March Bottleship
Greetings, shipmates!
Spring is seriously here in the Pacific Northwest, and I'm going out my gourd with joy at all the new flowering plant action. The magnolias are thiiiiiiis close to exploding into bloom, and the daphne bush around the corner is scenting the house every time I open my window. It's a magical time to be back in Portland.
Here's what I've been up to now that I'm home!
- Last week I took a big plunge and released all my annual financial data from 2014 to the present in two big posts over on Patreon (they're public—no need to be a Patron to read ’em). This is part of an ongoing effort to help people understand how I manage to make this career work, that there's no single "right" way to freelance, and that independence is often a game of narrow margins. Supporting the arts is a real gift, and I'm grateful for the people that help me walk this tightrope (that's you!).
- Pause, an essay by Mary Reufle on aging and the female body, is simply spectacular. I can't even pick a single pull quote to tease you with so you'll just have to go read the whole thing.
- Big thanks to everyone who came by at Emerald City Comic Con! I sold out of books and had a really lovely weekend. There's also a new panel recording from the show on my SoundCloud page. You can pretend you were present for Dylan Meconis's excellent discussion about turning your weird obsessions into authentic, original art by listening to the audio and reading along in the slideshow here. Other panelists were David Malki ! and Kory Bing, both deeply nerdy and fascinating humans.
- My pal Lillian Karabaic has been doing great work with her new business Oh My Dollar. It's a financial literacy service for people from all walks of life, but I think her workshops on budgeting and financial management are particularly helpful for freelancers and creators. Check out her next free workshop on April 1st at Books with Pictures here in Portland (and buy some comics while you're there—BWP is a fantastic local shop).
- The 100 Day Project is fast approaching. I'm still tweaking the specifics of what I'm going to do for 2017, but if you can catch up with all my 2016 entries in a gold foil box set for just $20 (or browse photos of all the entries on my Facebook Page).
- I'm going to be at the MoCCA Arts Festival in New York in a couple weeks! If you're around the Big Apple April 1st and 2nd, come by and say hello. I've never done the show before, so I'm extra excited to meet new New York friends. You can find me right at the venue entrance, and admission is only five bucks a day. A steal.
- Finally: I'm drooling over Ryan Pernofski's ocean photography. What a nice way to get one's saltwater fix.
Love and boats and comics,
Lucy
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