All Episodes

April 23, 2022 11 mins

On this episode of Women Rule Web3, Kim Azzarelli speaks with Mercedes deBellard, a Spanish illustrator known worldwide for her colorful, expressive portraits, including those of legendary women. Now her latest NFT is part of The Seneca Women Equality Collection in partnership with Nifty Gateway, in which six amazing women artists represent their vision of equality. Learn more at senecawomen.com or follow on social media @senecawomen.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Hi. This is Malayan Vervier and this is Kim Azzarelli.
We are co authors of the book Fast Forward, How
Women can Achieve Power and Purpose, And you're listening to
Seneca's Conversations on Power and Purpose. Hey. Everyone, this is
Kim Azarelli and I am so excited to be hosting
this special edition Women Rule Web three. Now. The world

(00:29):
of Web three is moving so fast from the metaverse
to defy two NFTs. On this show, we'll break it
down for you through interviews with incredible leaders, experts, and artists. Today,
I'm speaking with Mercedes de Ballard. She's a digital illustrator
based in Spain. Renowned for her expressive portraiture. Mercedes specializes
in beautifully crafted illustrations filled with vibrant colors that have

(00:53):
really come to define her personal style. I sat down
with Mercedes to talk about her latest work. Here's what
she has to say. Well, Mercedes, thanks so much for
joining us. Hello, thank you, thank you very much for
inviting me. So we are really excited about the piece
that you've contributed. The two pieces you've contributed to The
Seneca Woman a quality collection and I can't wait to

(01:15):
talk about them. But I want to begin by asking
you a little bit about your background. You know, where
are you from and when did you realize you were
an artist? Well, I'm from Spain. I'm struct me from
the soap of Spain, from a little town, and I
used to be fine art when I was in university.

(01:39):
And from that I think I knew I was to
be an illustrator or an artist. And when did you
start getting into an fts? I know these were like yeah,
maybe last year and I was like, wow, this is
so big and different from I'm doing from this year.

(02:00):
So so I started to create my first NFT and
since now I'm here, Wow, Well, your artwork is just
incredible and the human face predominates in your work and
your images are extremely alive and engaging. How would you
describe your style and what are you trying to achieve

(02:22):
with these images? I think I would say it's quite realistic,
like I think it's obvious, but at the same time,
I like to mix h this portrait with some elements
that makes me maybe they image like more dreamlike elements,
like some some plans, something r natural to make like

(02:49):
a medical portrait. It's not just like the reality. I
like to add more things to them as though. I
love to you saturate colors that are great, like a
strong constist, and I think they give strength to the

(03:09):
today image. I love to think that they never leave
you indifferent. I know if I kind of explain myself
very well. Yes, And not only can you explain yourself well,
but I think you've achieved your goal because your art
is magical, so you do achieve that magic and that
dreamlike state, and you it is very difficult to leave indifferent.

(03:32):
So I feel like you've It's really interesting to hear
that that's your goal, because that is the effect it's
had on me. You've done a serious of portraits called Legends.
Who are some of the women in them? And why
did you pick them? Yeah? I Drew, Patty Smithson and
Gwenhouse and I drove them because, first of all, because

(03:55):
I love their music but me too, But it's also
because I think that they were and they are great
woman and great artists too, who made their own way
in the world of the music that I think it's
very difficult because almost there is a man world. It's

(04:15):
difficult for a woman to tune in this world. But
they make that very well and in different very of
all the history, so I think the three of them
was very would econ for the diployants, Yeah, no, you
picked amazing women. I love their work as well. We'll

(04:38):
be back after this break. And so you started getting
into NFTs. Obviously your a portrait artist, as a woman
and as an artist. What have you found the benefits
of being in the NFT world. I think I will
say that the most important is that you can create

(05:03):
your own words without any briefing at any direction, and
you can work with total freedom. So that's quite liberating
for any artist. I think so. But because most of
the time and all the DS I've been working like
an illustrato, I always have directions and very briefings, very

(05:29):
very tight, so you can never work like with your
total freedoms. So this is a great space to feel
like you can work or whatever you want. So that's
very good for an artist. Did you find a big
change in your career when you started getting into digital art? Oh?

