Elizabeth Metz
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thefinestmuffins.bsky.social
Elizabeth Metz
@thefinestmuffins.bsky.social
340 followers 390 following 300 posts
Illustrator, writer, nonprofit staffer, Reds fan, bookworm, pedestrian, houseplant and voting rights enthusiast. She/her. What, people who like baseball can't like books?

📍Cincinnati, OH

https://www.elizabeth-metz.com
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thefinestmuffins.bsky.social
Hi #KidLitArtPostcard! As we turn back the clock and face down winter, now is the time for satisfying answers to age-old questions, no?

I'm an #unagented author-illustrator seeking representation. I ❤️ colorful textural art, funny stories for kids, and chickens. More 🎨: elizabeth-metz.com.
An illustration postcard! Pastel-like artwork depicts a crazed chicken running across a road... just barely dodging a puzzle-looking piece of the sky, crash-landing just behind them. Hand written text asks "Why did the chicken cross the road?" and "Because!" with an arrow poitning at the puzzle piece. Text at the bottom notes "Author + illustrator Elizabeth Metz, www.elizabeth-metz.com."
November 6, 2025 at 12:10 PM
thefinestmuffins.bsky.social
Who robbed the Louvre? Right answers only.
Jack Black, mustachioed and playing Vincenzo Peruggia, in a Drunk History skit about the theft of the Mona Lisa in 1911.
October 20, 2025 at 12:30 AM
thefinestmuffins.bsky.social
I couldn't go to a #NoKings protest today, but I'm so proud and inspired by all of you who showed up.

So is the tiny reading frog statue that lives in my bathroom. 🐸🙌

We both thank you for standing up against fascism!!
Photo of a greenish metal statue of a frog reading a book has been drawn on top of. The book now has the title "Hop on Pop," the frog has a pink tongue and wild crazy eyes, and a speech bubble declares "No Kings," with a crossed out crown icon.
October 19, 2025 at 12:33 AM
thefinestmuffins.bsky.social
Hi there! My October #KidLitArtPostcard celebrates the MLB postseason* and ghost story season.

I'm an #unagented author-illustrator seeking representation. I ❤️ colorful textural art, funny stories for kids, and all things baseball. You can see more 🎨 at elizabeth-metz.com.

*but RIP my Reds 😥
Illustration postcard: In the top panel, a dark sky featuring a shadowed moon in the shape of a baseball. In the lower, larger panel a shimmery ghost wearing a red baseball cap and a red jersey (jersey bears the name Runner and the number 1, hat bears a wishbone-G) floats desperately toward second base. Overlaid text says "Author + illustrator Elizabeth Metz. www.elizabeth-metz.com."
October 2, 2025 at 11:11 AM
thefinestmuffins.bsky.social
I'm in the middle of my curly hair routine. Can the rest of #Reds country please wear rally caps on my behalf?

(Or maybe this throwback art will do the trick.)
A baseball fan with brown skin and brown curly hair wears a sideways baseball cap (a rally cap!) while looking nervous. The background is a blue square and a red square.
October 1, 2025 at 2:18 AM
thefinestmuffins.bsky.social
Texture and light are two of my favorite illustrator tools, and Christmas is my second favorite holiday! 🙌

Samples below, plus my portfolio's here: www.elizabeth-metz.com
Two kids gather closely around a lightning bug, its glow reflected on their wonder-filled faces. In the foreground, a kid with his back turned to the viewer bangs two rocks together in rhythm (resonant noise depicted visually with glow-y marks!) In the background, five other kids face him with varying reactive looks on their faces (confusion, intrigue, delight, and skepticism, oh my!) Three kids jump into a pool with wild summer abandon. A carved pumpkin grins at a cat, who shows all signs of startled alarm-- eyes wide, tail up, toes pointed, background dramatic.
September 16, 2025 at 2:22 AM
thefinestmuffins.bsky.social
Happy #KidLitArtPostcard day! I'm an author-illustrator seeking representation. I ❤️ colorful textural art, funny stories for kids, & the brisk air and stunning colors of fall. I do NOT ❤️ tree pollen & the Ohio tradition of a very sneezy back to school!

