Man, it’s been a busy last month or so… my husband and I have been moving house, after the owner of the apartment we lived in for eight years decided to sell (for good reasons!). It’s both been hella stressful (moving always is) and not nearly as stressful as it could have been, so I’m calling it a success! We still have things to do, but the bulk of the move is done, and now comes the long process of unpacking and settling in.

We moved into an apartment much smaller than our old one, so we had to do a lot of downsizing. Mainly this meant giving up a lot of our books; both my husband and I are huge physical book lovers, and especially for him having to give up so many was a major exercise in Letting Go. But our new home has its pros: 1) it’s in an AMAZING location, right in the heart of our favourite Vancouver neighbourhood, 2) it’s a brand new, gorgeous rental building with in-suite washers and driers and a beautiful rooftop patio… we are well aware that we are now “Those jerks” moving into the fancy new high rises that are changing the neighbourhood so quickly, but what are you gonna do? It was either this or be pushed out altogether, 3) this building allows pets, which is a major plus considering how few buildings in Vancouver do, but not only that they allow 2 pets per unit without any weight limits! We’re so excited to someday soon expanding our family to include a dog, something we’ve dreamed about for years, and not only that but we can get the dog we really want rather than having to settle for something tiny under a certain weight limit. Agh, we’re so happy with this place!

Ok, so enough with me gushing. What’s going on in my world of comics and art? There are so many exciting things I don’t know where to start! Well, let’s just list them:

1. I’ll be attending the Alaska Robotics Mini-Con and Comics Camp for the second year in a row, which takes place this weekend! I’m so excited to fly up to Juneau again and spend time in gorgeous Alaska with so many amazing creators from all over. Attending last year was one of the greatest experiences of my life, and I can’t wait to take part again. It really is something special!

   

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2. I’ll also be running my first ever workshop at Comics Camp, a Horse Drawing Workshop. I’m both excited and terrified at the prospect; I’ve never taught anything to a group like this before in my life! But I’m calmed by the knowledge of it being a very chill place full of kind, wonderful people. I’ll get to sit down and chat about and draw horses with folks, and that sounds like a good time for me. 🙂 I’ve been going a little overboard, perhaps, on preparing some tutorial/tips pages, but I hope it’ll be useful for people! I’ll make sure to put all the resources up for download when it’s all done with.

   

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3. I have a hush-hush comic project in the works, a collaboration with the amazing Danae Wilding, which is sadly on the backburner right now as I focus on moving and the looming Comics Camp, but I’m SO EXCITED to make this thing! It will be taking up all my energy once Camp is over. Here’s a hint: It will be very horse-y. Are we surprised? 😉

   

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4. For the first time ever, I’ll be exhibiting at the Vancouver Comic Arts Festival on May 19th and 20th! I’m so jazzed about this, y’all have no idea. I’ve never exhibited at a convention before or sold my own work, so this is going to be a lot of firsts for me. I’m I’m starting off on a good foot: all my merch is printed and has been for over a month now, so I’m good to go there. I’ve got my table cover, display materials, and packaging pretty much squared away. And speaking of squares: I signed up with Square Reader so I can accept credit card payments, something I’m really excited about! I’ll be using the Square app to do inventory management and record cash payments, too, so I’m feeling super ready! I’ll be debuting chapter one of Sable & Aster, as well as a 30-page colouring book of my Snowflake designs! In addition, I’ll have prints of my Bouguereau Women paintings, and snowflake stickers. If you’re in the Vancouver area come May, please come visit and say hi! Once I have a table number I’ll let y’all know! Admission is free, so you have no excuse. 😉

   

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That’s about it for now, but man, this is a lot for me! In not-so-big news I’ve been experimenting with pixel art, which I’ve been enjoying a lot, but I’m holding back on sharing until I have something I’m really proud of. I’ve also written a few short stories which I think might make interesting comics, which I hope you’ll all like once I get them scripted, thumbnailed, and drawn. These might take a little longer, but at least I have plans!

I’m looking forward to a fresh start this summer, and a renewed focus on making awesome things and sharing them with the world. The next couple of months will be super exciting for me, and I can’t wait wait! See you then!

— Heather