We were lucky to catch up with Domi Cuoco recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Domi thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

I had *regular jobs* for nearly a decade within the realm of public service. It was wonderful. I learned so much about time management, setting boundaries, working hard, being useful, implementing big initiatives with inspiring teams. Then the pandemic hit and it was WFH. I was a Data Director, responsible for making beautiful dashboards + workbooks in Excel to help advance juvenile justice care. It was impactful work that I cared about. As the world was stocking up on toilet paper, I instinctively stocked up on paint. I hadn’t painted in years but couldn’t imagine lockdown without it. In the space between meetings + indicator development, I wrote bad poetry, songs for nobody but me, drew clouds as homes, and painted with knives on the cork panels I previously used to pin up photos + souvenirs. As interesting as our data findings were, I wondered if I could do this forever. I continued making all sorts of stuff, and decided on two things within a year of WFH – 1. I’d start selling my art with the mission to plant as many trees as possible, and 2. I’d go back to school for Architecture. Now that I’m 2.5 out of 3 years into my program and have planted 2,504 trees through my business, everything has changed! So much unexpected magic has happened here. I had to let go of the Data Director job to go back to school and transition to a consulting role, then we were hit with mass layoffs. It’s been a journey! I can’t say it’s always been smooth, but it’s all been necessary. All the while, my creativity has thrived and bloomed, expansive opportunities have appeared, and unexpected paths have been taken. It’s been beautiful, and I’m endlessly grateful to be where I am. I think happiness is present wherever there’s gratitude. I was happy in my *regular jobs,* but it was a different kind of happy. It’s exciting to be this kind of happy, as an artist, singer, student, and creator who plants trees. It’s something I couldn’t have imagined for myself 10 years ago, and I think that’s probably the most wonderful part!

Domi, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Domi Cuoco + I’m a multidisciplinary moss babe. I make art + music that plant trees! We’ve planted 2,504 since 2021!!! My business is called DOEQUO – a phonetic spelling of my first + last name. The Art: kaleidoscopic flowers with a word of intention as recycled notebooks, wall calendars, paper + metal prints; knife paintings as textured celebrations of color or natural landscape. The Music: soothing vocal harmonic sound baths, and guided spoken word meditations with relaxing synth accompaniment. Also: I create multi-step journaling prompts for inner space exploration. I have a website for my art (doequo.com) and an inner space patreon (doequobynature – journaling + beyond) for the music + journaling prompts. I’m mostly just very proud to tune out from the idea of hyper-specialization – I love being multidisciplinary + that every one of the collections I’ve put out into the universe has been so positively received. I focus a lot of my energy on creating things that celebrate our planet, respect nature, and empower others to be their full, whole selves. I believe this resonates strongly with lovers of DOEQUO, and why we’ve planted a small forest of trees so far.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

There are a few! This is such a great question. 1. The trees. Our lungs need them. Our habitats need them. Our economies need them. It was the biggest factor in my decision making process when I first decided I was brave enough to consider selling my art. 2. Letting my inner kid explore + play! I was raised by an artist (who’s far more talented than I am – hi Mom!) and she always had supplies + always let me make a total mess. That’s something that stays with me now. I love to explore, I love to play. I have to love the thing I’m making or I can’t make it. 3. Kind of connected to the last two – giving myself full permission to make all that I want to make, to drop whatever guilt or doubts that come up when I’m making all sorts of things that only connect through the tree mission. I think this reflects itself through my work – that I’m allowing this inner wild, explorative creativeness to lead the way + it pushes me out of my comfort zone. It therefore asks the same big questions of those who support DOEQUO – are you making it safe + fun to be all that you want to be? Even if it’s messy or fails – as life can be like sometimes – are you happy you tried? Do you feel connected to your spirit? Do you feel connected to the planet? 4. Everything inspires everything else. Everything + everyone teaches me. Heartbreak? Architecture? Talks with friends? Nature wanders? Dancing? Big love? It’s all expansive and finds itself in the art + music. All of these things drive my mission.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Yes! My dear friend Katie gave me this book “In the Company of Women” by Grace Bonney when I first launched DOEQUO. I poured through it for hours + still return to it when I feel discouraged. My sweet friend Alli recommended “Big Magic” by Liz Gilbert + it’s my go-to train read, especially when I feel like I’m taking creativity too seriously + want to re-connect with my spirit. “Range” by David Epstein is amazing – it’s about the wonders of being a generalist. The Ted talk “why some of us don’t have one true calling” by Emilie Wapnick was a game changer for me – probably responsible for forming my earliest entrepreneurial philosophy back 8 years ago before I even knew what a sound bath or knife painting was.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://doequo.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doequobynature
• Other: https://patreon.com/DOEQUObynature

Image Credits

Mom :)