September 2024
Watch a video of this newsletter.
Reconnecting with my art books
Over the last six years, I’ve dealt with a lot of health issues that kept me from accessing the creative part of my brain- one being a condition that mimics a brain tumor- which is why being able to do illustration now means so much to me.
In the specific kind of grief that goes with chronic illness and disability, it was difficult to even look at things that reminded me of what I loved, yet couldn’t participate in.
Slowly, I’ve been reconnecting with all the art books I’ve collected over the years. I’m excited to start a segment in the video newsletters where we look at them together. Some have deeper stories, and others just inspire me creatively. This month, we’re starting with Henri Matisse by Gilles Nelle which has been with me for over 20 years.
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TOROtober
If you’re not an artist on social media, you may not know that October is a popular month for drawing challenges, where you create art every day from a list of prompts and post them to your social media.
I can’t stick to traditional art challenges, but
✨October is my birthday month and the one year anniversary of launching my website and shop✨
and I’ve been thinking about what I want to do to celebrate that. I’ve been thinking about what goals I want to achieve and how to make an October challenge of my own.
TOROtober is a personal challenge to post more often yet feel less pressure about what I post, to be more messy and open and playful. To celebrate getting through all the shit I’ve been through. The only prompt I am going to keep in mind for the whole month when I’m creating is “don’t overwork it.” My goal is that by giving myself one month to find the edges of that, that I’ll be more comfortable with posting moving forward, even if I do reel (da dum tishh 🥁) it in a little bit afterwards.
I’m going to do this on Threads. Instagram just isn’t working for me for various reasons. I’ll still post there, especially finished work and animations. But I wanted a new space to play with. So I’ll see you on Threads 🧵
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New items in the shop
I have new prints and softcover journals in the shop! I have new stickers, hardcover journals, and other stuff coming soon.
Supporting my shop- whether directly through purchases or indirectly through getting the word out or interacting on social media- means everything to me. Thank you to everyone who has done that 🖤
Ok, enough screen time, I’m gonna go listen to the coquís and cuddle my cats 🐈⬛🐈⬛
41 Ave Fernando L Ribas #458 Utuado, PR 00641