Hand-Lettering

Left/Right

A couple of days ago I woke up at the crack dawn, and all I wanted to do was draw. Not methodically like I do (for a living), but just to ink pages like I did in my free time ever since I was a child. To get what I wanted I started working with my left hand, I realized after a minutes that it takes skill to draw like a child again. It’s so cathartic and magical. I ended up filling out seven or nine pages of these colorful blurbs that felt like freedom, so I decided to daw on top of them with my right hand, as a type of experiment if you will. So, this is what’s been happening in my “studio” for the past couple of days: colors, funky music, and dancing.

smile, love, and be creative.

Valeria.

Italia Day#06 “The Heel Near the Ocean”

From day 3-6 we were in a place called “Le Puglie” that’s on the heel of the boot that is the map of Italy. We were in a city called Bari, but we went to a tiny town called “Valenzano” where my maternal family comes from. Both my grand parents were neighbors since birth, so it was a treat to see the street they grew up in, were they met, and fell in love. Sadly their homes are no longer there, and some small buildings were made instead.

The south of Italy is characteristic for it’s warm climate, which was out of whack while we were there. This weather is especially unique for growing olives that make extraordinary oil. The truth is, extraordinary is an understatement,  this is the most smoothes, richest oil you’ll ever taste. One of our family (maternal) traditions is fish, is not so much a traditions but the go-to protein to eat, Valenzano is near the sea so the freshest fish, and seafood are found there. We tried (I’m going to write in Italian now) cozze pelose, vongole, sepie crude, spaghetti alle cozze, merluzzo fritto, everything was a delight, and wonder, it felt like discovering a hidden gem that everyone had talked about, but I had never seen, but what made it even more special was the fact that I got to meet some cousins, aunts, and uncles, and shared all these precious moments with them.

So we left the south to start our way to the north our next stop: La Toscana, Siena.

Here are some pictures of our time in Puglia.

Ciliege/Cherries

Cocomeri/Cucumber

Lupini

Cozze Pelose e Vongole

Cozze

 

Spaghetti

 

Pesce Fritto

smile, love, and be creative

Valeria.

Italia Day#02 “Gardens and Rain”

June 1st. My Birthday. A Visit to “Ravello”

A beautiful sunny morning, that turned into a rainy wonder while walking through marvelous gardens. We went to Ravello around noon, a place up in the mountains around the Amalfi Coast, we parked our car, and started walking. We went to  different gardens, we walked through the village, we laughed, I took hundreds of pictures of landscapes, and simple details: doorknobs, mailboxes, mosaics, and rocks. I was in awe of the little things that made everything feel special, and unique.

There’s something wonderful about the authenticity of little towns like this one, where even though they have come across many tourists, and the development of the world, they remain true to their traditions of pottery, limoncello, and the most amazing pizza you’ve ever tasted. There’s something magical in the air, something I can’t quite explain. It was a truly unique way to spend my birthday…

Ravello Panoramic

Ravello Piazza

Secret Garden

self-portrait

Vines

at lunch

Cheers!

typography obsession

Gatto

Later at night we went to  Amalfi, and dined at an amazing place called “Gemma” where we had  the freshest raw fish ever, wonderful wine, limoncello, and they put a tiny candle on my chocolate crème brûlée, and baileys ice cream, quietly sang “happy birthday”, and so I rang the new decade along with my family, at a place I’ve never been before, trying thing I’ve nerver eaten/drank before. Needless to say, it was unforgettable.

fresh raw fish

Limoncello

A present from the people at the “Gemma” Restaurant

smile, love, and be creative.

Valeria.

Three Decades

I was born three decades ago on June 1st, in a city called Valencia, in Venezuela. I have been drawing ever since I can remember, and even though when I was little I went through faces in which I wanted to be a Paleontologist, a Violinist, a Nun, an Architect, a Social Activist, a Brain Surgeon, a Concert Pianist… I always drew, that was my constant the only thing in my life that ever made sense. I drew everywhere on buses, planes, parks, class, well especially class, the back of all of my notebooks was filled with drawings, and hand-lettering (which at the time I didn’t know what it was.) Now, this is what I do for a living, I draw. I love drawing, it makes my life complete it makes smile, it helps my creative process, it makes me fly, and above all else it makes me who I am.

sketch

Today with all this beauty around me I was reminded why I love doing what I do.

Make a Wish!

smile, love, and be creative.

Valeria.

Italia Day#01 “Lemony Sweet”

Today is the first day of our journey. We arrived at Roma, and drove straight south towards the Costa Amalfitana. It’s been raining all day, but it’s been gorgeous anyway. The air is fresh, and the traditional smell of lemon is in the air; Limoncello (lemon liqueur) is famous around this area, so everything is dipped and shaped like the yellow citrus, even the pottery.

Even though there was unstoppable rain, we manage to have some fun, we went for a walk for some coffee (macchiato for me, please!), a famous pastry called “Babà al Limone,” we browsed through the ceramics shops and went back to the are around our hotel.

Baggage Stub CCS-FCO

My Family

view from my window

view from my window

Lemons

 

 

Afternoon Coffee

smile, love, and be creative.

Valeria.

The Start of a Journey

This is me, as I wait at the airport in Caracas for a flight to start a journey that will inform my future work. I am an illustrator, and I want to draw from the history of my family, and its traditions to do my work. That’s why for my 30th birthday I am going on a trip to Italy with my family to explore, dig, and document just like an archeologist, what makes me unique, the different traditions of the country that birthed my ancestors.

smile, love, and be creative.

Valeria.