In loving memory of Laura Anderson Wingard (1973-2020), my best friend, who came to say goodbye to me in a dream this summer. 

"A Goodbye of Sorts" 2020, Jessica Boehman. Watercolor and digital. Lettering by Nathan Pride. 

As many of you know, a poem, "And the People Stayed Home" by Kitty O'Meara, has been going viral again for the second time this year. The original post included my "Bedtime Stories" image without credit. It has been shared hundreds of thousands of times without my name on it. This is not the only time it has happened, and each time, it is a bit heart-wrenching. That viral post generated a book deal for the author from a prominent house. Many people found me looking for a "hibernation" image.

This is a plea to be aware of the artists behind the pictures in posts. Artworks come from our heart, they have deep personal meaning, they are made after years of practice, and they should, at the very least, be credited. It only takes a simple reverse-image search to find the artist of any artwork you want to post. Adding the artist's name and website is a simple thing to do--and it's the right thing to do.

I'm deeply honored that many of you have been touched by this image. It came from a place of deep longing that clearly has spoken to you, as well.
Please, stay safe and well as we move into the colder season, and let's get through this together. Wishing you every health and comfort.
​
Jessica Boehman
 "Bedtime Stories" 2013, colored pencil and pencil.
www.jessicaboehman.com

"The Fox Woman" Jessica Boehman, mixed media, November 2020
Based on this tale, retold by Martin Shaw
https://soundcloud.com/mjp-shaw/the-fox-woman-martin-shaw

I had the good fortune to make a logo for my "big little brother" who is not really my brother for his wedding gift. Andrew is a baker of Netflix fame (he and his sister won an episode of Sugar Rush) and is starting his first bakery in Raleigh, NC. Because he said I gave him the bakery name ten years ago, he wanted me to draw the logo as well. The logo can be adjusted for a few different purposes--but here is the base drawing.

"Blue Ox Bakery" for Andrew. Congrats, Andrew--on your bakery and on your wedding.
​
Here we are at my actual little brother's wedding last weekend, where Andrew was best man--and made the cake.

It's cicada season in Maryland, and the sound of their rattle makes me feel like I'm home, wherever I hear it. This year, the 17-year cicadas are out, and the sound is deafening. They are the kings of summer, leaving their perfect shells behind like so many relics of kings of old.

"The King of Summer" Jessica Boehman, Summer 2020, mixed media.

"Diogmites Neoternatus (robber fly)" Digital drawing.

A robber fly that I found in my parents' backyard in Maryland. They hang by the foreleg as they consume their prey: other insects. 

I'm very honored to have been chosen as the IPPY Independent Publishers Book Awards Gold Medalist for Picture Books (Under age 7 group). I was also a finalist for the ForeWard Indy Book Awards for Picture Books! Thanks to ForeWard and to the Ippy's! I couldn't be more honored that you liked my first book.  #IPPY2020 

So, it's a weird story, but a true one:

I haven't slept well or soundly for about nine months. My insomnia started in August 2019 and has kept up its vicious pattern doggedly and insistently. 

During the last months of shelter-in-place, enduring a solo quarantine in the COVID epicenter, literally surrounded by a horrendous amount of death and fear, on top of the increased stress of teaching four different classes online, I found that my  insomnia worsened, and I realized I would go crazy if I didn't find a solution. So I started drawing at nighttime. Drawing before bed usually helps, and most of the pictures are not anything that was for work, just something to calm my mind.

​One such drawing, "Sleep", I made as an offering and a wish. In my online post I hoped that it would "bring on the Sandman."

 But...the thing is, it did.  First of all, I slept soundly that night for the first time in a long while.

Secondly, I woke up with this in my head, fully formed. And the main character? The Sandman, Dream, Morpheus...(a creation of Neil Gaiman for his comic series of the same name.). I had literally "brought him on." So, I woke up and immediately sketched out the story so it wouldn't fade away, as dreams do. But that, too, did not fade. It was a gift. So, thanks, Sandman, and Neil Gaiman, for the rest. I think the Sandman must be real. This was how that character looked in my own mind. 

(Made during weeks 9 and 10 of COVID-19 shelter-in-place, Queens, NY). 

"Bring Me a Dream" Jessica Boehman, Watercolor and digital. ​ Lettering by Taylor Esposito of Ghost Glyph Studios.  May 2020. See more details here.
​Based on the copyrighted character of The Sandman created by Neil Gaiman.
Do not reproduce. Not for sale.

As I work on book #2, which I can't share, I have been spending a little time here and there dealing with the fallout of the pandemic, social isolation, living in what was the epicenter for about 6 weeks, and the illness and death of people I know. Drawing helps. Here's the first of the batch: there's sure to be more.