What happens to the things we create?

I found my book at Marshall's; plus, a mini drawing lesson

I love Marshall’s discount shopping. The adventure of the bargain hunt! The excitement of the “COMPARE AT” price! It’s pure thrill, people.

Going to Marshall’s is a life lesson in letting go of expectations, because you never know what you’ll find. You have to explore with an open mind and see where the aisles lead you. You must be curious and look around with a careful eye, waiting for that a-ha moment where you find something you didn’t even know you wanted, but The Marshall’s Gods decided you needed.

So, imagine my excitement when I’m in the baby department (for Mona, obvs) and I see SKELLY’S HALLOWEEN staring back at me on the autumn-themed toy shelf. SKELLY is a children’s picture book I illustrated, published in 2018. I’ve never seen it in the wild. But, there it was, in 2023, on the Marshall’s shelf with a $3.99 sticker (COMPARE AT $16.99).

As a creator, you might find it depressing to see something you made, years later, seemingly discarded on a shelf in a discount store. You might ask, “What the hell is the point?!”

I think the better question is, “What happens to the things we create?”

Once in while, we get a reminder that the work we make exists outside of us. It leaves our studios, goes out into the world, and lives its own life. We relinquish control. Through a linear path or a twisty-turny one, our work finds an audience of people who love it. It’ll probably find some haters who think it sucks. (And that’s ok!) Some of our work may be seen by millions of eyes, while some of it is seen by just a few. Maybe our work will wind up with a shiny award. Or at the bottom of someone’s drawer. Or on a bestseller list. Or in the loving hands of the person who was meant to find it. …Or on a discount rack at Marshall’s.

But, it’s not up to us. We only control what we put into it. The rest is all part of the beautiful and unpredictable life cycle of our creative work. So, let go. Let those art babies fly! They might show up again where you least expect it.

P.S. I don’t know how SKELLY arrived at Marshall’s, and I probably never will. Obviously, I bought the dang book and took overly-excited selfies in the store.

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Fuss-free mini drawing lesson: BONES!

In honor of Skelly—and Spooky Season which is quickly coming upon us—let’s draw some bones. Pro tip: if you can write the number 13, you can draw bones.

Grab a pen and a post-it… nothing fancy needed. To draw a bone, we will use the basic shapes of the numbers 1 and 3. You can do a warm-up by repeating them, like this:

Step 1: To make the ends of the bone, draw two number 3s facing each other, as if they are having a chat:

Step 2: Now connect the end by drawing two number 1s lying on their sides:

VOILA! You’ve got a bone! Now, you can experiment drawing bones with different pens and adding shadows and details. Connect them and make a skeleton of your own!

See you next time,

xo Lori

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I believe art should be Fun. Fearless. Fuss-free. Feel-good.