Life Updates and Stuff from 1/3rd of Team CoZi

Hello! Gina here. It’s been a while since anyone at Team CoZi has made a blog post. We’ve all done so much for it being the second pandemic year (ugh!) so I’m proud of us.

Looking back at our first blog post and my vision boards, I feel really happy with what I have done this year. I think my art skills have leveled up quite a bit and I’m ready to tell new stories and make some good comics. I’ve also been doing healing work and that process has helped me overcome a lot of doubt when it comes to making art. I’ve deepened a lot of friendships and they fill my heart with joy. Now I just want to make art to make my friends laugh and to make people happy.

I took an online digital painting class with OC Arts Studio this year and it really helped me with my digital art skills. I highly recommend the classes if you want to improve your art or if you feel stuck. It really revived my creativity and motivation. If anyone reading this is interested, I will post a link down below so that you can read more about OC Arts Studios and what they offer.

I went on a bunch of hikes with Nicole and friends and it’s been so fun and grounding to spend time in nature and get some fresh air. It was one of the highlights of my year. On my birthday in November, I went on a hike with their crew and they surprised me with cupcakes. I’ll never forget that.

I have maintained a 413 Day Streak in Duolingo as well. I’m still embarrassed to speak Spanish because I’m always put on the spot. I try to speak it with my mom or just sprinkle the Spanish words into my English sentences to help me remember or to get used to the pronunciation. That being said, this is an open invitation for anyone who knows me to feel free to try to speak Spanish with me :) I’ll do my best

Lastly, Team CoZi and I hosted a zine-making hangout at the Sahara Library on November 20th. It was so much fun to hang around people and see what everyone made. We are all taking the month of December to try to rest, but we are planning our next hangout as soon as we can. Happy Holidays and remember to be good to each other :)

Follow me on Instagram: instagram.com/artofgina

OC Arts Studios: https://larissamarantz.com/oc-art-studios.html

My Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheArtofGina

Visit Instagram.com/Trans_Vegas to give directly to Trans people in Vegas

Help pay for therapy services for marginalized people in Las Vegas https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-therapy-sponsor

Our First CoZi dot com Blog Post of 2021 (and first ever blog post) about our Vision Boards

Hello and welcome to our first blog post! The three of us from Team CoZi wrote about our vision board process and our 2021 goals. Hope you enjoy! Feel free to share some of your goals in the comments as well ❤️

Gina (@artofgina on IG)

I have a lot of anxiety about starting. I know myself well enough to know that I need to be brave in order to speak my goals into existence. I’m very avoidant and I will put off doing important tasks that I know will help me invest in myself. So here I am speaking my goals into existence! It took me a small amount of bravery in order to do these vision boards. I get nervous thinking about the future and there’s always this thought in the back of my head that it’s too late for me to do any of these things. Well I’m writing this to tell that feeling to shut it!

Throughout the month of December 2020, I heard a lot of talk about vision boards and setting intentions. The year of 2020 gave me a lot of time to reflect on myself, so what better way to motivate myself than to make one of these things? I made my first vision board over Zoom with Jean and Nicole. I used whatever I had, like an extra pamphlet I had from Comic Arts LA (circa 2018) and stickers and some issues of Las Vegas Weekly, hehe. 

I know what you’re thinking, it’s not great! That’s why I made other vision boards after this. 

I made this Vision Board below on Canva. I remembered that there was some cute clipart on Canva and I thought, “Cool! I don’t have to make a big giant pile of mess in my room!” and made this one below. I printed this one up and put it on the corkboard in front of my drawing desk. 

I think this one is much more clear than my first vision board attempt. I really sat down and thought of what my goals are and ~visualized~ them.

I made this mini zine to solidify some of my core goals for the year 2021. I’m including this as a vision board because I can do what I want! I’m going to break down each goal that’s on this page. 

• Pushing myself with my art skills includes drawing every day. Admittedly, I’m not as consistent with this as I’d like to be. I want to get better at so many things, but it will probably take me some time to narrow down what I want to strengthen. It’s also important to add that I’m back in school for Graphic Design, so I am learning some skills that are really helping me narrow down my goals with my art. Learning the language of graphic design has also helped me switch up my process and techniques for coming up with designs. I want to design more prints, pinback buttons (I got myself a button maker that I need to use more!), stickers, and maybe even shirts! Which brings me to my next goal. 

• I want to start an etsy store! I’ve found a few shops I like just by browsing virtual zine fests and it gave me the idea to start one up. I’d like to create a zine compiled of some personal comics to include in the shop, since I haven’t made a  zine that isn’t a one page fold mini zine in a while. I’m a bit nervous about starting an etsy because I feel like I’m taking up space when there are better, more deserving creators out there. 

