A pen & ink drawing of a girl with huge lips and dark eyes who asks, "Am I Dead Yet?"

“Am I Dead Yet?”
Pen & Ink
Found on Harstine Island, Washington
September, 2026

Artist unknown.

I live in the woods, surrounded by trees, trees, water, deer, and more trees. There’s beauty, but no room for the spontaneous art I found when I lived in Chicago. Or so I thought.

I began to look beyond the boughs, and found what I was looking for. A wealth of abandoned projects exist in marginal places: garage sales, thrift stores, and on one thrilling occasion, by the HOA dumpster. I took in these originals, fished them out of free boxes, liberated them from bins, unfolded them from the tucked pages where their creators hid them.

A few were pleasing as they were, and I framed them and gave them pride of place in my home. With others, I contemplated the effort and decided to improve upon what was done. Once or twice, I obliterated the works after my own attempt was inadequate. These await another iteration.

Sometimes the art questioned me. “Am I Dead Yet?”

I contemplated the question, and believed the best thing, in this case, is to launch it into the world. Travel. Adventure. A chance to interrogate everyone who sees it. As long someone looks, then the answer becomes apparent.

Fly and be free.