About
Al Johara means “the jewel” in Arabic. Yes, I learned it by watching “Jewel of the Nile” and confirmed it twenty years later in my first-year Arabic class. I’ve always liked the sound of it, and it turns out that it synchs up with my name quite nicely. Allow me to demonstrate:
Astrid Lydia Johannsen > A. L. Joha(nnsen) > Al Joha(ra) > الجوهرة
Cool, no? But what is this “Jewel of Terceira” silliness. Well, I was born on the island of Terceira in the Azores archipelago, about 250 miles west of Portugal. Alas, I’ve never been back since I was born there, but I’m working on fixing that.
As for the rest of me, I’ve been drawing since I was old enough to take a purple marker to the back of my mom’s rocking chair. I’ve been interested in comics once I learned to start drawing on paper instead of furniture. And I’ve been doing digital art since 1984 when I learned how to program in BASIC on my Atari 400. In 1990 I discovered the magic of Bézier curves and vector illustration, and I knew that I had found my ideal medium.
In 2008 I finally went quasi-professional with my first really big illustration job. Finishing that gig was a very satisfying feeling, and it’s given me the drive to push forward with my first graphic novel. (Also, reading Watchmen for the first time ever provided a healthy amount of inspiration as well.)
In June 2009 I graduated the University of Oregon with a B.A. in Religious Studies. In my time at the University of Oregon, I’ve also studied Ancient Greek, Latin, and Arabic.
Carpe Diem,
الجوهرة
