#i would rather appreciate an imperfect piece of art than being in a world where those don't exist

[heartfeltletters-written]

one day I will write a master post about all the issues I have with art "made" by AI. I just saw a fic written by chatgpt and I've seen an absurd increase in drawings/paintings using this technology and it makes my blood boil.

Humans are supposed to make art, not machines. Art is supposed to touch our hearts, to reflect on the current times. It's supposed to address, love, heartbreak, friendship, and the other endless emotions that make us feel alive. A software will never be able to replicate those strong feelings.

Stop trying to replace artists, whether they do it professionally or just as a hobby. Nothing and I mean NOTHING will be able to replace the stroke of a brush, the chosen careful words on a page but most especially the thought and hard work that goes behind a piece of art.

[wroteonedad]

Michael Simpson Paintings Review

I wish I lived in a town that had more art galleries or just more spaces where they display art that isn't live laugh love or graffiti. I don't get to see as much art as I would like to and it makes me feel uninspired after a while, and perhaps if I learnt to drive then I could go away on my days off and explore all the fun galleries out there waiting for me to find my new favourite artist, a new persons work to hyperfixate on. I need more of that. This gallery space I am writing about this week, I actually went to visit this as the World Cup started. It was wonderful. It was the first England game in the tournament. The entire town was dead, despite the Christmas tree festival having already started. Men were in the local pub or better yet, working and away so I could blissfully go out and enjoy myself. There was not a single other soul in the gallery space as I arrived, and it was wonderful. I really felt like I could immerse myself properly into the set of works that I was looking at in this wonderful large space.

I'll be honest, it has only taken me so long to finally talk about this set of works because I was working off of a backlog of exhibitions I had seen in mass over the month and I've only just gotten around to it. They always say to leave the best until last. This set of work is on display at GIANT in Bournemouth until the 29th January. Michael Simpson has displayed a large scale body of works to the audience, this including both classic well known works as well as some unseen pieces. The work has been curated to allow you as the audience to form a conversation on light, space, surface and colour. Many of his works feature one particular subject matter, the ladder. This is seen through different colours and sizes and is displayed through the gallery space in between works already created. I do think that having nobody else in the gallery made me appreciate and look at this work more than I would if there was a large group of people in front of me also looking at the same thing.

Confessional 16 (2022)

To begin to talk about the works of Simpson, I would need to speak about the specific colour palette he uses in his work. Shades of both light and dull greys, baby pinks, seafoam green and police station blue. The colours vary in pastel and his works feel quite vintage. The way they are created to be imperfect with its layering of colours around the corners of the canvases. They look like they are old images displayed in a magazine made during the Soviet years. Perhaps this makes sense considering that part of this collection of works is in homage to Simpson's mother, a Lithuanian woman named Ada Kulikovdkiy who worked in Bobby's department store in the 1930s. The department store came back after Debenhams went into liquidation in 2021 and now has a gallery above the shop floor. To my original point, adverts that were created during the age of the USSR were all choppy, followed a certain colour dynamic and were both to the point, but confusing all at the same time. Simpson's paintings also display the same sense of choppy with its colour dynamic. Its main difference being the scale of these works were both very literal in the way you look at it, but also inviting to question the idea of space used in the works.

Dead Cross 2 (2021) and Squint 63 (2019)

Blocky vintage looking pieces. That's what I see when I look at these works, and I also could be wrong with the way I am viewing these works. At the same time, I also deeply agree with the way Simpson regards space in the paintings. In these two above, I don't feel as if I am immediately drawn to the centre of the canvas, rather my eyes follow the lines, all of the shapes and allows me to take in all of the space on the canvas. I don't think in the deep sense of art and painting and the way it is portrayed,,, I don't think I get it, but I still really like it. Some of these paintings don't feel real, other paintings I look at, I want to walk up to it and try to jump into the alternate world that lies between the lines of the painting. Why are the spaces so empty and yet so full all at the same time?

