Daily Inspiration: Meet Liezel Rubin

Today we’d like to introduce you to Liezel Rubin

Liezel, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I am an artist of all types. Whether it be music, fine art, photography, performance art, graphic design, video producing/editing, or many other forms of art… it’s what feeds me and fills me.

When the pandemic hit and production in the world stopped or greatly slowed down for many of us, I was left with the gift of time…. so it was here that my PuppetGram journey really began to move forward. As a photographer and graphic designer I had the tools to create my vision from inside my head – passing through my fingertips onto my computer screen – to you…

First, I must begin to build my arsenal of puppets… and each puppet would have his/her/its own profile page where you could learn about the puppet’s personality… kind of like a dating profile. There was soooo much research invested in creating the profiles so that no two profiles appeared to have the same information/likes/skills/etc… This involved a lot of coming up with wacky, zany and kooky talents to keep the viewer laughing. We now have over 40 puppets and counting… And each puppet has its own profile video where you can get to see them talk about themselves. I really wanted the viewer’s experience of using my website to be engaging, fun and entertaining as well.

Second, It was important to have LOTS custom options for backgrounds to help enhance the message the puppet would be giving… and those images needed to be inclusive. I built thousands of background image options for our puppet videos. I wanted there to be be a wide variety of styles to choose from to satisfy everyone’s taste.

And while all this was happening, I was also designing the look of the actual website, shooting videos, editing videos, and designing more puppets of course… can never have too many puppets. So now 5 years later, I have completed my vision and after 4 years of designing it and a year of development, it is now officially open for business.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The road has not always been smooth. In life, we all face challenges… but its how we get through it that counts. I face thing straight on and when I encounter an obstacle, sometimesI need to reevaluate the situation and look at it from other perspectives to find the best passage to the other side. I am grateful to have family support to offer wisdom. I try and live in the ebb and flow of life. Sure many challenges came up but that was not my focus… my focus was to publish and that I did.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I originally started out as a graphic designer in 1998 working for company that specialized in Political Campaigns. I still continue to work for clients doing direct mail political campaign work but my portfolio is not only in the political arena. I have worked with hundreds of clients doing magazine layout, designing ads, brochures, postcards, booklets, business cards, letterheads, logos, flyers, pamphlets, identity packages, websites, music videos, photography, and so much more. www.graphXperts.com

I am proud of all the work I do. I love to create artwork for clients and have them feel great about the experience as well as the product. I am especially proud of my PuppetGram website as it was my biggest art concept to reality project I have done and most involved. 5 years from start to finish. www.Puppet-Gram.com

Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Mentoring – I have mentored a few youths who wanted to get into modeling as a photographer by teaching them what the camera is looking for and how they can connect with the photographer and giving them homework to do by looking at other models and now they present themselves and encouraging them, to practice different stances and moves and I am happy to say that one of those boys is now a professional model and is signed and working all over the world.

I have have tried lots of ways to network. Some work – some don’t. I have been in a network group for my graphic design and continue to have work from clients I met there but it was not enough referrals to continue to stay and pay. I get other work from referrals and word of mouth. What works for me is diversifying – having my hands in lots of different means of income seems to suit me. My schedule is my own,,, but if I clients needs a job done, I am not too busy to handle their needs. I like to get it handled right away. I guess working in the fast pace/quick turn-around of political campaign work has really taught me how to work my time efficiently.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.puppet-gram.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/puppet.gram/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064164726471
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkqX5S9up1uFSUer8C0GN6w
• Other: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZtiNYmtMTo&list=PLNlPg6Z5G3XQSzcKiQmBjU4SKp7j56j87

Image Credits
Liezel Rubin