Chatham’s low-res MFA is re-launching! We offer one-on-one creative writing mentorships, online courses like Travel Writing, Nature Writing, Appalachian lit & publishing, and onsite residencies in Pittsburgh & at Fallingwater! Nature/place-writers, apply! chatham.edu/academics/gr...

An unexpected garden showed up on the first snowy day of the year. Oil and cold wax on paper.

This is an expensive time & the holidays are almost here. Let me help make your gift giving a little easier on the budget. Accepting pretty much ANY offer on these small watercolor & ink paintings. You pay domestic shipping or I deliver if local.DM with interest. Thanks!

I spent all morning updating my Etsy store—a hated task because it’s so tedious! But, now there are lots of new shiny listings and most are $200 or less if you’re looking for unique holiday gifts. Thanks for having a look! sheilasquillanteart.etsy.com

Holidays are approaching & it seems like a good time to remind folks that I make & sell visual art! If you see something you like & it’s more than you want to spend, get in touch. I want you to have it so let’s find a way! Here’s a new one, & more here: sheilasquillante.com/original-abs...

It’s been some time since I’ve had a new poem out. This is a long one—a 10 part crown of not-sonnets that grapples with marriage, parenthood, aging, and climate tragedy. g-ehr.com/poetry/summe...

A small piece in a new series called “Some Things Make Their Own Light.” Using a fluorescent underpainting that makes it look like it’s glowing from inside.

So honored to be the featured visual artist in the new issue of Asterales!

I’m over the moon to have my art grace the cover of one of our best literary magazines, Mid-American Review! Hope to one day have my writing appear there too. 🌸

Everything is terrible but I discovered this luscious iridescent graphite grey paint and am making stuff with it.

Everything is terrible but here is a weird goth bird I made. Let me know if you want her. Caw!

I had the chance to write up Chatham MFA’s residency experience at Fallingwater this summer for AWP. What a great time we had! www.awpwriter.org/AWP/Magazine... #mfaresidency #fallingwater #chathammfa

3 new pieces in an older style. These are more minimalist in their markings. I like the open space of them and the chaotic surprise of ink. And here, a return to one of my favorite tools: the humble bamboo skewer.

Bleeding Heart

"First comes the joyful feeling: Finally! My time has come! Then comes the sinking feeling: Wait. This doesn’t even mention the title of my book. Could they even have read it in a week?" ~ @sheilasquill.bsky.social brevity.wordpress.com/2025/06/25/d...

Making watercolor greeting cards again. These are 4x6, blank inside and come with envelopes. If you’re interested in a set they are $15 for 5 or $30 for 10. I can do a variety of colors & orientations depending on what you like. Let me know!

I’ll be leading a mini version of Chatham MFA’s Fallingwater residency October 3-5. Open to all! fallingwater.org/fallingwater... #writingretreat #writingresidency #fallingwater

Chatham MFA’s Fallingwater Residency in Nature and Placed-Based Writing is in 16 days! “Here is one of the most photogenic buildings in creation. So is the Taj Mahal, but the two work so differently: 1/2 #fallingwater #mfaresidency

Summer garden vibes.

Reminder! Writers! Fallingwater!

The community application portal for Chatham MFA’s inaugural Fallingwater Residency in Nature and Place-Based Writing is now OPEN! June 16-20 at the iconic UNESCO Heritage Site. We have a limited number of spots so applications will be selective. Deadline 4/15! www.chatham.edu/academics/gr...

I have a Substack to chronicle the project of writing a book about my mother out of the transcripts from video interviews we did while she was dying. You can read and subscribe here: sheilasquillante.substack.com/p/playing-in...

“The Long, Multitudinous Rain” 18x24 Acrylic, charcoal and pencil on rough canvas (Title is a line from Carl Sandburg’s poem, “Monotone”)

Happy Valentines Day from me and my “Dark, Ambivalent Heart” 8x10 mixed media collage on board

Revisiting an earlier style in some new pieces. Very subdued, limited palette of blues and browns feels apt for where my heart and mind are right now. “Sanctuary City” 24”x24” Acrylic and pencil on canvas

More details on NEA funding changes: hyperallergic.com/988542/nea-t...

