Jillian VanTassell

One of my earliest memories on this earth was writing and illustrating stories for each member of my family when a birthday came up. It was always my present. I wrote stories of a cat and a bird solving crimes together, a girl befriending an alligator, and a young boy who woke up one morning to find his front lawn had turned into a giant pea. Yes, they were strange stories, but they were real to me, alive to me, and I still remember the fire and urgency that compelled me to scribble them out before they faded from my mind.

While on the outside, my life may look rather normal—if not edging towards boring—the creativity that surged through my veins as a child is still very much alive and it keeps my day-to-day life interesting beneath that veil of "normal."
Here I share pieces of what I've created. Pieces that are personal, and pieces that are all business. Either way, my heart is poured into these whether through tears, laughter, or sheer determination.