Meet Darcien Balog

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Artist Bio
At heart, Darcien is a “painter with words.”  Capturing the diverse cultures, languages and histories she has been exposed to through her extensive travels is a passion.  She has lived all over the country and the world; she has traveled in Europe and the Caribbean, lived in twelve states (on each US coast, both borders, and in the heartland) and one foreign country.  All of these experiences fuel her art, both in words and in images.

In addition to writing, she loves digital art.  It is one of the few avenues of expression that only takes up the space of a desktop and can travel with her anywhere in a shoulder bag.  After more than twenty years as a costume designer, Darcien traded her rooms of textiles and sewing equipment for a computer, pen, and paper.  Now she bends her artistic expression to helping small churches and Christian organizations, whose budgets often preclude professional advertising, with a public presence online and in print in the modern era.   She earned her Associate of Arts May 2019 and is currently working toward an Associate of Applied Science in Graphic Design.

Artist Statement
Eclectic is probably the best word to describe me.  Jack–rather, Jane–of all trades. If it interests me, I learn about it.  Sometimes I learn just enough to know I don’t want to go deeper. Other times, I delve in full force.  For example, early on (mid-teens), I fell in love with historical re-enactment, which led me to participation in Renaissance Festival entertainment.  From there I derived my love for working with historical clothing. For over 20 years I bent all of my creative energies into costume design and promoting my sewing business.  Fancy duds were not the only takeaway from those first loves, though–I also learned to make mead (honey wine). Which led to owning our very own homebrew supply store. What did I like about all of these outlets? Creation. 

Making art–words or images–stems from experiences combined with “what if?”  I like to explore the what-ifs in art, from textiles to paper to words to, and now, digital images in the form of graphic design.  My process starts with word maps, then research, then application and refinement–no matter the medium or subject.

I’ve really taken to using the Adobe suite of products–from Premiere Pro to Dreamweaver to Illustrator to Character Animator.  For a dozen or so years, I’ve worked on promoting my own businesses and helping our small church keep up with the modern world through graphic design and video editing.  ​

Education

  • ​Associate of Applied Science–Graphic Design from Yavapai College, Prescott, Arizona
  • Associate of Arts from Yavapai College, Prescott, Arizona
  • Creative Writing Certificate from Yavapai College, Prescott, Arizona
  • Proofread Anywhere Course
  • Freelance Writing Career Diploma from Penn Foster (Thompson Education Direct)

Skills

  • Adobe Suite (Ai, Ps, Pr, Id, Dr, Mu)
  • Sketchbook Pro

Interests
Donate for my photography on viewbug
Phone: ‪(480) 744-1782
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