I think after I finish this graphic novel, I may refocus on #comicspoetry temporarily.

#comicspoetry #poetrycomics #comics #illustration #poetrycomicschapbook #patreon #disabledartist #supportthearts #comicbooks #holycrapitsdone #crows #birds #avianart #firstflight #chapbook #finishedproject #finishedandproud

And just like that, the poetry comics chapbook is *FINISHED*.❤️ OMG, can you believe it? I can't. Not just the comics, but *all* of it. Wow.
Since I posted this drawing to Patreon, I've been busy working on a website for the chapbook, figuring out fundraising ideas, and talking to the printer. I'm thinking of offering this particular drawing as a print — what do you think? Wouldn't this crow look great on your wall? *I* think so!
I'm both over-the-top excited to finally be done, and utterly at a loss for how to celebrate. Isn't that weird? So I'm trying to do that at least a little bit right here, right now. I made a Really Cool Thing! I still have to *get it out into the world* — but I made The Thing, and it's beautiful, and I'm proud. /1

#poetry #poetrycomics #comicspoetry #poetrycomicschapbook #chapbook #Finished #supportthearts #comics #comicbooks #indycomics #artcomics #patreon #disabledartist #illustration #pandemicpoetry #pandemiccomics #pandemicpoetrycomics

The last comic for my poetry comics chapbook is finally DONE! At long freaking last! I can't believe it!

Some of you may remember when I posted this panel last fall. I don't know why I get stuck on the things I get stuck on, but I was stuck on this. And a lot of you offered up some really helpful feedback — *thank you* for that! It really helped. I still had to sit with it awhile & work on other things...but I finally got there, & got it done. Yippee! Thanks so much for the vote of confidence so many of you offered. 🥰

If you wanna read the post that goes with this, you can find that here:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/final-comic-is-78886238

/cont

Originally posted to FB 1/7/2021
#comics #poetry #PoetryComics #ComicsPoetry #art #trauma #HealingThroughArt #HealingThroughComics #HealingThroughPoetry #PhillyArtist
#SupportArtists #PTSD #CPTSD

Anyone else a little flummoxed by planning 2021? I know life is *always* uncertain, but...yeesh. How are you navigating this? How do you make plans around everything that's unknowable right now?

Originally posted to FB 10/4/2020
#comics #poetry #PoetryComics #ComicsPoetry #art #trauma #HealingThroughArt #HealingThroughComics #HealingThroughPoetry #PhillyArtist
#SupportArtists #PTSD #CPTSD

The world is so freaking overwhelming right now - it's not just me, right? Like this past week, FFS, I don't even know what to say about it. Right? I feel like we're all slogging up a really steep, rocky incline. I keep looking up and out to orient myself to the larger landscape & to gauge the topography, and then staring determinedly back down at my feet for a bit, thinking only of putting one foot in front of the other - because if I spend too much time thinking about how steep the damned hill is, it's too much & I lose the will for it. And I guess the future is like a path with a lot of switchbacks where, no matter how hard we look, it's impossible to know exactly where it will lead, or exactly how far along we are. The future is obscured by trees. /1

https://www.patreon.com/posts/focusing-on-my-27906415?fbclid=IwAR06KY2Nu89qn5GDkFoozp5pLxxPPr9lp_onbS4D-ISnm_YUHvbtopu2aEo

Originally posted to FB 12/30/2019
#comics #poetry #PoetryComics #ComicsPoetry #art #trauma #TraumaHealing #ArtHeals #HealingThroughArt #HealingThroughComics #HealingThroughPoetry #Basho #PhillyArtist #patreon
#SupportArtists #PTSD #CPTSD

It's a strange new world for me, since my stepdad Jim West died on November 1st. I'm suddenly not only in contact with my mom again - I see her several times a week. Weirder still? This feels, so far, like an unexpected gift. It's exhausting, but mostly I really enjoy our time together. I just wish my disabilities didn't make all of this so much harder. Every day, I wish I had more energy. Maybe someday I'll figure this out so I can have balance instead of just a dry mouthful of desperate wishes. But it is what it is.
/1

https://www.patreon.com/posts/with-dementia-on-32641316?fbclid=IwAR2hZlcQBLGt2tTEW0eun-WoFaJn3ibZolSrbU9WcR_HjhhAV1lUtB1EdIY

