Finding Favorites with Leah Jones
Leah Jones
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Illustrator Rachel Duggan loves BUTTS!
Rachel Duggan, a Milwaukee-based illustrator, loves butts, foxes, and pretty rocks. We sat down to talk about her book All Butts are Good Butts, how she became the wedding butt illustrator and how much she loves finding things in her natural environment. Follow Rachel online RADIllustrates.com Instagram @radillustrates Tik Tok @radillustrates All Butts are Good Butts Show Notes Lion's Tooth bookstore What is fool's gold? Finding Beach Glass in Milwaukee Dune Stinkhorn Bob's Burger episode about fungus Picture Mushroom app Merlin birdsong app ----more---- Rachel Duggan 0:00 Hello, my name is Rachel Duggan and my favorite thing is bots. Announcer 0:07 Welcome to the finding favorites Podcast where we explore your favorite things without using an algorithm. Here's your host, Leah Jones. Leah Jones 0:19 Hello, and welcome to finding favorites. It's Monday, July 17. I had such good intentions of getting this to you on Sunday. But I spent the weekend living at the Palmer House Hilton and officiating the wedding of one of my very best friends Dahlia to her now husband, Josh, so I was celebrating and officiating and dancing all weekend. Last summer, I went to a wedding in Ohio, and I was so happy for the couple, but really sad for myself because it's when I was had to use my cane for every step of the day. And I couldn't dance at their wedding. I danced like briefly one song with my friend Brian at that wedding. And it was it was a bummer and this year to be a year later to be able to stand for 30 minutes through the whole ceremony. And then to dance. A number of songs I didn't I couldn't didn't dance the whole night. Can't still safely dance the horror. But to be able to dance to groove is in the heart with my friends and celebrate a wonderful union was really great. Next weekend, July 2021 and 22 in Chicago, the inaugural Chicago Jewish Book Festival, Stacy Agder and who you've met on the pat pat on the podcast is coming up to Chicago to talk about joyfully Jewish romance books making space for that she'll also be going Friday night down to love sweet arrow. So if you are Chicago land romance fan. Stacey Agron is in town doing two events. We're very excited for that. Jonathan Eigg is our keynote on Saturday night. He has a new biography out about MLK. I'll be interviewing bindi Bitterman for a live episode of finding favorites. So I hope that people in Chicago can come and join us. If you're not in Chicago, join us next year for the second annual Chicago Jewish Book fest. And then a couple days after that I leave for Israel. So I will not promise any episodes while I'm gone. But I can come up with one to get out there. If I'm able to edit quickly. My Live episode next weekend. You'll have one more before I go on vacation. But otherwise, I'm gonna let myself take the break and we'll be back to you in August. When I come back from Israel. I'm interviewing I've got three interviews lined up Dan O'Brien, he's a poet and playwright is I'll be jetlag but I'm interviewing him on August 7, so he'll be one of my first interviews back and then a couple more people are on the schedule as well. In this episode once again I tell the my sister and I eating mushrooms that weren't I tell the poisonous mushroom story again on this episode. Mom fact check me last time and said that she did indeed call poison control. And that's how she knew to go get syrup of it. Epic hack for us. She does not believe me that it was cinnamon gummy bear. She thinks we're eating goldfish and goldfish crackers. She double fact check me were invented in 1953. But I really remember those red gummy bears going down and coming back up. So with all that said, a wonderful interview this week with Illustrator Rachel Dugan. She's the author of the book. All butts are good butts. And we have a fun and wide ranging conversation about finding beautiful things out in the world. So without further ado, get your boosters wash your hands, wear your mask and keep enjoying your favorite things. Leah Jones 4:42 Hello, and welcome to finding favorites, the podcast where we learn about people's favorite things and get recommendations without using an algorithm. I am here today with Illustrator Rachel Dugan. Rachel is the author of the new book all butts are good butts which launched last Last month and is available on all of your favorite book retailers. We'll link to it in the show notes. She is an illustrator based in Milwaukee, you can hire her to come to your wedding and draw booty portraits, which I cannot wait to learn more about Rachel, how are you doing this morning? Rachel Duggan 5:19 I'm doing pretty good. I'm doing pretty good. How are you? Leah Jones 5:23 I'm good. I'm good. We had a little bit of cowboy my cat infused drama, at the kickoff where he always comes to visit during a podcast. And this time he knocked my water over onto my work computer, but all