The Beautiful Flowing Designs of Mele de la Yglesia
Mele de la Yglesia is an artist, designer, and illustrator from Spain. She talked to us about her art and her joys.
Mele de la Yglesia is a Spanish artist. Scowling through her website is both fascinating and breathtaking. Her designs are full of life and harmonious shapes. Colorful or black and whites, the elegance and the wonder of it are captivating. The multiplicity of designs working and living together is riveting. You find yourself following the lines, engrossed in the general picture in front of you, and at the same time looking for every specificity and trying to work out how everything finds everything else, all of it with this overall harmonious and intricate sensation.
A beautiful balance of shapes
Her designs are pencils and coloring, murals, or tattoos. You can see her lines on water bottles and entire walls, inside frames on the wall, or on a pillow on the couch.
“It was something that always brought me to a calm state, and nowadays, to spend time drawing or creating is where I feel safe and happy”
“I love to spend time drawing colorful abstract landscapes inspired by nature elements, and using these elements all together in a harmonic way to create a beautiful balance of shapes flowing on the surface” explains Mele. “I use black ink on paper, digital tools for many of my colorful drawings, and since last year, I also draw on human skin! I just started tattoos and I’m really loving it”.
When asked about her journey to art, Mele starts with childhood. “Since I was a kid, I have spent most of my time drawing. It was something that always brought me to a calm state, and nowadays, to spend time drawing or creating is where I feel safe and happy”. You can see that in her design, the peaceful lines, the harmony, the curves, and the dynamism of the movements.
When she thinks about her journey and the hardships of the art world, Mele doesn’t see it at all. “This is what I do best. For me, it was always flowing easily, it was never hard. I am very thankful to everyone who was there to support my career from the very beginning. Many people cannot follow their dreams because their families do not agree with it. It was definitely NOT my case” she reflects.
Some quiet place, with natural light
She is incredibly grateful to spend her life as an artist, to be able to do what she loves, on a daily basis. For her, this is her biggest accomplishment. And this is not some small feat. The early years were difficult, it was frustrating to invest so much without receiving back. It makes it all the more valuable now.
When asked about inspiration, Mele is enthusiastic and energized: “It’s everywhere, in so many different places! But for me, to channel it, I always have to be in some quiet place, with natural light, or in a beautiful and tidy room with some meditation music”.
I love the fact that I get to spend most of my time in this creative state
Right now, she spends most of her time taking care of her one-year-old daughter. But usually, she spends hours on end at her studio, finding new projects and new challenges, working on her art. She balanced her art life and family life well, with the kids, some sport, good sleep. “When I think about it, it almost sounds too good to be true sometimes” she smiles.
The best job in the world
When talking to her, you are really hit by how thankful and appreciative she is. “What I love the most about being an artist, is the fact that my JOB is to create beautiful things. I love that I get to spend most of my time in this creative state. It also gives me the time and space to be constantly questioning reality, my own perspective of things”. She gets to conclusions that, in the end, makes her reflect and express herself in a harmonic way “so people feel like they can identify with it, or feel touched by it”.
That’s why when talking about the future, Mele hopes for keeping up with what she’s doing, “but on a bigger scale. I would like to be able to reach more people’s lives, to bring them joy through my illustrations or designs, or maybe through a beautiful tattoo. I definitely want to keep learning tattoo and go deeper into this wonderful experience of working together with people to decorate their bodies”.
As parting advice to other women out there on the artistic path, Mele is encouraging: “Go for it! We have only this one life and opportunity, use it to express yourself and to enjoy it!”
