The very first page of the first sketchbook in this series. I made the book on December 3, 2023 in the basement of Constellation Studios, which is a printmaking (and bookbinding, letterpress, and paper making) studio in Lincoln, Nebraska. It is run by the incredible Karen Kunc, who is a pillar of the Nebraska arts community, an incomparable talent, and a genuine delight to be around. I have much to be grateful to Karen for.

A sleepy page, featuring some musings about funhouse mirror distortion.

fart + rainy day

a little emo cartooning, plus the first appearance of the crossword puzzle in my work

A disco-y wall (?) to the left, and Wolf and I (permanently sleepy) to the right. Love that guy.

A list of hints from a crossword puzzle, including #29, “sea god” + the subsequently inspired line “see god in the eyes of another.” This is one of the first instances, I think, where I’m thinking in my books about seeing, being seen, and the beautiful and limited but also infinite connection that comes from that.

On the right, is an eco-printed page that I printed with my mentor Karen Kunc.

More eco-printed paper. As the page says, I had been shown photos of the newborn baby of a regular at the coffee shop that I worked at. Cute baby. I have terrible baby fever. Maybe that deer on the right does too. Deer are terrible difficult to draw.

The last of this eco-printed page, plus some sketches from the coffee shop, Notably featuring my former coworker Syann (who is a delight, and also an artist herself).

The beginnings of a mind map (organizing ones thoughts is always a struggle, all the more when you’re desperately trying to run from your own predilections) and some body pains. My beautiful Wolf, as well, rendered in a not-too-flattering color palette. He remains beautiful, despite the color palette.

Musings for a future screen print that did NOT turn out how I wanted it to. I learned a valuable lesson that solid shapes are better for overlays than highly-rendered images. This is the closest that print has come to seeing the light of day.

A sketch of my friend Ray on the left, which I must’ve been dissatisfied with and covered with the “glass” packing slip. Starman to the right (self-explanatory).

This spread comes of the heels of me listening to the heart-wrenching episode on the song Auld Lang Syne from John Green’s “The Anthropocene Reviewed”. I tried the listen to it for the first time while on the way out of my apartment, and it left me singing along through tears on the floor of my apartment, leaned up against the door and too tender to leave.

Notes + self portrait + marker tests + some other form that I do not remember the origin of

Cats and a Bowie (from memory, so not the most accurate lol)

Perma-cold fingers, and sketching for a bookplate gift that I never finished making (oops)

More sketching for that bookplate, and a wintry pomegranate (god, I love pomegranates. but why must the most delicious fruits be the most annoying to prepare?)

plane sketching!

Per the last drawing, some doodles of the hosts of a podcast that I listened to on the plane (My Brother, My Brother and Me) + some doodles of friends. I think I was trying to work on my cartooning here. On the right is the front of an envelope that I folded + sewed into the book!

The other side of the folder, + more bookplate sketching and the contour of a pine tree. I miss pine trees (not many of them in Chicago).

Wolf’s siblings and family dogs and a Christmas ornament. The dog featured was a bit of a terror at the time, but he is small and a traumatized rescue dog, so we forgive him.

More family members, and a friend of Wolf’s sibling.

gouache paintings of my beloved Wolf, and our dear friend Eoghan.

More gouache paintings of friends. It’s good to have friends who don’t mind being painted at the hangout lol.

A twiggy on the left, and some abstracted emo drawings on the right. Thank god for psych meds, amirite?

Another friend painting of my buddy Ike, and some layered figure drawings of climbers at the indoor climbing gym in SLC.

More layered climber drawings, and an attempt to refresh my rusted math skills.

mmmmm appy slices :)

a primary-colored dancer and a paper-cut collage face.

More paper-cut collage (not particularly fond of this one) and a collage/drawing of the gorgeous sashiko’d pants that Wolf’s mom, Katherine (also a delight and a true artist), repaired for him.

Snow warning, and a terrible-proportioned sketch of Wolf. I think this was a day or so after my grandfather passed, which was the impetus to paint a portrait of him, as mentioned. I did paint a portrait from a photo of him at his 50th birthday party. I think he would’ve liked it. He looked happy.

Sketches of blurred photos, the start of an idea. The left side is a sketch of Fia eating a Costco hot dog.

More sketches of camera shake. I love drawing with cheap ballpoint pens, they make surprisingly sensitive marks and layer beautifully.

Sketches from childhood photographs, featuring my old buddy Snowball and my classic pigtails. I think at this point I was home for my grandfather’s funeral.

The day of my grandfather’s funeral. Somewhat of a difficult spread to write about, though I expect it’s self-explanatory.

to-do list, and a frightening sketch for a future print.

The end of the line, as far as this train goes. TTFN.