girl; I'm a daughter and a sister. I’m a night owl. I’m a music lover & a spontaneous dancer. I'm an observer.

When did you start creating?

Art always came naturally to me, since I was a little kid. I always took art classes in between sports & school stuff, but I think junior year of high school is when I really thought I may pursue it. I firmly decided on being an artist after my freshman year of college ended.

What drives you to create?

Mostly my imagination. It needs to come out. I see things in my head and I need to put it on paper. And following that creative urge is good for my emotional well-being. I just really love to draw & paint & design! But further than that, I love knowing that things I made are in other people’s rooms, making their space happy & cozy.

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Why are you compelled to do what you do?

It’s extremely important to me to do what I love and what I’m passionate about. It always has been. I’m motivated by my love for something, not by money and status. I don’t get things done when I don’t enjoy them (unless it’s for my business, then I know there’s a purpose for the boring business stuff- I have to do it in order to be an artist!). I want to live a creative life, something different and interesting to me where I create my own path and my own rules. I’ve always done things a little differently than other people, and I see now that I operate best that way- improvising. It’s never boring and I have a lot of control to change things I don’t like. I love possibilities! Being an artist in the way I’ve chosen to be works for me: I get to do what I love, put more beauty in the world, be a happy human (which always makes the world a better place), and I create a lifestyle that suits me perfectly. It’s a very powerful thing to know that you can make the life you dream become a reality.

What does the process feel like to you?

When I create art, it feels like meditation. Everything goes quiet around me, and I’m so focused, it’s almost like a trance. I focus on each line, each patch of color, one at a time. I pull back and look at it. Then I focus again. I become unaware of the fact that I’m even working. It feels like I’m allowing my thoughts to pour out of me.

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What emotions does your work evoke?

To me, it evokes a feeling of quiet, simplicity, home, happy little things, freedom, whimsy, nostalgia, and wistfulness.

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Where do you find inspiration?

It seems that it's everywhere when you're open to it. Ideas hit me at the weirdest times. But here's what I can pin it down to: photography, animation concept sketches, childhood, countryside, landscapes, travelling, stories, wild animals, weather & seasons, other artists, people I love, little moments and details, and light.

One last fun one: what do you fangirl over?

Too. many. things. Harry Potter, Taylor Swift, Disney, so many singer-songwriters and actors and TV shows. I'm really easily excited by many things.

I hope you guys have enjoyed this self-conducted interview! I've never really seen it done before, but I thought it would be a fun thing to do! 

xo, Michelle

Follow me @maryandluna on your favorite social media: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook. See my art in my Etsy shop or on maryandluna.com

 

Spring time greeting cards!

I made some new designs & put them on greeting cards! I will be releasing more new card designs in June too, for more occasions & more variety. I LOVE greeting cards. I LOVE stationary. I LOVE snail mail. and I LOVE writing notes to people I love! Having a great design on the front of a card is a unique gift- you're sending art AND love to someone! It makes me so happy. So here are some new greeting cards for this season! birthday, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Congratulations (perhaps for graduation season?), and some pretty thank you notes. Links to each card under each photo!

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Buy: Happy birthday: sunflowers.

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Buy: mother's day: baby snuggles.

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Buy: father's day: shoulder rides.

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Buy: congratulations: stepping stones.

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Buy: thank you notes: classy.

I really love how these came out! Simple but sweet is my favorite, and always illustrative. I'm really into sketch style with pops of color.

You can also buy a custom set of any 4 cards right here

To view my art prints, visit my Etsy shop!

xo, Michelle

Valentine's Day cards are here!

I'm so proud of these sweet cards dedicated to love. 

5 different designs, and a choose-your-own-pack of any 4 cards you want!

Click each photo to be taken to each individual listing in my Etsy shop!

 

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Inside: "Happy Valentine's Day."

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Inside: "Happy Valentine's Day."

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Inside: "I love you for that."

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Inside: "...and I love you sooo much!"

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Inside: "...and I love you sooo much!"

View my shop or buy them here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/MaryAndLuna

xo, Michelle

Let the holiday season begin!

I have some new fun little things available! Christmas cards and 5x7 matted Christmas prints are here! They won’t be in my Etsy shop until next week, but I want to share them now! First let me tell you how very strange it was to design Christmas stuff before Halloween… I had to put on Christmas music to get me in the right mindset and now I don’t even know what day it is. But I love how they turned out!

So here they are: my first little holiday collection for Mary and Luna!

The cards come in packs of 4 cards + envelopes. $14. (Cards are sized 4.25x5.5, and packaged sweet and simply, tied up with string)

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These small matted Christmas prints are 5x7, (the design itself is 3.5 x 5.5). Perfect to set out in a little frame for the holiday season. $9 each.

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And don't forget that this Saturday, I’m participating for the second time in the Santa Ana Art Walk! Come visit if you live nearby! I’ll have a table with all my art on display. See all the details here.

xo, Michelle