Dare to let ideas have a home - Melissa Castan

Mel Castan is a Mexico City-born, Barcelona-based animator, illustrator, and community builder whose creative journey has taken her from advertising school to motion graphics to founding two community projects for creatives. ~She talks with Radim about growing up in a military family with a spiritual streak, discovering illustration as a meditative practice, and building spaces where creatives can process burnout, imposter syndrome, and identity beyond the usual networking event.TakeawaysMel is a Mexico City-born, Barcelona-based animator, illustrator, and producer who's spent nine years building a career across advertising, motion design, and community-buildingGrowing up in a military family — her grandfather a retired army general who turned to spirituality after retiring — shaped her comfort holding contradictions togetherShe describes creativity as a lifelong practice tied to her ADHD, and drawing as a meditative practice since childhoodA mapping show by Amon Tobin reshaped her sense of what creative work could be and pulled her toward studying motion graphics in BarcelonaShe spent her first days in Barcelona intentionally getting lost in the Gothic Quarter, without a phone or map, as her way of learning the cityShe co-founded Frames by Friends, a five-year community for Barcelona's animators and motion designers that grew from an expected 20 people to 75 at its first eventHer current project, Side Project, builds spaces — Honest Conversations and Work in Progress — for creatives to process burnout, imposter syndrome, and identity beyond networkingShe describes "vicarious learning" — the idea that sharing our struggles with others makes them feel lighter and less isolatingHer guiding philosophy is that ideas have home, and her role is to be that home for othersShe's letting Side Project's future shape itself without attachment to a fixed outcome, trusting that showing up consistently will reveal the next step Daring Forever. Podcast with Radim Malinicdaringcreativity.com |  [email protected] by Radim Malinic Paperback and Kindle > https://amzn.to/4biTwFcFree audiobook (with Audible trial) > https://geni.us/free-audiobookBook bundles  https://novemberuniverse.co.ukLux Coffee Co. https://luxcoffee.co.uk/  (Use: PODCAST for 15% off)November Universe https://novemberuniverse.co.uk (Use: PODCAST for 10% off)