Happy Things

Zine fests, beautiful weather, and building creative momentum.

Happy Thing #1: Next Saturday, April 22 is Milwaukee Zine Fest!

This is my first time having a table at a zine event, and I’m really excited! You can learn more about the event here.

I’ll have all my books and zines available for sale and can’t wait to talk to zine enthusiasts in person! If you’re in the area, swing by the Central Branch of the Milwaukee Public Library sometime between 10:30 and 4:30! I’d love to see your beautiful face.

Happy Thing #2: Beautiful Weather!

The weather this past week has been such a mood boost! I’ve managed to soak up some actual vitamin D from the sun instead of from supplements! It’s amazing what a little sunshine can do. The wave of 70+ degree weather brought palpable joy. People were nicer at the grocery store. The smell of outdoor grilling returned. I was able to draw outside several times! I know it’s a high along the rollercoaster that is spring in Wisconsin (I see those stupid snowflakes in forecast…), but my optimistic heart doesn’t care about that right now.

Happy Thing #3: Continuing the Creative Momentum!

In case you missed it, last week I started talking about the idea of using existing work as a springboard for new work. I don’t always do a great job of this, but something about this little matchbook sketchbook has me thinking about all sorts of new merch ideas. So here’s the story behind another new design that’s hot off the press.

In Part 3 of my sketchbook tour, I noted how I felt like I was running out of ideas by the end which forced me to get more creative with the shapes I was using. At the beginning I had a lot of ovals and geometric shapes, like this:

I was pretty happy with how this telephone wire silhouette turned out, so when I was scraping the bottom of the barrel for new ideas, I took that scene as a starting point and put in a new, more unique shape, like this:

This got me thinking — what other shapes would be good for telephone wire silhouettes?! I ran through a list of animals, and eventually decided on a squirrel. It felt right since they spend so much time hoping across these communication tightropes.

I took the concept to the digital drawing board and came up with Sunset Squirrel!

Sunset Squirrel is now available on T-Shirts, Tote Bags, and Mugs in my shop! Now is a good time to poke around and shop for Mother’s Day!

Thanks for reading!

Thanks for being here! It truly means the world to me. In case you missed it, a couple weeks ago I shared a free art print download with ALL subscribers. Check it out here.

Paid subscribers, please keep scrolling to download “Sunset Squirrel” as an art print!