*view of the corner of my drafting table in my home office/studio as it looked this morning. can’t help it. i like using all the things and all the colours. :)*

you may already know this, but i’m a wee bit obsessed with crayola.*

so when the director of FPC arts invited me to be a part of the 2026 gallery show: THE ART OF STORYTELLING, and we were to include a self-portrait with an illustrated frame to hang next to our pieces…. well, you may have guessed that crayons would show up SomeWhEre, no?! ;D

*as in, i’ve been to The Motherland (easton, pa) twice. once as a child and once last year (see that blog post here!)

*by the end of the night, still smiling next to “me,” but not quite as polished as the painted and collaged version… ;)*

*two of my author group pals: missy & ruth!*

last week was SO busy (working the “day job,” teaching a late-night watercolour class, packing for a weekend retreat at my literary agent’s house, etc. etc.), i nearly forgot to mention the show opening. gratefully and surprisingly, a number of friends and family showed up and made it oodles of easy “pretend to be famous” fun! ;D

^ my shockingly over-abundantly supportive parents came, too. i love them so…. and i can’t wait to dedicate my first (all?) my books to them for all the things forever they’ve blessed and helped me with in this kooky life of making stuff i continue to cobble together…

*my musician author pal rachel showed up just before i crawled home to get in my pajamas… :)*

at friday’s opening reception, i got to meet strangers/new “fans,” and chat with the other artists whose work was being shown in this incredibly diverse collection of illustration styles and topics.

and honestly: seeing my originals framed and hung?

i’ve hardly ever been more proud of my work.

when i was first approached about participating in the show, i honestly didn’t know if i had enough work to share. if it’s a commission, i mail the original work to the person (usually an author) so they can have it for their home/office/study desk/writing room!

so i didn’t know if i had any recent work that reflected my current style.

but i dug through my piles of pieces: and had enough work to share that the director and i had to make some tough decisions of what to show!

i mixed and matched painted backgrounds and my recent collage pieces and characters,* and poof: i had a show! yay!

*i’ve been using my patreon (“the crayon box”) for the past few years to develop my illustration portfolio. the pieces with a couple exceptions were works i’ve created in the past year and shown the process for as i continue to experiment with materials and collage techniques for future book projects…

^ a zip-zap-zop pan-by of my gallery wall!

i need to go back and take some better pics and study all the other works hanging— i was a bit distracted with all the people coming to see the show!

and as promised:

here’s the process video of that crayon-tastic self-portrait! :D

(with special appearances by felix and theodore in the frame, of course.)

time*lapse painting videos are a monthly perk of membership to the crayon box, my author-illustrator patreon. but in honor of the show, i thought i’d share it with you here, too!

explore crayon box membership options here