This week has thrown all kinds of curve balls at me. The only way I’ve managed to handle them is by focusing on one moment at a time. Over the years, my favorite coping strategy has been to focus on my feet.
For a few seconds—or even just a minute—I notice the skin against my sock, the weight of each toe, and the way my feet anchor me to the floor (or float weightless if I’m lying down). I remind myself that whatever happened five minutes ago is already over, and whatever might happen five minutes from now hasn’t happened yet. In this moment, I’m whole, breathing, and right here.
Because of these more pressing life matters, I’ve spent much of this week waiting in hospital rooms. The upside of all that waiting is that I’ve had time to work on the Tales of the Woodland Watchers collection. The zine’s about halfway drafted. I’ve finished one digital illustration (although I’m not entirely happy with it), and I’ve begun a second. Here’s a sneak peek:
I think this image will look even better as an ink-and-watercolor painting, and I’m excited to try it out as soon as I get the opportunity. In the zine, the owl sits beneath the moonlight at the forest’s edge, and he carries a book with him:
“Tell me,” he says, “of the thing that keeps you awake when the wind rattles the windows.”
So you speak—about the question you’ve carried too long, the memory you can’t put down.
He listens without a sound, then scratches on a page before closing the book and lifting into the moonlight, leaving only the rustle of leaves and an uneasy shiver as the night hides your words away.
I hope that, together, the story and illustration will bring to mind a spooky October night.
The weather has certainly been spooky lately. Instead of our hot, humid Tennessee August, we’ve been having a few cool, dry days. They probably won’t last long. but the change feels like autumn is coming, perfect timing for my next illustration in the series: a squirrel who guides the lost through the autumn woods. The cool weather and shorter days will help inspire his story.
Stay tuned for more updates about this new collection! In the meantime, if you’re curious about what first inspired me to begin the Woodland Watchers collection, you can read the backstory here: In Praise of the Story-Seeker’s Gremlin.