You can see more 🎨 at elizabeth-metz.com.
Illustration postcard: three school kids walk through an idyllic golden-hued autumnal scene, with a mountain background and a row of trees. They're all posed similarly, chins upturned, feet mid-stride, backpacks clutched in fists. Two of them (a redhead girl and a black-haired girl) sport big hopeful smiles. The third (a black-haired boy) is posed just like them, but his head is thrown back mid-sneeze. Overlaid text says "author + illustrator Elizabeth metz. www.elizabeth-metz.com."
September 4, 2025 at 11:00 AM
thefinestmuffins.bsky.social
Challenge: Post your last photo taken in DC to show what a hellhole it is.
A photo of a jazz-themed mural inside a DC Metro station. I don't remember which station-- I took this photo in 2019. If you're reading this alt text and know which station, please let me know!
August 12, 2025 at 12:22 AM
thefinestmuffins.bsky.social
Happy #KidLitArtPostcard day! I'm an author-illustrator seeking representation. I ❤️ colorful textural art, funny stories for kids, and friends with gardens.

Did you know tomorrow is National Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Day? It's a thing!

You can see more 🎨 at elizabeth-metz.com
Illustration postcard! A blonde kid (wearing a green sweatshirt with flowers on it, green athletic shorts, bright red platform sandals, and a dark green fedora perfect for sneaking around) tiptoes away from a brick house with cement stairs, where a glowing basket of zucchini sits on a doormat on the stoop. Overlaid text reads "Author + illustrator Elizabeth Metz, www.elizabeth-metz.com."
August 7, 2025 at 11:01 AM
thefinestmuffins.bsky.social
Happy #KidLitArtPostcard day! I'm an author-illustrator seeking representation. I ❤️ colorful textural art, funny stories for kids, and SWIMMING. Seriously, invite me to hang out at your pool this summer, please.

You can see more of my 🎨 at elizabeth-metz.com
Illustration postcard! Collaged digital art depicts three kids at a richly blue swimming pool on a pleasantly cloudy day. The first kid on the left has brown hair and pink skin and is wearing a two-piece swimsuit (red bottoms, a long-sleeved patterned top) and is leaping into the pool, ponytail flying. The second kid-- we can only see torso and legs, including dark skin, a lime green swimsuit bottom, and a bubbly patterned darker green top-- is mid jump, too. And the third kid is also legs only, but because they're doing a handstand. This kid has pale peachy skin and colorful swim shorts featuring a shell pattern.
July 3, 2025 at 10:44 AM
thefinestmuffins.bsky.social
Estimate from the stage at the Cincinnati #NoKings protest was 10,000 people. 🙌

I made one new 👑 sign and repurposed a still wildly relevant one from #HandsOff a while back.
Protest sign that says “What do we do with whiny wild kings? Send them to bed without supper.” An illustration shows Max in his wolf suit and crown from Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are, with Trump’s angry face in place of Max’s. Protest sign reading “Hands off our immigrant neighbors.”
June 14, 2025 at 7:20 PM
thefinestmuffins.bsky.social
Happy #KidLitArtPostcard day! I'm an author-illustrator seeking representation. I ❤️ colorful textural art, funny stories for kids, and a little bit of nostalgia in the summer.

You can see more of my 🎨 at elizabeth-metz.com
Grayscale illustration of two girls talking on a tin can telephone. One girl has curly hair, overalls, and a barrette and is standing outside. The other has a headband, a ponytail, and bangs and is inside at a window. Accents are in red: the barrette and headband, touches on their outfits, pink cheekes, and a curly ribbon connecting the two tin cans. Overlaid red text says "Author + Illustrator Elizabeth Metz. www.elizabeth-metz.com."
June 5, 2025 at 11:08 AM
thefinestmuffins.bsky.social
Applause, applause.

