I'm Just Sayin'

Okay anyone who went to highschool or who lives in the real world, read  Thirteen Reasons Why -I am planning to blog about this book on both my blogs-But I will say this, unless you were homeschooled, this is the shit that goes on in high school and sadly even as adults. Not everyone commits suicide, but what people do and say does impact others period. I honestly believe this book should be require d reading in the 9th grade (maybe 10th) starting now. I'll post the blog links when I get to them, I am being more thoughtful about them than my usual ramblings because of the subject matter-so it's just a question of time. And I know this book is a few years old, I didn't read it for a lot of reasons, mostly because when I read the title I said to my friend in the bookstore "shit this is about a girl who kills herself, I think I need to wait"....so I waited. I kept picking it up at Barnes and Noble and carrying it around and then ultimately putting it back. It...

Okay so the saddest news went around the globe yesterday and we all learned that our beloved Robin Williams took his own life. It's beyond tragic, but the first thing that popped into my head wasn't anything nasty like, "suicide is selfish" or "why would he do that, he had everything?" Just some of the posts I have seen on social media in the last day. The first thing that popped into my head was, "this is so sad, I wish he could have found a way to make the pain stop." I also know that the "funny" people are often the saddest. Humor is a way of coping with all the shit that happens in life. I have a motto, that which does not kill me, makes me funnier , and while that is meant humorous, it's really the truth. Some of you know and I have been so worried about sharing this information, but now I figure screw it, if it helps one person than it's worth any ridicule I may get. I drove to San Francisco in 2009 twice to jump off ...

Omg it's the last day of July! Things are getting really busy for me and I am very excited about all of them. The first thing happening starting tomorrow is the SCBWI summer conference in Los Angeles, which is SOLD OUT! If you don't know, the SCBWI is the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. I do both, professionally. I have illustrated about 18 books now and written a few picture books for a mobile app company I worked for in 2012/2013 called FarFaria. I am currently pitching my early chapter book series entitled Uli Driscoll in Trouble, and will have a dummy at the conference attached to my portfolio. I am currently taking a revision workshop to finally get Ryuan - my then YA, now MG series into better shape. After a few rejections I took a closer look.  https://vimeo.com/ondemand/reviseyournovelinamonth At the conference I am splitting my time between writing workshops and illustrator workshops, I am also in the portfolio showcase-and even t...

So I am writing this post not to hurt anyone's feelings or come off as negative, but lately I have really been bugged by the way some of my "friends" have spoken to me about my work. I am not sure if it's jealousy behind it, or just ignorance for having any manners, but I have heard things like this. "What you do isn't real art, it's cartoons" "I do support you, I just don't like cartoons" "You aren't really an artist, you scribble cartoons" "I didn't know you could draw, I thought you played around with cartoons" And this could go on forever. Oddly enough these statements are not coming from "fine artists" (which is a whole nother kettle of fish) but from people who also work in ANIMATION! I am not kidding. Another friend of mine went on and on about how stupid she thinks kids books are and who would pay for that? So I am writing this today to ask each and every one of you to support each...

I stumbled across this article this morning and I thought it was awesome so I am sharing with all of you. Great advice. For the full article click the link, otherwise just enjoy Amy's words of wisdom! http://hellogiggles.com/amy-poehler-life-coach-15-things-shes-taught 1.   “Anybody who doesn’t make you feel good, kick them to the curb. And the earlier you start in your life, the better.” 2.  “No one looks stupid when they’re having fun.” 3.  “Continue to share your heart with people even if it’s been broken.” 4.  “Rooting for other people’s failure  does  get in the way of your success.” 5.  “You can’t do it alone. As you navigate through the rest of your life, be open to collaboration. Other people and other people’s ideas are often better than your own. Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you, and spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life. No one is here today because they did it on their own.” 6.  ...

Just thought I would give this blog some art love!!! Happy Monday~ 

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/06/27/health/golden-gate-suicide-barrier/ This is great news. The thing is, there is no way to guarantee someone won't take their life, but making it harder is a step in the right direction. For those of you following me for many years know that I was one of those people just 5 years ago. The pain of losing my brother, my mother and my father was in a home at the time not always knowing who I was and I was not working full time. It seemed like no matter what I tried to do, nothing changed and it was hard and I was in pain 24/7. So I drove up to jump NOT because I wanted to die, because I wanted the pain to stop. I also do not have a mental illness, but after 9 years of this sorrow and devastation that kept coming, I couldn't take it anymore. I stood on the bridge for 45 minutes crying and only one person stopped to talk to me, she asked for a photo. That said I didn't feel like people didn't care about me. I knew that I was leaving behind f...