Jen Toal aka vettha
LightNews LightNews
banner
vettha.bsky.social
Jen Toal aka vettha
@vettha.bsky.social
520 followers 820 following 42 posts
Artist. Mermaid. Laser Maven. Teacher. Faerie Godmother. Activities of Daily Living Olympian.

I don’t know if I’ll go down in community memory as an ally, but I continue to do the work to the best of my understanding and abilities.
Posts Replies Media Videos
vettha.bsky.social
Frieren Challenge accepted. #DrawingWithJentle
Screenshot of the artist’s take on Frieren with her head tilted up. Reference shows the original drawing by SpaceDev1 and several other artists’ versions.
November 18, 2025 at 6:53 PM
vettha.bsky.social
I’m making my first comic. It feels like I’ve been heading here the whole time.

I started it in a class on processing climate grief and anxiety with comics and I even already had a poem ready for this.
July 8, 2025 at 9:16 PM
vettha.bsky.social
New shirt!
image of a 3/4 sleeve shirt. the body of the shirt is black and the sleeves and shoulder caps are grey. white text on the shirt reads, “Was the fall of Rome this embarrassing?” a blue doodle shape hovers over the shirt and holds the website: vettha.threadless.com handwritten text floats around the shirt reading variously, “WTF?” “UGH,” “THIS SUCKS,” and “available on many shirt styles”
May 23, 2025 at 9:16 PM
vettha.bsky.social
omg LOL... I'm still in the process of adding styles, but omg! if there was ever a shirt to get in orange, right??
Screenshot of a page from Jen Toal's Artist Shop page; vettha.threadless.com An orange tshirt with black lettering is displayed. It has large black numbers: 8647 Since 47 is orange, well... but there are also other color options. No one has to go for the full joke, if they don't like wearing orange.
March 7, 2025 at 4:37 PM
vettha.bsky.social
I got to talk about Mothership HackerMoms AND slip in a quote from one of my all-time favorite authors, Sheri S Tepper. Very exciting. Much squee. <3
(I do think I sound nervous, but whatever.)

kpfa.org/episode/wome...
One handlebar from my mobility aid is visible poking in from the bottom of the frame. The scene is a dapple-shaded sidewalk and the KPFA entry and sign on the building. POV you’re me on the radio with your friend. I’ve got a table full of sound equipment in front of me and my iPad open to drawing a bunny-capybara friendship cuddle next to controls for my mic. Vylma V is rocking purple to my left, reading important notices to the people.
March 4, 2025 at 3:57 PM
vettha.bsky.social
Ok, ok, I've polished this one plenty. I can let her be on things. Really, I can. She's strong. She'll guard your heart.

vettha.threadless.com

AND they're throwing a site-wide sale. Bonus. <3
20% OFF EVERYTHING Use code GET20. Code expires 2/26/25 at 5PM CST. Exclusions apply. vettha.threadless.com Designs / Strength / Everyone / T-Shirt Strength The image of the shirt shows an illustrated, fancily-dressed person with a feathered hat and butterfly wings flexing her bicep.
February 17, 2025 at 4:39 PM
vettha.bsky.social
Someone asked for mermaid jokes and I was ready. :D
What do you call a sarcastic mermaid? A SIGH-REN Page from a coloring book, a mermaid shrugs beside the words. Mermaid Squad Coloring Book by Jen Toal This is the front cover. There are purmaids (cat mermaids) swimming in formation around the words.
February 16, 2025 at 3:55 AM
vettha.bsky.social
Tonight's the night!
Hosted by Berkeley Poet Laureate Aya de León Friday, February 14, 2025 30th anniversary 2025 featuring Caro DeRobertis Aida Salazar Gabriel Cortez Janine Mogannam Kaylah Marin Penny Rosenwasser & more LOVE FEST an alternative valentine's celebration in spoken word & music, celebrating love of self, spirit, family, community & democracy! I'll be donating all my personal proceeds to the Working Families Party! also featuring the youth band Prospect a collaboration with the Empowering People of Color Open Mic doors 7pm/show 7:30 Sliding scale $15-25 Youth 18 & under $5 then La Peña Cultural Center 3105 Shattuck Ave. Berkelely www.lapena.org now
February 15, 2025 at 2:29 AM
vettha.bsky.social
Process notes and time lapse available on patreon.com/vettha
screencapture of drawing program shows reference image of a child looking through rings made from their thumbs and first fingers of each hand. Beside this is a work in progress illustration of same. The line work and coloring are bold and messy. The artist’s signature - Jen Toal - and logo are visible in the lower left corner of the page.
February 11, 2025 at 7:45 PM
vettha.bsky.social
Love is at the core of all.

