Breaking rules with a smile.
Being Delightfully Defiant means fighting for what you believe in, but doing it in ways that fill you up, energize you, and give you momentum to keep going. I think too often we believe that defiance has to be this big, self-sacrificing act for it to be impactful or worth doing. But does it? Can defiance be beautiful, funny, hopeful, sassy, kind, insightful, curious, compassionate, weird, and empowering?
Absolutely no ai ever.
I won’t bore you with my big feelings about AI and Generative AI (right now), but I do want you to know that it is not used her whatsoever. Not for research, writing, concept, ideation, illustration, design, website creation, or anything else you can think of. Everything here is 100% human made with my time, energy, and creativity. And always will be.
How this got started.
After the stale Cheeto got elected again (hard-eye roll) I, like a lot of people I’m sure, went down the doom scroll rabbit hole. I was trying to stay up to date on all the news I could handle, learn from thought leaders whose voices I valued, and support content creators who were working to create positive change. I thought it was a productive way forward…
But consuming the constant stream of bad news was just that, consumption, not action. None of my scrolling, liking, commenting, or sharing was doing shit and I wasn’t actually helping anyone. Not to mention the relentless stress was destroying my mental and physical health. So, I quite social media (for the most part) and started looking for a way to use my creativity to make good trouble (thank you John Lewis).
All of my ideas kept coming from a place of urgency, fear, and desperation, but I didn’t want to put any more of that out into a world that was being flooded with bad news. I wanted to create from a place of joy and hope, but also fucking angst. I wanted to create something that did more than add to the echo chamber, but instead made people think and/or gave them accessible and actionable things to do that didn’t just make them feel like shit. I wanted to create something that was delightful and gave people a reprieve from the fear and stress, but still defiant and good trouble making. And here we are.
Small acts, big picture.
Advocating for the daily defiance, the unsung hero of change.
Doom scrolling and the news consumption are probably two of the most effective ways to up your blood pressure these days. They insight fear and urgency (and bodily discomfort) that make us feel like we have to fix everything that’s wrong in the world right now or we might as well just give up, right? But big, heroic acts of like quitting your job to dedicate your life to tackling major worlds problems isn’t usually doable (or sustainable). This is where the underestimated, small, daily acts of defiance come in — they help us to reframe our way of thinking, grow our empathy, learn about better ways of doing things, shape community, and build our confidence so that we can take on the bigger defiance when it matters most. Small acts may not seem like as big of a deal, bit they matter in the big picture.
A few things about me.
I’m a woman (cis, she/her), designer, illustrator, and lettering artist trying to find ways to channel her pent up angst, fear, and anxiety into something useful, using what I have: creative energy and a whole lotta big feelings.
CLIMBER + RUNNER
And loving it, even though I’m afraid of heights in a big way and as slow as it gets.
PITBULL MAMA
She’s a rescue with more love (and sass) than she knows what to do with.
MENTAL HEALTH WARRIOR
I battle anxiety, depression, a panic disorder, and OCD, but I wear a smile.
DESIGNER BY DAY
I work full-time as a freelance graphic designer, illustrator, and paper-cut artist.
MAKER
I knit neon pink sweaters, paint on cutting boards, mend my clothes, and bake regularly.
SOLAR-POWERED
I require large quantities of sunlight and time outside to function properly.