The cluttered life…
A studio tour.
Hi there! Long time no see. Can you believe is summer already? Neither can I. Time is a flying thief.
I hope you all had a lovely spring. Mine was coated in life-altering changes, a lot of weekend evenings jumping on Taylor Swift concert live streams on TikTok, a trip to Yucatán, a hefty amount of cake (a lot of my friends were born in gemini season), a once-in-a-lifetime 30 minute jog, longing for cheese fries more often than not, and lots of drawings.
I would love to tell you more about it someday, but today…
Let’s talk about clutter!
A studio tour.
I don’t actually want to talk about clutter. I want to give you a photographic silly little tour around my workspace. A studio tour, if you will. I also own a lot of trinkets, so that’s where the clutter part comes in.
Like a lot of people, I love a good Architectural Digest (AD) home tour, and, maybe also like a lot of people, sometimes I like to pretend I’m a prop stylist for AD on days I should be doing something else (now, I’m not saying these are AD worthy photos. I am saying I am crazy and my hobbies are weird, but let a girl have her fun! ).
Now, back to the sudio tour. The essentials of my workspace consists of an electric standing desk, a laptop + laptop stand, a 22 in Wacom Cintiq, and an epson eco printer. I am mostly a digital artist, and I do a lot of my work using Photoshop CC. I also have an iPad and I use Procreate from time to time, I’ve found that I like sketching on my iPad or in paper more than I do in my computer.
I have other things in my studio that are tucked away on drawers, mostly notebooks and miscellaneous art supplies. One of the smartest things I’ve done with my lack of space is buying a handy toolbox (5) and packing it up with some of the things I reach for time and time again when creating traditional art. I call it my “mobile studio” (except I’ve never called it that, I just came up with it - I like it). Currently, my toolbox contains: gouache, color pencils, pastels, markers and watercolor paper (6).
Having a way to set up to paint in any available table at my place has been life-changing, and I recommend it if you also have limited space and natural light. My favorite thing about studio tours is learning what is working for other artists, or something unexpected about how they make their art. It can be super helpful when you are feeling uninspired and in need of fresh ideas.
Lastly, I want to talk a little bit about notebooks, because I had an interesting conversation about them at a picture book panel I was a part of last spring. I’ve always heard that is good practice to have a different notebook for every project you’re working on, and I am not against that but it is not super practical for me. That little red notebook on the picture above is my everything notebook. It’s my journal, and where I write first drafts for new picture book ideas or other stories. It helps me to not be precious about that kind of stuff. Sometimes when I sit on my computer to write I will write and delete, write and delete, write and delete… on the notebook you don’t get to delete. You write and if you don’t like it you write something else… and you can go back to those bits you didn’t like later, and sometimes decide you actually like them too.
If you see something you like and would like to know what is it or where did I get it, please leave a comment. Also, if you want to share something that has worked wonders for you in your own studio, PLEASE leave a comment! I want to know!
Very thankful for…
💜 I am very thankful to Mija Books for partnering with me for the book launch of my upcoming title River of Mariposas! You can get personalized signed copies of the book + a exclusive sticker sheet at www.mijabooks.com. I LOVE Mija Books mission, they are latina owned, black owned and family owned, and truly committed to showcasing multi-cultural and diverse books, so if you’d like a very special copy of River of Mariposas that also supports a small business, this could be for you!
💜 Also very thankful for this beautiful review of the Spanish version of Magic by vivakidsbooks. I teared up.
💜 And…. I am so thankful and proud and happy to have Mythics 2 OUT. The ways kids absolutely love this series is WILD. I get it, I love Lauren’s writing too! I’m deep in the trenches working on the illustrations for book 3… and I can’t wait to read book 4!
💜 Lastly, I am thankful for all the fun things I’ve been doing in Animation. I don’t get to talk a lot about my animation projects, but I’m gearing up to pitch something new!
On the calendar…
The tabs I haven’t been able to close…
🖼️ My Pinterest. Lately I’ve developed this obsession to become a Pinterest girlie, so I’ve been pouring sweat, blood and tears into my Pinterest page, so you better believe I am plugging it here (also, do you have a Pinterest? I’d love to have more people to follow!).
📸 Three words: Graciela Iturbide Photography. Google her, look her up, LOVE her like I do.
🕯️ Another three words: Remedios Varo paintings. In particular, this painting. “Naturaleza muerta resucitando” was Remedios Varo last painting before her untimely dead and it is just… EVERYTHING. This particular painting was my phone screen saver for the better part of last year, and I still think about it all of the time.
🪩 Tiktok has me sold on: shiny by nature. Their clothes just look SO good. I mean, look at all the heart shaped pockets!
🎙️ I’m listening to: Publishing Rodeo. Nonstop. The super talented Maple Lam recommended this podcast to me and I’ve been devouring every episode!
📚 Currently reading: “Slow Days, Fast Company” by Eve Babitz and loving every unhinged sentence. I also recently finished reading “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo”, what a page-turner! “The Guest” by Emma Cline, which is definitely not for everyone but I enjoyed, and it’s probably well on its way to getting a movie treatment some lucky actress will win an award for.
🎵 THE song of the summer…
Final thoughts…
As always, thank you so much for subscribing! Thank you for supporting my work! Thank you to all of you who have pre-ordered River of Mariposas! Honestly, just thank you for taking the time to read this. I love writing, curating and tweaking this newsletter, and it means a lot that you take the time to read it!
I’ve been hacking away at this project in my spare time, and I feel like I’ve learned a lot and I am closer to have it feel and look the way I want it to. I welcome your feedback in the comments!
Also, if you have a couple minutes in the day that I haven eating up with my ramblings, please consider leaving a review for Magic on Amazon or Goodreads. It helps a lot! And special thanks to my line editor Sahi Rivera.
Hugs,
Mirelle
