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J. B. Bartram

@jbbartram.bsky.social

1.3K followers 170 following 2.2K posts

Illustrator, ceramicist, graphic designer, studio gnome. She/her. Pottery shop: heywitch.bigcartel.com Newsletter: https://hey-witch.beehiiv.com/subscribe

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J. B. Bartram @jbbartram.bsky.social · Jan 14

Hi there, #portfolioday ! I’m an illustrator, graphic designer, and potter who specializes in book illustration (currently illustrating my 5th kids book & working away slowly at a graphic novel) & design/illustration for NGOs & other similar organizations!

📖 www.jessicabartram.ca

A spread from Ghost Water Kiss, a book of short stories I wrote & illustrated, published in 2019. The image is of a surreal underwater scene with colourful seaweeds & corals with a green & mossy mermaid-like creature swimming through it.

A spread from Water Water, a picture book I wrote & illustrated (published in 2021). It’s a gouache & watercolour painting that shows a cottage at night with an illuminated window so you can see the living room within. Two ghostly giant fish (a musky & a sturgeon) emerge from the lake in the background & are floating over the cottage.

A spread from a report I illustrated and designed for JCRT. It shows the life cycle of a cecropia moth along a lichen-studded branch with paragraphs of text below.

A poster I illustrated for a local film festival — drawn in vibrant colours it depicts a crystal mountain nestled within a lichen-y / mossy landscape with a large salamander wrapped around the base of the mountain and a little furry guy at the top telling the text of the poster in a beam of yellow light.

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J. B. Bartram @jbbartram.bsky.social · 22h

I mean, I liked it!! I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

J. B. Bartram @jbbartram.bsky.social · 1d

I vaguely remember that, but then the wrap-up had such good stuff that it kind of erased the slog? So uhhh you have that to look forward to (I hope, I haven’t seen it for like 15yrs)!

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J. B. Bartram @jbbartram.bsky.social · 1d

She’s got such a perfect furious little goblin face!!!!! What a beast!

J. B. Bartram @jbbartram.bsky.social · 1d

I recommend just skipping to the very last episode (or the last few? But I think it all makes sense sans season context)— it’s got some good stuff in it!!!!

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J. B. Bartram @jbbartram.bsky.social · 2d

I made the same joke when I watched this bit of the game!! Glad everyone else noticed the fancy hand moves!!

J. B. Bartram @jbbartram.bsky.social · 2d

It’s an honour to have my pottery paired with one of my favourite authors (& I’m SO impatient for my library to get their copies of this book in!!) 💕

Brittney @craftycorvid.bsky.social · 2d

My copy of T. Kingfisher’s latest horror novella arrived today, and I remembered to start reading it while the sun‘s out! (My awesome leaf litter critter mug comes from the talented artist @jbbartram.bsky.social and felt like the right choice for today’s coffee.)

A copy of T. kingfisher’s novella What Stalks the Deep sits on a wooden tabletop next to a cup of coffee in a ceramic mug that features neat leaf litter critter designs all around it.

J. B. Bartram @jbbartram.bsky.social · 2d

Ah fascinating! I’m also super picky about cuke-pickle texture — it’s gotta be crisp & snappy, not mushy in the middle. I had a sort of opposite pickle-journey — I’d always loved everything BUT cukes & then I tried a proper briny kosher dill & was converted!

Reposted by J. B. Bartram

QuoProQuid @quoproquid.bsky.social · 2d

We Have Always Lived in The Castle And That’s Why I Am Writing to Oppose to Proposed Housing Development That Will Fundamentally Change the Character of Our Picturesque, Gothic Community

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Reposted by J. B. Bartram

Bo Bolander @bbolander.bsky.social · Oct 31

one of my favourite edwardian themes is "the man in the moon is a huge sky perv who enjoys watching couples do it"

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J. B. Bartram @jbbartram.bsky.social · 2d

Hmm I’m more of a kosher dill / turnip gal myself

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J. B. Bartram @jbbartram.bsky.social · 3d

Yesssss

J. B. Bartram @jbbartram.bsky.social · 3d

I’ve seen it via a zillion different videos on here & have watched every. Single. One (& MAN I love a batflip!!)

J. B. Bartram @jbbartram.bsky.social · 3d

I popped down about half an hour ago to see how they were doing (Ian is watching in the basement where our tv lives) & was expecting something good (having heard some excitement from the announcers) but was NOT expecting 11 runs?!?!?!? Wow!! Also that Vladdy bat flip 💯

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J. B. Bartram @jbbartram.bsky.social · 3d

I’m feeling a rewatch as I wait impatiently for S3. I’m absolutely obsessed with this show & agree with everything below (also, WHAT a cast!!)

Sean T. Collins @seantcollins.com · 3d

Both seasons of Interview with the Vampire are on Netflix. One of the best literary adaptations in the history of television, it takes all the source material's strengths and transmogrifies all its weaknesses, like The Terror. Cruel, disgusting, sexy as fuck. Plus: Eric Bogosian! Do not walk, RUN.

Sam Reid as Lestat and Jacob Anderson as Louis in Interview with the Vampire

Reposted by J. B. Bartram

Indrapramit Das @indrapramitdas.bsky.social · 4d

Mithqal's accounts are suspended and/or deleted and he can't post on Bluesky. He's exhausted & has asked me to share his fundraiser. Please help if you can, his son needs urgent treatment for injuries.

