What was one of the the things-to-have when you were a kid? Did you have that thing? Or did you find a creative way to make do with something similar? How did that work out for you, and how did you feel about it, either way? I'd love to hear those stories, if you're willing to share!
You can read the post that goes along with this on Patreon here:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/remember-sticker-80456024
This memory comic is speed-sketched on the back of an index card. I have a little box of memory fragments like this so they're all in one place, in case any of them fit into something larger later on.
So what was the thing-to-have way-back-when, and what was your relationship to it? I wanna know! ❤😺❤

#artjournaling #comics #artmastodon #mastoart #comicsjournaling #journalcomic #copingskills #dailyart #straighttoink #indexcardcomics #patreon
#disabledartist #memories #wheniwasakid #stickers #stickeralbum #lettering #Havenot #makingdo #makedo #traditionalmedia #graphicmemoir

Originally posted to FB 10/12/2021
#comics #ComicsJournaling #ArtJournaling #PoetryComics #Poetry #Patreon #MakingTheBestOfIt #WhenLifeHandsYouLemons

"When life hands you lemons, make poetry comics." - That's how the saying goes, right? 🙃

I still haven't found my stolen sketchbook journal dumped anywhere and so far as I know, no one else has either, so probably it's gone forever. That's hard. I have a crap memory. It's like 5 months of my life are just - gone. And yet, the outpouring of kindness from strangers has been an unexpected gift, and I am deeply grateful for it. It's hard to express how deeply I feel that, really, but - the other day I was thinking about this, and also thinking about how important it is to spend more time looking forward and less time looking back. And it suddenly occurred to me: maybe what I've gained is more valuable than what I've lost.
Continued in thread...

https://www.patreon.com/posts/comics-stolen-57006731

#journalcomics #comicsjournaling #memory #MemoryCare #unexpectedgifts #disabledartist #patreon #family #graphicmemoir #relationships #parents #sketches #familydynamics #RoleReversal

This is a bit of comics journaling about visiting my Mom recently. It's just something I drew for myself, with no particular thought to sharing it. But I know a lot of you are slowly losing parents to dementia, or already have, so I'm posting it here for those of you who can relate.
I wrote more about the challenges, & also the unexpected *gifts* of dementia here, if you're interested:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/are-you-my-comic-74423234
I can't help but think of the book "Are You My Mother?" when my Mom asks if I'm her daughter. Here we are, she and I, navigating yet another role-reversal. But that dynamic is familiar territory for us.
If you can't read my handwriting, I've transcribed all of it in the image description below.
❤️

Reposting this as a test for Mastodon and Pixelfed.

#sequentialartistsworkshop #FreeFriday #artjournaling #comicsjournaling #Confidence #Pride #facialexpressions #hope #makingcomics #mentalhealth #patreon #turtle #tortoise

...At least, I trust myself to keep going *most* of the time. So, yay! Shit is hard, but right now I'm gonna celebrate this one good thing I (usually) believe about myself. There's so much hard stuff inside that feels intractable so much of the time, and that's frustrating. But even just believing this one thing is a good start, and something to be proud of. And I AM proud of this.
I was raised to believe that pride was synonymous with arrogance, and my parents made a point of tearing down any pride they suspected my sister or I might feel, lest we get "too big for our britches". Such an awful thing to do to kids! So that's one more reason why I'm flipping the bird to all that & sharing this with you. Because for me, this one belief is a big goddamn deal. And it's an even bigger deal to admit to it.
What are YOU proud of? I wanna know!
❤
P.S. - The short Patreon post that goes along with this is mostly about art supplies and the cool Sequential Artists Workshop event that inspired this drawing - you can read that here if you wanna:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/slow-steady-wins-66030510

#saw #sequentialartistsworkshop #FreeFriday #artjournaling #comicsjournaling #Confidence #Pride #facialexpressions #hope #makingcomics #mentalhealth #patreon #turtle #tortoise

...At least, I trust myself to keep going *most* of the time. So, yay! Shit is hard, but right now I'm gonna celebrate this one good thing I (usually) believe about myself. There's so much hard stuff inside that feels intractable so much of the time, and that's frustrating. But even just believing this one thing is a good start, and something to be proud of. And I AM proud of this.
I was raised to believe that pride was synonymous with arrogance, and my parents made a point of tearing down any pride they suspected my sister or I might feel, lest we get "too big for our britches". Such an awful thing to do to kids! So that's one more reason why I'm flipping the bird to all that & sharing this with you. Because for me, this one belief is a big goddamn deal. And it's an even bigger deal to admit to it.
What are YOU proud of? I wanna know!
❤
P.S. - The short Patreon post that goes along with this is mostly about art supplies and the cool Sequential Artists Workshop event that inspired this drawing - you can read that here if you wanna:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/slow-steady-wins-66030510

