Good-Bye, July.

July has pretty much come and gone. It’s been hot, and we did get in the pool a bit, but I fear that we might not get there again before the man goes back to work. The boy, however, has no work to do, and is antsy. He’s crawling and wearing us out! Oh, pool, I wish you were right out my back door. Maybe the sprinklers will do?

I’ve made some progress on the B. Tull Mysteries, a collection of short stories starring B. Tull, Private Eye. I thought I would have finished illustrating it this Summer, but I’ve only completed this piece (above), and I’m still working on revisions to the text as well. It’s always slower than you think!

My saving grace this last week, when the boy was screaming and teething and writhing around, was this podcast, Creative PepTalk. Making art is lonely sometimes, and childrens books take a really LOOOOONG time, so it’s bound to be challenging. Even though I love it, no one thrives on multitudes of isolation and concentrated efforts. Sometimes I wonder what the heck I’m doing. Does anyone care? Do I even care anymore? I think that’s the tiredness sometimes, but it’s also the isolation, which comes along with “working from home”.

Alas, artists make progress, though, and one day we have something to share with others, and we get an “Oh cool!” or “This is fabulous!” and our hearts kind of melt like the doldrums were worth it! I’m making this book for my baby boy, and I cannot wait to read it to him. :) He makes it worth it.

Here’s another image I made for my tech company, fly.io. I do feel like that I get to draw cartoons all day.

Have a wonderful rest of your Summer, and a longer update on the new book is coming soon! Here’s a recipe of my favorite snack/breakfast before I go. It’s from a cookbook I just bought and LOVE, and is geared toward athletes, so it’s got lots of power-packed treats.

-Annie

July 2022: True Quiet

Although 2022 has felt like a quiet year to me, this last month ramped up real fast, and I lost my balance a bit. Pregnancy has made me very sensitive to pace, to sugar, caffeine, and to my output. Since feeling better during my second trimester, I guess I got a little carried away with all of these things and turned the dial up, playing with fire. So this month I want to focus and explore q u i e t.

Quieting down, turning the dials back to low, letting things simmer and taking a step back….

First, I will invite anyone who reads this to take a few deep, slow breaths. Our nervous systems can use it! It’s amazing what a short pause can do, along with some deep inhales and exhales. How often do we stop and breathe?

And the phone. The emails. The calls and appointments! On top of work meetings, we have to fit in hair appointments, doctors appointments, kids classes, etc. Although it’s wonderful to be involved to “stay on top of things”, it’s helpful to remember that we don’t have to do it all. We just don’t. Sometimes it’s completely ok to take an afternoon off and hang out on the couch, doing quiet things.

I found this article about focusing and reducing distractions, and is actually really great. I’m surprised I found it on the American Express website, a website that promotes being in debt- haha! But the list reflects a very simple regimen of turning things off, taking a step away from the work, and engaging in more play.

PLAY

Play is defined by the Cambridge dictionary as “doing an activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose.” Now, I’m not sure if you play much, but I know I don’t. I just started going to the community pool a couple times a week for some exercise, but I try and allow myself to feel the coolness of the water and tune out the rest of my agenda that day. I really enjoy swimming and even though it’s exercise, it feels more like play than most other things I’m doing lately. Why is this? Is it because it’s active? Because it’s sensuous? Because I literally cannot hold a phone in the water??

I think play has a way of cycling in spaciousness to our psyche so that we can experience stillness. It’s almost as if the play acts as a stimulant, washing clean the ever-talking mind, so that when we relax after play, we truly feel the quiet.

TURN it off

The other point I really like from the list is about Turning Off Distractions. For me, my distractions are all tech related. I do not have any kids (just yet) and I do not work in a busy office. My distractions are self perpetuated because I keep my phone on. But what if I didn’t? And what if I didn’t surf the web for a week?

This article is inspiring- try turning off your phone for an entire week. How would that fair? I’d have to let my family know, but otherwise, I think it might work out ok. One could always check their messages once a day (maybe via their laptop) just to stay on top of important news, but otherwise, be free child! Go play and be well. Get off the damn phone- says Annie to herself. I do long for this.

Once the phone is off, however, the boredom sets in. For a while now, everyone has gotten used to being on their phones, having it near them, checking messages or even sending one to a friend. It’s like an itch that longs to be scratched, when we turn off our phones. I imagine that once we get over the withdraws, the spaciousness sets in and we can seek true enjoyment. I’ve never considered myself addicted to my phone, but I honestly think we all are. It’s such a huge part of our lives, that it’s very strange to live without it for longer than an afternoon. Do I dare attempt this week long shut off? Do I dare go screen free for seven days, including TV and web surfing??

Taking a step back

Lastly, choosing to stop and do something else, can really help us find focus/quiet/peace. For me, this is often a walk, a few stretches, or dancing to a couple of my favorite tunes. It’s always movement for me. The stress builds and I get irritable when I keep my butt stuck in a chair for too long.

What do you do to get quiet, and I mean to reallllly find that spaciousness? Can you go a week without your phone? Do you already do this? How do you play and how often do you do it? I’d love to know, since I’m a bit of a work-a-holic over here.

What’s new:

• I’ve been working with local Libraries to pick up a copy of SOMETIMES IT’S BRIGHT. If you don’t mind requesting this title form your library, it would be a huge help!

• The new Expansion pack will launch next week! Carrie and I are so excited, after months of delays and printing kerfuffles. The time has come!

