Last weekend, I held a little sketchbook q + a in my instagram stories and it was a lot of fun. I couldn’t get through all the questions, not even half of the questions, but I ended up making lots of little sketches I loved.

Unfortunately the SCBWI conference I was excited to attend was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. When I received my refund, I decided to make something positive out of the situation and ended up buying myself a second desk! I have found that only having one surface in my studio really makes it harder to draw. When I draw (like I did with these little sketches), I tend to work with a ton of mixed media. It always starts with a pencil, then I add the pen, then the colored pencils start pouring out. Of course I have to reach for the PanPastels and the gouache and watercolor. It’s difficult to do this when you also sew for a living! My desk is typically covered in fabrics and thread and scissors and a sewing machine with very little room for much else.

I feel like it sounds silly, but having this designated space to work on illustrations without having to take everything and put it away multiple times throughout a piece feels huge. I can start a painting, walk away to go sew dolls, then come back and just continue working on it! So, here’s to lots of productivity and portfolio building during this time of self isolation.

I hope you all are well. I’m teetering between bliss and stress constantly and it always seems to be one extreme or the other. Hoping things work towards mending soon. Much love to you guys!