29 episodes

Podcast focused on creativity and life. Centering experiences of marginalized genders.

Tending Creativity Marissu Elena

    • Arts
    • 5.0 • 6 Ratings

Podcast focused on creativity and life. Centering experiences of marginalized genders.

    028 ✿ Cultivating your Artistic Style as an Illustrator ft. Nicole Medina

    028 ✿ Cultivating your Artistic Style as an Illustrator ft. Nicole Medina

    028 ✿ Cultivating your Artistic Style as an Illustrator ft. Nicole Medina

    In this episode I spoke with the amazing illustrator Nicole Medina.

    Nicole is a Latina American illustrator based in Philly who creates rich, bold , and colorful illustrations. Some of her clients include Target, Big Cartel, The Washington Post, The LA Times, and so many more.

    In this interview we talk about the artwork in her middle school days that inspired her to become an illustrator before she even knew illustration was a career path, her thoughts on traditional vs digital art, her creative process, her love for the horror genre and taking care of your body, especially your hands, as an artist. And much more!


    *Get a free sticker by leaving a written review for the podcast! Screenshot your review and email it along with your mailing address, to ⁠⁠marissuelena@gmail.com⁠⁠ or DM us on Instagram*

    Topics we discuss:


    Nicole introduces herself and what she does as an illustrator


    Being creative as a kid growing up


    Being a child of immigrants


    Her parents’ support of her artistic path


    Discovering illustration in art school


    The art that inspired Nicole to be an illustrator


    Being an emo middle schooler


    The album artwork for The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance


    Artist James Jean


    The importance of surrounding yourself with creative inspiration


    How Nicole began freelancing after graduating college


    2020 being the year her client list expanded


    Working with Target for their Mondo Llama line


    Nicole’s relationship working with digital and traditional tools


    The children’s book Nicole is illustrating


    How her sketchbook and personal work led to client work


    The idea of traditional art being “better” than digital art


    Realism


    The age old question of art style


    How Nicole arrived to her art style


    Quantity vs. quality as an artist


    Evolving as an artist


    Nicole’s creative process


    The importance of Nicole’s sketchbooks to her creative process


    The importance of good composition


    How Nicole balances the complexity of her illustrations


    Nicole’s love of Horror films


    The relationship between horror, comedy, politics, and the zeitgeist


    Jordan Peele, Eli Roth, American Mary (2012), Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)


    Marissa’s favorite type of films


    The emotional reaction films create


    Au Hasard Balthazar (1966), French new wave, angst in film, Roma (2018)


    What else Nicole does for fun- reading, manga, and punch needling


    Being sedentary as an artist


    Hand and wrist pain as an illustrator


    The importance of dream projects


    Marissa’s dream projects- a comic series or graphic novel and editorial work


    Developing the first steps of your process to facilitate creating

    Nicole's website

    Nicole's Instagram

    Nicole's TikTok

    Best Believe, written by NoNieqa Ramos and illustrated by Nicole Medina

    ⁠⁠Follow us on Instagram⁠⁠

    ⁠⁠Host/Marissa's Instagram⁠⁠

    ⁠⁠Host/Marissa's Tik Tok⁠⁠

    ⁠⁠Tending Creativity Tik Tok








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    • 1 hr 32 min
    027 ✿ Leaving the Fashion Industry to Become an Illustrator ft. Isabela Humphrey

    027 ✿ Leaving the Fashion Industry to Become an Illustrator ft. Isabela Humphrey

    027 ✿ Leaving the Fashion Industry to Become an Illustrator ft. Isabela Humphrey

    For Today’s episode I got to speak with amazing illustrator and graphic designer Isabela Humphrey. Isabela received her degree in fashion design and worked in the fashion industry for a few years before deciding to pivot her career to graphic design and illustration. Past clients of hers include Google, Facebook, The Washington Post, Refinery29 and more.

    Isabela and I talked all about her transition from fashion to illustration and what her experience as a freelance illustrator and graphic designer has been like since.

    *Get a free sticker by leaving a written review on apple podcasts! Screenshot your review and email it along with your mailing address, to ⁠marissuelena@gmail.com⁠ or DM us on Instagram*


    Topics discussed:

    -Isabela introduces herself.

    -Isabela’s creative expression in childhood.

