Suddenly it’s December, and I’m not entirely sure how we got here.
What an odd two years it’s been, and yet, things feel almost normal…ish again.
Travel was the furthest thing from my mind since the pandemic started, but I was definitely starting to go stir-crazy from being at home for so long. That overlapped with my maternity leave after having my littlest, two and a half years ago. All that to say, I had been at home for a Very. Long. Time.
All that changed over coffee with an old friend one morning in October. She casually mentioned she was yearning to travel to London, which just so happened to be the number one place on my travel list at that time.
Somehow, all the stars aligned, and a week later we had our flight booked and our hotel reserved.
I could hardly believe it. I know some people are spontaneous travelers, but with three young kids at home and so many pandemic-related restrictions, this trip felt nothing short of a miracle to me.
The first view I had of the city. It took my breath away, quite literally.
And off we were.
London was so magical to me, a breath of fresh air. It was everything I wanted it to be, but… more.
More beautiful, more twinkly, more enormous.
Within my first hours in the city, I met for coffee with my agents, Mark and Lucy, to discuss a book pitch I’m working on.
We also flipped through my sketchbooks to see if any exciting ideas were hiding in there. My agent spotted a character that he instantly thought was deserving of a story.
So I guess you could say I walked into the meeting with one book idea, and left with two!
My agents Mark and Lucy indulging me in a Waterstone’s selfie. Sorry Mark, I know you thought it was cheesy! :)
The rest of the trip was a flurry of museum visits, compulsory tourist selfies in front of red telephone booths, and endless inspiration. Vintage bookshops, historic buildings, and gorgeous storefronts.
Gorgeous shopfronts, restaurants, and pubs, oh my!
Oh! And you may have seen on my Instagram, but I had a cool illustrator experience! I visited the huge five-story Waterstones on Piccadilly, just hoping to see my books in a shop for the first time, as the foreign editions have not arrived in Israel yet.
When I found one of my books on the the shelf, I casually flipped it open, and saw that Zoe Armstrong, the author, had signed it!
I sheepishly told the sales assistant that I’m the illustrator, and was it ok if I signed this copy too?
Bless her, she replied with a “Yippee! The Illustrator is here!” and made me feel like such a celeb.
I totally geeked out and signed it.
The cherry on top? The sales girl gleefully slapped on a “Signed By the Illustrator” sticker on the cover. It was lovely, and I only hope I haven’t peaked too soon.
Hi Mom!
The five days went by too quickly, with only slight pangs of guilt at leaving my husband to fend for himself with the three kiddos at home.
But go by they did, and it’s back to business around here.
As I reflect back on my trip, I now know some things for sure:
Getting out of the house is not only good and lovely, it is crucial for mental health.
Travel is a luxury I know not to take for granted. It awakens a part of us, and jolts all of our dormant senses. I was taking photos of everything, and really seeing everything around me. If I can only bring a small part of that back to my regular life back home, that would be a huge accomplishment.
I crave human connection more that I even realized. As an illustrator, I work pretty much from home all of the time.
Treats like the Bologna Book Fair have become few and far between due to the pandemic, and I work exclusively with international clients, so coffee meetings are pretty much out of the question too.
So I’m making a more conscious effort to have Zoom meetings in lieu of emails, and am making a mental note of just how important these trips are to my creative and professional life.Despite my best efforts, I wasn’t able to magically adopt a fabulous English accent. I won’t stop trying, though, and promise to report back.
As I know many of you reading are fellow illustrators, I wonder how you infuse inspiration into your daily lives?
How do you cope with the solitude of working from home?
Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season, thanks for reading!