Motherhood, pandemic and working from home: Bengaluru illustrator doodles her life's 'new chapter'
BENGALURU: Alicia Souza has always been a morning person. Fans would know, considering how Souza’s doodles and artworks are often the first post on the Instagram feeds of many. And she seems to have passed this trait right on to her son – Oliver Theodore Seemon – who was born five weeks ago. “He is so calm and adorable in the mornings. It’s a time full of smiles, eye contact and this daze of happiness he gets during bath time,” the new mother tells CE. Mornings are now a close second to her other favourite parts of the day – “When he’s sleeping,” laughs the city-based illustrator, who has a following of over 3 lakh on Instagram.
But motherhood in no way has led to work taking a backseat for Souza. The illustrator recently launched a new journal based on her hit Instagram series about endearing things she has seen in India. Each page of the journal, available on her website, comes with a different illustration that highlights the quirks and eccentricities of the country, like the calls of hawkers in the morning, an autorickshaw pushing another one, people checking out their reflections in a scooter mirror, and so on.
Besides this, she is busy with other collaborations, work on her annual yearly planner, some more products for her company, and launching a new brand – Auntie Alie – for a range of baby and kids goodies. And she has the perfect sampler for her new art work now. “I put out black and white animal cards on Oliver’s dresser and it’s nice to see how his eyes dart around each one of them. He’s almost like my guinea pig, and since he has taken well to them, I’m excited to launch them as a product,” she says.
While there was a lot Souza knew to expect while expecting, other things did come as a surprise. Like a global outbreak and having to take a Covid test before her delivery. “You can’t really go out much with a newborn so being indoors is alright. But none of our friends have got to see Oliver beyond photographs. And I worry about how he will socialise and when things will get normal,” admits Souza. These unexpected times, however, have also come with small blessings.
With work from home being the new normal, Souza’s husband, George, who is an architect, is also around a lot more. “It really worked in our favour. So many men miss out on the initial days of a baby because of work, but here George can really soak in time with Oliver,” she adds. Her pets, a dog named Charlie and a guinea pig named Henry-oats, however, still need more time. “Oliver is too young now but I am hoping the three will get along like good siblings in the future,” laughs Souza.