![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/7pics\/2017\/04\/Madeline-Zuluaga-four-elements-for-websiteuse.jpg\")
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\nToday, because it’s the first Sunday of the month (happy April!), I’ve got a student illustrator here at 7-Imp. Her name is Madeline Zuluaga<\/a><\/strong>, and she shares both art and words this morning. <\/p>\n
Madeline sent me some specific images for this post, but I also got her permission to share some other pieces of artwork from her website — in order to see more of her range. She let me pick what I want for those images, and I thank her. <\/p>\n
Let’s get right to it so that we can hear more from her and see some more art. If you want to see even more from Madeline, her Tumblr is here<\/a><\/strong>, and you can see more art here<\/a><\/strong> on Instagram. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Madeline<\/font><\/strong>: When my sister was a kid, she had a Madeline rag doll from Ludwig Bemelmans\u2019<\/a><\/strong> children\u2019s books. She loved that doll so much she asked my mom to name me Madeline. She honored my sister\u2019s pure request; I became Madeline. Since I\u2019m Spanish, my name is pronounced as Mad-a-lynn. This differed from the pronunciation in the iconic \u201cI\u2019m Madeline!\u201d song from the famous animated series. The cartoon girl and I pronounced our names differently, despite the same spelling, but her song\u2019s message—I was very small, but inside I felt tall—was me all the same. 1)<\/strong><\/font> My best friend, who lives and works in Japan now, surprise-visited me for my birthday in early March! There were lots of happy tears.<\/p>\n 2)<\/strong><\/font> Having such lovely friends who are so thoughtful.<\/p>\n 3)<\/strong><\/font> I have a table at MoCCA<\/a><\/strong>! J-284 — it\u2019s from April 1-2, so if you see this on time on Sunday, I hope to see you there, hahaha. <\/p>\n 4)<\/strong><\/font> I had stickers and prints made to sell, and I\u2019m so happy they printed beautifully.<\/p>\n 5)<\/strong><\/font> My Kerasco\u00ebt Paper Dolls book my boyfriend got me for my birthday.<\/p>\n 6)<\/strong><\/font> Playing around with filming equipment to make art videos.<\/p>\n 7)<\/strong><\/font> So happy and humbled to be here. Thanks, Jules!<\/p>\n All images used by permission of Madeline Zuluaga.<\/em><\/p>\n Note for any new readers: 7-Imp\u2019s 7 Kicks is a weekly meeting ground for taking some time to reflect on Seven(ish) Exceptionally Fabulous, Beautiful, Interesting, Hilarious, or Otherwise Positive Noteworthy Things from the past week, whether book-related or not, that happened to you. New kickers are always welcome.<\/p>\n 1)<\/strong><\/font> I’m grateful my family and I can pull off vacations every now and then. <\/p>\n 2)<\/strong><\/font> While in California this past week, we got to spend two days with two excellent friends, Tanita and David. <\/p>\n 3)<\/strong><\/font> We spent most of our time near the ocean. The ocean makes me happy. <\/p>\n 4)<\/strong><\/font> But then we headed into the desert. Joshua Tree is gorgeous. <\/p>\n 5)<\/strong><\/font> But even more gorgeous were the stars at night at Joshua Tree. HOLY WOW, you all. <\/p>\n 6)<\/strong><\/font> On our trip, I devoured Mohsin Hamid’s<\/a><\/strong> Exit West<\/a><\/strong><\/em>. So good. <\/p>\n 7)<\/strong><\/font> Home!<\/p>\n BONUS)<\/strong><\/font> This is the second time a visiting illustrator has shared her own kicks. I love it. <\/p>\n What are YOUR<\/font><\/strong> kicks this week? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Today, because it’s the first Sunday of the month (happy April!), I’ve got a student illustrator here at 7-Imp. Her name is Madeline Zuluaga, and she shares both art and words this morning. Madeline sent me some specific images for this post, but I also got her permission to share some other pieces of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-seven-good-things-before-monday","category-picture-books"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4310"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4310\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/7pics\/2017\/04\/madeline-zuluaga---inktober-day-19use.jpg\")
\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/7pics\/2017\/04\/madeline-zuluaga---inktober-24use.jpg\")
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\nA smile settled on my face thinking about this sweet family moment. Named after a children\u2019s book character, trying to create worlds for children now, it felt like my name was an unintentional purpose unraveling itself as I accepted its fate.
