We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mina Dulce. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mina below.
Mina, thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?
Creativity is an energy force that I know to be ever flowing. It comes and it goes, yet it’s always present throughout my life. To keep my creativity alive, I switch up my passions between photography and other medias such as drawing, writing, jewelry, or painting. I like to keep things interesting and never limiting when it comes to creative expression. Art is a coping skill or way to heal so experimenting with various materials allows me to transcend the rigidity of my own mind. Sometimes when I’m feeling down or in a creative block I take it easy and rest, letting myself form new ideas and allowing myself to not feel pressured to constantly create or produce. I have been involved in the art world since I was young, many things that continue to inspire me and feel involved as an artist is my community of friends, local galleries, and teachers/mentors. Keeping a journal or notebook on hand is a great way to write down spur of the moment ideas and mini sketches to put your ideas out on paper so you never forget for later projects. My love for the world, my friends, travel, and art helps keep me motivated and wanting to create and inspire others. The constant exploration of innovative techniques and ideas has ensured that my artistic journey remains a vibrant and ever moving source of passion.
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 am an artist and photographer, an advocate for mental health, and environmentalism. My work is inspired by the world, my love for nature, and the human experience. I am most known for my vulnerable, abstract, thoughtful, and colorful photographs and artwork. My art is a reflection of different trials, pushbacks and successes. Most of my life I have navigated through a journey of healing and addressing my mental health and past traumas. Art has been that outlet for me and having a community of people that share similar experiences in a non judgmental way has been helpful. It’s hard and painful to have faith and patience in yourself when you may feel alone, lost, or confused. I try to ride the wave and breathe. Supporting others makes me happy and helps motivate me to continue creating and having strength. I hope to inspire others to continue to rise, accomplish, and heal with love. ISOLDES WORLD is my photography collection compiling years and projects of working with friends, models, fellow artists and designers. It’s a take on my personal perspectives of how I view the world by using color and tones to build a story. My most recent project has been Swamp Dragon Creations, which is an eco jewelry & fantasy art themed online shop and portfolio inspired by nature’s magick and its various biomes. I was raised in the Florida swamps surrounded by alligators and wildlife – hence the name Swamp Dragon. I was taught by my grade teachers about biology, ecology, environmentalism, and conservation, with our motto being ‘Nature is Our Best Teacher.’ Growing up I was always enthralled by our living world and its wisdom. I create handcrafted jewelry & accessories; pendants, hair wraps, paintings, henna, micro macrame bracelets and necklaces. Each piece is designed with love and care, made custom for each wearer or collector. My goal as an artist and as a brand is to gift my joy and passion for the arts and bring awareness to our green planet. I am grateful for the opportunities, mentors, friends, community, and family who have been with me on this journey, providing ongoing support to help us all flourish and inspire one another.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
First I would say, have patience with yourself, taking it easy and allowing yourself to relax. It’s okay to have bad days and don’t feel bad for sitting around and ‘not being productive’. Don’t force yourself to overwork or feel guilty for not being on task or good enough. We live in a very rushed instant gratification and pressured culture, by relaxing and having patience is breaking away from those toxic mindsets. Especially when you’re trying to heal, don’t rush the process. Take your time with new ideas and techniques. It’s impossible to learn everything in one day or even five years. Second, is that Perfectionism can be a hindrance to creative flow. Let the paintbrush glide or the words spill out onto the page. Not everything has to be so serious and it’s okay to loosen up and have fun! By doing this, it can help release internal pressures and high standards which takes the weight off your shoulders so you can think with less blockages and clearer flow. Enjoy the present moment, relax, and release. Third, I would say the importance of breathing and breath work. This can affect how you hold your tools, machines, and your environment. Shaky lines when painting, drawing, tattooing, or cutting wood or materials is all affected by the breathe. When you hold the camera for long exposers or for videos, breathing affects the result of the image or video. By taking slow and regulated breathes and being aware of your breathe can help calm the nervous system and releases dead or stale energy inside of you. How you come up with ideas, staying mindful, and concentrated are all components to how breath work shapes your life and the outcome.
Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?
First and foremost my family and my friends. I try to surround myself with loving, compassionate, and creative people. We motivate each other to develop our techniques, to come up with new ideas, or to give advice and feedback. Having a friend or friends that can push you to be your best self and to help you succeed in areas you strive in helps. Finding a solid community of people in your area can really help you feel more involved. I recommend going to music performances, house shows or parties, events, and music festivals and art/craft fairs. I find I’ve met some really cool people this way and have met people through networking or just vitalizing social media and connecting and sharing business cards. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and talk to people! You may learn something or get a new perspective on something that you may have never imagined. Having good company to fall back on when challenges come along can help getting you back to feeling motivated and alive. We are all in this together to build each each other up for success and fun.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://isoldesworld.wixsite.com/isoldesworld
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/isoldesworld/
- Other: https://linktr.ee/swampdragoncreations
Image Credits
Mina Dulce ISOLDES WORLD
