Finished a sketchbook this week! Another one is on the way, although I'm nervous about it because I haven't used this type before and it's not spiral-bound (I couldn't get another one of this same kind, which I really liked). I guess we'll see how it goes! I have omitted a couple of pieces here for various and sundry reasons. My astrologer sent along something that was inspirational, and I'm keeping it under wraps for the moment. Sunday is my social day of what amounts to about five hours of Zoom meetings. My Religion adviser from undergrad, Dr. Cath, hosts a Zoom meeting in which she shares her screen and we all go on a virtual gallery tour and look at art. Last week we were at the Uffizi for The Divine Comedy Illustrated by Federico Zuccari - we did Inferno then - and today we did Purgatorio and Paradiso. It's been inspirational in several ways, mainly the sparse use of color in Inferno, followed by the brown ink washes of Purgatorio and a return to color in Paradiso, with added color in the final illustration. We've also been interested in how Zuccari defines the action in the illustrations - rather than Dante and Virgil appearing in the middle of an action, Zuccari draws them at the foot of the mountain, ascending the mountain, and at the top, all in one drawing, and often this action is occurring from right to left. Also, Zuccari depicts Dante's dreams in a circle above the sleeping Dante. The Pugartorio and Paradiso segments also have text within the illustration, which also made us all think of comics. I had written down "Philip Roth" in my sketchbook while I was reading The Creative Habit, as he's mentioned in the final chapter, and then today I found American Pastoral in a Little Free Library. Another Little Free Library find: The Great Believers, by Rebecca Makkai. I also ordered The Lonely City, something that's been on my wish list for a while, after Austin Kleon featured it on his blog.
Luckily, this year seems to not be flowing at the breakneck pace of last year. At least, it seems slow for now. That may also be due to spending more time working or reading than refreshing the bird website. It's a good feeling.
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AuthorArtist, essayist, divinity school dropout. Here for a good time, not for a long time. Archives
February 2024
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