Originally posted to FB 12/10/2020
#comics #poetry #PoetryComics #ComicsPoetry #art #trauma #TraumaHealing #ArtHeals #HealingThroughArt #HealingThroughComics #HealingThroughPoetry #Basho #PhillyArtist #patreon
#SupportArtists #PTSD #CPTSD
Okay so life is a mess, that's usually true for me, really struggling, etc. ad nauseum - but let me tell you about THIS AWESOME FUN THING I AM DOING! I'm taking a poetry comics workshop with Comics by David Lasky online via Push/Pull. And OMG I'm in heaven with this class. It's that deeply nourishing sense of getting exactly what I need at exactly the right moment to push my art forward.
This was done lightning-fast, just a rough sketch for one of the exercises - but I'm just so proud to be *doing* it, you know? Not fussing, just doing.
So. A poem by Basho, in comics form - click to read:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/poetry-comics-44714871?fbclid=IwAR0jN5aIF5xj8xVgWaqxaGwVj9QIc-coE-KY7kqIsYkpxhiTHd8IJi95HyU

#comics #poetry #PoetryComics #ComicsPoetry #art #trauma #TraumaHealing #ArtHeals #HealingThroughArt #HealingThroughComics #HealingThroughPoetry #Patreon #SupportArtists #PTSD #CPTSD #ADHD

This is pretty much my life in a nutshell. Hopefully you can't relate! But if you do, well...solidarity, my friend. I salute you, and offer virtual hugs if you want one.
This is a pretty rough first sketch, & probably a WIP - there's more to say about this dilemma and the feelings it stirs up. But I also kinda like it as-is! So I figured I'd share what I've got so far. If it turns into something more, I'll show you that later.
There's a very short post that goes along with this on Patreon - you can see that here:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/priorities-comic-75510592
...Mostly I just described it a bit in case you can't read my handwriting. You can also find a more precise description below.
❤

Originally posted to FB 11/1/2020
#comics #poetry #PoetryComics #ComicsPoetry #art #trauma #TraumaHealing #ArtHeals #HealingThroughArt #birds #HealingThroughComics #HealingThroughPoetry #Patreon #SupportArtists #PTSD #CPTSD

https://www.patreon.com/posts/bird-drawing-are-42599341?fbclid=IwAR0gpHrZdwp61233sr9m6iCTrIYrMCETyr8oQnnfG_v30TQy_nOuOWVl4Fw

The universe keeps handing me opportunities to draw birds - this time via a really cool workshop by Gary Bloomfield of Bloomfield Studio, via Redwood Region Audubon Society (RRAS). Huge thanks to artist & longtime friend Erica Babad for telling me about it!
If you're not familiar with Gary Bloomfield's work, you really really need to check him out at Bloomfield Studio! So gorgeous, & so lively. I could get lost in all the fine details. OMG so amazing. ❤

Originally posted to FB 11/11/2021
#comics #poetry #PoetryComics #ComicsPoetry #art #trauma #TraumaHealing #ArtHeals #HealingThroughArt #HealingThroughComics #HealingThroughPoetry #Patreon #SupportArtists #PTSD #CPTSD

https://www.patreon.com/posts/pandemic-poetry-44280711

It's so odd to look at this poetry comic I made last autumn. It's shocking to me, in a dull kind of way, how many things are more or less the same - at least when it comes to social distancing & feeling safe in public spaces. I'm glad I didn't know it would still be this hard a year later - but the fact that it is forces me to consider the possibility that I might still have to live with some version of social distancing this time next year. And that being quite possible, how do I want to shape my life? In a lot of ways, I'm still figuring out how to hunker down for the long haul while still having a life and relationships.

Originally posted to FB 9/20/2020
#comics #poetry #PoetryComics #ComicsPoetry #art #trauma #TraumaHealing #ArtHeals #HealingThroughArt #HealingThroughComics #HealingThroughPoetry #Patreon #SupportArtists #memory #MeToo #PTSD #CPTSD

I'm finding it's super-helpful to visualize one's internal demons, critics, helpers, and hurting parts. It's also a hell of a lot more fun than just solemn navel-gazing. And, bonus points, sometimes getting it out on paper really helps get it off my chest - even if it's just a goofy doodle of a monster.
This one comes with some art activities for helping kids talk about their feelings, and also some art activities for learning & thinking critically about all the different cultural imagery around us. Art is such a great tool for really interacting and engaging with ideas instead of just reading about them.
Please feel free to share, especially if you know folks with kids at home who are looking for things to do with them. 😊

https://www.patreon.com/posts/monica-monster-41822905?fbclid=IwAR1qP1_oIwd2QAgVPb51LQMdigoAKwwk73DOhdrlr2cSwm2s-fOsSWGyYSA

Originally posted to FB 8/17/2021
#comics #poetry #PoetryComics #ComicsPoetry #art #trauma #TraumaHealing #ArtHeals #HealingThroughArt #HealingThroughComics #HealingThroughPoetry #Patreon #SupportArtists #memory #MeToo #PTSD #CPTSD

Woohoo, I finally finished this poetry comic! Here's the poem by itself, in case that's helpful:

Unraveling Time

Is time truly a one-way street?
Then to now, a flow of actions and emotions, unraveling backwards now to then
Noon receding into dawn, the setting and then the rising of the moon,
A question now - which might be 2012, or 2017, or 2021 - only answerable in 1989, or maybe 1986 ...or was it 1973 - ?
I race to keep pace, but catch only glimpses -
memory a bobbing head on the water
disappearing from view.

