We were lucky to catch up with Heather Foxwood recently and have shared our conversation below.
Heather , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
Drawing has been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember. My mom told me I began to draw as soon as I could hold a pencil, and by 2 years old, was so critical of my work, that I actually stopped drawing for a whole year! Once I got over that, I self-taught myself by soaking up books with art I admired and observing daily life. In High School, I took every art class I could, but was unable to go to art college due to the cost. I have kept learning through the internet, with courses from industry leaders. In 2021 I joined Storyteller Academy, an online community with courses from authors and illustrators in the children’s publishing industry, and their perspective and training have helped me greatly to move my art in the direction it needs to go. Podcasts have also become a great learning tool I frequently use, and I of course still love to study books.
For years, I dabbled in too many things without any real direction. This was an important discovery process, but I would have gone further in mastery if I found my focus sooner. We also had a goat milk soap business for 7 years, which pushed my art to the back burner, but taught me a lot about being an entrepreneur.
It is not always easy to find time to continue learning, which includes practicing the techniques I am studying. I homeschool three of my four boys, and the fourth is a toddler-tornado that gets into everything the moment my back is turned. I take a lot of my classes at night or when I steal away to a quiet room for lunch. Perseverance is so important. Growing in any skill takes hours and hours of practice and pushing through discouragement and distractions.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
I am a homeschooling mom of 4 boys and a big animal lover. We have a menagerie of animals including goats, chickens, 3 dogs, a couple cats, a rabbit, a hamster, and some fish—life is never dull here! I became interested in illustrating as a child; I believe I was in only Kindergarten when Tomie De Paola appeared on Barney, which was my favorite show. He talked about what it was like to be an artist, and then did a drawing on camera to show his process. I was absolutely fascinated, and 30 years later I still think back on that episode with fondness. In 5th grade, we did an assignment to write and illustrate a short story. I went beyond what anyone in my class did, writing a chapter book and adding many illustrations. It made me realize it takes a great deal of time and work to make a book. I got married and moved to a little town in Central NY, where our tiny library occasionally has authors and illustrators visit, which causes a spark inside me to glow. I also was blessed to meet Jan Brett, my favorite illustrator. She saw my sketches and gave me kind encouragement. Still, I was hesitant to pursue illustration, knowing it is a hard industry to get into, and how much time goes into even a single illustration.
However, for Christmas in 2020, my mother-in-law gave one of my kids a picture book that really struck me with its beauty. I couldn’t shake the feeling it gave me and was drawn to look back into illustration more. At first, I balked at the idea, but then there was an ad on Facebook for a free mini conference on book writing and illustration with Storyteller Academy. I signed up and it blew me away. Around the same time, I had two people approach me out of the blue asking if I’d be interested in illustrating their stories. The first wasn’t quite the right fit, but the second I couldn’t say no to. It ended up being the perfect project. The book, A Very Sloth Christmas, by Catherine Self was published this year and was a delight to work on. It also gave me the confidence that not only could I do this, but it’s something I deeply long to do, and helped push some of the imposter syndrome away.
Although I can work with a variety of mediums and subjects, my focus is on children’s book illustrations with animal characters. All throughout history, animals have been used to tell stories because of the draw we have to them, and I feel no different about that. They are my very favorites!
I strive to make detailed, timeless, beautiful art for books that parents and kids alike will want to look closer at. I also strive to make the author’s dream of their story really shine. I want to have endearing storytelling with my art that works with my client’s words and helps tell more of the story.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Back when I was in high school, there was a juried art website. You gave them a sampling of your work, and the other artists would critique your work and vote whether or not it was good enough to fit with the rest of the art there. I sent in what I felt at the time was my best art. I got rejected and received a lot of really hard critique back. It always feels vulnerable when people give critique, so it was tough emotionally. However, it was also one of the best things I could have gotten. I started seeing my art in a new light. Instead of being deterred, I was determined, and kept practicing. I submitted again and was rejected again. However, even now, I consciously think of some of those lessons I learned. It is so important to find other artists who can give helpful, informed critique. You can’t learn and grow if you don’t know what needs work. I love to strive for the next level, and I’ve found critique groups and feedback from my online class instructors really is helping me to improve faster than if I did it just alone.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
Oh yes, I have a bit of a doozy there. From 2014 to 2021 my husband and I had a goat milk soap business together. I made the soap, he helped with administrative tasks, and we did craft shows together. We enjoyed working as a team, and we also learned a lot. In 2020 I was pregnant with our 4th when the pandemic hit. Our two oldest were in First Grade and Kindergarten and were transferred to distance learning. The teachers were great and did the best they could do, but these were young kids who couldn’t type and they needed a lot of help. I had to watch all of their videos and type what they told me. Add a newborn into the mix in May, and it honestly was rather intense. There was a strong possibility we’d have to do distance learning again for the next school year, so instead we took the plunge into homeschool, which was something we had considered in the past anyway. Needless to say, that led to an entirely new dynamic for our family. My husband then read Profit First by Mike Michalowicz and we realized our business wasn’t currently viable. With our new dynamic, it was too much to fix, and we let it go.
Contact Info:
- Website: heatherfoxwood.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/cottontailcottage.studio/