the bay is one of my favorite places on earth & last month’s visit just reinforced that. the land, the water, the political past & present, the public transit, the foooood, and the people! I’ve never seen a city where so many shops have something to say about what’s going on in the world. so many gorgeous murals, such clean, salty air. too bad the rent is so high </3
all my love to those of you who stopped by to say hi & pick up a book or zine at Oakland’s finest: Moments Co-Op, to all the amazing food art folks who read for such a fun night at Silver Sprocket (which… without any bias, it is the most amazing comic shop I have ever stepped foot in, and I am so happy and honored to be forever tied by this food comic cookbook) and to my beloved for holding it down during my first attempts at tabling.
on Land Day, I co-hosted a Cartoonist Co-Op event with my friend Jessica. was our first time doing anything of the sort, and thanks to the co-op mods, it went wonderfully! the attendance was shockingly global - we had artists tuning in from Puerto Rico, India, the UK and more! donations to Jessica for her time reached about $200 USD, which she then donated the bulk of to Care for Gaza. <3
if you’d like an overview of what we reviewed, Jessica was kind enough to put together a PDF of resources available for download here <3
now, onto april:
in two weeks, I have a talk with the author of a new book: The Mango Tree. I’m only a few chapters in and I’m absolutely hooked. Big love to the lovely folks at North Figueroa Bookshop for setting us up to speak. If you’re looking for some lusciously described experiences on what it is to grow up mixed in the US, or to have a racialized mother with flameproof hands and an even more fiery temper, this is for you.
in a time where a lot of mixed creatives (specifically those with one white parent, like the both of us!) are expressing the angst of living between worlds with slur-filled spoken word poetry or essays on self hatred and out-group isolation without ever seeming to confront the root causes of colorism in both of their communities - of inequality, xenophobia, and more - Annabelle’s writing has been so refreshing in its empathy, vulnerability, and honesty… especially towards her mother. <3
come see us talk about food, memory, and ancestry - and get a book signed or two! - on April 18, 7 pm.
some wonderful news & t-shirt fundraiser update… thanks to a viral tweet, sales have raised a total of nearly 2,500 USD for gaza. I made a lil promo video ft. some footage of the shirt in person:
thanks to this, ~2,000 USD was distributed between 6 families looking to escape Rafah this morning. (receipt below.) I could cry. if you’d like to donate directly to evacuating families and don’t know where to start, please visit Funds for Gaza or Operation Olive Branch for a list of vetted and urgent, life-saving fundraisers.
if you’d like a t-shirt, the sales have been extended through May, and the link is here.
lastly, I’ve teamed up with some dear friends and my talented partner to put together a small maker’s market at the end of the month, as a continuous drive to raise funds.
the real poster’s still in progress, but it’ll be a baby bazaar of ceramic wares from Sooki Studio and Bayba Co., all my usual art prints (plus a new one in the works), stained glass from Katabi Glassworks, hand crafted jewelry, plus a COOK LIKE YOUR ANCESTORS book signing, with Palestiniean and Yemeni tea blends I’ll be pouring for folks, and offering for sale. I can’t think of anyone I’d rather do all this with, and eternally grateful for tomorrow.today for being the dope bookstore and community hub that they are, and for hosting.
in case you can’t make that, I’ll be selling all the jewelry, tea, and art remaining at a maker’s mart in celebration of Sooki Studio’s 4th birthday the following week on May 5th. more information on that to come. <3
now that I’ve officially closed my INPRNT site, I’ll be scheming on ways to effectively sell my artwork directly via local printers. markets will certainly be a part of that, but stay tuned for an eventual shop launch!
(and, a word of warning for fellow artists who are considering hosting your work on INPRNT: not only do they take a huge, 40-50% cut, but they are consistently delayed and uncommunicative regarding artist payouts. it took several emails to get my balance paid out, and they did not even have the basic courtesy to respond or apologize. if you have the time, consider giving your business to a local printer, and getting your art out via some envelopes and forever stamps. media mail is cheap!)
I never thought I’d go so quickly from a wage worker to… well, all this. thanks for being on the journey with me. <3 here’s a little preview of some new style explorations I put together for GO BACK & GET IT, which I update about steadily on patreon.
that’s all for now! thanks for reading. stay safe and be well <3