I’ve been thinking about how I’m going to continue, how things are going to develop and what I want to say and share. Not just regarding this newsletter, but life during and especially after maternity leave. Will I continue pursuing freelancing as an illustrator or will I get a more traditional job with more stability and hope I’ll still make time for creative play? I keep having to remind myself that this is a quandary for future me and that the time with M. while she’s still so little is precious and fleeting.

I am really enjoying motherhood. It is as intense as everyone says, but it’s also incredibly joyful and magical. My friend Valerie calls it magical bootcamp, which I think is very on point.

Some days are capital H hard. But there are definitely moments, which at the time are frustrating, that, when zoomed out and reframed, are actually quite comical. I wish I could make more time to draw and make stuff, but time has become such a luxury I have to really find ways to squeeze in some drawing. And since M. is one of those babies that need constant movement and closeness when she naps, it’s hard to get anything done during that window of time. But, I’m determined to put my ideas onto paper and out into the world, even if they’re kinda wonky. So, I’ve taken to drawing whilst softly bouncing my sleeping baby girl on our big bouncy ball, or swaying back and forth in a dimly lit room. It’s made for interesting results that I’m into.

I’d have loved to make a longer comic with more of a storyline to tie all these impressions together, but I’m still figuring out how to best use my fringe moments. So for now, I’m leaving you with a few snippets of early motherhood:

I’m usually one of these people who always makes a new plan for the year ahead, sets goals and resolutions. But, the past year has been quite an intense rollercoaster full of heavy challenges, but also joyful moments and blessings. Because of this, I’m feeling more drawn to easing into the new year at a slower pace instead of the usual “new year, new me”, go-getter energy. It is afterall still winter here.

Self-improvement is a wonderful thing, but the constant stream of tips, tools and guides to optimize every part of your life (particularly at this time of year) can sometimes tip the balance in the other direction, leaving you feeling insufficient and overlooking the ways in which your life is already enchanting and good.

This winter I’m once again looking to nature for guidance. Taking things slow, and learning to be okay with stillness and rest. Which also means enjoying the present, living more in gratitude and not getting so caught up with ways I can optimize my life this year.

Life is never perfect and there are always things you can improve, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the present and set aside time for loved ones, community and playful creating. On that note, I want to share that I’ll be hosting another creative workshop in February for all you fellow overthinkers and perfectionists out here. Together we’ll refind the fun in drawing through play and making comics:

Book Workshop

It’s crazy to think that I’ve been climbing for over 10 years now, with some longer breaks in between. As someone who hates going to the gym, but needs movement in their life, climbing has become the only form of exercise that I not only can do consistently, but that I also look forward to. It started as a way to trick my brain into working out without realizing I was working out, because it was such a fun activity both for my brain and my body. But overtime it became an integral part of my life.

Over the years I’ve also noticed more and more how much climbing is a reflection of my life in many ways. I observed a number of the parallels between how I show up on the wall and how I show up in life. This zine is my ode to climbing and a documentation of some of these observations. If you’re a fellow climber, and this resonates, please share any of your own observations in the comments! Could make for good material for a Part II.

The zine is up and available in my webshop now. Could also make a great gift for a climber friend ;-)

Get Zine

Or, if you’re in the area, you can swing by our cute studio market from December 12 - 14. Details below:

I have to admit, I was a little (a lot) nervous at the thought of having only a couple of hours to make a comic on the spot and improvise. But, I’ve been trying to break out of my comfort zone more this year and do things that are scary (aka new and unfamiliar), but that I also know deep down I’m ready for.

Lately, I haven’t really been into drawing at all and have been more excited by collage. So, I ditched my drawing supplies and packed up a box of textured black and white scraps.

Our time limit really helped me just start and not overthink so much. I started by laying out different shapes at random on each panel and then allowing the intuitive nature of the collaging process do its magic. I could write a whole post about what I love about collage (in fact, I might just do that). One of the things that’s been drawing me to this process so much lately is that it shows me how to be ok with not knowing, but just be curious about what’s going to happen next, and later on make sense of what emerges.

I was so immersed in the process and fully in flow that the 2 hours flew by. The result was a collection of 8 different obscure creatures. I debated whether or not adding text would mess everything up, but then decided that all of my characters looked like they had something to say. So I let them all express themselves in this snapshot of their lives.

