I was going through old sketchbooks recently and I found this:

#tbt #2008 holy wow, I think this is the first time I drew the owl. Also on this page is the barcode sticker from Borders for Lynda Barry’s What It Is. This page marks the beginning of a big shift for me.

A photo posted by Veronica Guzzardi (@sharptoothsnail) on Jan 14, 2015 at 10:10pm PST

Around 2008 I found myself working in a creative field but not drawing and feeling unexpectedly unhappy, and I decided the only remedy was to draw my way out of my funk. I committed to filling up a sketchbook page every day, even if it was just with random doodles or the alphabet.

The owl was a from a popular design I had made on Zazzle, and became a motif in my sketchbook. Soon, it started talking.

I started using the owl regularly as a journaling tool, framing my doubts and worries in terms of encouragement and love.

Since then I’ve expanded the media I’m working in, and the owl has come along, too. 

The original sculpt, the first master, and all the bubbly ones that preceded it. #resintoys #wip A photo posted by Veronica Guzzardi (@sharptoothsnail) on Dec 31, 2014 at 4:08pm PST