Cultivating Creativity with Marisol Ortega

For our latest limited-release kombucha, Crisp Apple, we partnered with talented artist Marisol Ortega to create a label that captures the dynamic flavor through her creative illustrations. We couldn’t love the results more! Get to know Marisol a bit through this artist interview and be sure to check out more of her work at marisolortega.com.

Tell us a bit about yourself! 

My name is Marisol Ortega, I’m a Mexican-American illustrator/designer living in Tacoma, WA. I draw a lot of vibrant flora and fauna and love to play with texture, linework, bold color palette, and throwing in a little mix of my cultures. 

How long have you been a full-time artist?

I have been freelancing full time for 2.5 years now. It’s been a bit of a wild ride but I really enjoy working on a variety of products with all my clients. 

Where do you gather inspiration for your art?

Most of it is from childhood memories or my daughter. She’s an amazing little artist and I love her sense of color play. But if we’re talking plants, I love looking at old gardening books of shrubs, foraging and flora. I love packaging design as well so I tend to shop around vintage stores for goodies. 

What's the best piece of advice you've ever received as an artist? 

To make sure I don’t lose myself in my work. I sometimes forget I don’t just do this for a living but it’s a passion of mine. Making sure I make time for exploration, drawing for myself and playing with new techniques is super important. I have to remember to block out time otherwise it gets consumed with client work. Also, from the business side of being an artist—hiring an accountant.

What do you do to pull yourself out of a creative rut? 

I look at a lot of textile books, old gardening books, really anything that is out of my line of work. Sometimes I’ll knit to break the rut or the best medicine for me is to garden and be outside. A change of scenery is always nice and refreshing. Sometimes it takes days but with a little push, I always come back around and get inspired by something I saw. 

Do you have a favorite piece you've created?

One of my favorite pieces I’ve created this past year was the one I did for charity for Heartwork: An Art Benefit for Target House. The prompt for the piece was based on “hope” and I chose to draw my daughter and I in the form of geese. She called it “goosey love” and was somewhat art directing the piece. I love this piece for that reason, collaborating with her is always so much fun. 

Are you a kombucha fan? What's your favorite flavor and why do you love it?

Yes! Anything with a zing to it, usually lemon, ginger and mango do the trick. 

What's your favorite expression of art?

I love drawing with an inky brush pen but a close second is watercolor.