I always enjoy the dimensionality and tactile quality of collage. A welcome contrast to my flat digital illustrations:

Next up: printing the comic on a risograph! Risograph printing is a printing technique that’s basically like a cross between screenprinting and photocopying.

Things I love about riso:

• Vibrant color options

• Riso prints and comics often have this old-school, grungy, punk feel to them

• The unexpected textures and imperfections that add to the charm

I knew that the riso version wouldn’t look exactly like the original and was excited and curious about what would change. Both versions have different qualities about them that make them unique.

And here’s the final riso comic:

I’m so glad I said yes to this event! It felt good to grow past my comfort zone and experience that I can in fact make something “live” without pre-planning or sketching. I’m also really happy with the result. In general, it was such a lovely way to spend my Sunday: making and printing comics with other creatives, and subsequently meeting other prints and comic enthusiasts and connecting in person. Sadly, I don’t have any pics of the cozy market vibes afterwards, was enjoying the moment with nice people :)

Thank you Giulio and Ana for creating such a lovely space dedicated to print-making and community, and for letting me be part of Comic Sunday. And thanks to the other two guest artists from Druckbar Dessau who added to the cozy vibes of the day :)

As someone who’s suffered from endometriosis and other period problems, this project has become super important to me to put out into the world. For years, I’ve experienced firsthand what it’s like to feel unheard by doctors, dismissed, and left without answers. Experiencing pain month after month over so many years, I decided to take matters into my own hands and educate myself about my cycle, reading books like Woman Code by Alisa Vitti and Fix Your Period by Nicole Jardim, to name a few. I was amazed at how incredible our bodies are, how intelligent, complex, and powerful they can be if we just understand how they work and how to support them during each phase of our cycle.

At the same time, I became incredibly frustrated that information about female reproductive health is still not common knowledge. Body literacy is empowerment and nobody should feel powerless, alone or ashamed in the face of menstrual pain. That’s why me and Melanie are creating this illustrated booklet.

This guide is the resource I wish I’d had - informative, compact, handy and cute to look at - and now we want to make it available for others.

Here’s where you come in, dear reader: To fund this passion project, we’ve started a crowdfunding campaign. If you’re into the idea of making basic information about female reproductive health more accessible, and ending shame around this topic, be part of the change and donate to our campaign today! Every little bit helps, even just sharing the link in your network to spread the word.

Support Campaign

NOTE: We chose a Vienna-based crowdfunding platform because we wanted to keep things local. Unfortunately, their website is only in German 🫠. So for my English-speaking readers, a tip from me would be to view the site on Google Chrome and use the “translate page” function.

Thanks for reading!

2 weekends ago I held my first creative workshop at my lovely studio Studio Walls here in Vienna. It went really well and was such a great experience! Some impressions below captured by the multi-talented Michi Schlöglhofer.

After quite a slow year, it felt really good to take things into my own hands and initiate something of my own that I feel excited about, and have it also turn out so well. There was a tremendous amount of interest in the workshop and it ended up being fully booked. I was blown away.

I learned a lot, particularly that I really enjoy being a guide and host, bringing people together to help them reconnect with their creative side and give them permission to follow the fun. It also felt very aligned to combine two things I enjoy and that I’m good at: teaching (my part-time job) and art.

A lot of time went into the preparation, but it was worth every second. It reminded me again that whenever I work on personal, self-initiated projects, the stress feels like good stress. It has a lot more excitement behind it. It’s stress for me, for something that I chose to do and not the other way around. Not for some boss’s or a client’s vision, but my own.

Things I loved about the workshop experience:

• Coming up with the concept, various activities and flow of the workshop

• Creating marketing content for something I really believe people would benefit from and enjoy

• Spending an afternoon biking around Vienna distributing my workshop flyers in cute locations

• Seeing how the workshop resonated with so many people online once I posted about it

• Setting up the workshop space so it feels welcoming and cozy

• Making homemade snacks to add to the coziness

• Putting together little goodie bags for the participants to take home

• Facilitating the workshop itself

• The participants! Meeting so many new, fun and kind people in real life. This always gives me hope in humans again in times when the (online) world can feel so dark and mean.

