When my niece Sigourney started college in Edinburgh, Scotland I was so excited for her. And I was so proud she was secure enough to make such a bold choice. But I also feared she would

miss family more than she could imagine. She had studied abroad in Spain for a semester during highg school, but all her life, she had lived in SUCH close quarters with her parents and younger sister. I thought the distance, what I imagined would be dreary weather, and dorm life would be a rough transition. So I wanted to send her off on a positive note. In the background is the famous castle of Edinburgh. Siggy loved anime at the time, so I found some cute characters and schoolbus to incorporate into this mixed-media collage. A magazine page with an Ace of spades in an advertisement ended up on my workspace one day. I realized it would serve as a good luck charm emerging from the castle, so I drew that in. The fluffy pink bird added cheer to a piece, and it perfectly mirrored the color of the flowers below. The text is my message to Sigourney in the mood of a fairy tale, with a nod to poet Mary Oliver, and the spirit of my grandparents, her great-grandparents.

We flew across the ocean to get her settled into college life 🙂