Meet Paulina Castro | Architect & Illustrator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Paulina Castro and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Paulina, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
Well, I guess it has been a journey for me.

At first, I didn’t have the clarity that I wanted to start a career on something creative. But once I decided to study graphic design and media arts, I was profoundly interested in every new technique that I was learning. I was so curious about knowing everything about design, and later I decided that I was also curious about space and habitability and started a second career in architecture. And every new topic I learned, I was so passionate to learn everything about it, and explore it as far as I could. So I started taking that to my different jobs, and it kept me fascinated by how all the things that I knew applied in the actual real fields. But then one day, I started to identify, that I was letting behind a lot of valuable aspects of my life because I was so focused on my passion and curiosity. So I started to learn how to enjoy another side of myself, besides who I was for my career.

And to be honest, at first, it was hard because I thought that I was letting behind time and opportunities to grow, but actually, it was the other way around. I grew up thinking that I had to be always focusing on developing skills and knowledge and improving myself every time. And after some time, I realized that the best way to stay focused is actually to leave behind your work to your work hours and to keep doing things that you enjoy. It is very fulfilling to get to know what things make you feel like yourself. And eventually, knowing that who you are, makes your career and your career doesn’t define you.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Well, actually it is funny because I didn’t expect this project to grow so much. At first, I created the Instagram of Eena Illustration, because I wanted to illustrate more. I have been trapped in this circle of starting a lot of illustrations and never-ending them because I thought that they weren’t ready, also at other times I could pass months without even drawing on my sketchbook.

So during the lockdown, I proposed myself to make this account to put on some discipline on me and started to illustrate every week and publish it, even if I thought that it was ready or not. I really believe that is better to have finished work than perfect. And eventually, it had a lot of acceptance for friends who started asking me to make some workshops to teach them how to illustrate. Then after that, I was asked to do some exhibitions and workshops collaborating with other projects. And even started selling my art and teaching at some universities.

But also, this helped me to know a lot about myself and my creative process. I think that I like to view illustration more as a tool than as a final product. I have learned that what I love the most is making visual representations of information. Even though I really enjoy the process of illustrating, what actually fulfills me is to represent a subject that is very complex, to make it easy to understand for everyone.

I also think that it is very important what we want to express with our art. I believe that representation is essential in our times, we need to see more women in architecture and leaderships, more diversity in LGBTQ+ humans and different kinds of cultures, we need all of these as common protagonists of art. I truly believe what that we express in any of the creative fields sums to make a little change, even if we feel that it is irrelevant or minuscule.

So it started without expecting anything more than helping myself to be better at my illustrations and has opened me a lot of opportunities. I am very glad to have started this project, I am very happy and thankful for it. It just takes a first step.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Uff, i really love being a host. I think that in the morning, I’ll take them to do some tracking in the Nixticuil forest. I really love walking up there with friends, my partner, and my dog. And after that, we would go to have breakfast at Sinonimo Café, which is a local coffee shop. It has my favorite chilaquiles and a very good selection of coffee.

I really love seeing art at museums and galleries and i think Guadalajara has a lot of variety of these, we could visit a lot of them. Maybe for lunch, we can go to Jamaica Cafe and Records, which is a vegetarian restaurant and have also a vinyl record store. I enjoy a good meal accompanied by good music.

Also we could go on a small road trip and go to visit Sayulita Beach, which is a couple of hours away, to rest, eat seafood and have a swim on the beach. And finally, I will definitely make them dinner at home. Me and my partner really love to cook together for friends and prepare some pasta, dessert, and drinks for everyone.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I strongly believe that all humans need a support net, we are nothing without our community. I have arrived to this point of my life because I surround myself with great people that provide support and advice. I’ll be nothing without my family, my partner, my friends and my dog. Every person that I have a bond with, have taught me a little of them and that helps me grow. But definitely, I would never have started this journey without the love and support of my Mom who was the first that made me feel that I could achieve whatever I put my mind on.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eena.ilustracion/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pcastrov/

Image Credits
Renata Santana is the photographer of my profile picture.