*assignment from class 7-classic fairy tale hansel and gretel

All I can say is it’s been a very long month and a half. Juggling contract work plus school has been challenging at times but it’s been worth it. We’ve produced an eight panel action sequence, a 32 page book dummy and a finished illustration of a classic fairy tale and we still have three classes to go.  I’ve learned a lot in the class and feel really inspired to work on my book idea. The critiques have been so valuable and it made me realize what I’ve been missing working in my studio alone. In Brooklyn I shared a studio space with some amazing artists and I forgot how beneficial it is to be a part of a community. Trying not to turn this blog into a therapy session… but moving and starting over has been more challenging then I imagined. Sometimes I really miss New York, or the idea of it anyway. Hopefully my husband won’t read this because he will remind me why we left and how much I hated living there. This is such a pattern for me. The whole looking back, second guessing and idealizing the past. The whole being in the moment has always been my biggest challenge.

Tonight I’m taking my first class at California College of  the Arts. The Tuesday night, ten week course is an introduction to children’s book illustration. In the past I’ve done a couple educational children’s books and music workbooks, but not the kind of picture book project I’ve been dreaming about. This July marks my two year anniversary of full time free-lance illustration and I’m hoping to branch out into books (covers, interiors, the whole shabang). It’s a daunting goal and I definitely have a lot to learn…this is just the first small step.

Lately I’ve been challenging myself to push past that automated voice that says, “you can’t do that” (a.k.a fear) and into new experiences. This has led me on a messy path of missteps, some accidental success and a lot of laughter. The more I say yes when my mind is screaming no, the more open life feels.

The screen shot above are just a few of the packages I’ve been working on for HUE Legwear. It’s great to work with designers that are not only super talented but fun to work with. Sara Orofino is one of those designers. She makes all the tight deadlines a little easier to handle.

This is how I’ve been feeling about social ME-dia lately.

I was thrilled to have the opportunity to illustrate a very funny article by one of my favorite authors Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love). Her article in the March issue of Yoga Journal talks about her first yoga experience fifteen years ago. She showed up to class in an itchy wool turtle neck and cowboy boots. Her hilarious take on all the stuff that can sometimes feel new age-y like the chanting and the incense had me laughing out loud! I can totally relate. One this project I worked with Ron Escobar, one of the fabulous art directors over at Yoga Journal. He has a great blog called magazine junkie where he interviews and features all kinds of creative types. I did a short interview with him in January that I’ve been meaning to post. You can read it here…

One month ago today we landed in Phuket, Thailand for our honeymoon. The people, the country and the culture were beyond beautiful. It was a trip like no other and we both hope to go back someday. We found a dive school on the Island of Ko Tao where I took an intensive three day scuba course. Thankfully I passed the final exam and we headed to the Similan Islands to do some diving. The whole experience under water blew my mind. In the past when watching animated films, (finding nemo comes to mind) I would think… wow the animated fish are so witty, how creative. But now I know there is wildlife below 40 feet that is far more imaginative.

We’re off to Thailand for two week! I will be checking e-mails periodically and returning on 3/9 (unless I get eaten by a shark scuba diving:)…