Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Mariana Palova. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Mariana, thanks for joining us today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?

It’s a complex quiestion. Many people believe that, as an artist and writer, living of my craft is a privilege and a fullfilled dream. Sometimes, it is, but also, it can be very stressfull to make your art an obligation, not a passion that you can leave aside anytime without worrying about bills. Art is terapeutic, and when is your due to create, it can become a torture. Drains you in a very intense way and can make you hate it as much as a regular job. You have to deal with impostor syndrome and other kind of mental issues. But also, is contradictory, because, even with all this, I love it. I love my art, my books, my writing. I love this pain and torture and I can’t see myself doing anything else or working for somebody else again. A toxic relationship for sure.

Mariana, 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?

Hi! I’m Mariana Palova, a 33 years old mexican writer and digital artist. I’m currently published by one of the biggest houses in my country and my books are being sold in more than eight countries in Latin America and also in Spain. My work as artist and writer revolves around occult, magic, and mythological self-explorations. My passion for symbols and the things that hides in the shadows took me to become a digital artist at the age of 15, and my art has been exposed in several shows around the world, including countries as China, Germany, Poland, the U.S.A. and many more. At 26, I decided to turn myself into writing, first as a self published author, and now, this is what I do for living. This year I signed with a literary agency in Barcelona and I’m currently working in my dark fantasy saga, “Nation of the Beasts.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

When I turned 25, I lost my passion for art. I was having a very hard crisis in my personal and economical life, a situation that lasted for many years and that almost throwed me into a no returning point. I lost my passion for art and the identity that I created for a decade around the idea of Mariana Palova, the visual artist. It was my personality, and I lost it because of the depression. But in the lowest point, when I was not able to take a camera or a brush, I took a keyboard. I started to write. Words worked. Words were another way to take back my identity, because what I was, was not a technique, but a flame and a need.
So, I became a writer. And I saved my life with that.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

No. I learned that, sometimes, it does not matter at all. Life changes, and one day, you can be a young artist willing to reach art galleries and museums around the world, and the next month, you have nothing. But then, the light strikes again, and you start from zero again at 25, or at 45, or at 65.

Contact Info:

• Website: marianapalova.info
• Instagram: marianapalova
• Twitter: marianapalova