Wrapping it up with a Bow
End of the Year, Start of the Next
This year has been a year. Or ten years. Or one hundred. However long and short it has felt, it’s been a memorable one. I’ve had some highs, lows and some hard times and some great ones. And I have also had the joy of working on some pretty great projects.
I became a NASA Solar System Ambassador. I had a book I was excited about cancelled. I did Emerald City Comic Con for the first time. I wrote some Star Wars. I was a guest at the Stockholm Comics Arts Festival. I did research at the Imperial War Museum on my WWI WIP. I finally finished a draft of the new graphic novel that was stumping me. I ate a lot of good food. I walked the strike line. I worked on my new opera. I cooked up some other cool future plans. Had a short story published in Uncanny magazine. I got a Fulbright Specialist Award.
My Fulbright at VIA University The Animation Workshop Graphic Storytelling went really well. I think I’ve cooked up a cool plan for a proper hybrid comics/new tech project that I can scale up to include performance. I’m really excited about next steps. I’m ever grateful to Peter Dyring and the R&D Department at TAW for having and hosting me and to all the artists and students I met and connected with. I can’t wait to figure out how to get back next year!
But now I’m home in North America from overseas. It’s my first proper holiday in Montreal in over a decade. Usually the family just celebrates whenever I’m in town around Christmas, so it’s cool to be here for real. I love Montreal, it’s such a great city. But I’ve been fiercely missing the Los Angeles sun.
When I landed here in Montreal, I did a two day workshop on new opera with Andre Ristic to test some things out. There is nothing cooler than hearing words turn into arias and duets. More on this opera as it progresses.
This year I didn’t have a lot of stuff come out for the first time in a long time. Which was a bit weird. But I like to think of it like I’m artistic coocooning. I’m dreaming big for next year. Going to morph into a beautiful art butterfly.
Things are cooking. I just need to figure out how to fund it all! The evergreen artist dilemma.
Also, I’m going to reopen my dormant patreon and repost this there open to all as well as on my Ko-fi because substack has big problems and I haven’t figured out where to land next. So bear with me as I try to navigate the hellscape that is navigating social media right now. If you want to find me on some of the things I’m at bluesky and threads and instagram. Here’s my linktree to all the things! All support so appreciated and welcome!
My newest literary outings are an issue of comics is STAR WARS HYPERSPACE #12 with Lucas Marangon out on Dark Horse Comics and it’s all about Return of the Jedi and I’m so proud of it. I also published my first sci fi short story in a long time ‘We Are Looking For the Best’ out on Uncanny Magazine which you can read or listen to. You can find some of my other works scattered over at your fave online bookstores. Here’s Bookshop.org to get you started as you shop indie.
I saw a lot of theatre in London. Lyonesse was the winner for me. I really enjoyed You Hurt My Feelings which I watched on the plane home. And loved the hybrid vibe of Be That Way by Hope Larson. I also highly recommend the Moonwalkers exhibit if you're in London.
I’m wishing you all the best for the holiday season. I’m wishing peace for the planet. I’m wishing action to combat climate crisis. I’m wishing all of your art hearts fulfilled with the creation of rad things. I’m wishing.
Happy New Year!
Love, Cecil