I'm really proud of how this came out. Whaddya think?

(If you wanna read more about the process of going from the initial sketch to the finished comic below, you can read that on Patreon - I've published it publicly at https://www.patreon.com/posts/poetry-comic-54613349.)

Originally posted to FB 8/21/2020
#comics #poetrycomics #comicspoetry #chapbooks #pandemicpoetry #pandemicart #illustration #disabledartist #patreon #supportartists

How to make video more tolerable when it is keeping you pinned in place to watch it: sketch the people talking.
I really like this particular effect of blending color pens with water, when I can get it right. I had so much fun trying that I bought myself MOAR DIFFERENT PENS that I think will work even better. The only reason I could do this is because of my dear patrons! Like a lot of folks, I'm in economic free-fall right now & it's pretty scary. But thanks to my amazing patrons, I can still buy art supplies & pay for the software I need. I am so, so grateful for this. ❤️

#comics #poetrycomics #comicspoetry #chapbooks #pandemicpoetry #pandemicart #illustration #disabledartist #patreon #supportartists

Originally posted to FB 8/23/2020

Pigeons, art supplies, suggestions for art journaling & activities for homeschooling - this post has it all, tied together in my meandering way. 🙃 Let me know what you think! And if you like it, please share. Maybe you know some folks who need some creative ideas for their kids? ❤

https://www.patreon.com/posts/quizzical-art-40783124?fbclid=IwAR0ikNPJNh3UyiWmm6NeLF8eNlEuj7u0C8X9N-p7lYPmJvLblrTEtjWsHM0

#comics #poetrycomics #comicspoetry #chapbooks #pandemicpoetry #pandemicart #illustration #disabledartist #patreon #supportartists #inktober #inktober2022 #inktober22 Guess what? My poetry comics chapbook has a title, woohoo! It's called _First Flight_, and I'm really proud of how it's coming together! Progress on the last few finishing touches feels painfully sloooooooowww...but probably that's just because I'm so eager to get it out into the world. Sooooon...!!!
Here's another peek at how the cover art is coming along. Still not done yet, but getting much closer! If you're interested in reading more about my process, the post for this version is at:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/chapbook-title-73067102
...From there, you can find links to previous versions, & lots of other cool stuff. These are the sorts of process posts I normally only share with patrons, but I'm so eager to share the chapbook with you all!

#poetrycomics #comicspoetry #chapbook #poetry #comics #patreon #disabledartist

See thread
HEY EVERYONE! I have AWESOME NEWS to share! *Takes a deep breath for courage* ...Okay, here goes:
I am self-publishing a chapbook of poetry comics, and it's almost done! WOO-HOOOO!!!
Announcing this project has been surprisingly hard. I mean, really *really* hard. I've had to wade through a lot of internal noise & shaming around disabilities, internalized ableism, productivity, & all the awful messages we *all* get that our worth will be measured primarily by our ability to work & produce. All that garbage. I'm pretty sure many of you know what I mean & have struggled with at least some of this, some of the time. So I wrote a Patreon post trying to untangle all that, in case it's helpful to anyone else - hell, it might even be a pep-talk of sorts. If you wanna wade into that with me, you can find that here:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/woohoo-poetry-of-61093975
...Honestly, I'd really love to have your feedback on this & to hear how *you've* found your way through this stuff. Because you might notice that I scraped together the courage to make this announcement on Patreon back in March - and it's taken me just under 4 whole months longer to be brave enough to make a more general announcement here. I've been so afraid to jinx myself, so afraid to announce this project and then fail. I haven't known what to do with these fears. I didn't used to struggle with these kinds of doubts. YUCK.
Mostly the only way I know how to deal with fear is to shrug and do the thing anyway. I wish it actually felt as simple as that! So if any of you want to share how *you've* handled these kinds of fears & hesitation, I'd really love to hear what's worked for you - I could use some more tools for this particular toolkit. Suggestions, anyone?

* * *

#selfpublishing #projects #illustration #PTSD #perfectionism #ableism #innercritic #confidence #corvid19 #firstflight