#sparkchamber 071519 — Juana Merlo

Creativity never sleeps and never sits still. Today, we dip back into the continuum and say hola to Juana Merlo — an early visitor to #sparkchamber who recently took the entrepreneurial plunge. After years of working full-time in agency and in-house teams — all the while side-hustling — she jumped all the way in, becoming a full-time independent creative. A curious creative, a thinker and doer, a strategic and conceptual art director+designer, she is all about finding that elusive intersection between concept, medium, and message. Based in the Washington DC area — but with clients from around the world — she is currently available to take on new projects. Congratulations and best wishes, Juana!

Meanwhile, check out her portfolio and Instagram, and enjoy her responses, reposted from February 2017.

1.] Where do ideas come from?

They come from a collection of life experiences, observations, photographic memories, spontaneous occurrences, cultural shocks — and everything in between. It’s when I connect the dots irrationally that I know I have a great idea!

2.] What is the itch you are scratching?

Currently, I am obsessed with creating spontaneous work that requires no planning at all. It’s an exercise I call Drawing Improv. As I listen to podcast/radio stories, I doodle and voilà. As an art director who carefully plans every single pixel all-the-time, this exercise allows me to do just the opposite and relax.

3.] Early bird or night owl, tortoise or hare?

When I eat sushi, I leave sashimi for last. Clearly a night owl.

I am a hare who married a tortoise, which makes me forever balanced, right?

4.] How do you know when you are done?

This is a feeling I learned from my mom [who is also an artist]. She never explained it to me though ... I just know!