Back to the Blog

It's been a while since I updated this blog regularly. I keep thinking I'd like to return to it. After a string of super-sized life upsets, I'm still not clear on how to pick it up and move on.

Like a cat that slips off the banister and hopes no one's looking, I stopped to lick wounds and try to regain composure. I took classes, thinking I'd eventually go back to work in graphic design. As I was finishing up a certificate program a year ago, I had an internship and part time tutoring job lined up. Nervous but excited about a new start, I made it through my first day of the internship. The next day, I learned I had breast cancer. So much for getting my bearings.

This past year certainly wasn't the best year, but it wasn't all bad. When I felt better, I worked on new illustrations. I had the luxury of picking and choosing only things I wanted to do. I'm learning about plans and expectations. They're fine as a map, as long as you know the moment the map is drawn, the route is already changing. Expect detours and road blocks. Flash floods. If you don't look too far ahead, there are nice surprises too…unexpected things along the way that make the trip enjoyable. Sometimes, the destination changes entirely.

So, here I am. My blog map is sketchy. No doubt, there will be side trips.

Kicks Like A Girl

This is a book cover design and illustration I created for a new book by Melissa Westemeier. I just received my (signed!) copy in the mail and I'm excited to read it!

I'll tell you a little secret about the cover illustration: while doing the initial sketches, I couldn't get the phrase "kicks like a mule" out of my head. For some reason this made me think of mule style shoes - you know, the backless kind that make you walk like Peg Bundy because they're so darned hard to keep on your feet. That's how the single mule-clad foot came to be on the cover. The other shoe obviously went flying right off the page.

I'm looking forward to diving into some fun fiction. You can pick up a copy of Kicks Like a Girl on Amazon.

Tales of Anansi the Spider

 A while ago I created a cover and illustrations for a collection of Anansi tales by Bish Denham. I'm excited to learn that the Kindle edition of Anansi and Company: Retold Jamaican Tales is now available on Amazon.

Since I've been a reader of Bish's blog for some time, I already had wonderful impressions of the beauty of the Caribbean to inspire me. I also recall being introduced to the sly spider Anansi in elementary school, and enjoyed having the chance to read a whole collection of his adventures at one time.

The book is intended for middle grade readers, but I think younger children would enjoy hearing the stories read aloud. In addition to the colorfully retold folktales, Bish's  book includes a series of clever riddles (most of which I was not clever enough to solve).