Hello 2026!
I resolve to do more with unscheduled time. Last year slipped by, and I left 2025 wishing I had gone on more hikes, more backpacking trips, more adventures.
Substack! It’s been a while. I have so much I want to share here on the Wrusty Nib but I haven’t finished a comic, zine, or piece of creative writing since August. I did however finish an illustration for Ten Rivers Food Web that I am particularly proud of.
See, a little over a year ago, I was dreaming of a career shift, a shift away from the information sector and the lonely, work-from-home endless emailing work.
My dream job? I thought I wanted to be a full-time artist: spending half my time in a pottery studio slapping unusual handles on hand-carved jug mugs, and the other half watercoloring wild and hungry nudes or self-publishing autobiographical zines that elevate and illuminate working-class lives with dignity and absurdist humor.
The problem is that being a full-time artist also means being a salesperson, maintaining a website, spending long hours sitting at art fairs (hopefully) charming people into supporting you. It turns out, the latter part isn't for me, at least not right now.
Early last year, I was balancing emailing and art-making with gym time. I had started taking myself on dates to the gym, putting my favorite jams into an evolving workout playlist and tuning out the world. It was just me, my music, and the weights. It was a happy place. I thought: if I have to financially supplement my creative aspirations, how do I want to spend that time?
Me? I want to be in a gym.
I searched job listings to see if any gyms were hiring desk staff. They weren’t—but Timberhill Athletic Club was looking for personal trainers.
Last January I started studying for a NASM Personal Training Certification, which I completed in June. I followed that with a Corrective Exercise Specialization and a Nutrition Coach Certification. In August, I began teaching strength and conditioning classes at Timberhill Athletic Club, and in September I took a coaching and personal training job with Helix Training, a small functional strength and conditioning gym. I landed on the other side and in the right place. It has taken a lot of work, and my art has been on the back burner - but this is temporary.
What creative energy I have, has been saved for a year-long Comic Certificate Program I’m working through with the Sequential Artist Workshop. I started the program in September, and it has been a full-on comic-immersive experience. I’m learning the foundations of comic-making: history, drawing, character design, lettering, depth, detail, and so much more. Below, I’m sharing a six-panel teaser from a comic about a post-apocalyptic waterworld where AI controls the billionaires, and the billionaires encapsulate the remaining people on land as workers and breeders. Please let me know if you want more of this!
I’m hoping to settle into my coaching routine a bit more and find better balance with my creative work. I will start working on the 2026 Groundhog card this week, and I have a few zine classes scheduled for spring and summer. You should be seeing more comics and musings from me soon.
Thanks, as always, for your encouragement, engagement, and support. Hello 2026. We got each other and that’s a lot.
I love the TRFW illustration! Looking forward to whatever you create next!
You continue to be a source of inspirational light.