Meet the DecoArt Design Team - PLA

Meet the DecoArt Design Team - PLA

Posted by DecoArt on May 15th 2014

THE ARTIST -- PLA
From the time I was old enough to hold a crayon, I loved creating art and throughout the years this passion has led me down many paths. After graduating from F.I.D.M. Los Angeles with a Visual Arts Degree, I focused on becoming a full-time working artist. As I was defining my artistic style, which I refer to as candy-colored fine art,I stumbled upon a new Spanish style gallery “Tu Tu Tango”. I thought, this could be a great fit and fortunately they agreed. For the next 8 years I was one of their featured artist in Orange County, followed by the Hollywood, Atlanta, Orlando and Miami locations. My work was also featured in a few local galleries including Kalediescope, Westminster Arts as well as several art shows and festivals. Along the way I’ve created paintings for private parties, corporations and even pro teams, most notable being the LA Kings. 

THE AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR
Writing and illustrating children’s picture books, was something I’ve always wanted to do. When my daughter Cassia was born, she gave me the inspiration (as well as the material) to write my first book entitled Sassy Cassie – A True Little Princes. It’s about a creative sassy little girl with a free spirit and a big heart. The app version was published in the Fall of 2012 by Pic Pocket books and the hard cover book version soon followed. That same year, I was an honored guest illustrator at the Orange County Children’s book festival. I’m currently working on two more children's picture books Sassy Cassie A Halloween Princess & Cupcake Wars. I'm also co-creating a dollar store craft book along with my lil Cassie.

THE WEEKEND CRAFT WARRIORS
To say "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree" is an understatement. My daughter Cassie loves to be creative and I'm very lucky to have my very own "lil crafting buddy". We enjoy spending our weekends crafting together and creating craft videos that encourage parents and kids to craft together. Our motto is "Creativity flows better when you craft together". 

THE DESIGNER
I’ve always enjoyed browsing and admiring the work of talented artists on Etsy. I wanted to be part of this creative community, so I opened my own shop “Studio Sassy Cassie” in 2012. Shortly after, my work was noticed by the fabulous folks at DecoArt. They asked if I'd like to join their freelance design team and without hesitation, I said YES! Fortunately they liked the craft projects I created and within a few months, I “up & moved “ to Kentucky to join the team as a staff designer. I must admit, moving from California (where I've lived my entire life) to Kentucky was little overwhelming but we are settled in and looking forward to experiencing all four seasons here in "The South".