About

hello there! my name is Jules, but a lot of people call me Giz. it's very nice to meet you! i'm an artist, perpetual student, and probably aspiring ceremonial alchemist based in the Shenandoah Valley. either way, i'm an autistic queer creature lurking on the internet. my primary specialties are illustration, comics, and zines. my main medium is digital, but i love experimenting with different mediums when i can. as for my life outside of being cute and making art, i work part-time at a tourist trap.

i graduated in May 2024 with a bachelor's in history with the intention of going into library studies. i really liked the the thought of pouring over old manuscripts but i found that my true calling lies in my art after all. for a long while, i made my art alone and only shared my experiences with a very small circle of friends due to trauma i went through as a kid online, but all that changed when i joined the Comix Accountability Club after learning about it through SUCZ (Staunton Underground Comics and Zine Fest). since joining, i have been all the more motivated to work on projects of mine that have been on the backburner for such a long time. as of right now, thanks to CAC, i am currently hosting a webcomic called To Follow the Black Dog. if you like murder mysteries and the Viking Age, check it out and maybe subscribe :3c

i should also let you know that i am a Christian. but don't worry! i am "one of the cool ones" as they say. i am an Episcopalian, which is part of the Anglican Communion. i was previously Presbyterian, but i found my way to Jesus Christ through the Episcopal Church after a long journey of soul-searching. i will elaborate more on my spiritual journey on a future page, but the long and short of it is that Love reveals Himself when you are ready, desperate for healing. His balm hurts all the more, but you are set alight.

Nottamun Town

i made what would become Nottamun Town way back in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. over the years, i would tinker with the website and then abandon it. i'd then remember my website exists and revamp it and keep tinkering with it. rinse and repeat. i have a crappy memory, so i don't remember when i named my website, but i think it was somewhere around early 2024. and the name stuck ever since.

as a lover of old English/Scots/Irish/American folk music, i named my website, thus my entire brand, "Gizurrr's Nottamun Town," otherwise known as "Nottamun Town" or just "Nottamun." quite obviously, this came from the folk song of the same name. the origins of the folk song are just as mysterious as the lyrics. some say the song comes from the old Christmas tradition in England known as mumming, where amateur actors put on a play on the street or in pubs reenacting the story of a hero's death and resurrection by a strange character known as the Doctor. in mummers' plays, dialogue is recited in rhyme and the contents of the plays are bizarre, much like "Nottamun Town." others say the song's origins lie in the English Civil War, when England's societal foundations were shook to the core as King Charles I was beheaded under Oliver Cromwell's orders, being a musical equivalent of topsy-turvy chapbooks and pamphlets circulated at the time. a third theory suggests that the song's origins are wholly American, starting with anti-Irish sentiment during the days of the Thirteen Colonies, but would then later add other references to American history throughout the 19th century. the folk song would become known for its final refined version in the mid-20th century during the folk-music revival of America and Britain.

being someone who is autistic, i have always felt drawn to things that were odd and creepy. as a kid, i was lucky to not have been severely bullied in public school, but i knew at a visceral level i was "not like the others." so reading and learning about things that were also considered strange by society made me feel more at home. folklore provides all sorts of strange and morbid stories. and so because of the nature of the song "Nottamun Town," i felt it fitting to be the name of a website where i fully express myself without masking or without worrying about following the community guidelines of a social media platform kowtowing to the current administration.

i'm sure one day i will completely revamp and keep tinkering with Nottamun Town as i have before, but for now, i am quite happy with where it's at right now :3

Current Hyperfixation

Moby-Dick; or, The Whale by Herman Melville.

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