Mexico Day 3: Swimming with Sea Turtles

Our Airbnb was within walking distance of a national park with beach access for snorkeling. Akumal is known for its sea turtles. You can rent snorkel gear and go solo, but we chose to book a tour through Airbnb experiences, which I think was a smart choice. We set out early before it got too crowded. Our guide was very kind and extremely helpful when our goggles got foggy or we had other technical difficulties.

I think my favorite part was seeing these fish swirling around one of the turtles, nibbling on it and cleaning its shell.

I thought, “My nose piercing is so healed! It’s fine without a ring in it for a few days.” But let me tell you— it was painful replacing it when I got home. Hope the turtle enjoyed it.

Mexico Day 2: Tacos and Cenotes

When we were planning this trip, I knew that I wanted to do a tour of some of the amazing cenotes that are everywhere in the Yucatan.

Sarah noted that if you’re going to fall off your bike, it’s best to do it before you go swimming so that the cool cenote water can heal your wounds.

We swam in four cenotes total. At the end of our tour, we rode our bikes back to Gilmer’s house and ate tacos made with the delicious pork we prepared! It was the perfect end to a day of swimming and sun. We ate and chatted for the rest of the afternoon. There were two women on the tour in addition to our group, and they told us that we really needed to visit Merida, which promptly was added to our travel wishlist.

Mexico, Day 1: Travel

On January 16th, I set off from RDU veryyyyy early in the morning where I met my friend, Sarah. It was very cold and dark.

When we came down the escalator on the way out of the Cancun airport, a huge line awaited us at immigration. I think that every plane that was going to Cancun landed at the same time. It was chaotic because people kept trying to make new lines and then little skirmishes would break out as other people tried to enforce the “rules,” which were not being enforced by staff. The whole thing was kind of funny. I just kept thinking “Well, if this is our only travel friction, it’s really not so bad.”

This meager comic cannot describe the feeling of walking out onto our terrace after what turned out to be a 15 hour day of travel. The ocean, the salt air! I went to bed thinking about how I couldn’t wait to wake up and see the sunrise over the water.

Trip Anticipation

The NYT word games are my little escape from the world.

Felix always knows what the suitcase means… Charlie is not quite as quick on the uptake.

This was subtle foreshadowing for what’s to come… luckily it did not hinder my enjoyment of my travels.

Too Spontaneous and Whimsical

I know this should be a no-brainer, but making food that I like to eat, in small batches, but enough to be prepared for the week… has made my life more enjoyable and less stressful. I resisted for so long, but now it’s the way I have to live. This was also kicked into motion by switching to a gluten-free diet. My doctor thought I might have celiac, which thankfully I do not! But going gluten-free has made me feel immensely better. Here’s the link to the gluten-free biscuits I have been making and enjoying for breakfast!

"Snow" Diaries

Snow days in the south rarely involve snow, and this was no exception. I really wanted to wake up and see a beautiful blanket of soft, white snow! But it wasn’t meant to be this time. The ice was pretty in its own way and we didn’t lose power, which was the most beautiful thing of all.

Winter Worries

The older I get, the more I struggle in the winter. I think part of it is that we have to live so out of rhythm with the world— we’re supposed to be hibernating, right? I also get really tired of having to walk the dogs in the morning and the evening in the dark. I’ve been trying to make a point to get a lunchtime walk in so that I can at least glimpse the sunlight. The light is coming back!

They're Back!

I don’t get a ton of natural light in my little house. I’m shrouded under tall trees, which is very nice and cozy. In the winter, when the leaves are gone from the huge oak that’s in the middle of my little corner, I get great light for about an hour the morning. I loved seeing the projections of the robins as they zipped back and forth. Of course, they pooped all over my already-disgustingly dirty car. But it was worth it.

It's Centrifugal Motion

Wine Night Karaoke has become a staple in my house in the last couple years of living alone. I’m not saying that living alone is always a treat— sometimes, it would be great to have someone else take out the trash or unload the dishwasher. Someone to tell the story of your day to over dinner. However… most of the time it’s awesome. And I think celebrating the solitude is really important.

Yay, Charlie!

I think the layout of this comic accurately reflects the utter chaos of this moment. Charlie’s leash had gotten wrapped around his belly because he’d been hopping around like a maniac. Then, I bent down to untangle him and he took the opportunity to get the zoomies. Luckily it was a quiet Sunday morning and my friend Kristen was there to help call him back so that I was able to STOMP on his leash. And Felix’s plans to once again be an only child were foiled.

Trend Alert

This was inspired by conversations at work about Temu. I’ve never felt compelled to order anything from Temu because I generally like to take garbage OUT of my home, not pay to have more delivered. It boggles my mind how we, as a society, are so addicted to consuming that we will pay for things that will break immediately or are downright fraudulent, just for the hit of shopping endorphins. I can’t fathom it. I think that many of us feel so out of control in our lives that buying things is the only escape.

My other “out” is AI— for OBVIOUS REASONS! I hate that its existence is predicated on stealing the intellectual work of others. I hate that it is eroding our already tenuous grip on what is “real” and what is “fake” on the internet. I hate that people are developing parasocial relationships with chatgpt and acting like it’s some all-knowing oracle! It’s not! It’s feeding you aggregated slop, brought to you by exploited labor all while it burns water to cool massive data centers. There’s no reason to use it and I hate that it’s being normalized as an inevitable future. We have brains for a reason. For now.