Indrapramit Das @indrapramitdas.bsky.social · 6d

Palestinian families like Mithqal's are being displaced once again by the IDF as they're starved to death in Israel's genocide. Please help by sharing & donating so they can cover the costs of evacuation, food, healthcare, shelter. His son needs urgent care for injuries:

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J. B. Bartram @jbbartram.bsky.social · 3d

A moment of calm from the gigantic (at least 4-5’ tall) New England Aster at the front of my house. Pollinators love it & so do I (NE Asters have been a favourite native plant of mine since I was a kid & I’m so thrilled ours is thriving!!).

J. B. Bartram @jbbartram.bsky.social · 4d

Hahaha fair! It is somewhat critical of men in some (basically all?) songs!! I still need to watch the Narduar interview — the clips I’ve seen are very charming. Also, I love the sound(s) of the album — when the ABBAesque one came on my ears perked RIGHT up!

J. B. Bartram @jbbartram.bsky.social · 5d

Ok but she does it in a fun & silly way with lots of bops, so… 🤷‍♀️😂 (I was unsure on first listen, but totally love this album / how damn FUNNY she is!)

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J. B. Bartram @jbbartram.bsky.social · 5d

I grew up on Keeping Up Appearances & she was a frickin’ comedic genius!

Reposted by J. B. Bartram

Kirsten @k-a-aitch.bsky.social · 5d

RIP Patricia Routledge. Pouring out some tea for a real one

youtu.be/T-iDlTBZhKg?...

Patricia Routledge Kitty

YouTube video by ukcomedy

youtu.be

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Reposted by J. B. Bartram

Gretchen Felker-Martin 🍉 @scumbelievable.bsky.social · 5d

RIP to one of the greats. If her headstone doesn't read "It's pronounced 'Bouquet'" they're wasting good granite.

Patricia Routledge as Hyacinth Bucket on KEEPING UP APPEARANCES

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J. B. Bartram @jbbartram.bsky.social · 7d

Ian & I quote it all the time (& when it was on the radio, would whoop with joy whenever it played, a nice break from most radio ads 😂)

J. B. Bartram @jbbartram.bsky.social · 7d

Canadian Blood Services had a campaign on the radio that started with a solemn voice saying, “the need for blood is rising.” Apparently it’s difficult to ask for blood without sounding at least a little creepy!!

Molly White @molly.wiki · 7d

slightly ominous mailer from the Red Cross

Mailer that reads: Molly, Seasons may change, but the need for blood is constant.

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Reposted by J. B. Bartram

Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · 7d

One of my favorite anecdotes from THE PREHISTORY OF THE FAR SIDE: "That doesn't sound like the Jane Goodall we know."

A few days after this cartoon was published, my syndicate received a very indignant letter from someone representing the Jane Goodall Institute.
Not only did my syndicate and I both get read the Riot Act, there was a vague implication that litigation over this cartoon might be around the corner.
I was horrified. Not so much from a fear of being sued (I just couldn't see how this cartoon could be construed as anything but silly, but because of my deep respect for Jane Goodall and her well-known contributions to pri-matology. The last thing in the world I would have intentionally done was offend Dr. Goodall in any way.
Before I had a chance to write my apology, another complication arose.
The National Geographic Society contacted my syndicate and expressed a

desire to reprint the cartoon in a special centennial issue of their magazine. My editor, aware of what had just occurred, declined, explaining why.
Apparently, whoever it was that sent the inquiry from National Geographic was shocked. They told my editor that "that doesn't sound like the Jane Goodall we know." They did some checking themselves, and an interesting fact was eventually discovered: Jane Goodall loved the cartoon. Furthermore, she was totally unaware that any of this "stuff" was going on. Some phone calls were made, and the cartoon was not only reprinted in the centennial issue of National Geographic, but was also used by her Institute on a T-shirt for fund-raising purposes.
I've since had an opportunity to visit Dr. Goodall at her research facility in Gombe. It's a wonderful place (sort of like right out of National Geographic).
"To refer to Dr. Goodall as a tramp is inexcusable even by a self-described 'loony' as Larson. The cartoon was incredibly offensive and in such poor taste that readers might well question the editorial judgment of running such an atrocity in a newspaper that reputes to be supplying news to persons with a better than average intelligence. The cartoon and its message were absolutely stupid." —Excerpt from the above-mentioned letter that started the ruckus

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J. B. Bartram @jbbartram.bsky.social · 7d

Our final steps-total was about 86,000 and it truly felt like a trip perfectly-done — we ate a ton of great food, walked a bunch of neighbourhoods in casual exploration mode, and planned exactly the right number of things amongst the lovely wandering. What a spectacular city, I love it so dearly 🥰

Basilique Notre Dame in Vieux Montréal, looking towards the altar. The vibrant dark blue vaulted ceiling is spangled with golden stars and the altar area is incredibly elaborately decorated

A funky little dragon carving guy hanging out at the top of a neoclassical doorway in Vieux Montréal

A monument in a cute plaza with a bunch of bronze statues, all of whom have pigeons perched on their heads

A view from the train as I reluctantly leave Montréal. There’s a cool modern building with a blue circle design filling the middle of the façade that’s made from coloured panels, mosaic style and the old Farine Five Roses sign atop the old flour factory building