"Insight" -Jen Toal 2025
Layered paper is cut and painted to look like an eye peering back at the viewer. The piece is being held in direct sun to show the colors and metallic highlights to good effect. The back panel, which is also the pupil of the eye, shows the word "love"
February 7, 2025 at 11:23 PM
vettha.bsky.social
Very good work. Lovely sign.
hands hold up a homemade sign with a beautiful illustration of the original doge meme dog surrounded by a bunch of colorful statements and then sparkly rainbow framing. The words say “fake agency,” “very data breach,” “much illegal,” “such treasury,” “unelected,” “very coup,” and “WOW.”
February 7, 2025 at 2:30 AM
vettha.bsky.social
tshirt with an illustrated fork with 3 of 4 tines curled down next to all caps “fork you elon” above the address vettha.threadless.com
February 7, 2025 at 12:37 AM
vettha.bsky.social
@RayInsideOut : Here’s a list of techies on the ground helping Musk gaining and using access to the US Treasure payment system.
Akash Bobba
Edward Coristine
Luke Farritor
Gautier Cole Killian
Gavin Kliger
Ethan Shaotran
@BladeoftheS : Elon Musk is terrified of everyone knowing the names of the people who work for him. So do your work. @RayInsideOut : Here’s a list of techies on the ground helping Musk gaining and using access to the US Treasure payment system. Akash Bobba Edward Coristine Luke Farritor Gautier Cole Killian Gavin Kliger Ethan Shaotran @elonmusk: You have committed a crime.
February 5, 2025 at 4:18 PM
vettha.bsky.social
New tshirts!

vettha.threadless.com/designs/fork...
February 3, 2025 at 4:58 AM
vettha.bsky.social
Ooh, they do! I’ve never minded mine, but I like this frame.
screencap of a post from “Girl Goals” reads “ever since someone said that stretch marks kinda look like sunlight on water, i’ve liked mine” above photos of water and skin with stretch marks
January 30, 2025 at 7:15 PM
vettha.bsky.social
“You’re living with this for the rest of your life, you need to learn to dance with it.” - Lara Bloom
“You’re living with this for the rest of your life, you need to learn to dance with it.” - Lara Bloom www.larabloom.com @lara.bloom
January 26, 2025 at 5:17 AM
vettha.bsky.social
Adare’s work is always glorious, but these new cards really show a range. You should go follow them and buy art.

AdareArt.com
A smattering of Adare’s business cards show a range of glorious oil paintings and illustrations. A card in front presents the artist’s information, including the website AdareArt.com
January 25, 2025 at 5:03 PM
vettha.bsky.social
Still drawing.
Screenshot of drawing program shows a reference image of a squirrel above illustration of same. Ink drawing in black with grey. Pattern brushes have been employed to embed the artist’s signature and an anti-AI logo.
January 25, 2025 at 6:37 AM
vettha.bsky.social
"Some went among women who were alone, teaching them to join together, for there is hope in two women, help in three women, strength in four, joy in five, power in six, and against seven, no gate may stand." -Sheri Tepper
"Some went among women who were alone, teaching them to join together, for there is hope in two women, help in three women, strength in four, joy in five, power in six, and against seven, no gate may stand." highlighted in the ebook of Sheri Tepper’s Gibbons Decline and Fall
January 23, 2025 at 6:13 AM
vettha.bsky.social
Latest #DrawingWithJentle session. Yay, freckles. <3
Screenshot of drawing program shows a monochrome pen sketch of a faerie with freckles. Shading of the image has been done with the artist’s signature and anti-ai logos made into pattern brushes. A student called the faerie’s expression “cheeky.”
December 4, 2024 at 4:10 PM
vettha.bsky.social
I put several new designs up today, including the first 2 of the Flare tessellation series.