• Lots of laughs during the workshop

• I was blown away by the work produced in the workshop. Everyone made such great mini comics! It confirms again that you don’t need that much preparation and thinking to make a comic, just some prompts and a timer.

Thank you to all the lovely people who joined for your trust, curiosity and enthusiasm! It really contributed to the good vibe of the day and has encouraged me to keep going with these. I’m already cooking up some ideas for different workshops, so definitely stay tuned!

I decided to take some time in August to enjoy the slowness of summer and pause my newsletter. But now I'm back with lots of ideas and motivation!

Today's announcement is that I'm gonna be holding a series of creative workshops at my lovely studio here in Vienna that I share with around 20 other local artists. The series is called "Follow the Fun" and I'll be kicking it off at the end of September with my first workshop: Get Unstuck Through Comics - A creative workshop for overthinkers and perfectionists.

This year I tried a variety of different exercises and prompts to help me loosen up and not overthink so much in my drawing practice. Some of these experiences I've shared in this newsletter. Although I still haven't entirely shaken my perfectionistic shell, these techniques have helped tremendously. As a result, I wanted to share these tools I've adopted with fellow overthinkers and perfectionists. So I put together a fun workshop where we get unstuck through...Comics!!

The workshop will be a mix of drawing exercises, co-creating a collection of characters, storytelling, lots of silliness, and finally making a mini comic of your own from start to finish in the form of a zine.

The aim of the workshop is to help you refind the fun in drawing, and not hesitate so much when putting pen to paper. The workshop is also about connection: to your inner playful artist and to creative community. Through some collaborative exercises, and engaging in creative play, I hope to create a space where you can meet new people in real life in a non-awkward and fun way. Particularly, in an age where we spend most of our lives behind screens, isolated and doomscrolling, I'm finding it more important to have spaces like these.

With that said, if you're in Vienna and this sounds like something for you, come join me! The workshop takes place on Saturday, September 27th from 11:00 - 14:00 at Studio Walls.

I'm truly pumped to start holding these workshops, connect with you all in real life, and help you reconnect with your creative side in a playful way. Below is a link where you can find out more detailed information about the workshop and save your spot!

Save Your Spot

At first, I made a few drawings in my sketchbook, but I quickly noticed that I felt a lot more drawn to crafting. So I leaned into that instinct and went for collaging and had way more fun. I was inspired by some of the bugs we saw out an about. One of them being the alpine longhorn beetle, and the other a stag beetle. What stood out to me were the shape of their antennae and the beautiful patterns.

After collaging my little bug collection, I decided they would be best displayed in a leporello book, a format I've been really into this year. Here is the result:

A highlight was a barefoot, rainy walk in the woods with some fellow campers. This was a novel experience for me (and my feet), and immediately locked me into my surroundings and out of my head.

I was hyperaware of how much and in what ways the forest floor changes, an awareness we're completely disconnected from when wearing shoes. It felt truly grounding to reconnect with the earth in this way.

Post walk, I was muddy and sweaty, so I finally braved a watering can shower out back. Another novel experience in the books for sure.

A big takeaway from all this was how being surrounded by nature, offline, and around kind people making art was incredibly soothing for my nervous system. Especially in such crazy times, we could all use more containers like this to reconnect: to nature, our creative instincts, fellow humans, and ourselves.

Big thanks to Bernd for inviting me to Iso Camp this year and for making all of this happen!

While I was there, I made some drawings of my surroundings in my sketchbook, using an exercise I often turn to when feeling self-conscious while drawing in public, too perfectionistic, or stuck in my drawing practice: drawing with my non-dominant hand.

I've found that this helps not only move past the preciousness of a clean white page, but it also loosens up my linework. Because I'm not using my dominant hand, I don't have any expectations of what the outcome will look like. This helps me just start and commit to the line. Perhaps this is why the outcome usually feels a lot more pure and honest. It has a certain naïveté about it that I rather like.

It reminds me of the concept in Zen Buddhism of shoshin, or beginner's mind, in which you have a much greater sense of openness because of this lack of expectations or preconceptions of how something is supposed to be. Which is incredibly freeing. I'm more open to spontaneity and seeing where the line will take me.

