back to school is hard
It’s hard on everyone.
We’re still in the thick of it and hoping the weekend will help us reset. I hope you have a good one!
a fierce thanks
Thank you to the folks who’ve sent me messages and shared I will be Fierce with kids. Illustrating this book was a huge challenge as the text is powerful but not clearly visual. I revised sketches many times in order to match Bea Birdsong’s words with a strong visual story about a girl facing the challenges of her day. The positive response makes it worth it!
Here are some interior spreads – the librarian is based off my kid’s favorite story time librarian!
Thank you and I hope you have a lovely week!
kind dreams
As an independent artist I spend a lot of time alone with my thoughts. I didn’t grow up with abundance, quite the contrary, and had an early distaste for our capitalist fascination with stuff. As I grow in my awareness and think about my footprint, I started to think about reaching for our dreams.
Our conversations about pursuing dreams often center around achieving a rich life. Not a life of balance or meaning (which isn’t to say that pursuing dreams must be imbalanced or devoid of meaning). I find meaning and happiness in my work. Balance has yet to come! But recently I thought about how we’re encouraged to dream BIG and BOLD. But… what if we were encouraged to dream KIND? To expand our personal dreams to be more? What if our dreams of success were for more than our individual selves. To decentralize the self and instead think of our dreams as ones that include others – to lift each other up and share visions of a beautiful, loving world.
Wouldn’t that be a wonderful new way to dream?
slow progress
It’s comicon week and I’m happily at home – I can’t think of a better reason to miss SDCC than working on my next graphic novel.
I’ve been working on many projects I can’t share, so I’m happy to post this sneak of Jukebox panels. After drawing for my and Thrity Umrigar’s forthcoming picture book, Binny’s Diwali, I’m back on track, inking Jukebox pages. Writing characters provides one kind of insight and drawing is another layer of understanding. I love learning about Shahi and Naz as I draw them.
As I reopened the pages, I worried that after a break, I’d want to redraw everything. I hold very high standards for myself. However, I surprisingly felt the opposite. The past couple years I’ve grown as an artist and that makes me happy. There’s so much that makes me want to stop working – but I keep those moments of joy close and use them as fuel to fight and continue working.
I hope you all have a wonderful week!
P.S. Thank you to all the folks who bid on the auctions last week – we raised $700. I will continue to think of ways to raise more in August.
love adventure, print auction
Love adventure, 14×18, matted print
Rules
Open to US only.
Each item will be signed and can be customized with names.
Bid by commenting on this post. No limits on number of times a person can bid.
Auction will end at 12 midnight, pacific time the day of the post.
I will email the winner with a paypal request, once paid I will ship to address provided.
All funds will be donated to RAICES.
Starting big $40
our happy place, print auction
Our happy place, 14×18, matted print
Rules
Open to US only.
Each item will be signed and can be customized with names.
Bid by commenting on this post. No limits on number of times a person can bid.
Auction will end at 12 midnight, pacific time the day of the post.
I will email the winner with a paypal request, once paid I will ship to address provided.
All funds will be donated to RAICES.
Starting big $40
imagination has no age, print auction
Imagination has no age, 14×18, matted print
Rules
Open to US only.
Each item will be signed and can be customized with names.
Bid by commenting on this post. No limits on number of times a person can bid.
Auction will end at 12 midnight, pacific time the day of the post.
I will email the winner with a paypal request, once paid I will ship to address provided.
All funds will be donated to RAICES.
Starting big $40