Escape to Another Reality:
The Art of Emma Rodriguez (Mooncrab)

CONSCIOUS LIFESTYLE INTERVIEWS ARTIST EMMA RODRIGUEZ (MOONCRAB)

Slightly real, slightly surreal, artist Emma Rodriguez’s mystical landscapes transport you into an alternate reality that we’d very much like to visit in the flesh, or at the very least, our dreams.

Conscious Lifestyle Magazine: How have your life experiences influenced you art?

Emma Rodriguez: My art is based a lot around my own mental health. For me, it is a means of escape—not only the creative process but the final image represents a way of getting out of the world that surrounds me and transporting me into another place.

When I go through low stages in my life, sometimes I feel that is when I am most inspired to create something that represents the opposite of what I’m going through, or sometimes, even the exact thing I am going through.

CLM: Where do you draw your inspiration for your work?

ER: I draw a lot of inspiration from surrealist artists like Dali and De Chirico, and the whole surrealist movement in general as it was something I was very interested in during my time at university. I always intend to create something “other worldly”.

CLM: What messages does your artwork convey or what do you hope it sparks in viewers?

ER: I have had a lot of messages from people who said my art has helped them through tough times and has healed them in some kind of way, which is beautiful to me. I create the art for my own mindfulness and self-care, and to know that it helps others with their own situations is one of the main reasons why I carry on making what I make.

CLM: How do you create your artwork? What is the process of birthing a piece like for you?

ER: I can’t say I really have a process; I never really have when making art. I think I just get so excited by the vision of a final piece that I go straight into making what I have in my mind,

and then it either works or it doesn’t. All my work is digital, so I first source the images I imagine in my head and form them together using Photoshop.

CLM: If you could share one important piece of wisdom or message with the world, what would it be?

ER: If I have learned anything from experience: it’s okay to take a break. If you need a day to stay in bed all day and feel rubbish, then go ahead. You need to rest and recharge and give yourself permission to take a break from trying to be productive and pretending that you’re okay all the time when you’re not.

Emma Rodriguez (also known as mooncrab) is from Bristol, England. She graduated from university with a degree in drawing and printmaking. Her primary focus is on digital mediums and landscape-based work. Her art is inspired by her own ups and downs, as it’s often these moments in which she desires to create something that helps her get away. Her work can be found at @mooncrab.jpg on instagram and mooncrab.co.uk