* * *
[IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A drawing of a turtle smiling triumphantly as they run on their two hind legs across a grassy area, breaking through an orange ribbon indicating the Finish Line of a race. The turtle's body is mostly green, and their shell is covered in swirls of mostly reddish-brown. Their eyes are closed in pleasure at their triumph, and their smile is huge and open-mouthed; their front legs are raised up over their head in victory. Pink swirling ribbons and multicolored bits of confetti rain down around the turtle in celebration. A speech bubble below the turtle shows them to be announcing "I can TRUST myself to keep going!" The drawing is signed "Akire Bubar" by the artist]

Originally posted to FB 05/15/2020
#comics #ComicsJournaling #ArtJournaling

YIPPEE!!! 😊😺🥰 The world may be one big dumpster fire, but I have good news, check it out! I'm so happy to share this with you.
If you're excited about my art & writing too, keep the momentum up & become a patron - or if that's not your style, put a tip in the jar at https://www.paypay.me/akirebubar . Your support makes everything possible - thank you! ❤️🥰❤️
* * *
[IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A photo of the artist, a delighted smiling woman giving a thumbs-up with her left hand. She is wearing a purple, green, and blue hoodie, and glasses, and her hair is pulled back with a green and ivory headband with only a small tuft of light blondish-brownish hair showing over her left shoulder. She has a star tattoo on her left forefinger. Behind her on the left, part of a white air conditioner is visible, with the brand Della on it in black letters. To the right of that, over her left shoulder, a laptop sits open on a light-wood-grained desk, the screen bright, its display too washed out to discern anything. To the right of that is a grey track ball with a blue ball. To the right of that, a weekly pill box is barely visible, and to the right of that sits a small blue pot of succulents. To the right of that is a stack of bank books, behind which is a a stainless steel thermos, and a beige canvas pen case decorated with a black cat. In front of the bank books, at the center of the right edge of the photo, is an open planner with a purple cover. One black drawer with a silvery oval-shaped opening is visible below that at the front of the desk. Behind the desk are two potted geraniums, and behind those the bright white rectangle of a window is visible along the top edge of the photo.]

Originally posted to FB 05/25/2021
#comics #ComicsJournaling #ArtJournaling
https://www.patreon.com/posts/what-do-you-do-49719126

The shit I do when I should be sleeping...like draw goofy comics about how tired I am. Because that's totally logical, right? 🙃

What are you doing, when you really should be sleeping? Anyone else here prone to late-night puttering of one sort or another?

I swear I totally look like that one on the right once it gets late (early?) enough. Sure feels like it, anyway.

❤

* * *

[IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A photo of a bit of comics journaling in black ink on white paper. In the upper left corner is the time "2:26 AM". The face of a person with long hair is sketched three times. The first face is captioned "Tired." and shows a face with eyes drawn as sleepy slits, mouth slightly open. An asterisk indicating a blank mind hovers above the face. The second face is captioned "Tired-er" and shows the face with dazed spirals for eyes, eyebrows angled upwards as if pleading, mouth hanging open. The mumbled sound "...zzzmphMMM?" is written above this face. The third face also has spiral eyes and a baffled look, but this face is distorted in horizontal zigzags, as if viewed in a fun-house mirror. This face is captioned "Catapulted by tired into an all-too-familiar alternate dimension." The entire comic is surrounded by narrow black border. In the bottom left corner, the comic is signed "Akire Bubar" by the artist, followed by the artist's social media handle "@akirebubar".]

