Maris Wicks

A drawing of a penguin playing hockey. They are wearing a big white scarf with rainbow stripes at the end. They are also wearing gloves with teal, pink, and white stripes. They are holding a hockey stick, with rainbow hockey tape on the end. This penguin looks really exited to play hockey. There is a pink triangle in the background.

Dec 12 penguin: In which a bunch of my interests converge (penguins, queerness, hockey, vintage mascots/logos, my vast collection of ballpoint pens).

Tyrant Lizard Queen From the author of the beloved The Last Days of the Dinosaurs, an imaginative celebration of T Rex from hatching to adulthoodTyrannosaurus rex is a prehistor...

TYRANT LIZARD QUEEN

Stomping your way October 27th 2026

Pre-order the tale that the book's artist @korybing.bsky.social has called "epic enemies to lovers toxic dinosaur yuri" and reveals T. rex as "who she really was beyond the myths and monster movies" according to @annaleen.bsky.social.

🦖

Drawings of penguins, some in black ink, some in pencil, on a white and red background. These penguins are absolute chonkers: they are soft and round and looking very huggable, but do not hug them because they still have very sharp beaks and also they are protected by environmental law.

Close up of one of the drawings. Side view of a penguin, walking to the right.

Close up of one of the drawings. This penguin is floating in the water; you can only see its head and chest.

A screenshot of the ōtori-sama from the animated movie Spirited Away: six giant yellow chicks submerged in a round bath, water is pouring out onto the floor. There are even more ōtori-sama around, holding towels and scrubbing themselves. This was my inspiration for the penguin drawings.

Dec 11 penguin(s): A whole bunch of them, because I just couldn’t help myself. These ones are inspired by the giant chicks (Ōtori-sama) from Spirited Away.

I know comics already take a long time, but what if I started doing stuff like this around the panels on page? hmmmmmmmmmm

It just warms my heart to know there’re other shrimp-loving people out there!

Queerness in nature: "Queer Ducks (and Other Animals)" by Eliot Schrefer (and art by Jules Zuckerberg) Such a great, engaging read!

Also…I might try a cleaner shrimp made completely out of pipecleaners haha because puns

A pink felt and pipe cleaner shrimp on my hand. It has long antennae and little wiggly shrimp legs. It is again a light blue and green background which is actually my carpet.

A pink felt and pipecleaner shrimp. It has long antennae and little wiggly shrimp legs. It is again a light blue and green background which is actually my carpet.

Omg thank you for sharing this!!! I spent last weekend prototyping shrimp ornaments and got frustrated (they look more like copepods)…but yours have inspired me to try again!!

Please everyone STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING and make these shrimp ornaments RIGHT NOW!!!! ✨🦐✨

A promo poster with a snowy purple sky, deep green pine trees at the bottom right and the bottom left a singing male cardinal. In the centre it says “the Maybe Market! December 13 11-5pm Christ church deer park 1570 Yonge st.”

Another promo poster, a light purple and pink bg with sparkles and the words “the maybe market Dec 13th” floating in the middle

Next up is my own market this Saturday! The Maybe Market is organized by me and Tory Woollcott with sporadic help from a few others. I thought maybe I’d start a little thread with all the vendor spotlights I’m posting to IG.

#toronto #holidaymarket #themaybemarket

Drawings of penguins, some in black ink, some in pencil, on a white and red background. These penguins are absolute chonkers: they are soft and round and looking very huggable, but do not hug them because they still have very sharp beaks and also they are protected by environmental law.

Close up of one of the drawings. Side view of a penguin, walking to the right.

Close up of one of the drawings. This penguin is floating in the water; you can only see its head and chest.

A screenshot of the ōtori-sama from the animated movie Spirited Away: six giant yellow chicks submerged in a round bath, water is pouring out onto the floor. There are even more ōtori-sama around, holding towels and scrubbing themselves. This was my inspiration for the penguin drawings.

Dec 11 penguin(s): A whole bunch of them, because I just couldn’t help myself. These ones are inspired by the giant chicks (Ōtori-sama) from Spirited Away.

I love liner notes!!! Especially when you get to see those musical instrument listings - wait, there was an OBOE on that track??

I will say the lyric videos for all the Kpop Demon Hunter songs are *chef’s kiss*

Very nerdy teen-Maris: "it’s like reading poetry, man!!"

I guess I was wondering if younger folks were reading lyrics, with the absence of liner notes - I guess lyric videos answer my question!

I enjoy that when it’s more like a video with integrated lyrics, but the ones with just the words on a color make me feel like I should be singing karaoke haha

Haha true! As a chronic mis-hearer of lyrics, this adds another layer of being wrong about "oh that’s what they’re saying!"

Just having music thoughts while waiting for the oven to heat up so I can roast this squash. "Not Strong Enough" by boygenius is currently playing.

I certainly had more time as a teen…but I also hear the songs differently when I’m reading the lyrics. Maybe subtitles on music videos still achieve this?

Do people still get new albums and read along to the lyrics while listening? This was one of my favorite things to do as a teen, and every once in a while I do it now, but usually with just a song or two.

A drawing of an Adeline penguin done in both pink and blue ballpoint pens. This penguin is standing up, a little fluffed. There are three cartoony penguins floating above its head.

Dec 10 penguin: It’s cold out there today.

A drawing of an Adeline penguin done in both pink and blue ballpoint pens. This penguin is standing up, a little fluffed. There are three cartoony penguins floating above its head.

Dec 10 penguin: It’s cold out there today.

Aw thanks!!

When the Earth Was Green: Plants, Animals, and Evolution's Greatest Romance Plants, Animals, and Evolution's Greatest Romance

Glad to see you, you gaggle of new followers. If you liked my gross dinosaur article, check out my books - like When the Earth Was Green. It’s full of science, biological grossness, and prehistoric beauty, too.

Anatomy of mouse 🐁 from 1916 featuring fold out details! ‘La souris (anatomie et dissection): planches coloriées à feuillets découpés et superposés’ by Jules Philippe Louis Anglas.

UW-Madison’s Special Collections.

#foldoutanatomy #animalanatomy #naturalhistory #scientificart #rarebooks #sciart

I want to make a picture book like this SO BAD!! Anatomy/physiology of a bunch of critters, comparing how they’re similar and different, and how all those organs and systems work! Someday…

A drawing of an Adélie penguin lying belly down on a pile of pebbles. This penguin looks very cozy and content.

Dec 9 penguin: Just chilling.

A drawing of an Adélie penguin lying belly down on a pile of pebbles. This penguin looks very cozy and content.

Dec 9 penguin: Just chilling.

That’s exactly what I was thinking!

I JUST learned about Huginn and Muninn! Went down a Celtic/Norse mythology rabbit hole the other day…(you know, as one does). I like how often ravens/crowd show up across cultures!