(05:49):
I think so. For me, it's very recently because I
have been an illustrator for almost ten years ago, so
this is like a big change, and I think it's different,
of course, and I'm feeling now this, you know, this change. Yeah,

(06:11):
I mean it must be pretty amazing too. We've we've
actually interviewed a few other the other artists for the collection,
and you know, it's a pretty radical change in one's
life to be able to distribute globally, to not have
a middleman, as you said before, to have the creativity
and the space to do what you want. So I'm
sure it's pretty liberating and also just very different. Yes, exactly. Yes,

(06:37):
So for the collection, you really surprised us when we
saw the portrait of Ruth Bader Ginsberg, one of my
personal idols, which I'll tell you about in a minute,
But tell us what you wanted to convey and why
you chose RBG and what you were trying to convey
with that image. I'm first of all, I want to

(06:57):
say that I'm very happy because I was little thread
because I was I wasn't sure if you guys will
coppy with this, but I always want to draw the roof,
and I felt like that is the perfect occasion to
draw her because obviously I think this is a very

(07:18):
important eco in the woman's movement, right, so I thought
she's perfect for this projects to illustrate equalities. So I
think Okay, I'm going to draw her, and also as
I want to do my little tribute to her for
all her aptivements, and I think I thought, okay, I

(07:42):
have to draw her. Well, it's so personal to us
because we had Seneca women for many years have been
working with different women on the Supreme Court, Justice O'Connor,
Justice so of Mayor, and in fact Justice Ginsburg, and
about five or six years ago we had done a
tribute to Justice O'Connor, and because Justice Ginsburg was the

(08:05):
most senior female member of the Court, we had all
the four women Supreme Court justices together at that time,
which was they'd only been together a few times in
their entire tenure. And Justice Ginsburg gave the speech, and
then afterwards she wrote me a note which is one
of my prize possessions, which basically said, you know, there
are a few moments in your life that exceed your expectations,

(08:27):
and your tribute to Justice O'Connor exceeded mine. And I
literally wanted to put it under my pillow and sleep
on it every night. So when I saw your RBG image,
I really couldn't believe it. It really it brings everything
full circle. So thank you for that. Now, speaking of circles,
you also did an open addition for Seneca Women another image,

(08:50):
another beautiful portrait. Maybe you want to describe it, but
why did you choose this image of hands and the
wreath for the Seneca Women open edition item to create
another image that it wasn't a purchased So I have
these images in my head like a few hands two
can something that it forms a cycle and like for me,

(09:15):
it means like we need each other to build the
future we want. So it's more like the unity between
all of all of us and that we need each
other to create what we want. Yeah, that's I want
to create something beautiful and something that I don't know

(09:37):
if it's worked very well. It really does convey this
feeling of women supporting women and the feeling of unity.
I think you really achieved it, and we're so excited
because that at Peace we're going to make available to
anybody who wants to be part of the Seneca Women community,
and we're going to donate the proceeds of that of
the net proceeds of that piece to support women in

(09:59):
the Ukraine who really need our support right now. And
so I think your piece really illustrates what it means
for women to support other women and this unity that
could really change the trajectory of our future if women
could really continue to help each other in the ways
that we know we can. So thank you so much
for that. I think people are going to just love
to be part of that collective. You're welcomely, what's up

(10:20):
place for me? So well? This has been amazing to
have you part of the collection is truly an honor.
We have six incredible women artists and our listeners can
check it out at senecawomen dot com. These pieces will
be dropping on April twenty fifth at six thirty on
nifty Gateway, so come join us for one hour. We

(10:42):
will have the ability to participate and to buy this
incredible work. So Mercedes, thank you so much for joining us.
Thank you to you Kim for inviting me. And it
was really a place or for me. I love talking
with Mercedes. Her work is truly magical and we're so
delighted with the Seneca Women Open Edition piece that she's created.

(11:05):
Go to Seneca Women dot com to see her work
and the other amazing artists in the Seneca Women Equality
Collection and join us next time for Another Women Rule
Web three Conversation. Have a great day. You're listening to
Seneca Women Conversations on power and purpose, brought to you
by the Seneca Women Podcast Network and iHeartRadio with support

(11:28):
from founding partner of P and G. If you'd like
to join the Seneca Women Network, go to Seneca Women
dot com. There you'll get access to exclusive events and workshops,
plus updates on new podcasts and other opportunities to get involved.
Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

1. On Purpose with Jay Shetty

1. On Purpose with Jay Shetty

I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!

2. 24/7 News: The Latest

2. 24/7 News: The Latest

Today’s Latest News In 4 Minutes. Updated Hourly.

3. The Joe Rogan Experience

3. The Joe Rogan Experience

The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2024 iHeartMedia, Inc.