Author: Naomi Valdivia

Naomi Valdivia is an artist originally from the South Bay area of Los Angeles County, California. Growing up in a large house that was constantly under construction by her grandfather, using mismatched and often found materials heavily influenced her creative mind. There were always nooks and spaces to hide in and create different worlds from her imagination. Because there was no standard in her environment that looked normal, out of the box thinking was the baseline for her developing brain. Her younger education consisted of strict, evangelical Christian schools until she was dropped into Hollywood for high school at the Fairfax Visual Arts Magnet on Melrose Avenue. This was a culture shock that opened up a whole new world to her creatively, and it was then that she decided to continue her art education with a Bachelors of Fine Arts at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles. Meeting her husband in college, graduating, then having 3 kids while maintaining a career in graphic design and illustration, she has been quite busy with very little time to create as much personal art as she had originally planned. She has held positions in various areas in the field, including scientific, biomedical, patent illustration, label and package printing, and publishing. This career has spanned almost 20 years. She now resides in the Greater Phoenix area of Arizona, and is excited to work with Aurtistic Zine, as she has only recently discovered that she is on the spectrum. It took all of the time at home during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic, away from an office and people that she would constantly mask in front of, for her to be able to research and finally accept the fact that she is Autistic. At first, it was scary, but quickly became freeing. Her mission now is to help educate more people about what Autism actually means and includes; as it is such a broad spectrum, and no two Autistic minds are alike. To be able to combine her identity as an artist and an Autistic person, a truly Aurtistic individual, is extremely meaningful.

The Beauty of Doing Nothing

This post may seem like a a counter intuitive post, but let’s talk for a moment about the beauty, and even importance, of doing nothing. 

Modern society tells us in order to be successful we have to work nonstop. Taking breaks are signs of weakness. But I’m saying forget all that. When we need to take breaks, we need to take real breaks. And that doesn’t mean going on your phone and social media for half an hour. I’m talking about unplugging. Doing absolutely nothing. 

I just woke up from a long and unexpected nap and I don’t feel the least bit guilty about it. Yes, I have lots of work to catch up on, but without stopping when it is needed, we are much more likely to burn out; and then comes the crash and burn. 

Busy work can be done even when tired and burnt out. But if you are looking to go beyond busy work and past the rat race, you need as much of yourself as possible to be able to create that. Your well cannot be empty. Sometimes all it takes is a little bit of doing nothing to fill it up. 

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Screeching Halt. Shifting Gears.

Confession time. I’ve been putting myself last on the priority list again. I’ve been getting used to my new schedule and kicking ass at work, spending more time with the kids, being very productive. But I’ve been putting myself last. That always comes with weight gain. Got a new scale and was not pleased this morning. Screeching halt. Shifting gears. If I’m gonna be a great mom, I need to be a great ME, too.

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Grateful Heart

I’ve been posting less because I’ve been absorbing more. But I will be writing and creating more vlogs in the coming weeks now that I’ve arranged my schedule to free up some of my time.

Tonight I just wanted to share how grateful I am lately. I’ve truly been able to see with a clear heart how blessed I am. No matter what uncertainties life is throwing at me right now, there is still so much to be grateful for. And a grateful heart is a much healthier heart, not just in spirit, but literally and physically. 

All of you have at least 3 things to be grateful for. Try your best to let that gratitude take over your heart. With each heart beat, that grateful energy will improve your heart chakra. Any improvement in energy will help you, even during hard times.

Sleep well everyone. Sweet dreams, and peace. 

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Now I’m Craving Potato Pancakes!

Potato pancakes are kind of a big deal in many homes, and everyone has their own method. There’s a lot of speculation as to what goes into making a good pancake, and my guess is that’s because it’s easy to mess up such a seemingly simple dish. Too many eggs and your pancakes are rubbery; […]

via Potato Pancakes — The Domestic Man

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Awareness and Acceptance

The difference between those suffering from anxiety/depression, and those who are winning the fight from these dark shadows, is awareness and acceptance. Only when you are aware of the problem and accept the hard truths about it, can you then have a foundation to start from, to keep fighting another day, and to become victorious! 

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Gearing up for more in depth writing this weekend.

Hi everyone,

Thanks to everyone out there who wished me a happy birthday yesterday. I truly appreciate it!

I’m still recovering from being pretty sick, so I apologize for lacking in my posts. I wanted to let you all know that I’m going to focus on my health, and wrapping some loose ends up for the rest of the week, so I won’t be posting again for a few days.

This weekend, I’m taking some time off for myself, and get into a deeper mode of writing, so I can connect again with the Spirit (God, the universe, whatever you refer to the Divine as), and listen to what It has to say to me. I can’t wait to share my experiences and any messages I receive with all of you.

May you all have a wonderful rest of the week!

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