Once upon a time an illustrator found out about a little secret. Legend had it there was a place where artistic creativity was not only welcomed but revered – a place where it would be appreciated and seen. She wasn’t quite sure how it all worked, but intrigued, she dipped her toe into the water. It wasn’t as cold as she thought it would be, and soon found herself diving right in, showing her creations and revealing parts of herself in ways she never thought possible. But something was amiss. Her name. This unprecedented desire to spread her message while realizing she was also inspiring others to do the same would require something more memorable – a name that hinted at all the good things she hoped to bring to this magical land of steem.
Greetings again to my steemit friends, old and new. It has been suggested that my username 
I have been very lucky here so far with all the encouraging support I’ve received for my posts. I’ve made new friends that I would never have met otherwise. I had no idea this would happen. I saw it as an incentive to finally get my work out there while holding myself accountable for following through with my plans. Promoting what I do has always been a challenge – that whole modesty handicap, but my courage has been restored, my self-consciousness conquered (for the most part), and my desire to share my thought process with my illustrations has been rewarded beyond my wildest dreams. Financial success wasn’t my motive. I won’t deny that the thought of being compensated for my years of experience in the art world was appealing. But it wasn’t the driving force. For me it was being seen and making a difference for others, and that sure has been happening. And I am honored to say that steemit is the first social media platform I have ever used to post my work in a blog format.
It never occurred to me that people would want to know how a children’s book comes to be. You can buy it in the stores complete with words and pictures – what else is there?
I underestimated the interest of going deeper beyond the finished work. I guess you guys all really liked behind the scenes glimpses into the world of an illustrator, seeing the inner workings of my art making processes warts and all. You were intrigued by my earliest thumbnail sketches and versions that never made it to publication. Unbelievable. And that response inspired me to create more so I can share more. It’s like a symbiotic relationship – your enthusiasm keeps me producing. 
Having this new name will put me more into my role as a storyteller. I hope you humor me as I make this dynamic shift; my creative muses have been in overdrive lately just as yours have. Hopefully my new posts as
I look forward to putting up many more projects in progress as well as sharing some pretty extraordinary travel adventures.
a map I painted for my daughter
In addition, I am eagerly looking forward to some highly respected creators I predict will be joining us here soon.
Until then, keep on writing and sharing. But also be kind and remain approachable. We can all help each other out to become social media's largest community of online mentors if we work together to make and keep steemit a place like no other. That’s a good thing, isn’t it?
Full Steem ahead!
All artwork in this post ©Johanna Westerman 2016
