Monthly Charlie’s Playground: August 2025
August is over! Here are my favorite posts, quotes, and doodles from a month of recovering, drawing, and getting back into the swing of Chicago life.
August is already over! Whether it’s your first time reading and you don’t know where to start, or you’ve been too busy to check in every day, here are this month’s Charlie’s Playground highlights.
Top 3 Illustrations of the Month
My Favorite Post of the Month
"POP NEWS Cover by Me!" (August 15)
Back in July I was invited to create an illustration for RISO POP (@riso_pop), the risograph studio in Amsterdam, and it ended up becoming the cover of their monthly newspaper! It made me so happy to know my work was traveling across the sea and being appreciated there.
Most Memorable Phrase I Wrote
“Hang in there, my little quarterback!”
This month started with me returning from an emergency trip back from Japan, and I kept feeling under the weather. But then my husband jokingly said, “Hang in there, my little quarterback!” Somehow, even though it was silly, it gave me strength. Like, “I won’t lose to this summer heat!” I only watch American football once a year during the Super Bowl, but still I felt like yelling: Go, Charlie, gooo! Huf-huf-hutball!!! 🏈
Author’s Note
In August, the first half was about writing down all the inspiration I’d picked up during my emergency trip to Japan, before I forgot it. In the latter half, I started sharing my drawing practice, going out on artist dates, and getting back into my usual Chicago life.
There wasn’t one big project this month, but it was a month of keeping my hands moving and not losing that drive to create. And, I’ve already got a few ideas I want to pursue this fall—so I’m quietly warming them up in the background. I’ll be sharing more about those here on the blog, so stay tuned!