• I am working on a new picture book about a sweet but eccentric girl who gets sick on performance day. More about this soon, but I’m having fun in my sketchbook, playing with colors and an illustration style.

• I added some designs to my storefront. Hope you enjoy!

The new Expansion pack to the Spacious Tarot

Development for a new picture book- testing colors and illustration style.

Some products I’ve been designing for funsies.

Connecting with local Libraries and bookstores to share SOMETIMES IT’S BRIGHT.

Thanksgiving Vibes

Howdy friends. Happy almost Thanksiving, which is the holiday that grows on me more and more every year! This time around, I'm going to order vegan Thanksgiving dinner, because although I love cooking, I'm feeling like letting the holiday work for ME, instead of work for the holiday. Thank you Kelly for the idea What about you? Do you have major family plans? Major napping plans?

I started off this month with an education in our United States voting process. As a poll worker, I got to see the whole shindig come together. My favorite part was seeing neighbors recognize each other, and kids go ga ga over "I voted" stickers. They're like gold to them.

Then a sweet and talented friend sent along a gorgeous print to me last week. I love her style and I love spooky things, so this was extra delicious. Thank you Zhen!!

My desk is a bit all over the place as I try to stay grounded with personal projects (still working on the picture book ideas with agent!) and my client work. To help me remember, I purchased some goodies like oat flower essence for recognizing my "calling", and a journal with motivational quotes about being our gosh darn SELVES. They have added a lot to my morning. Just having a ritual in place to work on very specific things that need my attention makes all the difference.

I'm so grateful for the support of my friends, family, and clients, as well as for the opportunity to make art for a living and for pleasure. This life truly is precious, and I hope you go forward through this holiday season recognizing how special our time is with loved ones- heck! even with strangers. All we have are moments, pieces of time. Opportunities to appreciate being alive. Here's to mounds of this. Happy Thanksgiving and lots of love,

Annie

Creating a "Relationship List" of Agents, Art Directors, Clients, and Friends

I don't like the word, "marketing" even though I know that's my weirdness. But I get to choose what words to use for my mission. That's another word- mission instead of "business". So, I'm showing you, today, how I'll be creating a relationship list" for my "mission".

I start with an amazingly helpful book called..."The Book" by SCBWI.org. what a great name- so simple! It's the Essential Guide to Publishing for Children. I like it because it's updated every year and it has people's actual names so you can address your mailers to humans and not titles. I have 50 postcards to send every month, so I'm dedicating 35 to my special folks in the industry, 10 or so to my clients that I work with often, and 5 to some friends who continuously comission me. If I could, I would send a postcard to EVERYONE, but I can't.

Let's begin.

Do Your Research

Create a spreadsheet of:

• Agents
• Art Directors
• Editors Who work with artists like you. It's important that you try and think like these folks and imagine what they're drawn to based on the artists and authors they use. If someone is publishing books about cute cupcakes and princesses, you might not want to send them moody Tim Burton like art. Or....if they seem to like contrast, maybe you do. Just feel them out.

Check people out on Twitter and get a grasp for their personality.

Look at some of your favorite books and see who worked on them. That'll tell you right there if you're work is appropriate.

Ask your fellow writers and illustrators if they have suggestions or even a list they use. If your work is similar, you can share lists. Woohoo!

Set up a plan to contact them often.

It's said that sending some postcards or mailers out 2-4 times a year is enough. I think even doing something every other month is great, especially if you're starting out. Get your work out there! Share what you do! You can make the most exciting and hilarious postcards. These are little gifts you are giving to the world.

Consistency is key (with everything you do). I am the queen of inconsistency, so I'm talking to my stubborn and doubtful self here, but it's important you make a plan and stick to it. It's also said it takes seven times for someone to see your ad, illustration, name, in order to remember you. So try and touch base with these folks 7 + times before you give up.

But please, don't give up. If you love the work you're doing, just think of all of this stuff as necessary push ups. You do push ups because you know you need to to gain strength, and they suck at first, but you'll appreciate you did them once they get easier and YOU get buff-tastic.

Find a Great Printer

This step kind of comes before the rest, but I thought I'd mention it anyway. Make sure you print with a company that can help your artwork shine. Moo.com is great. So it whcc.com is also fab.

Make a fun evening/morning out of it!

You get to enjoy this process if you want to. Ask some friends to come over and do a little co-working session together. Or treat yourself to a special coffee while you compile your list. This is the beginning of some great relationships! And you're celebrating the meaningful work you're doing by sharing it with protential new clients.

This is how I'm celebrating this process... my bestie Brianna works about 15 feet away (she's a kickass photographer) and she just wrote a post about working from home with energetic music, good people, and coffee. The key here: make it fun.

How do you connect with people and establish relationships? I have found some great friends on social media, but I feel like a noob when it comes to reaching clients on those platforms. What's worked for you? Not worked for you?

EXTRA EXTRA! I'll be launching a little campaign very soon! ...A One day sale of a special item, when all proceeds will be supporting creation and artistic expression. News about this soon, but please stay connected so you can hear about this announcement and help support the cause: @annieruygt on Twitter and Instagram.

Lots of LOVE!

Annie

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If you find spelling errors here, please let me know via the contact page. I'd love to make sure my content is useful to folks, and I don't have an editor right now! Thanks!

Annie is an author and illustrator with books available on Amazon and local book stores. She is open for commission, too! She lives in California, and loves tea, bike rides, reading, and exploring new places.