After a weekend in Seattle, I flew to Chicago to spend three weeks at my residence in Ragdale. I shared a ride from the airport with Chloe Benjamin, whose new novel is coming out this fall – watch out for Understory! I was back in the same beautiful room as in 2024, but in a very different mood: the circumstances of my life have changed a lot. More on that another time.
My new editor Mary Cash at Holiday House sent me welcome feedback on my middle grade book (Asara of Thera, is not yet an official title) as I arrived, so I spent a week editing, rewriting and drawing based on your positive feedback, with new enthusiasm for this project. I spent another week inking about 20 pages, so now I may be halfway through inking, one of several steps in the process of finishing this book.
I again enjoyed conversations with artists and writers from all over and time on the prairie, especially touring with Jess. It rained on my sketchbook while I was drawing.
I am now preparing to spend a month in Greece, first in Kenchreai for two weeks to work on ceramic drawings for a large new land and sea survey, then in Crete, where I am honored to be awarded the Harriet Boyd Hawes Fellowship to research Late Bronze Age textile and ceramic production at the Institute for the Study of Aegean Prehistory. This research will help give Asara of Thera more depth in details, and I hope it becomes the beginning of a new project about young artisans in Crete. More soon!