12/8/24 – 4/3/25
Monthly illustration roundup for 12/8/24 to 4/3/25
Hi everyone, Happy New Year! Happy April, happy spring!
Mamma mia, it has been far too long. I just wrapped up a huge project and now that it is over, I am a Dancing Queen. I had to make some Money, Money, Money (that’s The Name of the Game), but I’m back and ready to update you on my creative output over the past four (!!!) months. Time is Slipping Through My Fingers. Why the ABBA references? The huge project was an activity book about ABBA: coloring pages, a connect-the-dots, “Where’s Benny?”, and mazes alongside stories about the band. It was a true labor of love and I’ll be wearing bellbottoms and using, “Don’t Shut Me Down” as my hype song until the book’s projected September publishing date.
ILLUSTRATION
I had the honor of working with Peloton on one of their “Moved By _______” member stories. This video showcases My Brother’s Keeper, a group where over 1,100 Black men in the Peloton community find support, connection, and understanding. Not only was it such a joy to help tell a meaningful story about brotherhood, but learning how to “wiggly'“ animate and working in a looser, sketchy style was a ton of fun. I came into illustration via animation so it always feels like a return home seeing my drawings move. You can view the entire video here. I drew all five illustrations and animated the first, fourth, and fifth ones. Frederick Camino animated the second and third.
I was commissioned by Tricycle: The Buddhist Review to create an editorial illustration to accompany the article, “The Dharma and Kwanzaa.” A family enjoys their Karamu feast while Buddha looks on. Using a dark maroon as the line color helps retain the scene’s warmth. I’m so pleased with how the food came out, as well as the teen daughter’s puffy sleeves. One of the girls I nanny for is missing her two front teeth, so the son’s gap-toothed smile is a nod to Orli.
One of my big visual interests is set design—specifically the contrast of and interaction between 2D flatness and 3D figures and shapes. I wanted to experiment with the two in an illustration. Here we have Britt as a water nymph recreating the major arcana tarot card, The Star. The background: rose bushes, a grassy tree-topped hill, red mountains, and eight-pointed stars, were drawn with Photoshop oil paint brushes, as if hand-painted by a set designer. I’d like to try more of these drawings in the future.
QUILTING
One of my friends who I met during the first week of college is having a baby, so I made my first baby quilt for an actual! baby! His wife is due so, so soon! Emily had shared photos of the nursery so I was able to see its color palette and design without asking for photos, which meant the quilt was a total surprise. I made the pattern, checking the math three times. I normally restrict my fabric choices to solids so I was a hyperactive kid in a candy shop looking for prints. I spent over four hours choosing fabrics and even changed my mind the next day. I had to email the Etsy seller to ask if she could switch one of my choices. I used my new Juki sewing machine to make this and wow, what an upgrade it was to my trusty little Singer that had been with me since I was a teenager. To be able to make something that will be so loved, that will grow up alongside a tiny human is a nearly indescribable honor.
I spoke about this patchwork in the previous newsletter. I used a method of quilting called hand-tying to secure the patchwork, batting, and backing together. It was a lot faster than machine or hand quilting and adds dimension with the little ties. My only wish is that the embroidery floss (a mauve) and binding (a pale pink) were the same color. I’ll definitely use this method of quilting again soon.
I made this patchwork back in 2023, hand quilted 90% of it, and then left it curled up in a bag for over a year. I finally found some time to finish the remaining hand quilting. I love the texture created from the larger stitching.
Following the theme of finishing projects that have been sitting dormant for years, I transferred these beaded tassels that I had sewn onto a flimsy pillow cover to a triple-layered (top fabric, batting, and backing) pillow case. The tassels make a delightful clacking noise when shaken.
Some more things I made over winter break:
A stuffed owl with a daisy chain necklace for one of the girls I nanny. Her sister received a scarf-ensconced bear
I finally taught myself how to purl and knit myself a blanket scarf. As one of my friends said, “It’s giving Lenny Kravitz”
Shoe charms. Orli’s owl had me wanting to make a daisy chain for myself
What was supposed to be a set of four placemats, but due to an unfortunate and totally preventable math error, became a wall hanging
BIRTHDAY PARTY
I turned 29 in January (capricorn sun in the 5th house, cancer moon, virgo rising, aquarius mercury and venus—it all checks out) and celebrated nearly a month later with an ambitious schedule of events. I utilized my friends’ talents and had them teach us things while I sat back and relaxed scurried around frantically making sure everyone was happy and properly nourished.
Vic taught us how to collage, Abigail gifted us as a Boston shaker and the knowledge of how to make a lavender sour (lavender being one of my favorite flavors), and Mason turned my apartment into the embroidery sewing circle of my dreams. We ended the night with Mexican takeout and a rousing game of Resistance. In somewhat-predictable Elly fashion, I woke up at 5:30AM the next morning and ran a 10K race in Central Park. A near-perfect birthday celebration weekend (I did not PR).
INSPIRATION
My Pinterest, here.
BOOKS
“Yolk” by Mary H.K. Choi hit me like a gut punch. This sounds like hyperbole, but I have never related to a character more than I did with Jayne. This book was written for ~the ones who get it~ and yeah, I got it. I still think about one chapter months later, how perfectly it encapsulated a binge and purge. One of my favorite GoodReads reviews: “the characters are pretty unlikable.” Yeah, I didn’t like myself either when I was like Jayne
“The Bee Sting” and “Skippy Dies” by Paul Murray. Murray has vaulted his way into my heart and list of favorite authors with “The Bee Sting.” Both books are hefty (600+ pages) but I was enraptured. Murray is hilarious (“Skippy Dies”), artistic (“The Bee Sting”), and a master of language and character exploration
“The Hunter” by Tana French. French (an American who writes about the Irish) is in the camp Murray was recently welcomed into and “The Hunter” is her newest novel. It is a meandering mystery that is more about character interaction than crime solving. I’m just here for the Irish dialogue
MUSIC
I’ve been beating the winter blues by finding solace in my Top Songs of 2021-2024, but I have added some new songs into the rotation. Unrestricted, this playlist would be 90% ABBA as I listened to their entire discography multiple times over the course of the activity book project. I generously pared it down for you.
Albums I’ve been loving:
Rarely Do I Dream — Youth Lagoon
Radial Gate — Sluice
Gut — Baths
The Machine Starts to Sing — Porridge Radio
ABBA Gold Anniversary Edition — ABBA
Whew, recapping four months takes some time! Thank you for reading, perusing, hopefully enjoying. Sending you some gentle love and sanity—it’s tough out here. Forever and ever xx