May this space be a love letter to the freaks, geeks and overthinkers There are two wolves inside of me: one that wants to advocate for injustice, and another who wants to over-analyze romance novels.

Learning how to Substack at 2 AM like I’m possessed

The sensation of eating biscuits and drinking tea on a Sunday morning:

Going to a #writing workshop after almost years of avoiding them feels like such a big win 💖

#illustration #study #art #drawing

More wolves

John Cornyn always gives me the most disappointing email replies when I reach out to him so I’m not surprised…

#drawing #art #study

Loud bark deep bite 💋 feels cathartic to draw snarling animals…

Men Who Hate Women by Laura Bates should be required reading imo

Exhausted from the world, my heart breaks again and again.

I am writing and drawing again, desperate to create in country hell bent on destruction.

#Art can be the answer to feeling hopeless or isolated, I hope you find it too.

Someone needs to create a count down clock for when the items in the “big” bummer bill go active. #fdt

Kalli's Aid Request Bundle by Kalli's Creation Station A bundle by Kalli's Creation Station, $15.00 for 14 games

Support your local artists trying to get through school while the world is on fire:

$15.00 for 14 games (but you can donate more)
itch.io/s/154224/kal...

I don’t wanna hear anything from Shmuck Schumer ever again 💀

No!!! Especially with brown sugar on top—I will die on this hill

Instantly learn languages. Hopefully not like Starfire, who has to kiss ppl

I have a deep love of bullet journals for this very reason.

I can scrapbook inspiration, then just jump into drawing. Then, the next page is my grocery list or what I need to tackle that week.

Do whatever you need to do to get drawing or writing again friends!

#art #writing #bulletjournal

I like getting prompts every now and then. I also like challenges and big lists of things to try-- but I get overwhelmed pretty quickly.

I also beat myself up when I miss a day or can't keep up.

Reframing working like this has helped. I also don't wait for the perfect sketchbook to draw in anymore

Do you feel like you have enough energy for it today? That's day one.

Feel like its gone tomorrow? That's fine, what about Thursday? Thursday is your day two.

Going at your own pace means by the end of the year you will still have made 30 pieces of art.

Are you intimidated by 30 Day challenges or any kind of Inktober-like challenge because you won't be able to commit to it?

Here's a lifehack: Change your mindset on what "30 days" means.

This year, try breaking some rules: 30 Days doesn't mean it has to be back-to-back. (1/4)

Omggg I love it, thank you ❤️

Yay! I’m glad I used them 😂💖

(Hashtags are cringe but fuck it, idk how this algorithm uses them #art #writing #grief #hope )

So, now, I try to embrace the journey and give myself grace when possible.

Amidst the hopelessness the election gave me, the insecurity I still sometimes feel about my art and making ends meet with my new career—I will be here, I will make art.

Thanks for reading❤️

I learned that progress is not linear.

When you heal, grow or experience grief you don’t move from rock bottom in a clear diagonal up to “better again”.

And personally, I needed to enter a mindset that I WAS an artist/writer because I never really stopped—despite trying to “quit” (dramatic ik)

At first, I irrationally spiraled.
“Do I make art just for validation?”
“Was I never any good at this?”
“Why did I want to do this in the first place?”

That’s around the time I had learned that recovering from burnout could take years, and something about that clicked for me.

Gaining my independence, getting a slower paced job, and pursuing self-care (like finding a therapist), helped give me all the time I never had to create art.

But I was surprised!

I spent most days doing nothing “productive” or towards any creative projects. I had no urge to draw or write.

I was 27, on antidepressants, debating going to therapy, teaching English to 4-5th graders with hopes that my summers would give me time to do what I was really passionate for.

It was around the time I turned 30 when my mind and body had hit my limit and I knew I needed a career change.

Being officially diagnosed with depression and anxiety—helped make sense the of pressure, fear, feelings of hopelessness, and deep sadness that I wasn’t good enough to call myself a writer or an artist.

When I turned 28, after the diagnosis, I started my first large project, a Daily Comic Zine

I have been planning my next year’s creative goals and projects as well as reflecting about my journey. Growing up I was discouraged from making art my career, and spent a lot of my early adulthood just trying to earn money and getting burned out in the process.

Sometimes I forget I have two autobiographical zines I’ve seen to completion. They were finished, not perfect. Today’s a good day to think back on the work it took to for me to call myself a writer and an artist (1/?)