I can always count on these left-handed drawings to add more fun and playfulness into my practice. The outcome is always a delightful and sometimes hilarious surprise.

I subsequently tried out a similar exercise and made a few blind drawings of myself. Drawing self portraits without looking at the page. I love the results!

I like that the linework is both bold and innocent. Even though the drawings don't look at all like me, there's a very present aliveness in there. I think this is what it was like to draw as a kid. You were drawing the essence of something, and were less concerned about making it look “good”. Perhaps this is also why children's drawings are so enchanting.

Here are a few other other left-handed sketches I've made over the years:

A fun fact I recently learned is that the Talking Heads used a beginner’s mind-like approach to recording one of their songs where each of the band members switched instruments. The result of this experiment became one of their most popular songs and one of my favorites: This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)

**Notes**

*The idea of the artist date comes from Julia Cameron’s book The Artist’s Way and is a weekly solo-excursion meant to nurture and inspire your inner artist.

What's helped me tremendously lately has been doing some drawing exercises from Lynda Barry's book “Making Comics”.

They are fun and they have rules. At first glance, this seems like a paradox, but setting constraints helps me overcome the paralysis of the blank page and gives me a jumping off point. They help me deal with my perfectionism and commit to the line despite intrusive thoughts like "I can't draw accurately" or "My drawings are bad".

This particular drawing exercise was a version of the Character Jam.

Divide a sheet of paper into sections and write down different character prompts in each box. (I like the silly ones best). Then set a timer for 1 minute and draw a character in each panel. And voila! Now you have a collection of characters for future comic-making sessions.

This exercise took a total of 12 minutes.

On another day, I continued with the exercise and picked a character from my Characterpedia to draw a 4-panel silent comic. I gave myself 2 minutes per panel. Each drawing had to vary in some way. Total time: 8 minutes

A few days later, I finished an extension of this exercise which was a slightly more detailed 4-panel comic. Here you had to draw the character in a setting. The rules: Don't plan out the comic. Just start drawing within the timeframe (4 minutes per panel). Once you've completed a frame, ask yourself: What happens next? Allow the comic to unfold as you draw. Total time: 16 minutes

I'm calling this one “How men go bald”. I can already imagine a longer, weird comic of Linda the Lindyhopper's life. How does she choose which men's scalps to dance on? What kind of dancing shoes are the best for the job? What’s her most played song on Spotify? Who are her best friends?

As you can see, each of these exercises don't take that long. If I have the time to scroll instagram for 15 minutes (let's be real, it's usually more), I definitely have time to draw.

I've been really loving the exercises from “Making Comics”. They're fun, silly and are really helping me through my perfectionism and self-doubts as an artist. I’ve noticed that when I have time limits, I create drawings in a purer, more honest form. They're imperfect, but I'm learning to embrace the wonkiness of my linework and see it as something distinctive to my style and just how I draw.

Particularly with AI art becoming more prevalent, it's felt comforting and familiar whenever I see illustrations that really feel human-made. Maybe it's ok to show up imperfectly. Maybe it’s those imperfections that make us human. By trying to be so put-together and polished all the time, something essential gets lost. Especially in art, this isn’t something I want to see happen.

On a lighter note, I’m collecting character prompts for future character jams sessions, so if you have any fun ones (the weirder the better), leave them in the comments below and let me know!

It's been heatwave hot here in Vienna, and with no air conditioning, we've been trying to find different ways to stay cool – like going for a swim at beautiful thermal baths like this one:

The other day, we took refuge from the heat in the Vienna Woods on the outskirts of town and made some nature art.

Here's what I made:

What I liked about this process:

• It was fun.

• It was simple.

• No screens.

• After creating a general guide for what I wanted to make, the rest of the time was filled with simple, repetitive tasks: foraging for materials and subsequently arranging them. This was extremely meditative and relaxing.

• My whole body was involved and moving throughout the process.

• Within the limitation in the choice of materials, there was an abundance in the supply: sticks, stones, leaves, acorn tops.

• The limitations helped me not overthink, just start, and follow my intuition.

• I actually really like the ephemeral nature of the sculpture — the idea that the time this piece was most alive was in the moment of making. I'm curious to revisit this site in a few weeks and see how much it's changed.