But also, I'd posit that the existence of Hunter Greene suggests the other guy should actually be named, for example, "Downtown Browne."
Pantone color swatch. Square in a cool dark shade of green, with text below reading "Pantone. 19-5511 TPX. Hunter Green." Pantone color swatch. Square in a warm medium shade of brown, with text below reading "Pantone. 19-1223 TCX. Downtown Brown."
May 10, 2025 at 1:38 AM
thefinestmuffins.bsky.social
"The artist used watercolor, colored pencil, pastel, and digital collage." -Robinson's New Thing (2025) by @jamills.com

🔎 #CopyrightPageArtNotes
Photo of a picture book. The cover features a brown raccoon standing on top of a rock, a blue bag slung across his torso, proudly holding up a small pebble. At his feet are various knickknacks, plus a snail friend. Text reads, "Written and illustrated by Julia Mills, Robinson's New Thing."
May 4, 2025 at 4:52 PM
thefinestmuffins.bsky.social
"...almond butter, strawberry preserves, Adobe Photoshop, and a butter knife to create the illustrations in this book." -Randy, the Badly Drawn Horse (2020) by @tlmcbeth.bsky.social

🔎 #CopyrightPageArtNotes
Photo of a picture book. Cover illustration features a brown horse drawn in crayon (and looking like a child's drawing!) with big round eyes, a toothy smile, and a collar around its neck. The title says "Randy" in crayon, with a typed out subtitle "the Badly Drawn Horse." "Badly drawn" is crossed out and replaced, in crayon, with "Beautiful." Author-illustrator is ntoed at the bottom of the page as T.L. McBeth
May 4, 2025 at 4:47 PM
thefinestmuffins.bsky.social
Revisiting my 🔎 #CopyrightPageArtNotes thread today with a whopper of a two-parter from @tlmcbeth.bsky.social:

"The artist used colored pencils, crayons, scissors, printer paper, various 19th-century oil paintings and etchings, Popsicle sticks, pom-poms, glitter glue, sand from Coney Island..."
Photo of a picture book. Cover illustration features a brown horse drawn in crayon (and looking like a child's drawing!) with big round eyes, a toothy smile, and a collar around its neck. The title says "Randy" in crayon, with a typed out subtitle "the Badly Drawn Horse." "Badly drawn" is crossed out and replaced, in crayon, with "Beautiful." Author-illustrator is ntoed at the bottom of the page as T.L. McBeth
May 4, 2025 at 4:47 PM
thefinestmuffins.bsky.social
Happy #KidLitArtPostcard day! I'm an author-illustrator seeking representation. I ❤️ colorful textural art, funny stories for kids, and browsing bookshops.

(If you, like me, are still basking in the joy of #IndieBookstoreDay, tell me the name of your local!)

More of my 🎨: elizabeth-metz.com
Illustrated postcard. Artwork depicts two children enjoying a bookstore. A brown-haired white boy with a blue striped shirt, pink pants, and lime green shoes stands on tiptoes to reach a high shelf, while a Black girl with puffy bangs and ponytail, wearing a lime green shirt, blue shorts, and periwinkle shoes, is sitting sideways in a comfy red flowered armchair in front of a bookshelf, her nose in a book. The walls are butter yellow, the carpet is shaggy purple, and there's a round table between them with stacks of books on it. Text reads "Author and illustrator Elizabeth Metz" and "www.elizabeth-metz.com"
May 1, 2025 at 10:57 AM
thefinestmuffins.bsky.social
3 letters this week, all set for Millennial #ProjectMailStorm Day tomorrow!

Message to my Senators, this week & last:
1) IMPEACH AND CONVICT.
2) Random but real book recommendations for whoever's reading the mail.

