What I Made in 2022 (2/2)
Added 2022-12-30 23:58:01 +0000 UTCMy previous post summarized the first six months of the art I made in 2022, and now I present to you the second half!
July
Ok, so I found a buncha sketches from July that I could post but this (PARTIAL) batch of my potato harvest is way more impressive so I'd rather show that off.
LOOK WHAT I MADE ALL BY MYSELF WITH ONLY MY HANDS AND NO HELP FROM GOD OR ANYTHING.
August
My comic book studio/dysfunctional family, Helioscope, went out to the coast and I re-created the three missing pieces of the puzzle that came with our lodgings.
September
Havin' fun with stickers and collaging my sketchbook.
Oh! And, like, no bigs, but I finished the first draft of LETTERS FROM SPACE CAMP! Wow. 162 pages. It took me just over a year to produce. There's so much work still to go into the revisions, but, y'know, it's pretty cool to reach this first milestone. Thank you so much to everyone who has read it and especially thank you to the people who have reached out with their own experiences about their own Space Camps and mental health adventures. It means a lot to me.
Ok, enough with the sincerity. ONWARD.
October
..........or should I say.............
#BROCTOBER
Every day of October (except for the first five days), I documented the growth of the same broccoli sprout by first taking a photo and then drawing it later in a special sketchbook that was handmade by the friend of a friend.
October 5th on the left, October 31st on the right:
November
Back on my stickering-collaging bullshit, decorating my next (current) sketchbook.
December
What's this? Oh, no big deal, I just..............SEWED REPLACEMENT CURTAIN SASHES WITH MY SEWING MACHINE. (This is a big deal because this is the first Real Thing I've sewn on a machine in the last, like, thirty years)
At long last, I finished the front of my 2020 Quilt! (hand sewn, not machine) Now to just... sew on the middle stuffing and back. SEE U IN 2024.
Thank you so much to everyone who has followed along and cheered me on as I make all the weird bullshit that bubbles up in my brain. Transitioning away from Oh Joy Sex Toy after nearly a decade has been incredibly scary and stressful for Matt and me, but we keep being joyfully surprised again and again as patrons... show up. Some show up for OJST, some show up here for my personal work, and some show up for both. Some of you here have been showing up in one way or another for the last 20 years of me sharing my bullshit online.
It's really humbling.
I'm really grateful.
I've got a project in mind for all of us, you patrons and me, to collaborate on in 2023. I'll share the details soon. It's gunna involve.......appliqué >:)
My closing question:
What inspires you to feel grateful?
Comments
You're so welcome! I find I'm nervous a lot so nervously X has been embraced n_n
The Ferret
2023-01-08 02:00:20 +0000 UTCOne thing I want to do is write more — I've been blogging and journaling for several years now, but I think I'm ready to start writing longer things that can perhaps be published. I know how to explain technical stuff, so I'm thinking of technology guides for those who've never been taught or shown how to use tech before, particularly older folks. (I helped my mum out when she first got a computer, and now she's pretty tech-savvy.) I also have some ideas for stories and perhaps some smut, but those will be for my enjoyment and maybe a springboard for roleplay in Second Life. ;)
Spiffy Voxel
2023-01-07 09:26:47 +0000 UTC"Nervously intrigued" is my new favorite combination of words. Thank you for sharing your kind words with me, too <:) It means a lot.
Erika Moen
2023-01-06 23:42:02 +0000 UTCNot weird at all! I totally agree with you, loss *dramatically* makes me appreciate the good things in your life. Aww, and thank you so much for the kind words. Really truly, I'm touched and feel very humbled by them. Thank you, I appreciate it ♥
Erika Moen
2023-01-06 23:39:44 +0000 UTCOoh, if you feel like sharing, I'd love to hear where you're thinking of going with your life.
Erika Moen
2023-01-06 23:37:36 +0000 UTCThat was so lovely, thank you so much for sharing ♥
Erika Moen
2023-01-06 23:36:44 +0000 UTCOhmygosh applique!? I am nervously intrigued. I am so so grateful for my support network of friends and family and so many loves who make me happy to be here. And for you, for sharing these beautiful stories and comics and making me feel so seen all these many years.
The Ferret
2023-01-03 00:52:30 +0000 UTCThis is going to sound really weird, but what inspires gratitude in me is... loss. When things are going well, my anxiety floats freely and destroys my focus on the present, and gratitude is hard. But sometimes the universe gives me a smack and shouts, Pay Attention! So I am grateful for those Advance Warnings this year - that I can be truly present for some Last Time Ever things that are happening inside my family(ies), grateful to be able to really be there for these in-the-moment moments with the people I love the most, no matter how hard it is. ❤️❤️❤️❤️ And I'm grateful for you, Erika, grateful I found your work so long ago, grateful that you made this space for us, grateful for all the creators who model the kind of honesty and vulnerability I aspire to in my own diary comics as i try to process and synthesize what I'm going through. Thank you.
M Aidan
2022-12-31 16:31:21 +0000 UTCI'm grateful for my health, having a home and family, money in the bank and food in the fridge and cupboards, and relative security. Sadly, too many people are lacking some or all of those, even here in the UK. :( But I'm most grateful for finally having some idea of where I'm going in life, after decades of floundering. :) I may not be able to do much to change the bigger picture, but I can take steps to bring change to myself, my family and my community, and hope that ripple becomes a wave.
Spiffy Voxel
2022-12-31 10:39:51 +0000 UTCOmg, an applique collab with patrons?! YES PLEASE! What I have been feeling grateful for lately: space to take time with my family for the holidays. All the people in my life who show us generosity and love. Most of all, my little daughter, who is almost two years old now (!), who is currently straddling that fine line between "super cute baby who knows nothing of the shit storm that is the real world, and is therefore the sweetest and most innocent little soul" and "tiny human who is beginning to learn and use language and figure out her place in the world and mainly needs a gentle and loving guide to help her learn and grow." AAHHH. being a parent is such a privilege. and it is so unlike anything else I have ever experienced. So I'm feeling grateful that my little family has a safe and happy life, and that I get to enjoy seeing the world new and fresh and exciting again because I get to see it through my daughter's eyes.
Brittany B.
2022-12-31 03:25:05 +0000 UTCNo fair making me cry 😤
Erika Moen
2022-12-31 00:26:53 +0000 UTCIn the like minute I spent thinking about your update while I walked back and forth to feed my cats I suddenly got super emotional - I have been following your work for years, and DAR meant a lot to me when I discovered it in college and was slowly coming to the understanding that I am bisexual. I got married this year and I am really grateful for my wife! I'm so happy to be with her, to think of silly texts to send her that will make her laugh, and to have our life and our cats together, and I got here after this long identity journey that involves finding solace in your comics. I've also loved getting to follow your evolution as an artist and am grateful to get to see the beautiful things you create - comics and quilts and everything. Thank you and I hope 2023 is very kind to you!
Alenka Figa
2022-12-31 00:14:33 +0000 UTCI feel grateful when others show up for me in ways I don't expect
Bailey Doolittle
2022-12-31 00:13:24 +0000 UTC
