Eulalia Mejia, also known as Happy Chinchilla across the internet, is an illustrator, graphic designer, artist, teacher and maker of stuff,  living in the rural mountains of Colombia, South America, with her dog, two cats and human boyfriend.

Eulalia started exploring mixed media and fell head over heels for the freedom it offers; the possibility to go from one technique to another means there is always something new to learn. Her first approach to this world happened when she started creating and altering small books where she would play with newly learned techniques and color combinations, often using weird and whimsical characters as her main subject. 

Most days, you can find Eulalia in her studio creating. Her interests encompass a wide variety of creative projects like doll making, embroidery, bookbinding, mixed media painting, collage, and art journaling. When she is not in her studio, she enjoys riding her bicycle through the mountains and watching horror movies while hiding under the cushions.

“My dream is to bring a little cheer to daily life by designing playful illustrations for fun-loving people. I truly believe that we are never too old to be amazed by everyday life, surrounding ourselves with beauty is a great way to remind us there can be magic in the world.”

Website ★ Instagram ★ Facebook

What do you wish you had known at the beginning of your creative journey? 

Creating for the sake of creating is alright! 

It took me a long time to understand that I didn’t need a final product in mind to create that; I could just open a page in my sketchbook and start playing with my supplies without any reason. I’ve understood that I don’t need an excuse to create. I can make stuff just because I feel like it. Once I acknowledged that creating made me happy, I felt completely free to try different creative endeavors. I stopped feeling the pressure to produce something good or nice or polished, which freed my mind to enjoy the creative process.

Tell us about your journey to claim the title artist. 

For some reason, the title artist creates a sense of expectation in me that I should be creating great things and not just fooling around with paints. Artist sounds like a solemn title in my mind, and I’m not serious when I create, I like to play and experiment and see what would happen if I did something I haven’t tried before. So, I am still on the journey to claiming the title artist. But here’s the thing, I know I am an artist: I create art; therefore, I am an artist, but I’m not ready to carry the tile on my back yet.

Tell us about your journey to become an artist. 

My brain is wired in a way that always comes up with ideas, so I’ve always been creating, making stuff and experimenting with different substrates. During high school, I used to play with markers, pens and India ink and trace letters from lettering manuals to create birthday signs for my agenda, which doubled as a sketchbook. I studied graphic design and, after graduating, worked as an in-house graphic designer. Right now, I work as a freelance illustrator. During all this time, I’ve kept sketchbooks. These sketchbooks served as my art journals, where I would document everyday happenings and thoughts with doodles and drawings. At some point, I realized I wanted to learn how to better use physical tools to express myself, so I started taking online classes and experimenting with different techniques. I’m still learning and trying things out, and I think this journey will never end, I will always be on the path of knowledge and experimentation.

How do you keep your creative practice fresh and inspired?

Inspiration can be everywhere, so I keep taking photos of interesting things: an unusual color combination on a sidewalk or an interesting composition in a book. At a later time, I will replicate in my sketchbook the color combination or composition or whatever it was that piqued my interest. I like to be open to the idea that there is beauty everywhere and that it is up to me to find it. So, keeping my eyes open to the world keeps my practice fresh and inspired.

You can find Eulalia's workshop Dreamscapes HERE