Grow Wild Workshop!

I'm so excited to announce that I'll be speaking as part of a line up of wildly talented and creative business folks at the Grow Wild Workshop hosted by Violet Tinder Studios! To be honest, public speaking is not my favorite but I'm warming up to it because I realized how important it is for me to stand up, tell my story, and be seen as a woman of color artist & entrepreneur. While I never think of myself as a woman of color first, I know how important it is to be out here representing. As Marian Edelman Wright said, "You can't be what you can't see." 

That being said, it's not something I'm planning on doing a lot (after all, if you're out there talking the talk, you don't have time to be in the studio walking the walk, and I have a lot more work to make!) – but I am very excited for this opportunity to speak to a small group for this very inspiring and beautiful event!

So if you've ever wanted to hear me talk about my career, answer your very specific questions, and talk shop in general – please come! Tickets are on sale TODAY, space is VERY limited, and the prices go up to their full price in a week!

Here are the event details:
Grow Wild Workshop
Sunday, March 11, 2018
10 AM - 4 PM
San Juan Capistrano, CA
Includes food, goodie bags, champagne toast, and more to come!
Get tickets, speaker info, and more here!
 

January Favorites

I thought it'd be nice to keep track of the things that I've read, watched, listened to, bought, and loved each month – the things that I can't stop thinking about and recommending to friends – in a new column. It's nice to look back and remember what I was into each month, since this world moves so fast and we evolve even faster with it.

So, for January, here's what I loved:

1. Daring Greatly, by Brené Brown
2. Oprah's Golden Globe speech. (I made this above artwork inspired by it, you may get the print in my shop – I'm donating 50% of the proceeds to the TimesUp Legal Defense Fund).
3. And of course, Oprah's Super Soul Conversations podcast, especially the episodes with Brené Brown, Shawn Achor, Shonda Rhimes, and RuPaul.
4. Body Love, by Kelly Leveque
5. Ingrid Goes West 
6. The Post
7. Testing out this Watermelon Glow Sleep Mask from Glow Recipe.
8. Yoga with Adriene! I love this 5 minute morning video for when I just gotta get going.
9. These high-waisted Madewell jeans changed my life.

What are some things you discovered and loved in January?
 

My Favorite Packaging & Shipping Sources

I've switched my shipping suppliers this year due to some very disturbing news that came to public light about my original supplier, and I wanted to share my new favorite places to get supplies so that you could also make the switch. Sourcing requires a huge amount of time and resources to research and try out different products (in corporations, it's someone's entire job!), so I don't often share my suppliers but I wanted to make it easier in this special case to support and build better businesses and in turn, a better world. It's important to vote with your dollars, especially when you're running a business and you get to make these decisions. Resistance and change starts with small steps, even these.

Here are my favorite packaging & shipping suppliers:

• PaperMart - I get my flat shippers for prints and boxes for pins and larger items from here.

• ClearBags - all my sleeves and backing boards come from here, they also have eco-friendly packaging too that I'll be checking out with my next order!

• Amazon - when I need things in a pinch (Prime shipping!), more hit or miss so read the reviews!

• EcoEnclose - this one was recommended to me on IG so I haven't tried them out yet, but I'm switching to more eco-friendly packaging as I move forward with my business in 2018 because I think it's important to be conscientious of the trash we're creating in this world. It's gonna be a major issue if we don't!

• RoyalMailers - recommended by my friend Robin of Scotch & Cream

• GT Bag - recommended by my friend Liz of Lionheart Prints

• Kelly Paper - recommended by my friend Jian of Bearo, I also have gone to Kelly Paper before to pick up plastic sleeves. It's best to go in store, so they're good if you're in a pinch!

Please let me know if you have any favorite shipping/packaging supply places in the comments! 

Legendary Ladies Book Cover Reveal!

I'm so excited to finally share today the COVER for my next book, Legendary Ladies: 50 Goddesses to Empower and Inspire You. Published by Chronicle Books, Legendary Ladies features goddesses from major pantheons around the world – their myths, their impacts on our culture, and many ways to worship and work with these powerhouses of feminine divinity. 

I did a lot of research, writing, editing, and diagramming (book writing involves a surprising number of color-coordinated spreadsheets for me) to bring you 50 mythical goddesses that will not only inspire you with their origin stories, but also empower you with their strength, love, and compassion. There will be goddesses to call on for every phase of your life you may need support through; I wanted this book to be a best friend through hard times and good, a guidebook for how to get in touch with the divine feminine within yourself, and an inspiration to flip through. I was also able to get a lot more lush and whimsical with the art in this book, and I cannot wait to share the full thing with you when it comes out next April!