• I’m trying to read more this year! I’m gonna set a modest goal of 20 books and yes that will include graphic novels. I’m currently reading Mexican Gothic and you can follow me on goodreads.com/artofgina if GoodReads is your thing! I’m just using it to track my reading, but I’d love to see what everyone else is reading! 

• Taking better care of myself includes drinking LESS coffee and taking better care of my body. Also feel like it’s pretty self explanatory so I’ll move on.

• I want to try new things! These can be art-related or not. Hiking is definitely on the list (but nothing too intense because I am baby) and so is roller skating. I’d like to write some short stories and play around with original characters. Some other art-related things I wanted to try are paper-making and screen-printing if I have time.

• My biggest goal at the moment is boundaries. There’s a lot of ways this can be applied in my life, but I will say a lot of my goals are hinging on boundaries and listening to my own wants and needs. I’m a big people-pleaser.

I didn’t put this in any of my vision boards, but I’ve also been learning Spanish and I’ve got a 100-day streak in Duolingo! I’d like to practice with friends and family, too but I gotta get over my fear of messing up. Post-Covid, I’d love to be able to go to Mexico to see my family out there and be able to speak Spanish to my non-English speaking family.

Jean (@jeanbeanmarie on IG)

I was a non vision board believer. I’d been doing zines and identifying as an artist, so automatically creating art is a norm and sometimes I forget the value my art makes on me versus when I serve and do art for others.

2020 made me really reevaluate my health and make time for it. High blood pressure is in the forefront of my mind. While I counted down the days to make vision boards with two sets of my favorite circles (NEW Leadership Nevada Alum and the Co-Zi team), I quietly drew with my highlighters the things I aspired for. This practice made me believe in a future after living through 2020. I still had so much life I wanted to live!

Phase 1 was a doodle vision board. See below.

Two days after Christmas, I met up with Cariela Santana and the wonderful leaders in NEW Leadership Nevada. Cariela did a talk, meditation, encouraged turning off phone devices, and helped us map out our biggest dreams before cutting anything up. We loved it and I was able to place my intentions in my new planner.

Phase 2 was a planner vision board. See below.

By my last vision board meet up and seeing my affirmations take different forms, I spent my time with Co-Zi making a business card size vision board. Had reminders of taking care of myself, building my business, and owning my voice. I drink water all day and see these affirmations often.

Phase 3 business card vision board, laminated to stand the test of time.

This taught me that art is healing and powerful. This taught me to mend feelings about being an imposter through tiny acts of improvement. And most of all, it taught me to live past 2021 on my own terms/timeline through a myriad of designs.

Nicole (@colesmcgee on IG)

I’ve never made a vision board before, but Jean and Gina bullied me into it. Just kidding. I let my imposter syndrome give me another reason to put off completing a grad school application. Already a not-so-good way to manifest THEMifest these visions into fruition. Oops! (Don’t worry: the application is in.)

My vision board is made from a page of a Post-It brand mini easel pad, old magazines, catalogs, scrap comic books, cuter selections from my gross collection of #hustleculture #bossbitch #girlboss BUJO stickers, washi tape, and a Dymo label maker.

Idk if you’re supposed to be hella intentional when making a vision board (oops). I approached it like a collage of shit I’m into. Not gonna lie: it’s kind of chaotic. Silver Linings Gaybook™: when I look at it, I’m gonna remind myself to be less chaotic and to be more mindful about the things I want to do.

Level Up Me Butch: aka do more #HomoImprovement projects, learn how to use different power tools, weld something, build something, etc. Don’t @ me about gendering the practice of building things.

• Moar Nerd Shit: I wanna learn how to Dungeon Y Dragon. Sidenote: my wife/Co-Zi’s webmistress hella also put DnD on hers without seeing mine...because we’re gross.

• Get Vibes In Check: I want to begin a decolonized spiritual practice because I’m a recovering Mormon.

• Reading and Music for Funsies: I’m already doing this (Mandalorian insert-reader fanfiction is WILD and I’m HERE FOR IT), but want to incorporate more zines.

• Self Care Shit: sleep as much as my body needs, drink more water, take baths...outside in a stock tank pool...that maybe Heather will be into.

Webmistress Heather also made her own vision board AND THEN we made one together...because we’re GROSS.

We have ours taped on the outside of our closet door for practical AND intentional reasons: the boards adhere better to the door than onto our walls. And the location is perfect for reminding us about the things we want to get into — separately and together. GROSS.