New criteria for NEA grants. 🤬 Scroll down to “Assurance of Compliance” section: www.arts.gov/grants/legal...

I’m teaching students how to teach creative writing to underserved/vulnerable community populations & one of them walked out of class last night because they “feel uncomfortable talking about politics.” Honestly not sure how to address in a way that helps them learn without further alienating them.

ha!

Pure Gen-X joy in a fiercely queer, campy-brilliant Gen Z package. Perfect. Gorgeous. Necessary. 💗 youtu.be/w4WiXKGCJhg?...

I started this on my mom’s birthday, 1/18. I wanted to make something light & bright that I could imagine hanging in her Florida home. But it wasn’t working and I couldn’t figure it out. I painted the whole thing white, obliterating all progress. 1/3

Delighted to have my watercolor landscapes featured at Zocalo Public Square! Grateful to @stefanbucher.bsky.social for inviting me! www.zocalopublicsquare.org/sheila-squil...

I’m a writer & I love the writing community. I’m also a painter & convinced myself that I needed to split those selves on socials, mostly to build a community w/artists. Hence, 2 Instas, 2 Threads. But I don’t know how much longer I can stay w/Meta. Is Bluesky a place that can hold it all for me?

David Bowie is my afterlife. ✨

The narrative/wisdom of @iamragesparkle.bsky.social is having a moment over on Threads. “No. Get out.”

Tomorrow I’m going to check out a community space to hold a painting/writing workshop. Then I’m going to paint & write & pet my dogs & love on my family. Then I’m going to an MLK Day dinner event on campus. I am going to try to stay away from the news & keep breathing. That’s it. That’s all I got.

I just made caramel with brown sugar and fish sauce. I think my daughter is going to divorce me.

😳 We are the worst.

I’m working with transcripts from video interviews I did with my mother as she was dying from lung cancer in 2021. Here’s my latest progress report. It’s free to subscribe & follow along. open.substack.com/pub/sheilasq...

I’m serving as a judge for a thing and so reading lots and lots of poetry, and let me tell you, the contemporary aesthetic spectrum is wide! It’s thrilling and also super inspiring. Which is to say: I worked on my own poems today! 🌟

I have 10+ yrs experience running writers retreats for my university. I’m good at it! It just dawned on me that I could use my talents for my own $ benefit. So, how about a 3-day retreat this summer: PAINTING FOR WRITERS? I’d love to hear from folks who have launched similar events. Thanks!

I got alcohol inks for Xmas and am having so much fun learning this new medium! (But I did have to get a respirator mask because wowwww the fumes…😳😵‍💫)

It’s official! Chatham MFA is the only program in the country where students can study nature & place-based writing at the iconic Fallingwater! Applications for fall 25 are open. Please spread the word about this uniquely wonderful part of our program! www.chatham.edu/academics/gr...

I have seven mixed media pieces from my “Crossings” series in the group show “ Love Letters to Pittsburgh” at Manos Gallery in Tarentum, PA. Here are 3 of them. The opening reception was yesterday, and I totally blew it. Got super awkward & nervous & only managed to stay for about 20 minutes. Sigh.

I make these because I suck at meditating!

A reminder that you can stay up to date on my visual art by subscribing to the newsletter I’m writing exactly for that! 🧡 mailchi.mp/ce1481e8241b...

It’s been a really long time since I submitted poems to lit journals. Like, longer than ever in my writing life. I used to be really good at it—it was easy to get into the groove. But what has happened to me? I feel totally overwhelmed & don’t want to wait 6 months for a response. Ugh.

Spent the day starting to plan the 5-day residency in nature and place-based writing I’m developing for Chatham’s MFA program at Fallingwater this summer. What a total dream come true! If you were going to such a residency, what would you hope to do there?

This piece is special for a bunch of reasons. 1, it uses colors I find difficult, 2, it’s inspired David Bowie, 3, it includes text! 4, it’s a substantial size—24”x36.” Last, it will be the cover of my next poetry collection, THE BRIGHTEST DAYS in 2025. Available for purchase! “Starman, Waiting”

3 more pretties. Slightly different approach to the abstract landscape.