PRE-ORDER the book now here on Amazon, here at Barnes & Noble, or here through IndieBound! Pre-orders are super important to books because it shows the gun-shy retailers that the book will be in demand so they order more and publishers can plan better for the supply demand – and all the pre-orders are counted as sales for the first day the book comes out, which helps boost visibility and REALLY helps your favorite authors. Also most pre-orders are not charged until the day the book comes out (check with the place you're ordering!), so it costs you almost nothing to give the biggest show of support to your favorite artists and authors. Good to know not just for this book, but for any book that brings you joy and excitement!

Book cover designed by Jennifer Tolo Pierce.

The Tiger Rider

Sharing a preview of my piece "The Tiger Rider" for Giant Robot's Go Get Em Tiger group show – the piece is still available at the moment and you may shop the piece here. I had a really great time exploring a new direction with this piece and drawing a bunch of tiger studies. Tigers are so beautiful and majestic.

On Meditation

A week ago, I asked for meditation advice on my IG story. I really want to start a meditation practice to center myself and find inner peace; and to be more in tune with flow, creativity, and the universe. I've been a casual meditator for the past year, using YouTube videos, SoundCloud guides, Oprah & Deepak, even a subscription to Headspace. 

I'd read that you should meditate first thing in the morning, so that's how I approached it. However, it was a major struggle for me, especially during stressful times which is also when I needed it the most. Since I run my own business, I'm pretty much get-up-and-go from the minute I wake up. It was super hard NOT to get into that immediately when I get up, and forcing myself to meditate on the moment for twenty minutes made me kind of hazy on my to-do list (even when it was written down) when it was over or I kept thinking of new things to add. This wasn't working.

At the suggestion of many of you, I started meditating at night, right before bed. I have insomnia (who doesn't after 30), and focusing my mind right before bed has helped. A natural night owl, I also feel more creative and come up with ideas non-stop at night, which is the worst when you're trying to sleep. I've found that meditating before bed has been helpful in corralling those thoughts, even better than the morning. It's a time that I want to think and process and just let ideas flow, and meditation helps center me and feel the thoughts run through freely.

I'm using the Calm app's free trial at the moment, and so far I like it better than Headspace. Headspace really helped me in the beginning, but after awhile it became kind of rote – I'm sure it helps other people, it just didn't work for me in the long run. 

I also read my friend Yumi Sakugawa's book, There's No Right Way to Meditate, which helped me release the guilt and anxiety about meditating a "right way" to get maximum efficiency. 

Here are a few other suggestions that I got and will try out:
+ Oprah and Deepak's 21 Day Meditation Experience, when a new one starts, it's free. I'm going to try this one again and actually complete the 21 day challenge!
+ Transcendental Meditation (which I need to do more research on)
+ Insight Timer
+ Candle meditation (visually focusing on a candle instead of closing your eyes)
+ Take a meditation class

Are you a meditator? Have you tried other things not mentioned here? Tell me about it in the comments!

 

Interviews!

I've been doing a few fun interviews around the internet and wanted to update you with them here:

• Postable
Did a fun interview with one of my favorite partners, Postable, where you can order and send my cards directly through them! This interview published with a Beyoncé gif so it's definitely one of my favorite interviews I've done in a long time.

• New York Public Library
Had a conversation with the NYPL just in time to launch our window.

• DisneyStyle
Sharing art and advice with DisneyStyle.

• Raise Your Hand, Say Yes
This one's for your listening pleasure – I did this podcast interview (who's not obsessed with podcasts right now) with Tiffany Han last fall and forgot to post about it! We chatted for so long that there are actually two parts. Start here, and part two here.

 

Happy reading!

April Artist in Residence at Wonderground Gallery

This year has been flying by in such a whirlwind! I just wanted to pop in to say THANK YOU so much to every one of you who made it out to see me during my residency at the Wonderground Gallery in Downtown Disney! I had so much fun painting Disney princesses, signing your artwork, and chatting with so many of you. And maybe a little too much fun dressing up every weekend too – since it is one of my favorite things to do and my dogs don't get too impressed when I dress up to work in my studio.

(The photo above was taken during Dapper Day, where I was Disney-bounding as my favorite minor Disney character Clarice Chipmunk!)

Also super excited to share that my first official Disney pieces debuted in April as well! The original paintings for "The Girl with Fins" and "Dressed in Dreams" have already sold, but the original "Centaurettes in Bloom", along with all the canvas giclées, deluxe prints, postcards, and even COMPACT MIRRORS are available in Wonderground now!

Fun fact: "Centaurettes in Bloom" is framed in an exclusive Club 33 frame.

It was an incredible April, and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to share my work with Disney and all of you! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your support.