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\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/7pics\/2017\/04\/Madeline-zuluaga---inktober-7-edited-for-websiteuse.jpg\")
\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/7pics\/2017\/04\/Madeline-Zuluaga--when-the-rules-aren't-right-example-pg.7use.jpg\")
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\nLate into my college career at School of Visual Arts<\/a><\/strong>, I realized I wanted to be a storyteller. Subconsciously, I knew, but I\u2019d put the feeling aside, because the college I went to focused heavily on editorial illustration. It was not to say that teachers were not encouraging the dormant storyteller in me. Teachers would tell me: \u201cDraw what you want! Don\u2019t draw what you think illustration should be.\u201d I didn\u2019t listen. I kept trying to figure out what my teachers “really” wanted or do what the art world was ooo\u2019ing and aww\u2019ing about.
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\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/7pics\/2017\/04\/tumblr_oeacqgqTVL1s3hehyo1_540use.jpg\")
\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/7pics\/2017\/04\/forpostuse.jpg\")
\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/7pics\/2017\/04\/forpost2use.jpg\")
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\nThere\u2019s this long period of being lost after you graduate. I was lucky enough to have had illustration\/comic work to occupy me during the summer. However, no one really speaks about this period of wandering. It\u2019s a state of limbo and drifting that traps you in an insecure place. Questions of doubt come in: How will I make money? Why did I choose this career? Was that one job just a fluke?<\/em> During this time, I realized it\u2019s best to just work your way out of it. I started from scratch; I went back to my roots. I grew up loving anime. I put its influences back in my art. I loved silly animals, so I drew my animals extra funny-looking. I stopped concerning myself over what I thought illustration should be or what teachers said I should do. What I was excited about and loved was watercolors, capybaras, and vegetables.
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\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/7pics\/2017\/04\/Madeline-Zuluaga-Acorn-Capybara-resizeduse.jpg\")
\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/7pics\/2017\/04\/Madeline-Zuluaga-Capybara-and-its-turnip-umbrella-resizeduse.jpg\")
\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/7pics\/2017\/04\/Madeline-Zuluaga-Capybaras-Bug-Hunting-resizeduse.jpg\")
\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/7pics\/2017\/04\/Madeline-Zuluaga-Kotatsu-Capybaras-resizeduse.jpg\")
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\nI put these interests to work in David Soman\u2019s children\u2019s book class. I created a story about a turnip girl and her turnip family who had to emigrate to new land aboard their capybara friend. I named it Capybara Ferry<\/em>. My mom\u2019s immigration story and the immigrant community I was surrounded by in New York City inspired it. The resilience this community had was beautiful. I wanted to put their vividness in my own characters and story, especially during a time when they are being attacked and targeted. This project was one of the first long-term endeavors I was proud of and influenced the future direction in my art.
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\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/7pics\/2017\/04\/Madeline-Zuluaga-Capybara-ferry-lineup-resizeduse.jpg\")
\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/7pics\/2017\/04\/ZuluagaMAdeline_Capybara-Ferry_1_PM-resizeduse.jpg\")
\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/7pics\/2017\/04\/Zuluagamadeline_Capybara-Ferry_2_PM-resizeduse.jpg\")
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\nIn drawing what I love once again, putting aside that instinctual desire to please everyone, art-making became fulfilling again. My goal as of now: I want my work to leave a smile on someone\u2019s face. I hope my work and stories reach those that need repose from their struggles. I definitely want to be that artist who makes work a person finds comfort and happiness from. I\u2019ll keep working hard to reach and go beyond this point.
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\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/7pics\/2017\/04\/Madeline-Zuluaga-Me-kent-paper-experimentuse.jpg\")
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\nMy seven kicks!<\/p>\n
<\/center><\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/7pics\/2017\/04\/exitwestcover.jpg\")
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