    -Knowing she wanted to be a fashion designer at a young age.

    -Growing up in North Carolina.

    -Going to college for fashion design.

    -The competitive culture of fashion design.

    -Realizing she didn’t want to work in the fashion industry anymore.

    -Starting a greeting card side business after college.

    -Her first pop-up where no one bought anything.

    -Teaching herself illustration and graphic design.

    -Using Upwork to start freelancing.

    -Quitting her fashion design job to pursue graphic design and illustration.

    -Getting clients outside of Upwork.

    -Experiencing rapid growth as a freelancer.

    -Getting to the point of burnout.

    -How Isabela organizes and prioritizes work and projects.

    -Being a night owl.

    -Unlearning being hard on yourself.

    -Isabela’s inspirations-books, pinterest, home decor, and more.

    -Digital vs traditional art.

    -The convenience of creating digitally.

    -Getting back into traditional illustration.

    -Procreate VS Adobe Fresco.

    -Isabela’s creative process.

    -Creating work for Google, Facebook, and Adobe.

    -Doing ceramics for fun.

    -Forcing yourself to not monetize all your hobbies.


    Isabela's website

    Isabela's Shop

    Isabela's Instagram

    Isabela's TikTok

    Follow us on Instagram⁠

    ⁠Host/Marissa's Instagram⁠

    ⁠Host/Marissa's Tik Tok⁠

    ⁠Tending Creativity Tik Tok





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    • 49 min
    026 ✿ Dance, Sustainable Fashion, and Creating in Seasons ft. Richelle Navales-Yau of Dancing Kind

    026 ✿ Dance, Sustainable Fashion, and Creating in Seasons ft. Richelle Navales-Yau of Dancing Kind

    Episode 026 ✿ Dance, Sustainable Fashion, and Creating in Seasons  ft. Richelle Navales-Yau of Dancing Kind

    Today’s episode is an interview with the amazing Richelle Navales-Yau of Dancing Kind. Richelle is the founder/owner of Dancing Kind which is Richelle's brand and shop where she sells curated vintage clothing as well as more recently, in-house designs that are designed by Richelle and are sustainably handmade in Los Angeles, CA with deadstock fabrics sourced here. Dancing Kind is also special because, as the name suggests, dance is a prominent theme within the shop-Richelle shares the clothing she finds and creates on social media often by dancing with them on, encouraging the idea that the clothing you wear should make you so happy you want to dance!

    Richelle and I talked about her journey as a creative to where she is now with Dancing Kind. Richelle was originally a dancer, and she still dances but we talked about her experience in the dance world in her early 20s, to becoming a teacher and then to starting Dancing Kind and eventually creating her own in house line.

    *Get a free sticker by leaving a written review on apple podcasts! Screenshot your review and email it along with your mailing address, to marissuelena@gmail.com or DM us on Instagram*

    Topics discussed:

    -Richelle introduces herself and Dancing Kind

    -Richelle’s creative outlets as a child

    -How and when Richelle started dancing

    -Stopping school to pursue her dance career

    -Family concerns about Richelle pursuing dance

    -Deciding to go back to school

    -Becoming a special education teacher

    -The competitive nature of dance

    -The shift in her relationship with dance

    -Discrimination in the dance world

    -Richelle’s love of fashion and vintage

    -Running a vintage Etsy shop in college

    -How, when and why she started her vintage shop Dancing Kind (originally Happy Dance Vintage)

    -Gaining confidence through Dancing Kind

    -The predominate whiteness of the vintage community and being a woman of color in that space

    -Working full time while also working on Dancing Kind

    -Giving too much of her time to the shop in the beginning

    -Working in “seasons”

    -Unlinking self-worth from productivity

    -Art relying on our well-being

    -When and how Richelle began production on her first in-house design - the Isabel dress

    -The process of producing and releasing the Isabel dress

    -The reaction to the Isabel dress exceeding Richelle’s expectations

    -Newer Isabel dress fabrics

    -Sourcing deadstock fabric

    -Goals and future designs for Dancing Kind

    -Going back to school for movement therapy

    -What Richelle does for fun- alone time, being outside, eating good food

    -The importance of alone time for introverts and extroverts

    Dancing Kind website

    Dancing Kind instagram

    Follow us on Instagram

    Host/Marissa's Instagram

    Host/Marissa's Tik Tok

    Tending Creativity Tik Tok

    Host/Marissa's Youtube Channel


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    • 40 min
    025 ✿ Healing Through Art and Creating Intentional Media ft. Jasdeep Kang (@jakariwing)

