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About Us
My name is Valeria,
I was born in Santiago, Chile in 1954.
From childhood I have been gifted with creativity in different
forms, the strongest of which has been the expression
of color. It is my passion.
My father entered one of my oil paintings in a competition
for adult artists. My painting won the first prize of
a valuable Oriental vase, but being twelve years old I
wanted chocolates instead. I have come to appreciate the
prize now.
I thank my father for his constant encouragement in those
early years.
I studied art at Bellas Artes, Universidad de Chile in
Santiago and Architecture at the Las Condes Institute
in Santiago, but the political unrest in the country interrupted
my education. I spent the next twenty years living and
traveling in six other countries in South America, and
also visited many countries around the world.
I worked at a variety of jobs including, management position
at an International School, teaching languages (French
and Spanish), accounting, translation, designing and finishing
custom furniture. For seven years I ran a dairy farm in
Venezuela and also managed a Tourism company specializing
in Mountaineering and Paragliding (I brought great order
to their chaos). Through the company I was able to visit
rain forests, beautiful high altitude lakes and glaciers,
all of which have inspired my art. I also learned to paraglide
which offered me spectacular views from above.
My travels, work experience and exposure to new cultures
have influenced my art. One consistent comment I receive
is, "How can one person produce such a variety of
work?" My reply is "I have only just begun."
I feel so much more is waiting to be expressed through
me and I do not want to be limited to any one style.
For as long as I can remember I have had a longing to
reach out with love to both adults and children through
my art.
I created some very simple cards in 2001. Inspired by
their success I produced this collection of animated cards.
They represent heartfelt feelings and I hope they bring
moments of joy in our busy days.
My dear husband, Alistair, a wonderfully supportive and
loving man (I am a big fan) saw the possibility of this
artistic expression and created a platform to start the
project. Much to his surprise, it also sparked his creativity
to come up with ideas for cards. We have worked together
for the past six months to bring the whole project to
fruition.
I hope you enjoy the cards.
In 2005 I will offer a link to my art web site so you
can view my paintings. I am very excited by this prospect.
Alistair,
wears many different hats in this project.
He has organized the business side of clearlycute.com
as well as created cards.
I was impressed by his determination to approach work
in a new way - working from a place of abundance and ease.
I want to share one of his more amusing roles…
He modeled for various poses and movements which I needed
to draw. He was highly resistant to this process and finally
drew the line when I asked him to wear a dress for the
'Drum of the Heart' card.
He may have resigned as the model… we'll see.
Please apply if you are interested.
To be able to hold still for more than five seconds, is
an asset!
Danny Ellis,
is a singer / songwriter / multi-instrumentalist.
In a strange coincidence, Alistair bumped into Danny walking
down the street in Fort Lauderdale last year. It had been
almost twenty-five years since last they met, and that
was on the other side of the world, in Scotland, where
they both lived at that time. Danny mentioned his new
album, 'This Tenderness'. Alistair listened to it and
thought it was beautiful. The songs of love and longing
touched him deeply.
A month later our card project was born. We needed music.
We thought… "let's contact Danny Ellis".
It has truly been a pleasure to work together. Danny's
creativity and professionalism is admirable. Perhaps best
of all, he has a warm, gentle heart. It has been a magical
experience to send him a card with just a few guidelines
and receive it back with the perfect accompanying music.
He is currently working on a new album. Visit him at:
www.dannyellis.net
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