So Long Lightning Bug Season

    So Long Lightning Bug Season...

    Every night for the past 6 months, and when I say every night, I mean, every single night, starting at 7:30 PM, we would all go out looking for lightning bugs. Penelope really attached herself in the most classic child way to these inocent little dudes and Amy was just awarded the medal of freedom for her skills and abilities to catch them. Some nights, I didnt want to walk in the 200% humidity of Tennessee, to catch the same bugs again and again, but the other night they started ' hybernating ', weather that be true to the seasonal change, or just the strong lack of rain for the past few weeks, but they havent been out, and so a 6 month long ritual came to a close.

    Now I have a bug shaped hole in my heart. Seeing Penelope get SO excited screaming THEYRE HERE!!! and running around, just out of pure joy among the flickering lights, is a memory im going to cherrish forever. Seeing amy's remarkable ability to catch one after the other to let crawl onto penelopes hand, and the cute agression response from her after it flew away. Sometimes, they 'really liked her' or 'were her friend' if they stayed on her hand for a long time. With the last time that happened, pulling a response from penelope of ' that was so special to my heart '.

    How does a two year old know how to pull a 30 year old prog rock listening mans heat strings so easily?! Anyway, im really going to miss this time, and we will all be looking forward to next summer, anticipating their reunion early and on time.

    But what really.....scares? me, is....that this time, together as a family, right here and now, is finite. Penelope will only be two, now. And the magic of these little glowing butt bugs lasts so long. It takes a two year old being free from our reality to bring you back to what really matters in the world. Being together, being unapologietically free, and enjoying everything this world has to offer like its true magic right infront of your eyes. I dont want these experiences to ever go away with her, and these little glow butts have become more important to me than alot of things. If only catching lightning bugs for your daughter made you money :( 

    I decided to draw a pair of lightning bugs, a 'mama and a baby' according to penelope, so Id never forget this time and how important to our family they were this summer. I want to print it out and frame it on the wall somewhere small, so theres space for new memories. Also, heres some worms penelope drew, and 'an eye' and by golly, she really drew an eye????

See you next year lightning bugs <3

- Jon

 

Odyssey Inspired Jojo art

 

    

Im making some odyssey/ greek illustration style artwork for the Axolodyssey comic kickstarter. I wasnt sure how it would all turn out but im actually kinda digging it and am letting my weird little art self get all weird. Its a fun take on the characters! Makes this project seem alot cooler than it really is haha! Im going to make a couple more but heres what ive got so far.

    The idea is to have the kickstarter be themed like the odyssey just with my gang. Im liking these pieces so much I may make them part of some print collection with gold foiling! Anyways, how are you?

A Tribute to Toad Hall

 by Joel Guthrie

Apologies for the one-day-late post. I was just cleaning out the last of my old apartment all yesterday. It was a sentimental goodbye. Toad Hall is what we called it, apparently a spontaneous suggestion unrelated to the Wind in the Willows locale. This christening occurred some six years ago, when my now-fiancé Madi, her brother Matt, and our friend Kenzie first moved into this place. I myself helped hang pictures on the wall.

The apartment became a hallowed place for me and our burgeoning friend group. The parties and socials we threw there are countless and priceless. I'm sure the echoes of so much laughter, weird movies, and late night conversations are still ringing in the rafters.

Four years ago, Matt moved out of this apartment and bestowed ownership (rentership?) unto me. But before that happened, Madi called me with a request: to create a theme song for Toad Hall. Excited by the prospect, I immediately went to the piano and banged out some 80s-sounding thing in fifteen minutes. Using the demo as reference, our friend Mer affixed words to the melody. Afterwards, the three roommates filmed themselves sitcom-style. And here is that video, for your viewing pleasure: