Meet Deb

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Deb. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Deb below.

Deb, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

For some reason. I have a large ability to bounce back from hard times that could break some others down, I had an extensive list of challenges thrown at me in my life. It’s unfortunate, but on the flip side, it provided me with great strength. I have stories that are actually so wild that I always think that I would love to sit down with Tim Burton, one of my favorite directors and animators, because he could have a field day with some of my encounters. I also know that I was born with resilience because growing up I was very close with my grandmother who was a tough lady, she was a holocaust surviver. I learnt of the unbelievable things she had to do to survive at a very young age and it always was a comparison through out my whole life for any challenge like.. look at what she had to do in the most frightening situation imaginable .. and that always helped me find a way to hold it together. I feel like resilience has been my super power and painting and creating has always been my biggest therapy in life.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

My story. I’ve been working as a passionate and dedicated professional Artist, Muralist, Designer for well over 2 decades. I have been painting and drawing since I was a little kid it’s always been my calling. Originally from Melbourne Australia, I relocated to USA 12 years ago, San Francisco first, (My absolute favorite city) but due to the rising cost of living there, In 2019, I relocated to Los Angeles. I’ve traveled many different cities and parts of the globe to paint murals and showcase my art, I’ve had many exciting art exhibits over the years, and painted countless murals. I’ve collaborate with some amazing fashion brands and put out many designs of my own. I’ve been really fortunate to collaborate with some of the most prolific and talented artists, many who have become my friends and mentors. I’ve given a huge quantity of my time to creating art works to donate to different charities, or curating fundraisers, this has alway been very important to me. My journey though, hasn’t at all been candy and roses. For so many years, I pushed myself so hard for so long, that sometimes it was hard for me to slow down. After relocating to USA the universe found a way to slow me down for a moment, to say the least .. In the last decade many bumps in my road. I suffered a catastrophic injury in 2016, that took a long road to recovery. I’ve recently been through major health surgery and not in the clear of going through it again. I’ve be badly mugged, attacked and escaped in the wildest ways, and it just goes on. But these things have given me armor. Through experiencing suffering, comes resilience. I see the world now through different but pretty creative lenses after going though brain repair in 2016 and having overcome many hiccups with my physical health. I empathize strongly with others more then ever, and so this keep me charitable. I’ve learnt about pain and suffering in a way that made me push even harder in my art. But nothings ever going to stop me from creating. I’m very lucky to still be here. It’s a blessing. I see that. I am going to keep creating, no mater what hurdles come my way. I wake up in the morning and remind myself to feel grateful. How lucky I am to have the gift of life. I feel like so much has tried to break me, that nothing can. This last year I created a new body of art work I am really proud of and next year, I’m enthusiastic about new art and murals I will be creating in USA and in Aus and where ever the wind may take me. I love traveling. Im ready for it all. I am on this earth to create and the one thing I’ve learnt is that some of your greatest artistic achievements can come from the fuel of some of your greatest challenges.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I’d say extreme perseverance and determination gave me the strength to find ways to teach myself skills from trial and error. I think that even though creating can often be a very isolating environment. I personally believe that keeping a healthy social environment especially with other creatives, has been important part of my Journey, for balance and how much you can learn and share with others to stay inspired and avoid creative mind blocks. Staying as healthy as possible through exercise and nutrition is a large focus, so I can be performing at my best. Keeping negative energy as far away from me as I possibly can. It is extremely important to my artistic routine to stay as healthy and well balanced as I possibly can.

My advice for young people if you want to choose art as your professional career. It is not going to be easy, but you can .. and you will make it happen. Do not ever back down if this is your calling. Don’t let anyone tell you what you should aspire to for financial safety. Art is important. And being an artist is a super important part of so many industries so there is always work for you if you look for it. Don’t give up on your dream. Other people’s dreams are not yours and no one is like you. I support you. I also am always open to young and up and coming artist yo reach out with any questions. I always do my best to reply. I wish I could have accessed artists I was inspired by when I was young, the way you can now!

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

I do have a strong list of tools I’ve gathered for feeling overwhelmed. First of all. Stop, breathe tell yourself you will be ok. Take a break. Change the subject in your mind about what is swimming around your mind and making you feel that way, The mind is like an elastic band and it can stretch far out, but we can bring it back if we try hard enough. Feeling overwhelmed causes the mind and body to go into hypervigilance mode, so you go into fight or flight. When this happens the fastest way to counteract this is to move your body. If you can. In any way, jump up and down, go for a run. Sing !
Dance, this is the way to help counteract the overload of cortisol that being released in your body that can make you feel panicked. When you have found a way to cool down. Try to Meditate and in that time think of what can be eliminated from the task at hand, to make it less overwhelming and if that doesn’t work, reach out to a friend or anyone you trust, Don’t ride it out alone if it feels to scary. I’ve tried so many things. Currently my most helpful list is to go for a huge walk or a swim if you have access to a pool somewhere. Swimming is actually amazing for counteracting this. I will definitely find a friend to talk to if I can’t compartmentalize it on my own and of corse, therapy is always encouraged when life becomes too overwhelming.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @deb