Why Art?
"Creating art take us a step closer to divinity.
It feeds the living while honouring the dead." - Quilltales®
Baby steps
As an only child, I spent a lot of time lost in my imagination, playing with my toys. Whenever I was bored, I would draw things around me and show them to my grandma. She also enjoyed listening to me read. And I don't know if it was because of her illiteracy, but she began asking me to write about my days at school and read aloud. Nana passed when I was 9, but her loss didn't change what she already influenced: my need to express myself through art.
To choose a path
In middle school, I realized that even if I chose to become a vet or a psychologist... I still wanted to create and publish my stories. I still craved to escape reality and create my own worlds. Because I knew how much fictional stories helped me cope with real life, I knew I could also help others. That was my grandmother in a nutshell. When it was time to decide my path, I faced three choices:
Pursue a life dedicated to animals but corrupted by the industry;
Care for people while my own mental health was in the gutter;
Or venture into art and literary studies to become an author. Which in my country usually meant unemployment.
"Somos todos feitos de histórias."
After 3 years of uncertainty, I quit trying to find a job I belonged and felt respected. That's when Quilltales was born.
Quilltales is a Portuguese brand focused on short stories and illustrations. It's a passion project. A call for happiness...and my hope to live as I should. To tell stories through words and images.
"We're molded by our stories."