#8: 🎧 Sipping up as much summer as I can

All of my warm weather feelings, public art in Philly and NYC, and some announcements

You can listen to this newsletter in the audio clip above!

Hey there,

It took me way more drafts than I care to admit to send this one to you. My life is moving so fast this year that as soon as I have an update almost 75% done, a new project or trip or life bump stumbles into my path and a draft goes unfinished.

I booked enough work this summer to actually take a breath and not worry as much about survival. It's extremely noticeable to me how much having booked projects in my back pocket drastically improves my mental health; when work is in the calendar and I know what's coming, I can simply focus on the tasks ahead and allow the existential fear of whether my life path is sustainable to subside. In these seasons, I don't feel an ounce of guilt about spending one day working and another day walking through Queen Village, yucking it up with friends who own shops along Fabric Row and biking through the streets all afternoon until I’m sweaty and gross.

I wish I could find that internal peace and balance during professional seasons when projects are less abundant, but I'm not there yet. I know it’s not healthy to tie up my mental wellbeing with work, but having that self-awareness hasn’t necessarily opened up a path for me to loosen up the pressure I put on myself. In slow seasons, every moment I’m not working or trying to find work elevates it to extreme importance. In busier, or honestly just balanced seasons, I’m a lot more lenient with myself. It's one of many challenges I’ve experienced with self-employment, and to be honest with you, I'm grateful I haven't had to confront it head-on this summer.

Summer always feels like it flies by, so I've been putting in extra effort to cherish my favorite little things about the season. I love how my neighborhood comes alive during the summer. I’ve been trying as many water ice specials at John's as I can muster and counting the zinnias that crop up in my neighbors' planters. My partner and I are hoping to grow some of our own next year... and I'm just letting you know that so we stay accountable. Here’s a quick doodle of more summer sweet things:

This is less fun…

But for the first time in my career as an artist, I've started feeling some arm pain and numbness that have kinda shaken me to my core. While I now have a treatment plan in place and have been much more diligent about taking breaks to ice my hand, the experience has reminded me that I can't treat myself like a machine. It's hard for me to accept that even when I don't intend to, I've created a norm of pushing my body past its limit. I often forget how many hours pass when I feel like I'm only a few inches away from finishing up a zine or an illustration, working my arm and wrist until the sky gets dark because I still feel like I have enough energy to do it. I now have to stop more often, or else my body will face the consequences. This will definitely be an ongoing process for me, so send healing thoughts my way. 

Seasons of Reciprocity

In July, I finished up "Seasons of Reciprocity," a 3-panel, 200 square foot mural that now lives in the in-patient pediatrics unit floor at Metropolitan Hospital.

The last time we chatted, I was gathering information from the Metropolitan team in preparation for my project. It was clear to me from our conversations that the team provides a lot more than care for patients; from back-to-school supplies to clothing drives to holiday photos with Santa, Metropolitan seeks to make the in-patient pediatrics unit feel like a small slice of home for families going through a difficult time. I was especially intrigued by the fact that nurses and trained volunteers clock in hours each day to hold infants because touch is such an integral part of childhood development and human survival. Hands, and the motif I'm calling the hand wreath, became a core symbol in the sketches that became the final product:

Photos of the mural in this newsletter and the thumbnail were taken by David Schulder

Art Along 9th Street

In between visits to New York for the hospital mural, I was one of twelve artists to develop art for Our Market, "a community-centered.. multi-year public art project created and led by local artist Michelle Angela Ortiz" that runs along the historic 9th Street Market in South Philly. The project includes the creation of light boxes, murals, revitalized produce stands, digitally archiving residents' oral histories, and plenty more.

Michelle shared food and stories with our artist group in her studio to get us excited for the project. In addition to being a prolific artist whose work often incorporates social justice, Michelle is a lifelong resident of the Market. One of the best parts of being an Our Market artist was hearing about her personal connections to just about everyone involved with the project. My translator, Epi, was a true South Philly character who officiated Michelle's wedding and also contributed to the book South Philadelphia: Mummers, Memories, and the Melrose Diner. 

With Epi's help, I chatted with Maria of Mexibike to hear more about what it was like immigrating from Puebla, Mexico. I learned how the bike shop she runs was originally her children's father's vision, an idea he wasn't able to see through since he tragically passed away several years ago. The shop primarily caters to migrant workers, many of whom are young men delivering food around the city to support their families and biking miles across the city to get to and from school. In our conversations, Maria also shared hopes that her children will go on to college and maybe also become entrepreneurs like her. Our conversations turned into the artwork adorning these light boxes -- a visual story that speaks to her family's journey toward brighter days ahead.

This artwork is particularly tough to photograph, but imagine that you’re walking down a covered sidewalk alongside storefronts and look up at the metal covering structure to see these designed light boxes illuminating the way.

This project is unique in how it serves as both beautification and function, lighting up the Italian Market corridor so it's safer for folks to traverse at night. It was especially awesome to be part of this project as a resident of the neighborhood! It’s more special to walk down 9th Street now and give the light boxes a little wave and smile while I walk my dog through the market stalls on long summer nights. You can see my light box and others by friends like Madeleine Conover and James Olstein on 9th Street between Washington Avenue and Ellsworth Street.

Some exciting news…

I’m over the moon to share that I’m now represented by Saritza Hernández at Andrea Brown Literary Agency! There is an especially magical, right-place-at-the-right time story that accompanies this announcement, which I'll do my best to share in a paragraph:

I visited the Highlights Foundation in the Poconos back in April for a weekend-long retreat of workshops and critiques dedicated to becoming savvier illustrators and writers within the publishing industry. I got to meet folks like Scholastic's executive art director Brian LaRossa and Vashti Harrison, the author and illustrator of the Caledcott winning book, Big, in a setting beyond what a typical conference would offer. I had never been to this style of retreat, where you get to hang out with budding authors and publishing legends over ice cream sundaes at a slumber party in the mountains. I filled out page upon page of notes on what to expect when you release a title, how to plan spreads for a picture book, and the do's and don'ts for a great online portfolio. My scholarship to attend the retreat included a critique, and I chose Jenn Laughran, a senior agent at Andrea Brown. It was my goal to start seeking representation next year and I had painstakingly crafted children's portfolio pieces during my slow winter months in preparation. I expected a twenty-minute shred session with Jenn, and frankly I still feel a little shocked that that did not happen! Instead I was asked to reach out when the conference was over (!), where one conversation led to another, and I very happily signed with Saritza in May.

You can still contact me directly for all other projects, but please direct books and cover inquiries to her at saritza[at]andreabrownlit.com.

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On the same day I checked into my lodging at the Highlights Foundation, I learned that I was selected for a project that will be the topic of my next newsletter. Cliffhanger, I know! I cannot WAIT to tell you all about it in September. Until then, sip up as much of the last of summer as you can, ideally through a 90s style silly straw.

With all my best,

Cindy