I created illustrations inspired by the childhood memories of six friends. Sit with us around the campfire to hear their stories!! (or just scroll...)
It's an instagram event by the amazing illustrator Beatrice Blue!
From July 4-10th, illustrators all over the world follow her prompts to draw their childhood memories. Here's my spin: my illustrations are inspired by the memories of my friends!
Yay! Visit my shop to inquire about my (extremely limited) commissions!
"...When I was around 6-10 years old and every summer we would go to Mexico for a month. We never had set plans, but each day was busy and we ended up pooped by the end of it.
"Every morning we would wake up, gather with our other cousins and family members that shared the same house with us in Mexico and decide on what we would play/do for the day. This included going outside to jump rope, play hide and seek, riding four wheelers, or my personal favorite, going to the arcade...
Time flew by because we were always so busy, but they were also, SO fun."
-Laura Garcia (LG)
"I think one of my favorite memories was when our family rented a cabin for a week with our cousins in Colorado.
...the cabin was smaller and had less beds than we thought for our two families...
"Needless to say we [spent] a lot of time at the lake by our cabin instead. We spent almost an entire day making a canal in the sand at the lake and trying to learn how to perfect rock skipping with our dads. We still talk about that trip all the time when we’re together as a family."
-Kristine Fry
"[My dad] decided to buy me a mini keyboard piano. Mind you, this was not a toy keyboard, it was a real tiny red keyboard for children, probably a Casio. I could try to play some melodies, and it even came with a big collection of pre-recorded tunes... So, whenever I felt lonely, or anxious, I would try to play some of these tunes.
"I remember talking to him over the phone and sometimes telling him one of the tunes of that little red piano, the 'ode to joy' ... would give me hope that he would be back."
- Elias Bamaca
"...we went on a road trip to the Grand Canyon and I took this little fox stuffed animal with me everywhere."
-Casey Washburn
"My family would save the biggest boxes we could find and then on a summer day take them up to a steep grassy hill tucked away on the local university campus.
"Everyone would have a box and we’d fly down the hill - our Texas version of sledding."
-Bethany Shorey-Fennell
"When I was in elementary school, my dad had an on-call job where he'd occasionally do house visits out in the country. I don't know why I went with him this time, but when we pulled up to the house, it was already dark. I told him I wanted to wait in the car. I was pretty shy around new people as a kid. So I wait.
Every noise outside the car scares me. I want to go inside the house, but don't want to go out in the dark. Then, the howling starts. Screams and growls and evil-sounding laughter. I'm terrified. I don't know if I waited 20 minutes or an hour for my dad to get back to the car, but he found me sheet white and scared. Of course, he felt bad.
I told him about the screaming and the laughs.
He told me about coyotes."
-Seth Burgett
"What if we were all kids together at the same time? Would we be friends?
Could we go camping and eat s'mores and share our scary stories into the night?
This project is more than nostalgia. The best illustrators are the ones that have learned to really listen to other's memories and stories. The best illustrators can seamlessly tie in their own memories and empathy with the stories they hear and give them life. That's what I wanted to practice with this project.
Thanks to everyone that shared their memories with me. I consider it an honor to draw inspiration from your stories!"
-Chloe Burgett
Check out Chloe's Childhood Week on Instagram for sketches, photos and process videos!
