From Pixels to Peace

Why I Made "Among the Alpacas"

This wasn’t just a book I decided to make. It’s one that quietly made its way through over seven years of moments, memories, and gentle rewiring.

About seven years ago, I started visiting alpacas. It began as a casual curiosity—just another farm stop. But they got to me. The hums, the soft eyes, the way they somehow manage to look both wise and mildly disapproving at the same time.

Since then, I’ve had three phones—technically smartphones, but I’d call them moderately intelligent at best. The kind of budget models that develop stage fright if you open the camera app too often. I keep running out of memory, so I try to store the alpaca photos elsewhere. And yes, I understand about SIM cards—but not when your budget is smaller than an alpaca’s attention span.

Yes, I technically have the cloud now, but let’s just say the relationship is still complicated.

Then, at the end of last month, I went back to visit the alpacas again (because, of course, I can’t not). I took even more photos—lots of them—and when I got home and looked through them, I realized something: they weren’t that great. Blurry here, shadowy there… but the expressions, the little quirks, the softness—it was all there.

So, I started wondering if I could edit them (the pictures, not the alpacas). One experiment led to another, and then—presto—line drawings.

And suddenly, everything clicked.

Alpacas. Coloring. Neuroplasticity.

Neuro who? Earlier this year I’d learned about neuroplasticity—how the brain can rewire and heal through repetition, creativity, and calm focus. That idea had been quietly simmering, waiting for the right project to bloom. And apparently, it was waiting for alpacas.

Among the Alpacas: A Gentle Coloring Book became a blend of everything I love—part art therapy, part humor, part accidental neuroscience, and part love letter to the fluffiest philosophers I’ve ever met.

That’s why this isn’t just a coloring book; it’s a soft corner of the world you can step into whenever things feel too sharp.

Because sometimes, the best way to rewire your brain is one gentle alpaca at a time.
Because calm has officially gone fluffy.

World Farm Animals Day… and Why I’m Thinking About Alpacas

 

Today, October 2, is World Farm Animals Day. The official focus of the day is a solemn one: to remember the billions of animals raised for food, and to shine a light on the way they’re treated. That’s an important mission, and it deserves to be acknowledged. But I also want to come at this from a slightly different angle—one with fuzzy ears, a gentle hum, and the ability to make you smile just by existing.

I’m talking about alpacas.

Alpacas technically count as farm animals, but they stand out in their own wonderfully quirky way. While many farm animals are raised for meat or milk, alpacas are here for their fiber, their presence, and their personalities. Their fleece is softer than wool and warmer than just about anything else that comes off four legs. Their demeanor? Somewhere between polite introvert and stand-up comedian. If you’ve ever heard an alpaca hum—or watched them decide, with regal seriousness, whether or not to grant you eye contact—you know what I mean.

What I love about alpacas is that they flip the script. They remind us that farming doesn’t always have to mean industrial systems or rows of nameless livestock. It can mean partnership, stewardship, and even joy. Standing in a pasture with alpacas feels different than standing in a barn full of animals bred for slaughter. One space is full of tension and survival, the other, full of quirky grace.

That contrast matters on a day like today. If World Farm Animals Day is about compassion, then alpacas show us what that looks like in action. They’re living proof that animals on a farm can be valued for their lives, not just their usefulness. And maybe that’s the broader lesson: that love and respect for animals can shape not only how we see them but how we see ourselves.

So today, while many voices speak about the suffering that needs to end, I want to add another thread to the tapestry: celebration of what’s possible. When I think of alpacas, I think of what farming could be—gentle, balanced, creative, and yes, a little fuzzy around the edges.

The local SafeHouse Farm Alpacas is a living example in action. Many rescues—not just alpacas—make their home there, and we visit them regularly. In addition to alpacas, they have chickens, ducks, geese, pigs, horses, goats, rabbits, donkeys, llamas, turkeys. The owner even installed a gnome grove, and that bit of unexpected magic is what inspired me to weave farm animals into a gnome book.

So yes, World Farm Animals Day is about compassion. But in my corner of the world, it’s also about alpacas, gnomes, and the occasional blog post that writes itself.

Now, please allow me to spam you with a few of my favorite alpaca pictures I took from the many that I have! I have confined it to 6 pictures from our visit last week. Oh, and the top picture which graces this post is my current favorite, Annabelle. She loves to hug and kiss me. And chew me. Really!

Gentle souls on four legs reminding us what’s possible.

Proof that side-eye is a universal language.

If serenity had eyelashes, it would look like this.

Finally, approval granted! I’m officially welcome in the pasture… provided I bring snacks next time.

Fluff levels: farm-approved, cloud-certified.

Compassion looks a lot like this face.