9 things I’m obsessing about

The brain wants to roam where the brain wants to roam

Hello and thank you for clicking to open my newsletter.

It’s been a while and I’m trying something new.

A Free Range Brain is a brain that’s been given permission to roam freely, follow its curiosity, and chase its passions. That’s what this newsletter is about — a celebration of exploring, playing, and creating.

Every month or so, I’ll share things that have inspired me: ideas I’m obsessed with, serendipitous discoveries, how I’m channeling all of that into my own art, comics, and writing.

I’ll also toss in a few things I think are just plain funny.

And maybe some cheese. Because there is never enough cheese. (But not this month. Sorry, no cheese today ☹️)

Thanks for being here — and for giving your own brain a little room to wander.

See you on the range,

Lisa

9 things I can’t stop thinking about this month

1. Comic: “Free Range Brain”

Click to read the full comic

I’ve been thinking about the concept of a “free range brain” for a while now. I envision it as sort of a brains without borders thing. A brain roaming the open range like the Roadrunner—but with a brain instead of a bird—and without a coyote trying to blow her up.

I really like the way that feels. And it’s much more healthy, from a mental health perspective, than calling myself the queen of the chronic overthinkers.

I drew a comic to explain. Read the full comic on my blog.

2. T Rex rules

I got really excited when we spotted this T Rex made out of Coach handbags during our pre-Christmas trip to New York. I’ve always loved assemblage art AND my grandson is deep into the dinosaur phase. Double bonus!

This has got me thinking (again) that I need to do something with my mother’s costume jewelry. I have a whole box full!

Maybe some sort of assemblage art? Not a sculpture, but something fun for the wall?

3. Art in a Gif-fy

Have you ever wanted to do something but then, instead of doing it, kept telling yourself “I don’t have time for this now”?

That was me and learning to create animation.

Well I finally made time and you know what? Creating simple animation is much easier than I thought. And just as much fun as I thought.

This eight-minute video from Kezia Lion taught me the basics.

4. Wicked-fun airline safety video

Can a safety video be fun? In 2013 Wicked director Jon Chu proved that it is possible.

Look at what he created for Virgin Atlantic! He is truly a master of dance production numbers.

If only someone could create something like this to replace the instruction manual for my printer. It would certainly make replacing the ink cartridges—which I can never remember how to do—a lot more fun.

Check out the video.

5. Art making 2025

I tend to paint a lot for a few weeks, then put my paints away for a few weeks, so it never feels like I’m making much art. But when I went back to look at what I made in 2025, there were actually quite a few sketches and paintings.

Yay!

I really shouldn’t have been surprised. I took classes, painted while I traveled, and went on sketching coffee dates with friends.

This has me feeling really excited to keep painting into 2026.

I wrote more about it and included more images on my blog.

6. Donut porn

In December, my sketching group visited the landmark* Krispy Kreme store in Atlanta.

Have you ever watched donuts being made? It’s absolutely hypnotic. Especially the sugar glaze waterfall. (Start at about the 1:10 mark.)

Watching the donuts get made reminded of The Donuts, a movie we watched when I was in elementary school. Did they show that movie at your school?

It’s based on a story by Robert McCloskey and is about a boy named Homer and a donut machine that won’t turn off. The machine just keeps making donuts, and more donuts, and more donuts… Every kid’s dream come true!

*It’s famous for having a vintage sign, for having been burned down twice, and for being owned by Shaq. Really.

7. From the archives: The glass is…

My father inspired this comic, which I drew several years ago. I revisited it recently to see if anything had changed.

Noe!

Can you guess which one is him?

Which one are you?

See more comics on my website.

8. Is that a real tree?

Imagine walking through Kensington Gardens and stumbling onto this! And before you can figure out if it’s a real tree or not, you see that right next to it is this:

Weird and wow, right?

They looked really real, but turns out they’re bronze sculptures which were part of an exhibit of the work of artist Giuseppe Penone.

9. Yes, she is dancing with watermelons

When we visited the V&Albert South Kensington, we stumbled onto what I’d call a pop-up dance performance. It took place in one of the galleries. No chairs, no stage—just people sitting on the floor around the performer.

I thought it would be weird, but it turned out to be Beautiful, haunting, and amazing! Plus it included watermelons.

View a short video clip.

More info: “Maya” by dancer/choreographer Vidya Patel.

That’s it for now. Happy January and thank you for reading!