Thankful as Fudge.

Nothing like a holiday dedicated to food and family (two of my favorite things) to make you remember how god damn lucky you are. I'm so thankful for so much and even though I am a baby who complains 95% of the day, I am truly OKAY with what life is dishing out for me. I'm lucky to be able to be home this year for Thanksgiving instead of thousands of miles away, I'm lucky to be in a healthier mental state than I was a year ago, I'm lucky to be living and surrounded by really good people?!?

I'm especially lucky/thankful that one of my best friends came home from Connecticut for the week. I haven't seen her in almost a year! BUT we have been friends since the beginning (aka second grade) and when you have been friends with someone for like 18 years, you can handle long distance. I sent her home with one of my pillows so she'd have a little piece of Tucson (and me!?! Is that creepy?) with her this winter. How cute is her apartment?! I'm in love. Like, I can't wait to visit and sleep on that futon.

xoxo.

Happy International Women's Day!

Girls support girls because life isn't a competition and I hope we all make it. 

Ladies Drawing Night

It's weird meeting people you idolize, like, good weird. I got to be a part of a Ladies Drawing Night here in DC hosted by some of my absolute favorite illustrators and (clearly) my inspirations, Julia Rothman, Leah Goren and Rachael Cole.

I'll skip the part where a 27 minute commute took me an hour and the part where I looked for a parking spot for 20 minutes and the part where I stumbled to the building and found the door locked because I was 24 minutes late... And go straight to the part where I was warmly greeted by Rachael and invited to enter a cozy, Christmas lit room full of girls sitting together getting their art supplies out to start making things. (Run on sentence.)

Since I was fashionably late, I missed the chance to sit down and instead found a small bar table and got some markers and sign pens and chipboard out to sketch on. I immediately got to meet all my favorites and they told me I was cool for bringing candy and showered me with wine. (I took the cool part very seriously, obviously.) We then spent the next hour and a half posing for each other and just drawing. I personally didn't pose because I'm shy as crap when in a room full of strangers but I got to draw a lot of pretty girls and that was dope. The room had a ton of ladies aging from 8 years old to like, I don't know 60? All using different mediums, all with different styles, some "known" in the art world, some like me- nobodies, and some who have never drawn before. 

(My giant head in the foreground)

It was finally a chance to interact with the creatives of DC and see who is making what. I can't say figure drawing is my best talent (ask my college professor, he said I sucked,) but hey, I had fun! 

I also got drawn by Leah which is honestly all I needed in life. Arrow pointing me, duh. 

I then had to walk back to my crazy far parking spot in the dark in a really sketchy neighborhood and got some nice catcalls from some class A jerks. A suburban full of guys drove past and made fun of my chubby legs and I was traumatized. Especially since I just bought the skirt I was wearing and I thought it was flattering... Haha! But that just fuels my creativity, so it's cool.

Diagram sketch of the outfit I was wearing when I got yelled at. 

Now I'm on a real drawing kick! More soon!

Marimekko inspired flowers in gouache.