Hey, all! June has been extremely challenging and I don’t even know where to begin. There are so many difficult topics to cover here.
To start, I’ve had a bit of fallout this month from posting the portrait of Kev and myself in support of Black Lives Matter. Having to describe to people, especially close acquaintances, how this is not a terrorist movement, how ‘all lives matter’ is a dismissive statement, etc. has been exhausting (and only a fraction of what my husband has to deal with 24-7, every day of his life). But honestly, this discourse has been long overdue. I’m going to keep explaining and going to keep working on the charity portraits because it is important we keep speaking up and discussing difficult topics! It’s a discussion that needs to be ongoing and ever-present beyond the hashtag trend.
Speaking of difficult topics, I also have to discuss the fallout of Noah Bradley and Sam Flegal, both who have admitted to sexual misconduct publicly this month. As someone who helped promote Noah’s resources and classes, as well as someone who was heavily involved for years with One Fantastic Week where Sam participated as a co-host, I have been shaken to my core. I’ve lost two major communities for networking and sharing professional practices with other artists in the span of a couple of weeks, which is nothing next to the pain of the victims that have been coming forward risking their careers and friendships to speak out.
I hope that anyone who ever saw my recommendations to these communities here was never hurt by any of their actions. I don’t know what will become of these communities that were such major touchstones for many of my fellow artists and myself, but I do know the wildfire spread of people finally being brave enough to speak up is ultimately going to make us stronger and the community safer.
I also want to do my part here to help others, to provide alternatives for those who need them right now, which is why I’ve re-invigorated my side project, The Muse’s Library, so that I can return to more actively providing art biz advice, stock art, etc. We desperately need more variety in the voices putting out this material for aspiring artists and I want to contribute to that. This may mean a shake-up to this Patreon, as I may endeavor to share more advice articles, as you have seen me do in regards to my Kickstarter etc. I’m currently pondering how best I can bring that presence here or if it clashes too much with my Birthstone Goddesses endeavors. (If you have thoughts on this, let me know!)
This month has been disappointing and enlightening, for better or for worse. I don’t know what’s coming next this year, but all we can do is brace, encourage one another, and face that uncertain future together!
Coming Next Month:
I HOPE that after I finish shipping all the packages for the final pins Kickstarter that I can get back to creating! Now that the coloring page poll has been answered, I’ll continue bringing out new coloring page releases as well. I hope to share my mini art side trip exploring Anko’s 6 Outfits Challenge also!
Digest of June’s Posts
- [ART] No More Silence + Art for Charity Drive!
- [Art] BLM Portraits for Charity – Collection 1
- [Poll] Choose the Next Coloring Pages! Round 2 for Angelic Visions