Blog / 2019 / Celebrating a Decade
December 23, 2019
So many things to be grateful for and proud of as I paint my way to the decade’s end:
Bicoastal public art!
Painting Kirk Reeves in Portland in 2014 and the rental housing crisis in DC in 2018.
TEDxGeneva and conferences galore!
Speaking in Switzerland in 2014, in France in 2015, and in Quebec in 2017 and 2018 about how to free your art.
A how-to and why-to for artists questioning copyright!
Writing my first full book, You Share Good, soon after returning from Geneva in 2014.
An art marketing manifesto!
Composing a love letter to the creativity of promotion, a short e-book I call Art Marketing: It’s Not Just About Selling Art.
A coming out for me and for the rest of the animal world!
Making Crime Against Nature a reality in 2012, and then seeing it become a coloring book and also be translated into Italian and Chinese as well as French.
A series about making friends!
Finding the courage to be my queer feminist atheist self with the help of the fourteen lovely people who lent me their stories and their faces for Empathetic Magic.
Articles in national publications!
Getting into Boing Boing and Hyperallergic for Crime Against Nature in 2013, into Bust for Empathetic Magic in 2017, and into Newsweek for the censorship of some of my political art earlier this year.
Two successful crowdfunding campaigns and four grants!
Revelling in the support of my community to create Crime Against Nature and my upcoming Baby Sees ABCs, but also to pay off the enormous medical bills I incurred because of my endometriosis. Thank you Haven Foundation and Artists’ Fellowship Inc!
A certainty that I am making art that matters to my audience!
Delighting in my sixteen years as a professional artist as well as in the encouragement you’ve given me over the years—including through your microdonations on Patreon every month for the last 58 months.
My partner!
Celebrating my love for David, for myself, and for our relationship six years ago today, and happily renewing that commitment every day since.
At this point in this sort of post, I’m supposed to transition away from the bragginess of listing a decade of accomplishments and start talking about where I’m going. All the marketing gurus say my goal should be to help you imagine a future with my art, but that feels false right now, given the state of the country and the world.
So instead of ending on a still-to-come note, I leave you with a question and a hope that you will send your answer to me! Because sharing about the good things is good both for the person doing the sharing and the one receiving it.
What are the ten things you’re most proud of in the last ten years? How did you grow? Who did you inspire?
Maybe this post made you think of something you want to share with me? Or perhaps you have a question about my art? I’d love to hear from you!
To receive an email every time I publish a new article or video, sign up for my special mailing list.
If you enjoyed this post, Ko-fi allows you to donate. Every dollar you give is worth a bajillion to me!
