We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Allison Conway. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Allison below.
Hi Allison, so great to have you on the platform. There’s so much we want to ask you, but let’s start with the topic of self-care. Do you do anything for self-care and if so, do you think it’s had a meaningful impact on your effectiveness?
This question is on my mind because as I respond to these prompts, I currently have COVID for the third time. Stay healthy out there everyone! I have had an ongoing struggle with pushing my body and thinking that that is the way to succeed. Sleepless nights, lots of caffeine and not eating well. I can implement working hard but not necessarily smart. Sometimes a job or an inspired mood can call for a late-night hustle but in general being gentle with your body and brain is one of the most important things you can do for yourself. When I eat well, exercise, and not drink too much, ideas and energy flow to me. Stress can help me quickly forget that fact, so I must constantly relearn it. I turned 30 this year and for some reason entering this new decade I want to be kinder to myself. How I treat my body at any decade will affect me long term but turning 30 made me think about the future more. I want to draw and write as long as I can so the kinder I am to my body, the longer I can be a creator.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am an illustrator and cartoonist based in Brooklyn, so I am surrounded by more buildings than trees, but nature is ever present. I love the parts of our planet that are weird and small, whether that be insects, microorganisms, or animals in general. I think the obsession began for me growing up in Wisconsin. I lived near a swamp in the woods and our back yard was teeming with life. I didn’t necessarily find animals, they found me. Anywhere and everywhere, you looked, strange, gross, or fascinating things were happening in the grass. Turtles were laying eggs, eggs were hatching, animals were injured, insects were eating larger insects and vice versa, and never was there a dull moment in those woods. I live in a city now but if you focus on the ground or trees around you there is something to behold. For example, when it rains in the city most of the grassy patches where a tree is planted in between road and sidewalks will be covered in hidden roly polies. When it rains, they come to service to breathe and eat. Speaking of roly polies, my new book, A Pillbug Story, is about bugs and will be published this year June 18th! It is available for preorder now on Amazon and Black and Panel Press, my publisher.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
As the age old saying goes, you’re always a student. Never stop learning. Early on I think it’s important to keep an open mind and dive into things that excite you. I went to a children’s book writers and illustrators conference a couple years ago called SCBWI. The advice the keynote speaker gave was invaluable (I wish I could remember their name!). The advice they gave was to follow your curiosities. Whatever you are curious about, lean into it. I still follow that advice! Researching and exploring animals and insects is how I lean into my curiosities now and I’m sure I will have many more curiosities to explore in the future. Also, if you’re an artist, be okay if you find that you are good at something and don’t be afraid to embrace that style or medium. For example, I love drawing with Micron pens and coloring digitally with a watercolor brush in Photoshop. Micron pens are incredibly popular so I can feel shy telling people that they are my tool of choice. Sometimes I wish I had some exciting brush pen from another country that no one has ever heard of. But I’ve tried many pens, and I don’t like them as much as an ole reliable Micron. I think it’s okay to just run with something that works for you, making art does not need to be complicated.
What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?
In the last 12 months I feel that I have loosened up as an illustrator and doodler. There are a couple things I attribute to this change. Firstly, I received a jury duty summons at the end of 2022 (I know, more than 12 months ago but still applicable). I was on the grand jury, and we heard just under 30 cases. I drew in my sketchbook with a Micron pen 01 the entire time. It felt a bit like school again when I would doodle in the agendas all throughout class while the teacher spoke. After that experience I realized I needed to bring a sketchbook with me everywhere and just the pen. If I added a pencil, I felt like I could not experiment freely. Something about using only a pen helped me loosen up. Early 2023 I also got on an SSRI medication that worked for me and I drink significantly less now. I have had ongoing depression struggles for my adult life and for the first time in years I feel like a bit “normal.” I also have a reading routine now that has greatly improved my mood and excitement for storytelling. I try to start and end every day with a book. Things are by no means perfect, but I look forward to what the future holds for 2024.
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