This is quite overdue, as I have been preoccupied with other things lately. But better late than never! I found out back in March that the Poetry Institute of Canada had once again awarded me a prize for their latest anthology. I won third prize for my poem 'The Workmen' - a deliciously dark monologue from a surprise perspective. I am so happy that I've been selected for a prize two years in a row. It's a huge boost to the confidence I have in my writing, and makes me want to hurry back to my desk and start scribbling out another macabre tale. Thanks to everyone who had read my work, I'm hoping to publish a collection soon, if I can get myself organized. As per, I have too many pots on the stove right now, but I am ticking things off the old list lately...slowly...one little tiny task at a time... But my ultimate goal is to mix my illustration and writing into one project, so I don't want to rush such a huge venture. If I can concentrate for 5 freakin' minutes, I can get it done... one day...
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In case you missed it on my instagram, I am so beyond excited to report that the SDCC official souvenir book 2017 published my article! A heartfelt piece about my Dad and I, it was created in celebration of the 25th anniversary of one of my all time favourite tv shows - 'Batman, The Animated Series'. And what's more, I was able to get it signed by the dark knight himself! Kevin Conroy - voice of Batman/Bruce Wayne in the show - very graciously signed a copy for both myself, and for my Dad. I was not aware before heading to Comic Con that they had published my work, so when I opened up my copy in the restaurant before dinner that night I literally screamed with delight. It was such a lovely surprise, and really kicked off the weekend right. My friend Ali (another cool illustrator, check her out on her website and on tumblr. Though she spends most, if not all of her time on Twitter) also got her illustration published for the Batgirl feature, so we were both mega stoked. We did have a hilarious conversation about the possibility of only one of us getting published, and even practiced our 'I'm so happy for you, but I'm dying on the inside' faces. Luckily neither one of us had to use them. If you weren't lucky enough to go to the event itself and pick up a copy of the book, fear not! I scanned it, so you can click this link to read the article right here from the comfort of your very own livingroom/office/classroom/toilet/whatever. I'm afraid I couldn't scan the entire book though, but if you're ever in the neighbourhood I might be convinced to let you borrow one of the 12 copies I own...maybe. It's finally started! For so long I've been trying to convince myself to get moving on this project - One of my ambitions for my illustration and my writing has always been to combine the two in a way that feels right for me. A lot of people have said that I should write a children's book. Now I have TONS of experience working with kids of all ages, from my time at summer camps, and teaching at the art studio. But it just didn't quite feel like the right fit. Since working on the wonderful Kooper's Tale I have been batting some ideas around on that subject, but for now I'll keep those on the back burner - with dozens of other projects all waiting to boil over...
What has taken my fancy, is really trying to go somewhere with my poetry. Thanks to the success of my poem 'All that had fallen' I became inspired to create a whole host of other creepy and slightly macabre poems and short stories, and put them together in an illustrated anthology. As I mentioned before on my old blog, I've taken a lot of inspiration from an absolutely brilliant illustrator called Emily Carroll, and a few other comic creators with a fantastic sense of style and storytelling. Now I've been working on this slowly here and there for a long time. I've got two or three comics already storyboarded out, and all the poetry ready to go. But me being me, I have this really nasty habit of questioning absolutely everything I do - to the point where it literally paralyzes any progress in a particular area, because I'm so scared of getting it wrong. It's a killer, to both my motivation as well as productivity. But enough is enough! I've messed about and skived off for way too long, and now that all I have is great ideas and time on my hands in between set days, I'm going for it! I'm one page down, with about 20 to go in this story alone....but forward is forward, and no matter how small the step, I'm inching that little bit closer to my goals one image at a time. What do you think? Now that I've finally settled on a look, I can't wait to get started on the rest. Come back soon and see if there's more! 'Island Tides' anthology from the Poetry Institute of Canada, featuring my award winning poem24/2/2017 Last week my copy of 'Island Tides' finally arrived. It's a lovely anthology featuring many amazing poems from writers all over Vancouver and Vancouver Island. The poems are all themed around the coast, and it is really interesting to read how each poet is influenced by it differently. I haven't read all of the poems featured yet, but I think I can probably say with confidence there won't be many that are about the dead rising from the sea... In the future I hope to illustrate the poem, and create a collection of my own. It will feature this, and other spooky short stories and poems that centre around the ocean - my favourite theme. As I create each page I'll post here, so keep coming back to check on my progress. If you would like to purchase a copy of this or previous anthologies from the Institute, you can email them here and they will send you prices and shipping fees. I am so proud to announce that my poem "All that had fallen" has been awarded second prize by the Poetry Institute of Canada in their annual anthology. I woke up this morning to a phone call with the news, and it put a spring in my step for the whole day - what a great start to the year!
The anthology, due to be released February of this year, had already chosen my poem to be featured back in August. But they also had a contest out of all the poets chosen, and decided on the winners this week. I was surprised they chose my work, it is a little on the spooky side. But very happy with the result! As soon as the anthology comes out, I will put up the Amazon link for those interested in buying. Thank you to everyone for your kind words and support, I am even more excited now to write and create more this year. Happy 2017! |
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