Harvesting creativity and other things that are overflowing

🌱 ISSUE 03. 🐿 NOVEMBER 2023

Good morning, pumpkin pie buddies! It’s a frosty day here in the Finger Lakes, and my woodstove is slowly devouring a log. We’re all coming down off the excesses and joys of Halloween (or Samhain). I hope you all got as many sweet treats as your hearts desired, and I hope you enjoyed them as much as I enjoyed shoving white mystery-flavored Airheads into my mouth like I was ten years old again.

Coming down off the candy-and-costume high, it’s time for another update! In this issue of Work of Art:

• The conclusion of Artober, and what I learned

• My time at a picture book retreat for queer makers

• Upcoming holiday markets (there are a lot!)

• Collected treats from doors and houses around the internet + some ways to give back this November

🎃 13 Days of Art 2023

You might recall that I hosted an art challenge this year as an alternative to Artober! It had 13 pairs of prompts and was designed to be as chill and lowkey as possible while still inspiring folks to make cool work! I had SO many incredible artists join me, and it was really such an honor to see what they made! My own work definitely got better as the month went on, too.

I managed to finish 8 total pieces, with one more sketched out and in the works:

At first, I felt really guilty for not finishing all of my own prompts— like, come on, it’s my own challenge! Shouldn’t I set a good example?

And then I remembered my own literal actual words: that this challenge was designed to fit into your life, to help you create without making you feel bad about it. It’s a testament to how pervasive the challenge / constant-productivity mindset is in the art world that after explicitly setting out to do something chill, I felt guilty anyway. It takes real work to unlearn those patterns pressed into us by capitalism. It’s work I’m definitely still doing. For now, I’m taking a step back to look at this little gallery and feel really accomplished for doing all of this and turning out some pieces of work that I am just incredibly proud of.

You can check out all the other artists’ incredible work on Instagram or Tumblr. I’ll be diving into Folktale Week next, and I’m going to take a lot of what I learned from this into my work for that! Stay tuned, and definitely follow along on social media if you’re interested in the sea, folktales, and queer stories! I can’t wait to get started.

🌈 Rainbow Retreat

I was lucky enough to snag a spot at the Highlights Foundation’s inaugural Rainbow Retreat! It was a space for queer writers & illustrators working in children’s literature and it was truly beyond words amazing. I got to meet some incredible people, eat amazing food, read wonderful stories and also we had a really huge dance party. Y’all, kidlit folks can party!!

It’s impossible to overstate how amazing it was to be surrounded by so many talented queer folks. We laughed all weekend, curled up in cozy chairs and worked together in sprints. I learned about confident linework and putting yourself into your stories and the struggle of being a banned author.

I’m still collecting all my thoughts and learnings from the retreat, but for now, please enjoy a sneak peek of a new piece I started while there. This is a study for my folktale week work!!

🧺 Markets

It’s going to be a busy December, and I’ll be selling plenty of new pieces that should make wonderful holiday gifts!

The Factory Holiday Market
Ithaca, NY
Friday, December 1–Sunday, December 3

I’ll have some fun holiday pieces and cards by then! After that, find me at:

The Solstice Market
Buffalo Street Books in Ithaca, NY
Friday, December 8 from 5:00–7:30 pm

and then, the day after:

Little Red Wagon Artisan Market
Triphammer Marketplace in Ithaca, NY
Saturday, December 9 & Sunday, December 10

There might be a fourth market the following weekend, so follow along on Instagram for the latest schedule. Excited to see everyone again!

If you can’t make it out—and listen, I get it, it’s too dark and cold to go into the outdoors!—but still want some cool new prints, everything is also listed on my Etsy shop, including a bunch of the stuff from Artober!

check it out!

🍄 In the Garden

Some stuff I’ve been loving from around the internet.

I’ve been learning how to dress like a 19th-century lighthouse keeper for reasons that will soon become clear!

Collecting a Pinterest board full of mushrooms is a great way to spend your time.

The misty, gorgeous artwork of Annie Stegg Gerard is a lovely accompaniment to colder weather. It reminds me of the flower fairies I used to be super into as a kid!

After eating it at the retreat, I want to try my hand at this amazing wild rice salad! The perfect way to get some tasty grains and greens in the winter months, it was so tasty!!

One final note: for me, November is a month of loss and a month of abundance. It’s a time to give to the communities around us, and the world really needs it right now. I’ve been throwing extra money to:

The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund

The Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ Sovereignty & Rematriation Fund

For the month of November, if you donate anything to either of those two funds, send your receipt to hello@jordanillustrates.com and I will send you a 5x7 print of your choosing. Shipping’s on me.

May the rest of your month be warm and full of delicious food! 🍂✨