Artist Spotlight - Dari Design Studio

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Tell us a bit about yourself: Did you go to school for art? Are you self taught?
Well yes, both! Dariela: If there is one thing I’ve never doubted in my life that will be the fact that I wanted to be a designer. Actually I was already designing anything I could think of by the age of 9. I would draw, paint, make stationery sets and make name stickers for people to keep. By the time I was ready for college Graphic Design was a relatively new career in Venezuela. I never felt I belonged more than how I felt in those classes. It was as if the curriculum was made for me.

Dariana: Everything I know about design I owe it to my mom and my sister. My mom for exposing me to it, and emulating it to me. My sister for patiently teaching me and answering all of my questions for years. That being said I am a self-taught designer. I never went to design school. I hold a BA in Marketing and Advertising. Yet, I am a confirmed eternal student. Addicted to all sort of courses, classes, summits, conferences there could be for creative entrepreneurs.

Do you work in just one medium? Several?
We work in several mediums including both traditional paper and also digital. Our surface pattern designs are a blend of hand-drawn and digital motifs. Dariana has a special love for illustrating with watercolor and watercolor pens. Dariela is a photographer as well as a designer and illustrator artist. We both use Adobe Photoshop, a lot, and Dariela uses Illustrator too.

What inspires you / where do you get inspiration from?
We get our ideas and inspiration from a variety of sources. Dariana: In general I'm inspired by nature, especially animals and flowers. I love to be inspired by patterns and bright compositions. The mix of vintage and modern and all sorts of eye candy gets me really high into creative skies. I got used to working with an inspiration board where I mix some or all current trends I like.

Dariela: I am inspired by design, art and photography and by everyday life's moments. Sometimes I see a design draw itself in my mind just by watching my kids play or after admiring how the light comes in and shines on some objects, on some flowers or on people. Sometimes a delicious treat I'm eating inspires me to appreciate the moment so much I feel like designing with that treat as a subject.

What are you working on now? 
That’s a great question! We are finally back to making art. For the last couple of months we’ve been focusing on the launch of our new website and all the associated marketing activities. That’s a big achievement for us and we were happy to celebrate it, but it’s also exhausting and we are both ready to create new work for licensing!

Also, we are putting the wraps on a new guide for artists to celebrate the empowering effect of kindness in the creative process. It’s called "Standout! – An illustrated and actionable Digital Guide for Artists.” We asked several industry experts to collaborate by providing tips and we are creating beautiful illustrations and actionable steps to accompany their tips. The guide will be available from our licensing website (www.artlicensingdesign.com) later this month. To get all the news about this project and receive this guide and more collaboration projects you can sign up for our mailing list here.

Any great advice for our readers?
This might not be a piece of advice but more a perspective of life that we think is worth sharing. Practicing mindfulness and awareness into our creative journey has brought pleasant results to our quality of life. Because when we manage to be aware of what’s happening, we are the observer and not the judge (that judges others or ourselves). We noticed something special happens when we are able to judge less and instead notice or stay curious more by embracing the observer role. Our creative juices and ideas stay handy. The creative process flows better. The passage through the “unknown dark phase” inherent to the creative process suddenly doesn't feel so uncomfortable.
Mindfulness can be practiced in many ways. I started by just searching for the word and finding plenty of information and exercises to include in my daily practice.

Anything else you would like to share with us?
Dariana: I would love to be your friend on Periscope and on Snapchat. I’m looking to connect (my word for 2016 is connect) with more creative entrepreneurs, artists and all kinds of caring and loving people this year. If you would like to get in touch with me just to say hi or to share something fun send me an email at dariana@daridesignstudio.com

Dariela: I also have a blog MamiTalks where I love to share my family life in English and Spanish. This is something that started when I had my first born (I have 2 kids now, the oldest is 9 y/o).  I love to keep it, through the years it has brought me friendships, new experiences and even new challenges in design and photography. MamiTalks is like my other casa in the world wide web!

Are you an early riser? or night owl?
Dariana: I am an early riser, but I used to be a night owl until 2 or 3 years ago.
Dariela: I am a night owl but I like to rise early too, LOL! I like to wake up early but not super early. Usually before all my family is up!

What is your favorite food?
Dariana: My favorite food is a good vibrant salad. I also love the traditional food from Venezuela.
Dariela: I love breakfast food! A good omelet with lots of veggies, toast with peanut butter.

 
You can find Dari Design Studio:
You can reach us through our new licensing website at www.artlicensingdesign.com, or via email at info@daridesignstudio.com. We are on lots of social media channels, check out our About page for links to those, we’d love to connect with your readers! Also sign-up for our mailing list here for our design studio news and here for our licensing news!

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