I’m responding to my own stress and anxiety around life lately by returning to the activity that first launched Fabulously Feminist in its earliest iteration: a blog about other artists that inspired me. I would write a brief post 1 to 2 times a week about the work of an artist, usually someone making feminist work in some capacity, but not always, and throw up a bunch of images and links. It was a way to make sure I was looking at other people’s work constantly, and an echo of an assignment I was given by my favorite painting professor in college. So, here we go, you me and a Starbucks cafe in a Barnes and Noble that I had to drive 30 minutes to get to, just so I could focus and recharge. You’re welcome, self. I heard you needed this.
Without further ado, and self adulation, allow me to introduce this week’s featured artist: illustrator Dina Rodrigues of Letter Shoppe.
You’re probably already super familiar with Rodrigues. I mean, with 37.3 thousand followers on instagram, I’m pretty sure it’s unlikely you’re checking out my itty bitty profile without having already come across hers.
While a gorgeously lettered phrase touches my bones the way few things can, it’s actually Rodrigues’ illustrations of badass babes that speak most dearly to my heart.
I also love her playful, femme color palette, engaging issues that she has a personal investment in.
… My own process is to make art around issues that I know are important right now, and then to occasionally take commissioned work on the side. Reading more about Rodrigues has been fascinating, because it seems like she has gone about things the opposite way. She started with commissioned and commercial work and has only recently started doing what she called “lifestyle” work: “I’m excited to say I’ll be targeting more lifestyle apparel and product brands that cover topics I personally relate to more. Emotional and edgy subjects like feminism, cannabis culture, mental health, and body positivity.”
What have I taken away from checking out Rodrigues’ work?
- Being open about your process and sharing your insights is always a good thing
- Even artists need to diversify their income streams. Correction: even wildly popular and successful artists need to diversify their income streams and it’s good/important to talk about that.
- I don’t have to do everything myself, and trying to do it all is only driving me crazy and preventing me from tapping into my full potential: If someone as badass as Dina Rodrigues can trust a company like Printful for their textile fulfillment, then so can I!
- I’m not the only one who really needs some structure in my life to keep these gears turning. When Rodrigues decided she wanted to focus more on “personal/lifestyle” work, she made a commitment to create 2 images per week. It’s concrete, it’s measurable and goddamn I like it.