Hey all, I'm so sorry for the radio silence and massive lack of art... I'm still around, though I don't check on here very much. The truth is, I've been struggling with physical and mental illness pretty badly over the past year, and I've barely drawn anything at all. I have lots of doodles and sketches on my iPad and in various sketchbooks, but I just haven't felt like uploading anything. I feel as though I've forgotten how to "art", really. That said, I did start ADHD meds late last year, and they have been a huge help for me.

Although I haven't been drawing much, I have been pursuing other creative endeavours;

Taxidermy
I started up my taxidermy business once again last year, and much of my focus (when I had it) went towards developing my skills. I also won my first ribbons (two 1st place, including a trophy, one 2nd place and a credit) at the annual Guild of Taxidermists conference in October. I am still absolutely ecstatic over this, as I spent many a late, cold, October night sitting in minus temperatures attempting to finish up my mounts for the competition. I took two rat lifesize mounts and won Best Amateur Mammal, Best Overall Amateur mount and 2nd in the Mammal Challenge (where we had to recreate a pose from a photo). I'm currently focusing on small mammals and small game heads, and want to attempt birds again this year. I know taxidermy isn't everyone's cup of tea, but if you've been following me a while, then you'll know it's a huge passion of mine. It's been so good to do something more "hands-on" in my shed again, after a year of bad health. If anyone is interested in my taxidermy work, please check out my website here, my Instagram and my new taxidermy blog here!.

Needlefelt
When I haven't been doing taxidermy, I've been creating needlefelt sculptures! This is a hobby I've had for a while, but I find it hard to make time to do. I realised I should probably upload photos of my sculptures here! I'd love to do custom ones on commission, I just need to work out pricing, as it's something that is very time-consuming, even moreso than taxidermy! You can find photos of some of my sculptures here, though it needs updating. Needlefelt is really fun and therapeutic for me, and it's a great thing to do when I'm just chilling and watching TV (though I'm sure the visual distraction adds to the many needle pokes my fingers are suffering with). I hope that this year I can make some needlefelt and/or art dolls of my own characters too :)

So, those are the main things I've been doing art-wise! I'm trying to force myself to sit down in front of my iPad or a sketchbook and actually DRAW, but it's been difficult in between everything else. Besides art things, I've also been going to archery, I qualified as level 1 in Reiki, collecting tarantulas and other invertebrates, finally got my gender recognition certificate, and have got back in touch with my spirituality. I've also just joined the gym (gasp) because I want to lose weight for my wedding (double gasp), which I am really hoping will be this year!! We're just waiting on Charlie's GRC!

I'll try get some collages and such together of my needlefelt and art over the past year to upload here, as it's been a while! I also have a list of art goals for the year here, ambitious as it is!

It's nice to see you all, fuzzies!