There are so many good charities, I’m picking them by feel at this point. <3

vettha.threadless.com
A grid of design choices include, ‘Tessellation Mermaids Flare A Tails Cool’, ‘Tessellation Mermaids Flare A Tails Warm’, ‘Art is the conversation I am having with the Universe’ (gold handwriting with illustrated stars), ‘What a time to be alive’ (in white and black), Kitten Pile (an illustrated pile of kittens), ‘let kindness win’ (in white, black, and rainbow), ‘you want straight answers? ask a straight person!’ (in rainbow), an octopus mermaid, and octopus illustrations. A grid of design choices under the title “Jently Put” include, ‘Art is the conversation I am having with the Universe’ (gold handwriting with illustrated stars), ‘What a time to be alive’ (in white and black), ‘It could only be a horrible mistake .2’ (illustrated to look like the message in a magic 8 ball), ‘you want straight answers? ask a straight person!’ (in rainbow), ‘silly pepper’ (an illustrated orange bell pepper), ‘let kindness win’ (in white, and rainbow). A grid of design choices under the title “Mermaid Squad” include, ‘Tessellation Mermaids Flare A Tails Cool’, ‘Tessellation Mermaids Flare A Tails Warm’, ‘Tessellated Purmaid Rainbow’ (illustration as titled), ‘Roarmaid Stretch’ (lion mermaid in red-golds stretching its back), ‘Stunning, the Octopus Mermaid Supermodel’ (an octopus mermaid), ‘Roarmaid Belly Blessing’ (lion mermaid in orange-golds, showing its belly), ‘Bun Bun Mermaid’ (a bunny mermaid in blues and greys). Handwritten “What a time to be alive.”
November 26, 2024 at 6:04 AM
vettha.bsky.social
photograph of the SF Bay taken by @vettha with post from @niniandthebrain saying “Young lady, after these cabinet appointments, don’t you dare suffer from imposter syndrome.”
November 22, 2024 at 7:16 PM
vettha.bsky.social
That time I put together a poem about climate change on my beloved child’s birthday and then it never stopped being relevant.
There’s a photo behind the poem of a small child playing by the ocean. There are sand toys and a stray G magnet close to the photographer. The poem floats over the image on 2 translucent blocks that also happen to frame the child. At the top of the page is the poetry book’s name “Jentle Tales.” Urgent (Jan 2015) my darling child operator of light switches today he is four finally more than I can wisely lift Endlessly interviews me “what is it called like?” and “what is it great for?” language refinement replaces acquisition these days we discuss things like cows and how they just love to eat “may” or some crabs’ propensity to play host to the occasional sea “urgent” he knows we’re in north america and several ways to greet fellow sapiens sapiens my beloved explorer dodger of bedtimes he is mad for all creatures but especially those the waters hold lately narwhal, sailfish, anemone colossal squid, remipedes snapping shrimp and snot sea cucumbers porcupine puffers, sea turtles humuhumunukunukuapua’a fish my rolling miracle giver of kisses he teaches me daily all that we are losing i’m not sure how to say the ways everything is changing garbage patch growing polar ice going and the profundity of the finale largely lost on the populace he says sea “urgent” and I can’t swallow for visions of oil casting new shadows across the horizon flame catches behind my collarbone feeds my urges to exist nowhere other than right these exact days crystalize train-filled hands, shoe shop dance offs, and mouthfuls of “mommy, can you help me??” into an endless resin to stir into slow cups of tea through an expectation of old age that may come for none of us unless we all start embracing a hell of a lot more urgency
November 21, 2024 at 5:49 AM
vettha.bsky.social
Today’s #DrawingWithJentle was about this cat. <3 AND we had art-adventurers calling in from 3 countries! USA, Scotland, and India today. And a sweet kitten meme.

What a time to be alive.
Screen capture of a drawing program shows meme as reference: a kitten is wrapped in a robe and head towel and looking coyly at the camera. Pink text reads “doing the lord’s work (being dramatic)” The drawing is black and white, close in on the cat’s face, and shaded with a pattern brush of the artist’s logo with anti-AI symbols incorporated. Zoomed in closer to the cat’s face, and now there is some colorful shading with a pattern brush of the artist’s logo with anti-AI symbols incorporated. Zoomed out to show more of the cat and colorful shading with a pattern brush of the artist’s logo with anti-AI symbols incorporated that creates a pink corona behind the cozy kitten.
November 19, 2024 at 7:21 PM
vettha.bsky.social
I know this platform claims it won’t scrape images for DeGenerative AI, but we live in a universe based on change. And I like my signature enough to see it as worthy of being more present in the work.

And I’m watching the Handmaid’s Tale seasons 3-5 on loop.
#NoliteTeBastardesCarborundorum
screen cap from drawing app shows a reference image of a woman in a hat and a digital painting clearly founded on that, though artistic changes have been made. The hat now has stained glass windows in it, inspired by @sunnyfoxapothecary, and also lettering around the brim that says “NOLITE TE BASTARDES CARBORUNDORUM” (aka “Don’t let the bastards grind you down” aka the resistance call in The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood) Inspection of the drawing shows the artist has used a pattern brush made of her signature and anti-AI logos and used that to shade the work. Same as the first, but zoomed in to the painting’s face and showing the pattern brush effects.
November 18, 2024 at 5:02 PM