Ana Victoria Calderon and Dari Luna Workshop Review
Ana Victoria Calderon and Dari Luna Workshop Review
I wanted to share with you a review of the workshop Creative Brunch put on by Ana Victoria Calderon and Dari Luna at Makers Mess in LA.
This was a creativity workshop for creative entrepreneurs looking for insight on how to align their personal goals and business goals as creatives.
Both artist have been women that I have been inspired by for the past few years. I discovered Ana probably around 2013 and Dari shortly after.
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Ana Victoria Calderon
Ana Victoria is a watercolor artist a Mexican American artist from Mexico city. Her watercolor work is captivating, with the use of vibrant watercolors and magical illustrations. She is also an creative entrepreneur that shares how she has turned her work as an illustrator into a full time sustainable career. Ana has created various online and in-person workshops that range from learning watercolor to managing a creative business. Her illustrations have been sold through Etsy, Papyrus, and much more!
I can say that Ana has been one of the greater influences in my work since I have found her classes incredibly helpful. In the past I have followed her youtube channel which I wrote about in my top 10 youtube channels to watch. I have also taken her skillshare classes and her Domestika class (which by the way is in Spanish, but her skillshare is in English). Ana also has special creative retreats that she hosts during the year called Magic Jungle which I hope to be able to attend soon.
Dari Luna
Dari Luna
Dari Luna is a mindfulness and creativity coach. She has worked as a lead designer for gifts and stationery. She creates illustrations that are designed with intention and intuition. Her designs calming, mindful, and vibrant.
She holds diverse aspects of her business ranging from art licensing, group coaching, to individual coaching. Dari exudes authenticity and mindfulness. Her work has been featured with organizations like #weallgrowlatina network.
Her authenticity shines through in her artistic style.
What was the brunch about?
The focus of the brunch itself was two fold, first it was to examine our personal growth in order to develop our business, finding alignment or congruence between who we are and our business self. Secondly to align our business with personal growth.I was surround from artists from all over the southern California area. I was in awe of the work that these women were doing. Some of the women were working on fabric lines, while others were illustrators, card makers, and so much more.
My Creative Brunch Experience
One of the thoughts that immediately came to my mind was that I needed to connect in person with other creatives. I connect with many people on social media, but I need to connect with others in person. It's really easy as an artist to withdraw and turn inward to oneself. However, as I spoke and heard about the paths of all these women I realized that I wasn't alone. Most of the women spoke of wanting to connect with other artists as the primary reason for attending the brunch.
Another "A-HA" moment came as I heard Dari speak about connecting dots. Meaning that each action that we take we must realize is connected to other actions. The image that came to my mind was that of the universe. For example, there are many planets that make our solar system, however, they all seem to exist on their own. Each has it's own atmospheres and rotations, they are unique in their existence. However, each planet influences other planets and helps create our solar system. Then our solar system creates our galaxy (I think I'm a little rusty on my astronomy!)All this to say that at times as artists (OR HUMANS) we feel like we are stuck and that we aren't moving forward. We don't realize that every singular action doesn't exist on its own, it helps propel and support the following events that may come after. Even at times when it doesn't feel like we are moving forward or like something won't make a difference it can, maybe not right then and there but it can and will eventually.
This was the first time I experienced Dari as a teacher, and I can say that I felt really empowered by her creative exercises. The exercises that she had us do were helped me look at myself as an individual and as a creative business person. This also helped me process how I want to structure my business. As part of the brunch we also looked at how our own values and goals need to shape our business plans. Each value is its own planet that will help me in creating my solar system for my creative business.
I really encourage you to get out there and connect with other creative people. Even if your creativity isn't in the same area you might find there are similarities in how you navigate your creative worlds. As Ana says the best inspiration happens offline and in real life!
When the brunch ended Ana gave us special completion certificates with a gift of one of her greeting cards. I believe there are very few coincidences in life, the rest are messages that we must recognize from the universe. My card was one with the solar system and it read, "We are all connected". It was a confirmation that the "Aha" moments were real and that I was meant to be at this workshop, that I had to experience it because little did I know the next months would be trying for me. I needed to hang on to this moment and will continue to do so as I move forward as an artist and in my creative business.
So I'll leave with you with these quotes from Liz Gilbert from BIG Magic,
"A creative life is an amplified life. It’s a bigger life, a happier life, an expanded life, and a hell of a lot more interesting life. Living in this manner–continuously and stubbornly bringing for the jewels that are hidden within you–is a fine art, in and of itself."
"You can measure your worth by your dedication to your path, not by your successes or failures.”
A special thanks to Ana and Dari for hosting this event at Makers Mess in LA!
Make sure you follow Ana on her instagram:
Make sure you follow Dari on her instagram:
(SPECIAL NOTE:
This is a very late post on a workshop I took back in February. I decided to take personal time off to focus on myself. I will later write a blog post on some of the reflections that came up for me while I took time for myself.
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