Artist Introductions: Dalia Peralta on being a bilingual artist and an arts educator!

Beth Evans and Dalia Peralta

December 2025

BE: Hi Dalia, we're super excited to be sharing your work with the Anti Burnout Community. And, to feature our first International Artist on the blog! For those who don't know you yet, can you tell us a bit about yourself?

DP: Hiya! I'm Dalia Peralta, a Spanish-American illustrator and art educator. In my work a graphic style and natural imagery combine to tell the story of the messy, yet beautiful human experience. My illustrations span across small books, textiles, paper goods, and more. I find great inspiration through my travels and surroundings, and also believe in illustration for positive change. Make yourself at home in the eccentric humor, warm pastels and poetic quirks of my work. When I'm not creating you can find me trying a new recipe or taking a hike.

BE: Your work combines text and images, what do you think the relationship is here and how do they create an impact together? Is it different to when they are used separately?

DP: The relationship between text and images is an aspect of my practice I find myself frequently reflecting on. Ultimately, I think there’s lots of reasons I feel called to combine the two.

Being bilingual, there’s always been an innate interest in words and language. I love finding ways to incorporate Spanish and English in my work, be it a subtle ‘Vino’ on a wine bottle, an art print that pays tribute to the Botanical Gardens in Madrid, or a zine in Spanish of a loved saying.

In a more practical sense, I love how text can transform illustration into a more tangible and sharable experience. From greeting cards, to packaging design, to books…when text and illustration come together it gives the work a chance to be elevated and a part of our day to day.

There’s also a humaneness to it all that I find myself drawn to, I love incorporating little poetic sayings into my work.

Like everything though, there’s a balance. It’s a challenge sometimes, knowing when to add text and when to let the work speak for itself. You can sometimes limit the meaning and the reach of the work, but on the other hand, you can elevate the illustration and connect to more people with the right words.

BE: You are an arts educator, can you explain a little about what this means and how it ties into your illustration practice?

DP: Arts education looks like a lot of different things for me. It can be anything like collaborating with a local writing collective to host a poetry zine workshop, teaching digital art classes at the library, or a sun printing workshop as part of a larger grant project.

My hope with arts education is to provide my community with the space and resources to enjoy art, and find their creative voices. There’s a big focus on play and gathering, and those are both things I bring into my practice. Having the opportunity to teach loads of different mediums and projects means getting to also play around with my own work. The community aspect of arts education consistently reminds me how wonderful and important a creative community is and inspires me to be active within mine.

BE: Tell us about a project you are currently working on and why you are excited about it.

DP: Since 2023, I have been designing a lunar calendar at the end of every year. I’ve just finished working on 2026’s, and I’m so excited to have it out in the world.

My lunar calendars have become an unexpected ritual that I now look forward to making every year. I designed my first one for 2024 on a whim, it really came from a place of play and experimentation. I still remember the battle I had with a stubborn risograph machine just to get the single color gradient perfect for the text to be readable.

Throughout the years, I’ve continued to make play the focus when designing the lunar calendars. I take it as an opportunity to explore styles, colors, and images that have come up in my work that year. For 2026, it was introducing a little star character, trying a new color scheme, and playing with outlines. This also means the calendars have accidentally become a way for me to look back and reflect on the type of work I was making that year.

The response to the calendars has been so fun and they’ve taken on a life of their own. From a local vineyard hanging one above that year’s batch for good luck, to a first time grandmother using it as a way to teach her grandchild the months. I’ve been really grateful they’ve been so well received, and love getting to make them each year.

BE: What TV show, movie, album or book would you recommend?

DP: I find so much inspiration from music so it’s hard to pick just one album! However if I had to choose, I would recommend Leif Vollebekk’s album ‘Twin Solitude’. It feels like a big cup of your favorite tea made for you by a friend you’ve known forever on a rainy summer day.

BE: Ooh, I've not heard of that before - I'll have to give it a listen! If you were stranded on a desert island and could only have three art materials/tools, what would you choose and why?

DP: 1.) An A5 Talens Art Creation Sketchbook

2.) 25 Count Pentel Oil Pastels

3.) Uni Pin Fine Liner Brush Pen, Brush or Extra Fine Brush in Black

These are my go-to materials, I love materials that are playful, intuitive, and textured. The oil pastels and brush pen perfectly embody that. Also, the paper in the Talens sketchbook is perfectly warm and the ink and pastels layer so well with it.

BE: Thanks for taking the time to chat with us Dalia, it's been great to get to know you! If you'd like to find out more about Dalia's work, check out the links below!

Website | Instagram

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