Category: life as arte
images and stories about parenting, healing from long term illness, transforming trauma, community, aging, being chicana, growing up multicultural, being queer, traveling the planet, radical unschooling, death and all the art that is living life
Why Children’s Books are a Radical Act
I just released Children’s Books as a Radical Act on Indiegogo to support my first 6 independently published children’s books. What makes these books radical? Why is it noteworthy that they’re independently published? Why children’s books of all things? Radical? Any time we center ourselves as POC, indigenous or queer …
QUEER ETERNAL
finding our way through Orlando
ORLANDO tú eres mi otro yo
dancing in the garden
Not last night but the night before I was woken up by something that has never happened before. Apparently I had spontaneously vomited in my sleep, just a little, but enough to start me gagging and choking. I woke up disoriented and a little shock-y because I couldn’t breathe and …
If the Publishing World Were to Change Tomorrow, I’d Still Self-Publish
What if the children’s book industry changed tomorrow? And the number of books that actually reflect our communities was equitable with those of straight Euro Americans? What if I began getting calls that offered real advances and publicity for books with larger publishing houses? What if for some reason, after …
A Death in the Family: Francisco X Alarcón
longing and authenticity
1/17/16 Francisco X. Alarcón let go of his body January 15. His passing is moving me very much. I am finishing drawings on our latest book together. A book of days. I look at spending the next few months very intimately sitting with Francisco as the arte unfolds. I am …
Holiday queers! What I Know Now!
30 Years After Being Disowned for Xmiss
Ahhh the holidays! My mother stopped talking to me on Christmas day, the rest of my family followed suit. Later, I was actually disowned! I don’t know if my name still appears on any of the papers that connect me to my family of origin. Jajaja! I laugh my queer …
Bringing in Wholeness
Planting Seeds for Ourselves in the Dark of the Winter Solstice
the edge of death…10 years later
the release of my new fine art website as I reflect on 10 years after healing from heavy metal poisioning
Knock Knock Who’s There? Interrupting Chupacabra!
Social Justice, Critical Thinking, Social and Emotional Learning Wrapped in a JOKE!
Saturday I am speaking at the Bay area SCBWI Oktoberfest. One of my talks is titled, Get Radical! Why Radical Thinkers Are Needed in the Children’s Book World. Apparently my reputation precedes me because I didn’t come up with the title. I simply and happily slid into place upon arrival. …