As for my “ins” for 2025— the underlying theme is that I like things that connect us to others and to our own humanity. I like to hold cups that someone else molded with their hands! I like wearing things that I stitched, maybe even with a few errant pieces of dog hair woven into the fabric. I like seeing the paths that people carve with their footsteps, outside of the bounds of practical right angles. I love texting my friends, “Did you see the moon tonight? Go look!” and I love my friends who also get excited about the moon.

So there you have it. My hope for 2025 is that we continue to honor our humanity by connecting with others. And that we STOP sharing AI generated content and look at real art instead.

Protective Spell

I know the DMV sucks regardless, but when I tell you how bad this picture is… it rocked my world. My self-perception. It sent me into an existential crisis. So, making this comic helped.

Getting Inspired

One of the primary goals of this project is to spend less time staring into the abyss of my phone screen, so I think I’m already benefiting from being more observant. I’m looking for little treasures for my sketchbook like a magpie.

Happy New Year

I made a commitment to myself to create more this year and decided my first step would be to draw in my sketchbook every day. So far, this has led to daily diary comics! This is my first entry, kind of my manifesto for 2025.

Here are my “rules” for creating every day:

• It doesn’t have to be precious or perfect.

• Act > Vessel— I’m not making an art book, so these entries can be on anything. Scrap paper, whatever.

• Butt in seat, pen to paper

• Every day of 2025, 1 minute, 1 hour, I owe it to myself.

I’m not going to be too hard on myself if I’m sick or just have an overwhelming day. I’ll catch up when I can— the goal is to just keep going.

Being a "Visible Artist"

Sketching from life is one of my favorite ways to decompress. It’s great for when you’re sitting in a cafe, at an event, or just want to practice your skills.

Sketching at a recent Poetry on the Pond event at the Weymouth Center in Southern Pines.

When you’re sketching in public, you do have to accept that people are probably going to be curious and take a peek in your sketchbook. It makes people happy to see someone being creative in public.

Enjoying a chilly first day of spring, before this tree sprouted any leaves.

You can use any old tools when you’re sketching in public. Here’s what I like to use:

Handbook Watercolor Sketchbook

Koi Travel Watercolor

Watercolor Brush Pen

Zebra Pens

These supplies can last for years. I painted my Seawitch book with my travel watercolor set 9/10 years ago and I’m just now hitting the bottom of the pan with a few colors.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by laurelholden (@laurelholden)

My partner, Romey, is big on the concept of being a “visible artist” in the community. This really means not being too self-conscious to be creative in public. You never know what might come of it! You might just make a new connection or inspire someone else to be a visible artist, too.

A Library Comic

I have not been making much in the way of comics for the past couple years, due in large part to the fact that I have been getting my Master’s in Library Science through the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. I did manage to make a comic in lieu of an essay earlier this year for my Diverse Populations class. Today is my graduation, so I look forward to more time to create comics in 2022!

Seeing Things

Where the Crawdads Sing Sketchbook Review

I’ve posted several book reviews on my Instagram this year. I decided to push myself to read more and set a goal of reading 100 books! I’m currently at 101 and think I can fit in another book or two before the stroke of midnight on December 31. Where the Crawdads Sing was definitely one of the standouts and surprises of the year.

2018 is here...

What a busy end of the year! I meant to make a cool year-end summary post but then I think I took 10 naps instead. I'm finally feeling recharged after taking time off work, laying on the couch, knitting, and working my way through my reading pile. Just when I feel ready to get some creative work done, it's back to real life! Oh, well. 

Here are some fun things I've been meaning to post about: 

My illustration was on the cover of Pinestraw Magazine! For those who live outside of Moore County, Pinestraw is a free publication put out by our local newspaper. In addition to all the info on local events and businesses, it also features great writing profiling historical events, local entrepreneurs, and beautiful homes. The photography, design, and the fact that they make a point to give a platform to local artists means that the issues are a hot commodity and snatched up every month when they hit the stands. I was beyond excited that art director, Andie Rose, not only thought of me for this job but then chose to put it on the cover. This was a dream job to close out 2017. 

My mom got the cover framed for me for a Christmas present, so I'll get to keep a little piece of cheer up all year round! Happy New Year!

Spiderella is now on Kickstarter!

You can visit the Kickstarter page for our campaign here!

Romey made so many wonderful graphics for this project! He also made our amazing video.

The beautiful batch of test copies we received!

On the Kickstarter page, you'll find lots of info about the rewards, the risks and all that good stuff! 

Spiderella has been a dream for Romey and me practically since we met 6 years ago. I still remember when he told me the story and I secretly thought, "I want to draw it!" I was thrilled when he asked me if I would illustrate it because that had been my evil plan all along. 

The work I did for Spiderella is honestly the work I'm most proud of. I still glance back at the pages and think, "I did that!?" And now we're ready to share that work with the world. 

Here are three ways you can help:

1. Back the Kickstarter and get some lovely rewards. 

2. Share the link on social media-- the more eyeballs, the better!

3. Tell someone who you think will like it, too. Text, email, call! Reach out to someone special and tell them about this book. 

The Kickstarter Campaign will end on October 31st, a very auspiciously spooky date. So put on your fanciest costume, markyour calendar, and spread the word!