We know it has been quite some time since we last did a serious update to our blog. It is not without good reason and we wanted to give everybody a full update on the events of the last 36 months or so.
First and foremost, KW Studio is still here, we are still creating. Those who have seen us at Acen know this, but we wanted to reiterate that out the gate. We do admit our progress has slowed somewhat over this difficult time and for those who are waiting on new issues and updates, we apologize for that. So, to fully explain everything in a nutshell, here is what has been going on.
Starting at the beginning of 2017, we have been besieged by a series of major life events. The first that everybody already is already likely to be aware of was Alysia’s injury to her drawing wrist. The injury damaged some of the tendons in her hand and tore cartilage in her wrist, for which she had surgery in 2017. We are pleased to announce that she is fully recovered from the injury itself but has had to rebuild her drawing muscles and stamina which has slowed our progress in getting out new works.
In 2018, Fuu experienced a layoff from her longstanding job in downtown Hammond. She did some contracting work which, while helping her recover from some work-related burn out, did not entirely cover the bills. However, as of this past March, she has regained full time employment which has been a big help. Additionally, we are please to announce that Fuu also took that extra time this experience gave her to finish off the classes necessary to complete her associate degree.
In addition to these direct barriers, we have also seen the passing of no less than 7 family members between 2017 and 2019. Those lost include two aunts, two cousins, and one uncle in Fuu’s family. Min lost her cherished grandfather-in-law who she had adored. Finally, we said goodbye to Fuu’s most beloved grandmother Mary who left us at the impressive age of 103 years old last June. Also, this past March we suffered the loss of our beloved cat Scorn to Feline Kidney Disease which we had been maintaining since 2016. For those who have read Eccentric Tomato’s kitty edition, he was the cookie stealing sugar fiend. We all miss him terribly, especially our remaining cat Morgana.
And, of course, then we have this COVID-19 plague, which has caused the cancellation/postponement of Anime Central and many other conventions across the country.
Despite all this, we continue to create as time and stress allows and look ahead to the future. As we stated above, Alysia has been working hard to rebuild her drawing capacity and has been illustrating on the latest Apprentice short story. Fuu has managed to fully participate and win Nanowrimo every year through all this crazy, resulting in works that many of you will eventually be able to enjoy. Her new job is removing much of the financial stress, and her new degree will go a long way towards future prospects. Despite the losses, the rest of our family members continue in relatively good health and we ask everybody to keep them in your thoughts and prayers that they remain so through our current pandemic. A new kitten Jiji, who came to us just this week, provides comfort to us and will hopefully be a new companion to Morgana. Once she stops sneering and rolling her eyes at him.
We have high hopes that very soon the next issues of The Apprentice will be ready for release here in our online store, if not at the conventions. We are also working towards a re-release of an old property that we had started years ago when Kumate Works had just been formed, as full length, illustrated novels. More on that will be announced as the project continues to take shape.
We want to take a moment to thank all our fans – past, present, and future – for your support and your understanding. We have some great new projects in mind and with the sun now coming up from behind the clouds, despite current hardships, we wish to continue presenting to you our very best. If this is your first viewing our work, please take a moment and check the artwork and fiction presented herein and feel free to email with any questions you may have.
All our love,
Kumate Works Studio
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