    025 ✿ Healing Through Art and Creating Intentional Media ft. Jasdeep Kang (@jakariwing)

    025 ✿ Healing Through Art and Creating Intentional Media ft. Jasdeep Kang (@jakariwing)

    For today’s episode I had the opportunity to speak with the amazing, multi-talented artist, Jasdeep Kang. Jasdeep is a queer Punjabi American artist who works with film, photography, and music. They practice their art with the ”intention of cultivating joy, care and fantasy for the earth and underrepresented communities” (Jasdeep Kang). Past clients include Mitski, Snapchat, HBOmax, and Times Square Arts. We talked about creative burnout and how Jasdeep is working on prioritizing her wellness in her art practice, to language and creating new meanings as first generation Americans, the connection between her creative outlets and spirituality, and more.

    *Get a free sticker by leaving a written review on apple podcasts! Screenshot your review and email it along with your mailing address, to marissuelena@gmail.com or DM us on Instagram*

    Topics discussed:

    -Jasdeep introduces herself and what she does

    -How Jasdeep started freelancing

    -The power of media and being an intentional voice in media

    -Experiencing creative burnout

    -Approaching work and creativity differently

    -Phiran Wali - a pivotal experimental film by Jasdeep

    -All of the themes Jasdeep explored in that film - queerness, culture, language, connection to land, and more

    -Language and creating new meanings as a first generation American

    -The culture of burnout ingrained within the filmmaking industry

    -Pivoting the way she works and what she offers

    -Exploring what excites her

    -The relationship between their creative practice and spiritual practice

    -Having spiritual connections

    -Harnessing our voices as healing

    -Ancestral connections and connection to land

    -The learning ground of dreams

    -Ancestral work, intergenerational trauma and healing through art

    -A special film camera Jasdeep has

    -Moving to Brooklyn and exploring through photography

    -Channeling spiritual connections with this camera

    -The camera breaking and grieving it

    -What Jasdeep does to prioritize her wellness

    -Resources Jasdeep recommends:

    -Women Who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes

    -Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

    -Affirmations for Artists video by Janelle Costa 

    -What Jasdeep does for fun

    Jasdeep's website: https://www.jasdeepkang.com/

    Subscribe to Jasdeep's newsletter

    Jasdeep's Instagram

    Jasdeep's TikTok

    Follow us on Instagram

    Host/Marissa's Instagram

    Host/Marissa's Tik Tok

    Tending Creativity Tik Tok

    Host/Marissa's Youtube Channel


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    • 48 min
    024 ✿ Oil Painting, Community, & Practicing Self-Compassion as an Artist ft. Emilia Cruz (@cruzemilia)

    024 ✿ Oil Painting, Community, & Practicing Self-Compassion as an Artist ft. Emilia Cruz (@cruzemilia)

    Episode 024 ✿ Oil Painting, Community, & Practicing Self-Compassion as an Artist ft. Emilia Cruz

    For today’s episode I had the pleasure of talking to visual artist and painter, Emilia Cruz. Emilia’s work is incredible and magical. She is most known for her detailed oil paintings which explore the themes of her Mexican American culture, family, spirituality, and her experiences as a woman of color. Her work has been featured in many galleries, and you may have also seen it on the Netflix show Gentefied, which she created multiple artworks for. We talked about her childhood and how she was always creating from a young age, feeling lost as a young adult and eventually finding her path as an artist, her creative process for paintings and learning to be gentle on yourself as an artist and coping with feeling overwhelmed. 