• Perhaps because I knew this piece would decay and disappear over time, I felt less attached to the outcome and could be fully present in the creative act.

What I did not like about this process:

With the risk of sounding like such a city girl, I did not like all the bugs or the dry soil sticking between my sweaty, exposed toes. I swear, I do love nature though!

I actually made an illustration last summer based on this ambivalence, which has since become a print you can get in my webshop if you too feel ambivalent about being in nature:

Get Print

All in all, I can definitely recommend making some nature art to switch things up a bit in your art practice, or simply to unwind in the cool shade — without screens.

Nowadays, I usually have some kind of idea, prompt, or goal in mind when I sit down to draw. This wasn’t always the case, and I’m trying to find my way back to creating more spontaneously. Lately, a lot of wonky, colorful creatures have been emerging in my drawings as a result. I’m liking these weird guys! It was exciting not knowing what creature would surface next. I was more present and in tune drawing without an eraser or a sketch. It pushed me to just commit to the line, embrace imperfections and allow the humanness to shine through.

See you again in July!

Today, I want to share this mini comic I made for a group show we had at our studio at the beginning of May, and some thoughts on the process.

In addition to drawing, I've also been collaging over the years, which has helped me loosen up and get unstuck in my drawing practice. I've always wanted to find a way to combine the two, and I think I may be onto something here.

Needless to say, the process of making this comic was so much fun! I've really missed working analog and loved how much more immersive the experience was: The scratchiness of an HB pencil on rough sketchbook paper, the range of pressure you put on an xacto knife to cut different kinds of paper, the stickiness of glue. Plus, my eyeballs didn't feel totally fried afterwards, like they do after hours of digital drawing.

My go-to drawing tool is still pencil. There's something about its roughness, the different weights a line can make, and that metallic grey. So I was very excited to discover a new drawing tool that pairs well with my pencil drawings: watercolor graphite! It has the same metallic grey that I love but in watercolor form. I think it worked really well in this comic.

I chose the leporello book format, as the comic was to be viewed in an exhibition setting. It was a good solution, as the whole story was accessible for everyone to read, as opposed to only one person being able to flip through the pages of a more traditionally bound booklet.

This has been one of my favorite personal projects I've worked on so far this year. It combined a lot the things I love that drew me to art to begin with: drawing, storytelling, self-expression, and craft. I want to do more of that.

I also really like the balance of messiness and order, and the tactile nature of the object. It has a much more human-made and authentic feel to it than my digital illustrations. It’s like when you go to someone’s home and it’s that nice balance of well-kept, but not overly tidy, so it still feels like people live there. It’s orderly, but still cozy, so you feel comfortable hanging out in that space. I think my comic achieves similar feeling.

Making comics has helped me a lot in recent years to process life stuff and create little reminders and stories of encouragement to myself. This one, in particular, was a note to self on how to find pockets of calm amidst the chaos, absurdity, and global turmoil that define our times.

I hope that there's something in here that resonates with you too!

The idea for "Follow the Fun" came as a way to deal with the stress and challenges in recent years of freelancing as an illustrator. It occurred to me that in the process of trying to draw for a living, I've lost the joy in drawing and making things, which was the whole reason I chose this path to begin with.

In slower months, I would spend afternoons in the studio working on personal projects, absorbed in the delight of my process, only to have the relentless voice of capitalism cut in, "What's the utility in this paper mâché blob? How are you going to monetize this? There’s no time for silliness!"

After questions like these continued to slowly crush my creative spirit, I came back to something I've always sensed and that's been echoed by other creatives I admire. The point isn't in the product or outcome, but in the creative act itself: what it stirs in me and what it brings out, reconnecting me to myself and perhaps even to something bigger.

The past few years have been tough in different ways. Through it all, I’ve realized that regardless of external circumstances — career, health, relationships, global turmoil — I always want to prioritize creative play, just for its own sake. This space is dedicated to that pursuit. A place where I can allow myself to experiment, make random drawings, non-sensical things, and share my thoughts in a way that feels more real, less polished, and slower-paced than on other social media platforms.

I'm curious to see what this blooms into and I hope you are too!

For now, here are a couple drawings I made doing one of Lynda Barry's exercises in her book "Making Comics," which is serving as a great guide in this process of refinding the fun.