Happy new year! I'm not really the type of person who chooses specific resolutions at the start of each January (also, it's the middle of January right now anyway), but I do have one fairly large ongoing goal that I'm currently trying to incorporate into my life and especially my work: stop giving in to other people's urgency.

During the early years of self-employment it's easy to want to say yes to everything when you don't know when your next project will come along. But now, more than three years in, I am getting better at setting realistic expectations for when things can get done (and if those those expectations do not work for a client, I am more willing than I used to be to pass along the project to somebody else who might have more immediate availability).

If you're self-employed or even if you're just not great at setting boundaries with your personal time, here is some advice that I'm still trying to learn for myself: be clear about timelines and terms ("this project will take X amount of time, and this is when I can start"), and tell them what you need and when you need it so they uphold their end of the agreement ("if you need this finished by X date, I will need you to send me your feedback by X [earlier] date; if you don't, the deadline will need to be extended").

All that said, if you need something from me don't let this keep you from asking! I just might tell you "not right now, but is February okay?"

In December, my design proposal (below) was chosen for an 8-foot by 32-foot indoor mural that will be installed in the STEAM Lab at Bunker Elementary, located within the Muskegon public school district. The project is being facilitated by Lions and Rabbits Center for the Arts, and I've been working on the mural over the past few weeks on AlphaPanels in Lions and Rabbits' warehouse, with a projected installation date at Bunker Elementary at the end of this month. I've been sharing occasional progress updates on my Instagram and Facebook pages, if you want to follow along.

This recent medical illustration project was interesting due to the nature of the request. Somebody I met at an art market in October contacted me about a pancreas illustration as a Christmas gift for her husband, who is diabetic and works in endocrinology. It's not often that I am asked to illustrate anatomy for purely decorative purposes, so I got to take a more artistic approach with this. The pancreas itself is not a particularly attractive organ on its own (in my opinion, but to each their own) so I wanted to include the surrounding anatomy as well, but fade it out so the pancreas could be the main focus of the artwork. (A tip for other medical illustrators out there: tempeh is a pretty good texture reference for rendering pancreatic tissue.)

So far I don't have any art markets scheduled in 2023, but you can keep an eye on studiohromi.com/events, which will be updated as things are added. You can also find my wares (including some new items!) online at studiohromi.com/shop and while supplies last at the following retail locations: Grand Rapids Public Museum Curiosity Shop, Scorpion Hearts Club (formerly Sparrows Coffee Shop on Wealthy), and Zabház vintage clothing store on Division.

As always, Instagram is the best way to keep up with all of my goings-on and behind-the-scenes goodies, but you can follow me on any of the platforms below. I also recently re-joined Tumblr, where I plan to occasionally write longer blog posts about projects, process, and works-in-progress.

Thank you for your support!

- Emily