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I have been seeing Corina’s mystical, dark digital illustrations all over the spirituality oriented Instagram profiles for a while, until finally my curiosity got a hold of me and I had to find out who was creating those magical astrology-inspired artworks that had some almost “sacred” flavour to them. Precision and harmony of sacred geometry with added personal touch of a modern female creatrix - that’s how I’d describe Corina’s magical work. I feel so blessed that she said ‘yes’ to sharing some of her story and behind-the-scenes with us and gave us some valuable pieces of advice on how we can continue to grow as creative women and artists, how we can stay consistent in nurturing our Creative Flow, which is never to be taken for granted or dismissed, as it is there where our Sacred Feminine Life Force resides. Enjoy the interview, goddesses!  For the start, can you tell us a bit about Cocorrina, how it all came about and where the name comes from? Cocorrina was born in 2012 when I first opened a blogspot blog. It was my first endeavour to get out of my comfort zone and inspire myself to be little more creative. I was born in Russia but at a very young age I moved to Greece and today I live with my husband and son in the Kefalonia Island. I originally studied architecture but very soon I realised that my heart belonged to the graphic design world. Having taken a few graphic design classes in college, I found myself taking online lessons to learn Illustrator and coding while I was in bed for months after an 8 hour surgery. It was the most difficult but at the same time the most transformative thing that ever happened to me. Cocorrina today is a design studio / company that my husband and I co-own. Me and my team work on all kinds of projects from branding to packing, website and book design. The newest project I’m working on is the Cocorrina shop where I share my inspiration about the mystical cosmos, magical history and symbols in an artistic way. While Cocorrina started as an inspirational design blog, it never stopped inspiring me until this day. People have always been a huge part of it, and with their encouragement and love I took bigger and bigger steps with it every year. Cocorrina is a word play of my name Corina and my nickname Coco.  Do you remember how your passion for visual expression firstly revealed itself to you? Everyone around me knew I'd become an artist since the age of 5. I would express everything I needed to communicate with others in artistic way. Whether that was drawing my thoughts or creating collages. I was always better with explaining myself through art rather than words. What about the practices and rituals that help you enter that "flow state" while creating - do you have some of your own that you follow? My mind is all I need. Everything I need in order to get inspired and get the creative juices flowing is already in me! All I need is to visualise what I need to work on, get into that mood and by designing I get more and more inspired.
Give us a little insight into your creative space! Silence or some background music? Cozy home environment or among other people? Crystals, candles, essential oils or something of a kind? Always home alone, with candles and preferably a relaxed background music. Something mystical and oriental / ethereal. Low lights, a few sparkles and stars here and there. I love my space to feel like a magical altar to make me feel special and sacred. There's always so much talk about "creator's block". Do you think we should fight it and push through it or instead surrender and trust that there's a divine timing for everything? I find myself having a creative block only when I'm not creating enough, or when the project just doesn't inspire me. For the second one, I do my best to ask the right questions in order to avoid not working with people who are not right for me. As for the creative block I don't usually have them these days. I feel that the less time I have the more methodical, productive and focused I become, and time is a rare thing these days. I simply don't have it! The times I've found myself in a creative block however, I always needed space. Take a walk, watch a movie, think and do something else in order to get back to it later and think differently about the issue.  As we all know, everything in this Universe goes through cycles and so does our inspiration. How do you deal with ebbs and flows in your creative journey? Honestly I always go with the flow. I feel like if I push myself too hard then I'd just burn myself and feel distraught about it. Always go with the flow and listen to the Universe. Where do you seek inspiration when you feel your "juices go dry"? Old books of magic ahah or just look around me! We can find inspiration in the simplest things. From a squiggle my son drew on my desk or a weird looking cloud on the sky. The more you create the more you are inspired and your juices never go dry. The more you think and observe and fill your head with creative ideas the more you want to put them into art.  Are you of belief that ideas have an intrinsic value to themselves or it's just through channeling them into the physical form that they gain value? That is a very interesting question. Can i answer both? I don't feel like all my ideas need to take a physical form in order for them to exist. But at the same time I always have that itch where if I don't put that idea into a physical form then it will feel like I never experienced it and it will slip away. What about self-doubt and fear of putting your work out there? Do you have some experience with that? It never existed. I started at a very young age (20 at that time) and I opened a blog named Cocorrina on blogspot and just like everyone with zero followers. The blog was a way for me to be inspired by others and to show my works and I was never shy about it even if it looked hideous and experimental. I just wanted to put it there and be better the next day. I haven't stopped since then, almost ten years now.
Do you have any advice to young artists hiding in their cocoon until reaching "the point of perfection" (or more accurately - their idea of what that is) before showing their work to the world? Don't do it. We never will feel like we will reach the point of perfection. Art isn't about being perfect it's about how it makes us and others feel. So you'll never create any emotions if you don't share your work with the world. Every day will make you feel less perfect and more authentic and happy. Seeing the process of creation as a birthing of a kind - do you feel you have an emotional connection to your previous works? Nope! I'm a very emotional person -being a Pisces- but I'm more emotional with memories and relationships and kittens and puppies rather than physical things. I could throw away my most treasured object in a heartbeat and I feel the same way about my previous (personal) works. I do love them all and remember all the memories and phases of my life behind them, it's like a photo album of my life. But at the same time I'm not emotional at all. They could seize to exist and I'd be happy for everything I've learned and gained by creating them.
 How would you distinct art vs. design and do you feel that drawing a sharp line between the two creates unnecessary separation and tension in the art/design community? Yes. Art is art. I could put a rock on top of a feather and feel like it's art. Again, it's how it makes me feel and the emotions/thoughts it will create to others no matter the form or the tool. If it makes people wonder how a rock balances on a feather or if it makes them feel awe that it defies gravity then to me that is art.   Click here to edit. For the end - what would be your advice for a young artist struggling to find their own personal style? Create more, create daily, experiment and go through aaaaall the different styles that are out there. Look up to designers that you like their work, observe their work and experiment, experiment, experiment. I had to go through so many different aesthetics in these past years that i feel that i've done it all until i found what truly makes me happy and express in full everything that i feel inside me. CURRENT FAVOURITES LIST movie / The Secret Life of Walter Mitty song / Soft Universe book / Journey of Souls by Michael Newton crystal / Amethyst quote / “Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” - Alice in Wonderland ✦ CONNECT WITH CORINA ✦ 
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