To the president, I hand wrote this URL: constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay...
Three envelopes, one white, one brown, one hot pink, addressed to President Trump, Senator Moreno, and Senator Husted.
April 29, 2025 at 12:08 AM
thefinestmuffins.bsky.social
Happy #IndieBookstoreDay from two local gems visited today, Roebling Books and Coffee in Newport and Joy and Matt’s downtown, and The Bookmatters in Milford, from earlier this week.

The Cincinnati area has so many amazing bookshops!
Photo of a bookstore, Roebling Books and Coffee. Freestanding white building with one purple wall, an “open” flag, and lots of outdoor dining tables. Photo of a bookstore, Joy and Matt’s Books. Storefront is in a pale green painted brick downtown building with intricate painted trim detail. Sign out front reads “now open!” Photo of a bookstore, the Bookmatters. Store is in an old stone building with an open flag and a pretty blue flower box out front.
April 26, 2025 at 10:09 PM
thefinestmuffins.bsky.social
Missed my designated #ProjectMailStorm day yesterday, but as an elder millennial I feel okay nudging into Gen X territory a bit. 😅

No idea what I’m talking about? Read about it here:
www.newsweek.com/project-mail...
Photograph of letters ready to mail to various government entities, including the White House, Supreme Court, Ohio Senators, and more. Photo also includes markers and pens and other art supplies.
April 23, 2025 at 6:41 PM
thefinestmuffins.bsky.social
Good news: Ohio library funding may be saved!
Bad news: Censorship appears to be still baked in.

I hope my fellow Ohioans will join me in reaching (back?) out to their own state reps, Speaker Huffman, and Chair Stewart. Speaking up works, let's keep doing it. ohiohouse.gov

Here's what I said...
I'm thrilled to see the news that the legislature is reconsidering this massive budget cut as of yesterday! However, I remain concerned about another provision of the original budget: that it would require public libraries to restrict access to LGBTQ+ books in order to receive any funds at all. Decisions about library collections should begin and end with trained professional librarians, who understand this field and their local communities. The state legislature has no business imposing their bigoted anti-LGBTQ agenda on our civic institutions. Ohioans have a right to free access to information and stories that represent the people of our communities, and this hostage-holding measure is shameful.
April 9, 2025 at 12:18 PM
thefinestmuffins.bsky.social
No, the Ohio River is fully Kentucky, so the above is right.

But (to defend Ohio while undermining my original point) there’s currently, in that spot at least, land south of the overflow. Pic below is between GABP & the river proper. In other spots the road is fully washed out, but not there.
Picture of riverfront swings overlooking the flooded Ohio in downtown Cincinnati.
April 8, 2025 at 2:55 AM
thefinestmuffins.bsky.social
Hi from Cincy! Significant parts of that street are underwater now. Left field as of last night and right field as of tonight. (Pics below!)

At least 2 players have hit homers out to that road. See: www.foxsports.com/stories/mlb/....

The stars would have to align, but I think it's possible.
Photo (from Monday, April 7, 2025) of Great American Ballpark taken from Barry Larkin Way, showing the road flooded just beyond the right field gates. Photo (from Sunday, April 6, 2025) of Barry Larkin Way between Great American Ballpark and the National Steamboat monument, showing the road flooded just beyond the left field gates.
April 8, 2025 at 2:18 AM
thefinestmuffins.bsky.social
We’re now officially in “splashdown homer possible” territory here in Cincinnati. If the Reds were at home and, you know, hitting better.

Attn: @cespedesbbq.bsky.social
Photo of Great American Ballpark taken from Barry Larkin Way, showing the road flooded just beating the stadium gates.
April 7, 2025 at 11:35 PM
thefinestmuffins.bsky.social
On one hand, the river has officially reached Mehring Way. On the other hand, the Reds aren’t home until Friday.
Photo of a flooded street (Mehring Way in downtown Cincinnati) flanked by the edge of a stadium on the left and a riverboat wheel statue on the right.
April 6, 2025 at 9:42 PM