Today we’d like to introduce you to Minerva Moreno.
Hi Minerva, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I come from a family who always encouraged me when it came to art, I grew up drawing characters with my brother and eventually cutting them out and playing with them as toys, so in a sense art has been around since we were kids. It wasn’t something I ever thought I would pursue and it’s something I forgot I loved as I got older until it found me again.
As a kid what I dreamt of being was a writer, I always day dreamed of writing my own stories and I’d spend most of my time in class zoned out in my own little world, but as I neared the end of high school I ended up being discouraged by peers on this dream, whether it was due to my English at the time or it sounding completely unrealistic, so I ended up pursuing graphic design as my career choice.
I’m grateful for all the people I met in this path and all the jobs I’ve had, design is something that I did enjoy but was never truly fulfilling and there was always something missing, that’s when I started to create for myself. I remember the first time I bought the ipad I was wondering how often I would actually draw on this, I carried a lot of self doubt at the time when it came to my personal work and never knew what to draw, I would stare blankly at the canvas until I came out with a plan to push myself.
It was during October which for me became plantober, that’s when my love for drawing plants and flowers came about, For 30 days straight I would draw the plants around my house, but what I found is that while I was drawing them I ended up self reflecting and learning from them, it still sounds a bit silly to me but if you take care of a single plant there’s so many lessons you can learn from them, my biggest takeaway from taking care of plants has been to learn to let go, you can’t have a yellow leaf hold you down.
Drawing became part of my journey and self discovery, it gave me the sword that I needed to face my doubts and fears, it was my outlet to embrace what being a creative was until it grew beyond what I thought it would be.
Remember how I mentioned how I wanted to be a writer? While I didn’t pursue that path, I never stopped writing. I have a collection of hundreds of notes to myself. Notes written when I felt down and needed to pick myself up, letters of hope for the girl who felt helpless.
These small letters became the blueprint of every piece I’ve created in the past 2 years, I embraced my vulnerabilities and started including them in my work. I didn’t thought much of it at the time until I created the one piece with the words “it’s okay to cry”, that was the first time I got responses from people resonating with that message, and that was just the beginning for me.
The work that I create now comes from the soul, it’s work and words that I wish I could’ve heard when I was younger. And even if these pieces live for a second on social media, I do hope they resonate with the right people, and it’s been an adventure transforming some of these pieces into actual physical materials and having them available in local markets, it’s great to resonate with people face to face and have open conversations regarding being vulnerable and strong.
I have too many letters that I wrote to myself, so I’m aiming at merging them with my work and eventually publishing them, I can only hope that my words and my art can make someone feel heard and understood as it has done for me.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It’s definitely been a bit of a rocky road, I have always doubted myself and my skills, I always undermined my potential and never put myself out there in any aspect of my life, and ran away from any opportunity. Needless to say, my greatest struggle has been confronting myself, facing my fears, and not being ashamed of who I am. It took far too long for me
With that being said it took years for me to publicly show my work, and it took a bit more just to put my thoughts out there with each piece since it always felt like there was so much of me that I poured in.
I’d like to believe that every time I draw, a piece of my soul gets engraved in every piece, so to show that to the world has always been terrifying, until I learned that others could relate to me and that somehow even my simple piece of that week could make someone smile, and that gave me enough courage to keep going.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m an illustrator and designer, the work that I create always starts our as a piece for myself, all of the illustrations that I’ve worked on have started out from notes to myself that I’ve written when I feel down,, it all stems from doing my best at encouraging myself and not giving up, of knowing I’m not alone.
I create for myself in hope of inspiring and resonating with others. I create for the girl who once felt lost, who just wanted to be heard & seen. I create for the soul thats hiding in between bathroom stalls in their lunch break, who needs encouragement that it’s all going to be okay.
I’m known for creating work that resonates with others while also incorporating nature inspired illustrations, and if you saw me shopping at a farmers market you’d bet I’d be the girl holding a new plant.
I’m proud of being able to be vulnerable through my own work, to not be scared of showing my true colors or my thoughts, that’s something I struggled with for most of my life and it’s empowering to know that my vulnerability and experiences can resonate with others.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
The biggest credit without a doubt goes to my brother, he’s always been there by my side and has supported me throughout it all, from asking for feedback to helping set up during markets or reminding me to not doubt myself. I’m extremely grateful for my creative family and friends, new and old who have seen me grow in this journey, who have helped me push past my self-doubt and my own boundaries. Having them support me has truly helped me realize my potential.
Lastly forever grateful for the ones who started it all for me, my plant family! As silly as it may sound those little plants sitting in the living room have brought me more joy and peace in moments of darkness, couldn’t do it without them.
Contact Info:
- Email: minervaimoreno@gmail.com
- Instagram: Rosemaryandthemoon
Image Credits
Devin Bieber
