Meet Julianne Black Diblasi

We were lucky to catch up with Julianne Black Diblasi recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Julianne Black, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.

I feel like imposter syndrome isn’t something you overcome; it’s more like something you stuff into a little box in the back of your mind when what you want outweighs your excuses. For me, it doesn’t dissipate over time; I have to recognize it for what it is and, more importantly, isn’t.

I’ve played out many techniques over the years that have been successful patches for that black, icky, sticky dread that inevitably starts seeping in when you are getting close to a goal, but I don’t know that it will ever be behind me for good.

Things that have helped me in those dreading moments are imagining myself as a favorite movie badass, making sure I’m alone in the car on the way to an event so I can listen to an inspiring music playlist uninterrupted, rolling through past accomplishments in my head to remind myself where I come from, asking ancestors to have my back at negotiations, and of course, wearing clothes and jewelry that make me feel confident.

Having little scenarios like that on a remix helps, and the more you practice them, the faster they come to you and help you step past it when it comes up. I’m always working on it, and it never ceases to amaze me how sneaky that feeling can be, lurking behind every career turn, even after 30+ years in my field.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I’ve had a wonderful career as a professional artist, author, illustrator, and graphic designer. I’m grateful to have always been able to kind of rope different creative disciplines into my production of client and personal projects. The more things you know how to do, the more valuable you are. I’ve studied and worked in video, animation, layout, web design, print design, digital music creation, storytelling, children’s books, monthly magazine columns, teaching… and very much like the book The Alchemist, it all comes together as a one-woman show! Because of that background in so many areas, I’ve truly been able to find and produce what I’m most excited about – my activity books! It’s a chance for me to teach, connect with kids, illustrate, problem solve, and do all the book layout and marketing.

There are so many “activity books” out there about the ocean, shells, animals… but they don’t actually teach about the animals or topics presented. And they are so boring for minds that want to learn! Connect the dots. Yawn. Color the dolphin. Meh. Find the starfish. Bah. Shouldn’t children’s activity books be more… meaningful? Shouldn’t they leave the reader with just the tiniest bit of respect for the environment or a sense of wonder for the world around them? It’s really a missed opportunity to inspire and excite the next generation of wildlife and nature lovers, and I kind of jumped in with both feet. These are STEAM and STEM-based mini-lessons, absolutely packed with silliness and fun.

As a science and wildlife geek anyway, I hear so many stories about trash and destruction caused by spring breakers and national and state park visitors. It sparked me to turn my design and storytelling skills towards addressing topics like ethical shelling and wildlife protection. And, as a mom, beach safety items like rip tides, storm cloud identification, and lightning! I don’t remember these topics being taught outside the home as my daughter was growing up, and there is a big need for it.

In order to reach many ages and aptitudes, my goal is to create scaleable content. It is important to me that every page has various involvement options. Younger kids need plenty to color, up through word searches and scrambles for middle-aged readers, and then into science experiments for the older kids. Books that have suggested ages don’t really take into consideration that kids will absorb anything if they are excited about it. I want them to have the opportunity to up-level their science exposure to whatever they are comfortable with, not what is recommended for their age group.

The design of these books is also focused on inclusion. Because the books include crafts and science experiments, having a materials list immediately assumes they have access to these materials. I needed to ensure that all readers were given the authority and creativity to substitute suggested supplies with anything on hand, and present ideas to make the activities work with just about anything. This focus also makes it a good book series for camping or vacationing, where a craft supply cabinet is not an option.

I’m also thrilled to be able to reuse some of the content as downloadable, zero-prep handouts for teachers and nature centers. It’s been wonderful to spread the work past the book’s binding into homes and hands-on learning situations.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I believe every creative needs buckets of resilience, diversification, and faith. Resilience to bounce back from dead ends, criticism, and disappointment. Diversification of artistic projects, like juggling online print-on-demand shops while submitting book proposals and networking for design clients. When one area gets slow, build the other areas. I would have never survived if I hadn’t balanced passive income with client projects. And faith in yourself, your ability to rally, and your work.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

I’m always excited to partner with environmental groups, educators, nature centers, etc. I’m actively looking for ways to help boost their outreach through educational resources in exchange for the ability to sell my books through their gift shops (which helps financially support their endeavors) and have my branding reach new audiences.

I’m also interested in custom-designing resources! I love taking boring handouts from desperate teachers and making them super cool!

I can be reached through my website www.KrakenSky.com 🙂

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