Our SCBWI-Michigan BIPOC Scholarships Make a Difference by Isabel Estrada O'Hagin

    

      The aim of our SCBWI-Michigan BIPOC Scholarship Awards is to promote inclusivity among our membership and to offer the benefits of membership to selected applicants. For several years now, the SCBWI-Michigan BIPOC Scholarship recipients have enjoyed the perks of membership, including member-based fees for conferences and networking opportunities among our creative kidlit community. If our aim is to be inclusive, we need to authentically engage with our local communities and let them know about the BIPOC scholarships we offer.

 The applications for the 2023 SCBWI-Michigan BIPOC Scholarships can be found on our region’s webpage. Scroll down to the BIPOC Scholarship info.

      As we approach the next round of our region’s 2023 BIPOC Scholarship Applications, let’s hear from this past year’s recipients: Pria Dee (PD), Aubrey Jewel (AJ), Georgia Ann Moss (GAM), and Holly Nicole Semma (HNS). Read how these scholarships made a difference for our 2022 BIPOC Scholarship recipients!

 

1.    In what ways was your SCBWI membership useful to you? (e.g., personal connections, networking, or how it enhanced your creative work in children’s literature)

PD: I enjoy meeting and getting to know all the creative people that are members and learning from their individual experiences. I especially love the author events that allow us to talk to people in person. Many of them have provided me with useful tips, resources, and contacts that as a new writer have been invaluable to me. I met my critique group through SCBWI-Michigan, and they have been very supportive of my writing efforts and have provided so many different perspectives (teacher, librarian, parent, illustrator, etc.) that have helped improve my work. I have also made some great friends who support and encourage me and keep me going even when I get writer's block. 

 

AJ: The scholarship was extremely helpful for me to jump back into the mix of being a creative again and not “just a teacher/instructor.” I love being able to help others, but this gave me the opportunity where I could force myself to be creative again for my own work. It is also a bonus for my daughter to see me making art in this form instead of giving a lesson to her or someone else. It is also helping her to be creative in her own ways. 

Seeing and reading the opportunities and what other folks are doing and creating is such a wonderful addition that the membership has really brought me. Because of this scholarship, I plan on continuing and am scheduling out conferences and connections.

 

GAM: My SCBWI membership/scholarship has been very rewarding. The website offers web meetings where you can brainstorm creative ideas and to connect with other writers. The website is awesome in assisting with author visits and book fairs. I’m so thankful for the scholarship, and I will be renewing my membership. (Woo-hoo, Georgia!)

 

HNS: SCBWI membership is useful to me in providing networking opportunities and creative inspiration! It has been delightful engaging with my colleagues as well as understanding their passions and pursuits. We are all connected through creativity and I am thankful for SCBWI to be a catalyst in facilitating this close-knit community.

 

 

2.    What’s ahead in your creative work? We’d love to hear about it!

 

PD: I have published a picture book and a chapter book since joining SCBWI, and I have two more picture books in the works. Once those are completed and published, I hope to devote my time and energy to writing a middle grade fantasy novel. I also have started on a young adult novel that is making slow progress--I hope to finish it over the next year. 

 

AJ: I’m now doing a series of illustrative work called Resilience, with the hope of empowering many, with the emphasis on women of color. I will be showcasing it in graphic novel form as well as a series of 7 illustrative portraits in a gallery showcase September of 2024 during the Kalamazoo Art Hop.

 

I also finished my story of Mootilda MooCow and Her Trip to the Moon. I’m working on trying to find the right place to get it published. 

 

GAM: Currently working on a holiday book for emergent readers.

 

HNS: I am currently a Master's Candidate at the University of Michigan School of Public Health - Health Behavior & Health Education. I have just returned from a global internship at the Dubai Autism Center. I am interested in having an Arabic version of my upcoming children's books to best provide autism awareness to multicultural families!

 

 

Thank you, Pria, Aubrey, Georgia Ann, and Holly! Readers: If you’re like me, you found the imagination, dynamic energy, and drive among these four women awe-inspiring! May we welcome many more like-minded kidlit creatives to our regional chapter! Help us spread the word throughout our local communities!

