We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sabrina Rocano. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sabrina below.
Sabrina, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
I feel like this has always been the path I’m meant to take, but the road to getting where I am now has been, unconventional at best. In my younger years I always knew I wanted to pursue something creative- from theatre to music, writing, fashion, dancing to art. Whatever I could create, I wanted to express myself and shine a light on our human experience, and bring joy and magic to those who’d see my creations. That was always meant to be my purpose, no matter the medium, or scale of the audience. But somewhere along the way, and many conversations about what a realistic life path should be, I lost that fire.
Not long after giving up on my dreams, I became a teen mom of two. Now the idea of taking a creative career path dwindled even more. I went to college, and started pursuing a career in healthcare and left my creative ambitions behind me. Don’t get me wrong, I was still drawing and playing guitar and my theatrical personality creeped into every interaction, but living in what I knew was my purpose no longer felt like an option, it was just a little girls dream.
Then, after a car accident catapulted me into a life of chronic pain, leaving me with school debts and an inability to work my secure healthcare job, I started slowly picking up those creative endeavours again. Starting with the one I had always gone to first throughout my life- art. One year I bought myself a digital art tablet for my birthday, which was the most cost effective way for me to explore this passion more. And though it took some time to build my skills as a self-taught artist, everything in the world felt right. When I was making art, I was at my most peaceful. Most happy. Most fulfilled. I felt alive in a way I hadn’t in a very long time. I had found the one thing that soothed every worry, and validated every feeling and experience. I felt like I was home, and I think at the end of the day, your purpose more than anything should give you that sense of being home. Comforted. The feeling of being exactly in the right place at the right time. That’s not to say it’s never difficult or that you never have to grit your teeth and find the strength from deep within to keep going. But that, despite the struggles and occassional internal conflict, you’d do it over and over again.
I know my purpose is to create, and I also know when I say that, it means in more ways than just art. I’ve continued exploring all the ways I can share my passion with others- some have failed and I’ve left them behind me but there’s so many more still ahead of me. How exciting is that?
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?
My name is Sabrina Rocano, I’m the creative force behind my small business Skaly Studios.
I create surreal artwork that highlights feminine expression, beauty, spirituality and empowerment. There are a few subjects that I would consider to be my ‘muse’, but women and nature would have to be at the very top of that list. I wouldn’t consider my art complete if it didn’t include some form or mysticism or magic. Whether that’s taking a creature that already exsists in our world and turning it into something fantastical, or creating a painting that shows birds making their nest in a womans hair. By adding this sprinkle of magic into my art I hope to inspire an enchanting perspective of our world, while also capturing the peaks and valleys of life through the stories these pieces tell. My main purpose in all that I create is to bring joy, a sense of being seen, and a little magic to every soul I can reach.
I also turn a lot of my art into stickers, but many of my sticker designs stand on their own. The goal with my stickers is the same as with my art, just in a smaller package!
This past year I have worked to expand my business by participating in local markets, where I sell art prints of my work, vinyl stickers and sticker packs. I opened my online shop, and I’ve started Vlogging my artistic process and building my business on YouTube.
I’m so excited about these developments in my journey as a creative, and even more excited about what’s to come in the future. My biggest dream right now is to expand the products I offer and events I work, showcase my work in art shows to develop my career as an artist, and grow a community around Skaly Studios that enriches the lives of those in it.
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?
Well, to start, show up authentically and stay true to you in all things. As a 31 year old women, the days of wanting to fit into the cookie-cutter mainstream life are not that far behind me. We read all the magazines about what’s trending and what to do, how to act and who to be. We did our best to emulate our idols and garner attention for being an “it girl”, or whatever the equivalent is. And though there’s nothing wrong with those things, the uniqueness that is who YOU are, is so much more interesting. I have always wanted to be a “black cat” type of person- mysterious and elusive, to just give off a general super cool cat type of vibe. But, as it turns out, I’m like donkey from shrek, or sid the sloth from ice age. I’m theatrical and expressive, I randomly break out in song mid conversation, and can’t help but laugh at my own jokes. For a long time I was super self-conscious about who I am, utterly embarrassed and tried to hide my true being, until one day I decided that’s a terrible way to treat myself. Today, my flaws are kind of hilarious. My jokes are awesome. My body is beautiful. And it’s okay to be a beginner at things I’ve never done before. It’s taken a lot of practice and I’m still working at it, but there’s no looking back now. It’s much nicer being authentically me- and that translates in all that I create. Instead of worrying about being great, or perfect, or painting for the masses, i just create for the little mystical weirdo I’ve always been.
Another thing that’s helped me is challenging myself and exploring different mediums of creativity. I’ve tried so many things and failed- but if I never tried I’d probably still be pinning over the idea of what that life or project could look like. I’ve tried paint pouring and other painting techniques, writing books, sewing, crafting, blogging, freelance graphic design work, digital art, mixed media art and most recently painting with acrylic and creating videos. While exploring all those different methods of creating, I discovered what I like, what I love and what I just can’t be bothered with. So, my advice is to explore absolutely anything and everything you can- it’ll help you find your way of creative expression.
Lastly, learning to balance self-care and self-discipline effectively. As a human with chronic pain/illness and life-long struggles with depression, I have to pay close attention to how my mind and body are doing, not only on a daily basis but even from hour to hour. In my experience, if I don’t take care of this vessel and prioritize my well-being, I crash and burn, and all my creative endeavours suffer for it. Alternatively, if all I do is focus on self-care and nothing else, my creativity becomes stagnant.
Learning that balance can be really difficult. Too much self-care and you’ll never advance in your disciplines. And too much self-discipline and you’ll burn yourself out. Prioritize self-care but stay disciplined with whatever your craft is, just not one at the expense of the other
Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
My best advice for dealing with overwhelm is to break things down. Instead of staring at that huge list of things to do, pick one or two tasks and write them on a whole different page. This is kind of where that self-discipline versus self-care come in. Push yourself to complete those few things (who knows, it may create some momentum, and sense of accomplishment that can help you keep going), but if at the end of the day, those two tasks are all you can do, that is ENOUGH. Remember to be kind to yourself, you’re only one human and it’s okay to take a break when you need it. Take a breath, allow yourself to move through your feelings, then release them. Rest, reset and get back to it. You got this.
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.skalystudios.com
- Instagram: Www.instagram.com/skalystudios
- Facebook: Www.facebook.com/skalystudios
- Youtube: Www.youtube.com/@skalystudios