    *Get a free sticker by leaving a written review on apple podcasts! Screenshot your review and email it along with your mailing address, to marissuelena@gmail.com or DM us on Instagram*

    Topics discussed:

    -Emilia introduces herself

    -Emilia reflects on visiting Tijuana often growing up

    -Her experience growing up and living in Simi Valley, CA

    -Simi Valley being very conservative and having no arts scene

    -Commuting from Simi Valley to Pasadena for school

    -Being creative as a child

    -Her love of miniatures

    -Her aunt encouraging her to pursue the arts

    -Feeling lost after high school going to community college

    -Discovering artists on social media who she related to and feeling inspired

    -Deciding to go to art school and her experience there

    -Postponing her graduation until after the pandemic

    -How and when she started painting

    -Emilia’s creative process for painting

    -Collecting references either intentionally or just through her daily life

    -Knowing when a painting is done

    -Learning to accept a slower pace of working

    -Resisting the unhealthy, capitalistic work-ethic

    -”Delusional girl era”

    -Coping with feeling overwhelmed

    -How Emilia started showing her work in art galleries

    -Using Craigslist at the beginning to find places to display her art

    -Building community through showing at art galleries

    -Being shy as an artist and doing challenging things

    -Emilia’s shop and Patreon

    -What Emilia likes to do for fun- being with friends and family, dancing, going to arts events, etc.

    https://emiliacruz.com/

    Emilia's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cruzemilia/

    Follow us on Instagram

    Host/Marissa's Instagram

    Host/Marissa's Tik Tok

    Tending Creativity Tik Tok

    Host/Marissa's Youtube Channel


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    • 59 min
    023 ✿ Expressing Queerness Through Comics and Growing Through Self-Doubt ft. Jett Allen (@jettdraws)

    023 ✿ Expressing Queerness Through Comics and Growing Through Self-Doubt ft. Jett Allen (@jettdraws)

    Episode 023 ✿ Expressing Queerness Through Comics and Growing Through Self-Doubt ft. Jett Allen (@jettdraws)

    For this episode I had the pleasure of speaking to Jett Allen (they/he) who is a nonbinary/trans cartoonist, illustrator and writer. Jett’s work is incredible, thoughtful and funny and in many of his pieces he reflects on his experience as a nonbinary/trans person as well as films that have had an impact on him. Jett’s work has been published in the New Yorker, the LA Times, Into, the NYU Press and more! I got to talk to them about how and when they started making comics, dealing with feedback, criticism and self-doubt, expressing your queerness through your art, navigating family reactions, his process, and his current project which is a graphic memoir.

    *Get a free sticker by leaving a written review on apple podcasts! Screenshot your review and email it along with your mailing address, to marissuelena@gmail.com or DM us on Instagram*

    Topics discussed:

    -Jett introduces himself

    -Jett’s experience with creativity as a child- doodling, creating stories with his sister, but not exactly being encouraged to be creative

    -The connection between poetry and comics

    -Being in and eventually quitting a PhD program for film

    -Jett’s love for and relationship with film

    -Deciding to start making comics and illustrating despite not feeling skilled to do so

    -Fun Home by Alison Bechdel

    -Black Hole by Charles Burnes

    -The trans-ness of Black Hole

    -Starting to create published work

    -Jett’s first project Never Forget Femmes

    -Balancing your goals and growth vs. your self-confidence and your value

    -How your work if perceived is not your business, creating your art is your business

    -Good criticism vs. bad criticism

    -Good criticism opening up questions

    -Bad criticism being vague and unthoughtful

    -The fear of working on bigger or new projects

    -Jett’s series Trans Classic Movies

    -Jett’s creative process- starting with a question, writing, sketching, editing and then drawing

    -The movie Big and transness

    -River Butcher

    -Jett’s current project- a graphic memoir

    -Writing about your family and their reactions

    -Call Me By My Name, Mom- Jett’s comic about their relationship with their mother

    -Expressing queerness through art

    -What Jett does for fun-relaxing, tarot, video games, etc.

    -Having a comic bought by the Criterion Channel and getting to visit their offices

    https://jettallen.com/

    Jett's Instagram

    Follow us on Instagram

    Host/Marissa's Instagram

    Host/Marissa's Tik Tok

    Tending Creativity Tik Tok

    Host/Marissa's Youtube Channel


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    • 52 min

Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5
6 Ratings

6 Ratings

JudayM ,

Love it! ✨

An amazing podcast! Listening to different Latinx artists' journeys encourages me to continue my creative path. ❤️ I look forward to the next future episodes!

Marissu Elena ,

❤️🥰😇

Leave a review for the podcast here if youve enjoyed it! Thank you❤️🌈😊😊

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