 

BIPOC Scholarship

This scholarship awards a one-year membership to SCBWI for new members who identify as BIPOC kidlit creators.

 

Qualifications: Must be a Michigan resident, at least 18 years of age, who identifies as BIPOC and is a writer and/or illustrator of children’s literature.

 

Award: A one-year membership to SCBWI.

Applications Accepted: September 1st – October 1st (via a link that will be posted here). Awardees will be notified on or before Oct. 15th. Awardees will be notified on or before Oct. 15th. To donate to this scholarship, click or tap HERE.

 

Please note that it’s easy to make a donation by clicking on the HERE button!

Isabel Estrada O'Hagin grew up in the desert borderlands of Arizona, dancing and singing her way through life. Always a dreamer, she blends her life experiences as a performing arts educator with her love of Mexican-American culture & folklore into stories. When she’s not writing, she loves to dance, cook, read, daydream, and play with her two gatitos, Dante and Cosmo. She also loves her volunteer work for SCBWI-Michigan as Outreach Coordinator and K.A.S.T. Co-Coordinator (A shout-out to my KAST friends—Where everyone’s a star!)  LA MARIACHI is her debut storybook!

Interview with our featured illustrator, Aubrey Jewel!

Interview By Isabel Estrada O’Hagin

 

Thank you, Aubrey, for designing our new banner!

The Mitten Banner Debuting January 2023

What is your day like? 

Stella and Mootilda

I start off my day being a mom to an amazing four-year-old named Stella. During the week I teach visual arts at Kalamazoo Valley Community College. Primarily, I teach Animation classes, and also mentor folks of all ages in art, including my Stella. When I’m not teaching or fulfilling my mom duties, I get to be in my studio creating all types of art.
 
How many hours of creative work are there in your day?
Not enough—ha! I do try to make sure I have a 30-minute draw time sometime during the day (I try to promote that for all my students, too), but once a week I get to be in my studio and have a nice 6-hour block to create.
 
What does your studio/work space look like? 

I work in multiple places, but my favorite isolated one is my studio garage. During the beginning of the pandemic, I had to clean out the garage to teach from home and it turned into my studio. And now it is my little escape to do art. It has LEGO for stop motion animation, a photo studio setup, and my favorite watercolor pencils and paint. The decor is filled with fun pop culture characters like Ashoka Tano, Jane Foster (Mighty Thor), Wonder Woman, and Doctor Who. The best part is the art my daughter has made also posted on the walls.
  

When you start a new piece, where do you begin? What’s the first step?
I work in all types of digital and traditional mediums, but my go-to starting spot is a sketchbook and pencils. I feel that is where life shows in my illustrations. Right now, I've been drawing images of Stella with her favorite stuffed animal, Mootilda Moo-Cow. Her play with Mootilda inspires me, and with a little imagination, I get some fun illustrations. 

Sketch

Light and Shadows

 

How do you know when you’re done?

Oh, that’s a great question! When it comes to my illustrations, the images are on the computer, and I’m pushing my lights, shadows, and textures. I feel I make a “what if” layer to add… something, and if it works then that’s it! And if it doesn’t and it feels a little too much, I take it off and call it good!

Color Script

Final

What music do you play when making art?

My music choices when I’m drawing tend to revolve around Regina Spektor and Kishi Bashi. I highly recommend those creative music makers!

What’s your favorite work by another illustrator?

I’m lucky to get to teach and mentor many amazing local artists and illustrators here in the Kalamazoo Community! One of my favorite current artists beyond our part of the world is Geneva Bowers. Her art is full of color and whimsy. 

We’d like to get to know you better. What would you like to share with us? 

Aubrey Jewel

I enjoy sharing my creative curiosity with people of all ages and backgrounds. My art is playful, as well as mischievous when needed.

I am a multimedia artist, teacher, and mentor. My specialty is mixing art and technology together to tell visual stories. I share my knowledge of art with the Kalamazoo community, as well as creating my own art that is filled with hope and whimsy. 

You can find my art at aubreyjewel.com and on Instagram @aubreyjewel.

Thank you so much for this opportunity!