Threadless Artist Shop!

I'm excited to share that I've opened a Threadless Artist Shop! My first shirt available is a hand-lettered quote from the fantastic writer Audre Lorde. I'd highly recommend reading her books, especially in these complicated political times. This is my favorite quote from her:

"Caring for myself is not indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare."

So shirts are now available with my handlettering, with 100% of my artist's commission going to support the ACLU. The shirt will be available until February 28, 2017, so act fast & grab one here now!

FORBES.

I am so honored to be featured on Forbes.com today. I'm so grateful that it came out today, which also marks the second anniversary of the day I left my job at Mattel to strike it out on my own. Writer and visionary Cate Scott Campbell asked really great questions and it was a pleasure to go deep with her on how I got here. 

If there's one thing I really want you to take away from this, it's that you've gotta believe in yourself. It's a lesson I've had to learn the hard way, after sorting through years of self-doubt, academic guidelines, societal standards, difficult work situations, and giving too much weight to other people's words. There have been many times that I was lucky enough to have people around me who believed in me more than I did at the time. 

I'm also grateful for all the challenges I've experienced, because it's taught me that no one knows what they're doing. So if you're gonna have faith in someone – it better be yourself. And if you're not there yet, if you're not the person you feel like you can count on yet – put in the hours and work on it until you are.

Like Queen Bey says – "I don't like to gamble, but if there's one thing I'm willing to bet on, it's myself." (Source.)

"Bad Girls Throughout History" Press

Bad Girls Throughout History is here! Writing a book is such a funny thing; books take about a year from final manuscript to release, so I've been sitting here for about 12 months waiting to share this with all of you. I've read and re-read the manuscript at least two dozen times, reviewing it with about a dozen different editors, copyeditors, and designers. Do you ever have that experience where words start to look spelled wrong because you've looked at it so many times? And then a year later – it's out in the world and you hope for the best and it's time to talk about it all again!

Thankfully, Bad Girls Throughout History has been received with such welcome arms. I'm honored to be interviewed and covered in so many exciting places, and I wanted to share a list here of all the interviews and press we've been getting for the book. It's fun to get to share some of the behind-the-scenes process with you through these interviews!

• PopSugar
It was first featured here under Editors' Picks for 4 Home Pieces to Snag this August.

• Sweet
Sweet featured five of my favorite women from the book on their Snapchat channel & website.

• The Establishment
I did an interview with The Establishment about how I got the idea for Bad Girls, my process working on the book, and what I hope people gain from reading it.

• The Cut
NY Mag's The Cut featured a sneak peek of portraits from Bad Girls Throughout History right before the book came out. 

• TIME
A Reminder That 'History' is Always Incomplete, an article by Lily Rothman covered Bad Girls Throughout History alongside Hidden Figures.

• Skirting The Rules
I spoke with Meghann Foye at Skirting The Rules, a fantastic new website about inspirational women, about How Breaking the Rules Can Help You Succeed – And Change the World. 

• FIDM Digital Arts Blog
A short & sweet interview with the kind folks at FIDM.

* HelloGiggles
'Bad Girls Throughout History' will give you all the female-powered motivation you need. So excited about this feature on the cutest and smartest place on the internet by the fabulous Marie Lodi!

"Bad Girls Throughout History" Book Trailer!

We're 3 (!) weeks out from the release of my first book, Bad Girls Throughout History! Wondering what the book is about? Well, I partnered with my talented animator husband, Ryan Shaw, to create this book trailer.

Wondering why the title of my book is about Bad Girls? I wanted to speak to a history of oppression and sexism that has told women how to behave. These ladies do just that. 

Pre-order Bad Girls Throughout History now! Click here to get your copy on Amazon!

Pre-order "Bad Girls Throughout History" now!

Photo courtesy of Chronicle Books

My book, Bad Girls Throughout History, comes out September 6th! I'm really excited to share it with you and see this book out in the wild.

While there will be many more words and news to come about the making-of this book, and my experience researching, writing, and illustrating this collection, right now you can PRE-ORDER it online! Because Chronicle Books is the best, they are also offering a Bad Girl limited edition enamel pin for the first 75 people who pre-ordered the book AND fill out the form here! If you've already pre-ordered (thank you!!), you just need to fill out the form to get a pin!

Quantities are very limited, so get on that list! And though we love you international readers just as much, the offer is good for U.S. domestic residents only.

Pre-order now!

Happy Summer!

Happy Summer solstice! Today marks the official beginning of summer & it sure feels like it with the 100 degree weather here in L.A.! I'm celebrating with a couple new sun illustrations & a free shipping sale in my shop (use code HELLOSUMMER16 to get free U.S. domestic shipping today)!

I'm also making a summer fun to-do list that includes tide pool visits, day trips, and lots of ice cream. What's on your summer schedule?

Monday Motivation from Baudelaire

Happy Monday! After a crazy weekend out and about, seeing The Little Mermaid Live at the Hollywood Bowl and then visiting Disneyland on a surprisingly easy Sunday, I'm a bit tired but excited to dive into this week. I started with this quote that's always inspired me to stay on that grind from Charles Baudelaire – the full quote is "Inspiration comes of working every day."

Hold Up, They Don't Love You Like I Love You

For my final Mermay, I was inspired by Beyoncé's "Hold Up" music video and her look by Roberto Cavalli. The whole album, Lemonade, has really been speaking to me lately, both visually and lyrically. It's been fun to work on Mermaid-themed illustrations for the month of May, playing around with more complex ideas and simple visual ideas, and seeing all the things that are popping up in the #MerMay hashtag on Instagram!

Penelope and Pete

People often ask me which one of my pieces is my favorite, and my (probably somewhat useless) answer is always, "my latest one". I just finished this piece, Penelope and Pete, today, after a weeklong struggle with the original sketch.

After the journey, I'm so happy with where I landed, here with Penelope, a mermaid, and her seabird, Pete. Penelope is a big fan of human jewels and wearable treasures, and Pete is her best pal with a talent for scavenging the loveliest of accessories.