July 1 2025

I did so much sketching this month, oh my gosh. I did a lot of interior design work too- I’m actually quite impressed with myself that I managed to stay on that one medium for two whole months now. But in between, especially on my breaks at work, I’ve done a ton of sketches

Self portraits to start, trying to acquaint myself with the new shape of my face. Soft and round.

I never got around to coloring in the hair here, and I love the look so much that I’m strongly considering dying my hair white. Wouldn’t that be something? I’ve kept it blue for over a decade and now I’m itching for a change.

I think it would be striking.

I’ve also got an adventuring party, for a little story that hasn’t quite materialized.

(Although, speaking of stories, I finally got my 4th Near Wilds Interview up on my writing hub, if you’re interested in a bit of fiction. It’s fairly short, and I’m fairly happy with it.)

Then it’s a bunch of character studies, snippets of designs.

A goblin, a witch, a fairy.

This couple that’s bordering on DC fanart, a rare thing for me, much as I love Harley and Ivy.

Some creatures in color, nessled between notes from TED talks,

and then page upon page copying poses from random photos.

I wanted to make a propper coloring page from some of these, but as I’m sure you can tell I’ve been fighting with my scanner and couldn’t quite get them clear enough.

I caught the flu briefly (though not nearly so badly as my friends who missed this year’s vaccine), illiciting this icky bit of vent art,

and finally, at long last but certainly not least, a creature that I’m quite tempted to attempt sculpting once my craft room is set up again.

So that’s been one long month worth of doodles. Though frankly that’s not even close to where most of my energy has gone.

I mean, most of what I did this month was measure furniture and design furniture and buy furniture and construct furniture and rearrange furniture. Quite often this required taking all the many many items off of some furniture, such as a shelf or a desk, and piling them up on top of other furniture, usually an unsuspecting table, which then had to be cleared away again when it was time for that piece of furniture to move. By this point 90% of the shelves I own are in their new homes, and 90% of the items that belong on shelves are in great teetering piles on the floor. That’s the nature of progress. It has to get worse before it gets better.

Most things have to get worse before they get better. Fixing things required facing them. You can’t mend a crack without poking and prodding at it a bit, and sometimes things need to be hollowed out before whatever compound you’re filling them with will stick. It’s the same way with fixing your brain, I think, or your habits, or your relationships.

My bedroom right now is gorgeous and comfy (and I am starting to sleep a bit better in it). My craft room is almost finished- we’ve reached the “sorting art supplies into shelves” stage, which is deeply exciting. The game room is close. The dining room doesn’t quite exist yet, but everything else is close enough that my partner and I have made a play to host Thanksgiving here this year. It’s not my favorite holliday by a long shot, but it falls on my grandmother’s birthday most years so it’s a big deal for the family and it will be a great badge of honor if I can successfully host the full event.

I feel very adult right now. I’m quite proud of sticking with one medium for so long- two whole months on interior design! Completing a project! That back and forth swing I noted last month, highs and lows, does not quite hold. I did not spend the month euphoric. But I did spend most of it quite content, and I’m learning to temper the rest. I love the home and the life I’m building here. Maybe next month I’ll have photos to share. Maybe.