What is The Red Balloon?

Welcome! I’m Debbie Ridpath Ohi, and The Red Balloon is a collection of my personal essays and art. For those familiar with my children’s book illustrations, be warned that the art I post in The Red Balloon will not necessarily always be bright and happy. I have multiple illustration styles, including darker and quirkier, and am excited about using this new venue to stretch my creative wings.

I will be adding more to this About page eventually, but I wanted to warn potential subscribers, especially those who are used to my kidlit-focused and happybright posts on social media.

Also be warned that my posts on The Red Balloon will sometimes be deeply personal. I plan to eventually add a paid tier, partly to restrict access to some of this content.

For those seeking practical info about writing and illustrating for young people, see my Inkygirl newsletter on Substack.

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