I have been thinking about this post for quite sometime. All the things I have to mention. Its been 3 years since I left New York City and moved here to Ann Arbor, Michigan. I knew our stay here was temporary but it is still very bittersweet now that its finally come to an end. It really did take me this long to adjust to living in the midwest, finding "my people," making connections. To do all that, and then having to pick up and leave, is hard and a little sad.
But this will not be a sad post! Since now I'm looking back at the 3 years and can only see all the wonderful things that I would of never experienced if I still lived in New York. I even wrote a comic about it, called
If You Lived Here (you can read it in its entirety
here.) I've mostly gotten great feedback from many people who shared the same kind of experience. I am glad I was able to be brutally honest at times and a little self deprecating. BUT I also want to say that it did not represent my entire experience here. It was a snippet and there is so much more to the story.
I've met so many people and they've all genuinely touched me in ways they will probably never know. I can not mention them all, but 2 great art communities I would like to give a shout out to:
The Comic Artists Forum at the
AADL-
Jerzy Drozd, Sharon Iverson,
Jono Balliet,
Chad Sell and
Denver Brubaker. If I had never shown up at the Comics Fundamentals class 2 summers ago, I wonder how different my stay in Ann Arbor would of been. Through there I've met many many other comic artists. It revived my love for the art form.
And a shout to Blue House Ann Arbor-even though this place no longer exists, thank you for opening it, Siobhan. I got the chance to know alot of fun crafters through there, do craft shows, and to mentor kids.
I will miss having lunch with these two talented illustrators-
Fran Mason and
Nicole Ray.
And most of all, Ann Arbor will always be a special place in my heart, because of
this nugget.
And we are off to...Boston! We will only be there for a year... and then who knows? Thanks for the memories, Ann Arbor. I'm off to my next adventure.