seems dry. So that was like equivalent to five cups of coffee. So your book, all bets are good buts came out I think was it earlier in June or in May? Rachel Duggan 5:49 It was in early May, in early May. Leah Jones 5:52 How did I'm I assume you have been interviewed about this every time. But how did you come to be the booty portrait illustrator? Rachel Duggan 6:03 That's I mean, it's a good question. Because even when asked I, it's hard to remember. It's hard to think back to that pivotal moment where things changed. And that became my thing. But many, many years ago, probably close to 10 years ago, I was living in Chicago and I had a full time job, but I really loved drawing and I went to art school for drawing and I started just telling people, I could do things. And that did Hey, can I pop up in your space and draw people and I did. I did like paranormal portraits where I drew people as aliens. Sorry, my dog just scratched her eyeball and I'm like no, because Oh no, she's had a cornea issue. And I'm like, for the love of God dog. Something's wrong. Something's going on with the pets today. I think Leah Jones 7:04 I'll check the astrology when we hang up something is certainly in the air. So yes, Rachel Duggan 7:09 going back. Many years ago, I just pitched myself to do weird things, including drawing bots. Like at the time, I was like, drawing my friends and family pet bots, that sort of thing. And I would post them online and through people. I mean, this is like early days Instagram people. Yeah, like, I love this or this is a fun idea, or would you do me? How would this work? So then I started going out into the wild and doing it at events and the response was so positive that I felt like Okay, I think I'm onto something here. I think people people like this so I should continue to do it and get better at it. And so then fast forward to now that's yeah, what I what people mostly know me as an i I'm more than a butt but I do love butts so it works out well. Leah Jones 8:10 And all bets are good butts. Celebrate your derriere with booty, affirmations, astrology, tushy, trivia and much more. Embrace your behind flaws, farts, and all with historical high knees, celebrity cabooses self care and more fun facts. And this little book of booty body acceptance. How is the reception been? Rachel Duggan 8:36 It's been really good. It's gone. I mean, I'll say this is the first time I've ever made a book or published book. So for me just having it happen. Like, the whole time I was pinching myself kind of like, oh, this might not work out or might they might not actually print the book. You never know. Yeah. So the fact that it is real, and it has come full circle to where books are for sale, wherever. And I've been able to physically, you know, hold my books and go to a bookshop and see my book. It's it's just such a cool feeling. It's a surreal feeling. And most, most of the response that I've seen is positive. I've had a few people who were like, this isn't for kids. And I'm like, it's it's a book that I drew with a few swear words in there. So Right. But then other people are like, my kids love it. So yeah, yeah, yeah, it's been it's been an interesting ride, that's for sure. Leah Jones 9:43 Nice. Were you able to have any, any in person book launches or Zoom like virtual book launches to celebrate the launch? Yes, yeah. Rachel Duggan 9:54 I had a local party in here in Milwaukee at a an indie bookshop called Lion's tooth bookstore. And they're awesome. It's like a great comics bookstore. It's owned by two women. And I didn't know what to expect with that either having done so many events, but never doing anything book related, but it was so much fun. It was awesome. It was so cool to see people show up and want to pick up a copy of the book. We did a quick q&a, which was nice. And family and friends came out from Chicago and Madison. And yeah, it was just an awesome way to kind of close the chapter not close it, but it kind of the cherry on top and then the book will just continue on in in the world. However it will. Leah Jones 10:55 Yeah. How long did it from initial concept and pitching to publication? Was that like, a two year or five year? What was that process for you? Rachel Duggan 11:13 I am still shocked by how it all came together. So I actually did not have a pitch for this book. I didn't have anything drafted. I was approached by a publisher, because they saw someone else's tick tock about me. I did Wow. Yeah, the power of the internet, you know, like, I like to dog on the internet quite a bit. But there have been some really magical moments that have occurred that were Yeah, totally out of my hands because I happen to be at an event where an influencer from DC was in town and then shot videos of me drawing and I had no idea at the time like that they were going to post it or what Sure. And and it on Tik Tok ended up going viral like 4 million views. I woke up with like, my phone on
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