Clara Brubaker
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keepyoursoftheart.bsky.social
Clara Brubaker
@keepyoursoftheart.bsky.social
41 followers 84 following 21 posts
illustrator, gardener, reader, dreamer
a sleepy gorl✨

Portfolio: clarabrubaker.com
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keepyoursoftheart.bsky.social
Getting excited for the zine workshop I’m teaching in just 2 weeks! These are a couple of my mini comic zines- one about a road trip and one about forming relationships with plants 💚

(Workshop taking place in person @ Open Space in Ottawa, IL. Link to register: www.osartstudios.com/classes)
2 risograph printed zines, one called “in/between” and once called “bein’ weird with plants” in/between is printed in blue and shows a person about to get into a car. bein’ weird with plants is printed in green and black and pictures a person hiding behind some ferns.
March 1, 2025 at 5:00 PM
keepyoursoftheart.bsky.social
I'm starting seeds today and dreaming of the potential they have. With time and patience, the natural order of the garden is abundance- providing for the gardener, and far beyond...

"Abundance" 2024, digital drawing
A gardener and her friend both enjoying the gifts from the garden. Birds, squirrels, rabbits, snakes, and bees also partake in their share- there is plenty to go around.
February 26, 2025 at 9:22 PM
keepyoursoftheart.bsky.social
Art vs. Artist 2024 ✨

I taught myself pattern design, had my first solo show, + completed my first mural last year! I don’t know what’s in store for 2025 yet, but I’m hoping for both rootedness + exploration- like a sea anemone! (exploring tendrils, but also rooted)

2025, Taking A Deep Dive 🤿
A 3x3 grid of my artwork, with me in the center wearing a bandana I designed. Artwork is mostly digital drawings from my Plant Matters solo show, and bottom center is the mural I painted showing an underwater view of the Fox River.
January 1, 2025 at 8:21 PM
keepyoursoftheart.bsky.social
I love seeing inside other people’s sketchbooks, so here’s some excerpts of mine. I use my sketchbook as a journal, for learning how to draw new things, and working out thumbnails/composition.

And hey, if you see this, how about you quote repost with some pages from your sketchbook? I wanna see!
A collection of mushroom drawings in pencil. Consists of a made-up mushroom, chantarelle, bolete, turkey tail, and devil’s urn. One of the thumbnail planning pages for my Plant Matters show. Goldfish! One of my favorite sketching tools is a multicolor pencil- it adds interest + variety without having to switch tools too often and risk interrupting the flow~ Learning how to draw lots of fruits 🍓🥭🍇
December 23, 2024 at 4:22 PM
keepyoursoftheart.bsky.social
Did you know that all these vegetables are actually the exact same species? Over thousands of years humans have selectively bred Brassica oleracea to emphasize different parts of the plant!

Anyway, once I learned that I had to make them a family portrait.

#art #procreateartist
A spot illustration of brussels sprouts, kale, broccoli, cabbage, kohlrabi, cauliflower, and the original wild mustard that they all descend from. They are clustered together like a Sears family portrait.
December 19, 2024 at 2:40 PM
keepyoursoftheart.bsky.social
Some favorite photos of my garden so far- a nice reminder that green things will return, even though everything is dormant + covered in snow now ☃️

My first solo show (in June of this year) was all about gardening + the magical connection that comes from it. *This* was the inspiration.

#gardening
A small radish poking out of the soil. It’s surrounded by bright green leaves and the sun is hitting it perfectly to make it glow in bright magenta. Tomato vines climb up the arched trellis, and a star-shaped yellow tomato flower perfectly lines up with the morning sun. A quiet neighborhood is out of focus in the background. The bloom of Egyptian walking onions- whimsical curvy stems with singular small white flowers A view of the garden in early fall. Barrel planters in the front are covered in sweet potato vines + corn stalks. Behind them is a raised bed with aluminum sides and attached arched trellis.
December 3, 2024 at 5:25 PM
keepyoursoftheart.bsky.social
✨quote repost with your art that has stars ✨

“The Universe at Our Feet” 2024, digital drawing
Your hands reaching forward to scoop up a pile of purple dirt. There are stars in the soil and life (weeds, worms, bugs) radiating out around you.
December 3, 2024 at 12:25 PM
keepyoursoftheart.bsky.social
Measuring the Marigolds 🐛

Did anyone else grow up watching the 1952 Hans Christian Andersen movie musical? If so, lore behind this piece unlocked ✨

#art
A field of orangey-pinky marigolds with a large one in front. There are 11 green inchworms hidden throughout.
December 1, 2024 at 3:41 PM
Reposted by Clara Brubaker
dbergstresser.bsky.social
Poem by Joseph Fasano
November 29, 2024 at 8:57 PM
keepyoursoftheart.bsky.social
Soup Season 🍜
A colorful array of soup ingredients arranged on a counter. A carrot ginger soup simmers on the stove.
November 30, 2024 at 1:06 AM
keepyoursoftheart.bsky.social
Sticker sheets I made of some my favorite bugs!

I want to keep adding to this series… maybe isopods next? Or dragonflies??

#bugart
Sticker sheets with colorful scientific illustrations, one with beetles and one with moths. Digital drawings made in Procreate
November 27, 2024 at 2:20 PM
keepyoursoftheart.bsky.social
Some oldies but goodies. My current style is quite different, but I feel like these are the building blocks of where I am now
At night, I walk across the sky, wink at the stars, and smile at the moon (The companion poem I wrote) “Who Am I” in French A copperplate engraving from printmaking class Autumn Breezes A tiny watercolor painting of a cozy, simplified person walking a meandering path through falling leaves. I’ve been using this one as my profile pic forever. I should probably make a new one but I do love this one so much. Sometimes… I like to watch the snow as it floats and melts into the water A 1-page poetry comic. Maybe my first poetry comic? I have more of these yet to share but *spoiler alert* they’re some of my most personal, most favorite work to make.
November 26, 2024 at 5:02 PM
keepyoursoftheart.bsky.social
Munch Buddies 🐛
A caterpillar munching on a bean leaf in the foreground. In the background, the gardener wearing a big straw hat munches on snap peas.
November 23, 2024 at 11:23 PM
keepyoursoftheart.bsky.social
All the Good and Green Things
☀️
the sun shining through a large stylized zucchini leaf in a garden surrounded by other plants and flowers
November 23, 2024 at 8:16 PM
keepyoursoftheart.bsky.social
Some surface patterns I designed this year! I think SPD is a really fun brain twister and I’d like to do more of it 🤔
November 23, 2024 at 8:10 PM
keepyoursoftheart.bsky.social
Hey Bluesky! 👋 I’m Clara, an artist and illustrator in north central Illinois. Let’s stay soft together in spite of everything. Can’t wait to meet you! 💜
November 23, 2024 at 7:16 PM