Originally posted to FB 5/19/2021
#Comics #ComicsJournaling #distraction #internetvortexofdoom #Patreon #SupportArtists #ArtJournaling #CatsAreTheBest #cats

If you're reading this, you're on the internet, so I know you know. Or - if you are somehow magically immune to the Internet Vortex of Doom, can you please tell the rest of us your secret? Pretty please? 😺
*shyly scuffs floor with foot* - Hey, also, if you like my writing or get a kick out of my art & comics & whatnot, please share! And consider supporting me on Patreon, if that's a thing you're able to do (and if not, no worries, I totally get about tight budgets, that's why I'm asking). You can also follow me there for free! A lot of my posts are public because it's more fun to share. ❤️✒️❤️

https://www.patreon.com/posts/comics-induced-51458116?fbclid=IwAR0NkbNZ-TfUZj_nSCc_1K9zKGtCDFaFuRVoo2vni4VBEqWkjtCTtznQd2k

#cats #ArtJournaling #ArtistProblems #cats #comfort #ComicsJournaling #Patreon #PTSD #CPTSD #depression #hope #MentalHealth #MentalIllness #MakingComics #memory #sketch #sketchbook #StraightToInk #CatsAreTheBest #TraditionalMedia #wip

" — I can't help thinking about my Mom when I draw this, because if there was one thing she could be counted on for, it was to draw cats — and to find a way to add them in anywhere. Even in her professional work in interior drafting & design, she'd tuck sleeping cats into half-opened drawers, or peering out from not-quite-closed closets. She'd also sometimes draw a sock on the floor, or a discarded bra, or clothing caught & protruding from improperly-closed drawers & closets. I would laugh in delight, spotting these details. She'd grin, and then attempt to put on a serious face, explaining that she thought it was important to see what a room would actually look like when it was lived-in. I don't *think* clients ever saw these versions? But with my mom, you never know..."
I wrote about this on Patreon, and also about navigating the pull between honest art, which is sometimes dark, and cultivating a habit of always looking for the little bits of humor and beauty everywhere, even in the face of overwhelming awful - because they are always there. And sometimes, often, even the smallest reminders of beauty and goodness are enough to get us through. If you're interested, you can read more about that here:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/when-in-doubt-62089123
In any case, have some cats! Love to all of you, & virtual hugs to anyone who wants one. ❤😺❤
* * *
[IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A rough cat-filled page of comics journaling in black ink on white paper. Across the top, "Where to (Maybe) Put a Cat for Comic Relief:" is written large letters imitating a typed serif font. Below that is a roughly sketched version the final panel of the poetry comic the artist is working on, with cats added everywhere in an attempt to decide where best to add just one cat to the final comic. A long-haired person is huddled in a loose fetal position on a couch, one arm tucked in a fist under their head, the other clutching a book to their chest. The word "Fix" is just barely legible on the cover. Behind the person, a cat leans down from the back of the couch, one paw resting tentatively on the person's left shoulder. To the right of this cat, a book lies open & face down on the back of the couch. Another cat sleeps curled in the crook of the sad person's knees. On the floor in front of the couch, a cat stands on their hind legs, batting gently at the sad person's dangling hand. Another cat crouches hidden in the dark under the couch such that all we see of this cat is their large glowing eyes. On the floor to the left is a stack of two books. The top book reads "OTRAUMA" on the spine. On top of these two books, a third book labeled "101" is leaning open against the edge of the couch. Above this, a cat sleeps peacefully along the arm of the couch. On the floor to the left, another cat stands on their hind legs with tail aloft and ears back, front paws determinedly engaged in shredding the upholstery. A little further back, another cat peers at us from under the shredding cat and over the stack of books. Even further back and to the left, one more cat lies crouched on the floor, ears back and front paws extended as if about to pounce. On the floor in front of this cat is a scattering of books. In the bottom left corner, a black book labeled "Llama" lies open atop another book labeled "Reindeer" with a roughly sketched reindeer head on the cover. To the right of this book, in front of the cat that's shredding the arm of the couch, lies another book with the word "Chameleon" written diagonally across the cover. Below all of this, sloppy handwriting reads: " — I can't help thinking about my Mom when I draw this, because if there was one thing she could be counted on for, it was to draw cats — and to find a way to add them in anywhere. Even in her professional work in interior drafting & design, she'd tuck sleeping cats into half-opened drawers, or peering out from not-quite-closed closets. She'd also sometimes draw a sock on the floor, or a discarded bra, or clothing caught & protruding from improperly-closed drawers & closets. I would laugh in delight, spotting these details. She'd grin, and then attempt to put on a serious face, explaining that she thought it was important to see what a room would actually look like when it was lived-in. I don't *think* clients ever saw these versions? But with my mom, you never know..." In the drawing, along the edge of the book labeled "Llama", the page of comics journaling is signed "Akire Bubar 1·31·2022" by the artist.]