~

The typical theme that Simpson follows in his work is the history and mechanics of painting. But along with that, he has also discussed minor aspects of religion or rather the 'infamy of religious history', and in many of his more recent works, he has decided to paint leper squints. These are small apertures that were physically built into the walls in many Medieval churches so that the 'undesirables' or the dammed would be able to climb these stairs and look into the small window, to watch the service. Simpson uses both religion and space especially in his more recent Squint series in which he paints what looks like a bench or some form of seating that also features a small rectangle towards the top of the canvas. This is to create mockery to the undesirable and how they use the rectangle as the window to the void. It is perhaps quite dystopian to paint such concepts in modern works that still stay persistent to the artists older pieces. I feel like every time I write about an artist and their paintings, I always manage to sneak in Black Mirror into this, but this is a prime example of a dystopian empty and eerie piece, which I mean in the best way possible.

Simpson uses the gallery space to display a large selection from his Squint series, all four of these paintings above being part of said collection. Another larger scale example below.

The difference is with this one in particular, I feel like this has been created to be the main piece. The main star of the show I suppose. At first glance I thought to myself, this is a wrestling arena, and then suddenly it was just a cage, and now the only cage is of those who are watching from their dainty little windows above, alone. Maybe they are far out into the real world, looking through this pane of glass trying to get themselves into the empty grey void where nobody is, except for the large scale space of nothingness. I think what really adds to this nothingness is the absolute nothingness that surrounds this one painting in the gallery space. There is a good 14 foot of space to walk up to this painting as you are walking through the gallery, and suddenly you're that person in the little rectangle from a different perspective. Perhaps we are left to become a part of the narrative of the painting. In the words of Michael Simpson,' 'We exist, all of us, in an infinite space and that for me is the bewilderment of being alive. The hole isn't just a squint, it's a great metaphor for my own bewilderment of the world around me. I see this aperture as a hole into infinity and it is very, very disturbing.'

Walking through this gallery space feels post industrial and so I think this collection of works is the perfect exhibition. It feels surreal and it is also the perfect example of work where I feel like I can interact with it in so many different ways, we are invited to interact. The alternate dimension, of its parodic nature is incredibly effective. I pick up new details from the sets of works every time I go into the gallery and I can see how every smaller painting or smaller sketch has then been used to create the large scale paintings, some of which have already been painted over once before and reused to create a new canvas of work.

[ghostmartyr]

/clears throat/ so, Immi, I hear you like the locked tomb, which is fantastic! from one person also escaping the snk series into TLT to another, what did you think of the characters and plot in HtN? are there any things you're most excited to see when Alecto comes out in 2022?

-pats lifeboat- This baby can fit so much trauma.

SPOILERS, naturally.

With another paragraph informing the curious that unspoiled is the way to go into HtN, since if you aren’t lost and confused, are you really reading Harrow the Ninth?

I read it all in one day, and that was a choice. It does mean my memory and understanding of what all went on is slightly dependent on someone else on the internet exploding over a particular set of paragraphs and explaining their significance to me, but I still enjoyed the hell out of it.

HtN disappointed me on one front in that I was hoping seeing more of Harrow 1.0 would help out any future fic endeavors. On everything else, like the first one, being told the story is such a good time that I’m willing to wait on a full comprehension of where it’s going.

I also really like second person.

What I loved most about HtN is how even without Gideon mentioned until very, very late in the book, you can feel her absence everywhere. In the wrong bubble flashbacks you’re commanded to examine the strangeness, but even in Harrow going about her day, the isolation and the wrongness of it decorate her every action. She’s alone, and she shouldn’t be, and the loss she’s unaware of bleeds into a constant echo of grief.

I don’t think I’ve ever appreciated absence as a narrative tool so much. Obviously griddlehark hours go hard once they start in HtN, but even before then, there is so much power to their connection that looking into a world where it never exists still manages to punch you in the heart with how much each one inhabits everything the other is.

The whole series is amping me up with a few thoughts on loneliness, honestly. Gideon and Harrow grow up alone on the Ninth, save for each other. It takes leaving for that to be any kind of good thing. The first book is tag team Among Us with everyone in their little clusters, slowly learning what other people are about as they all drop dead.

The second book has a different vibe and different plot things going on, but it’s similar in that the protagonist gets thrown into a world they don’t fit and have to put on a show. Only now there are even fewer people to familiarize with, with that number correlating directly to how they all killed the person closest to keeping them from being alone.

Lyctorhood is taking the person dearest to your heart and trapping them there forever while they’re stripped of everything that made them who they are.

...Also Ianthe is there.

Gideon, Mercy, and Augustine are the last Lyctors standing after 10,000 years. There were only seven, starting out. Sixteen acolytes who came to the First. The only pair who didn’t succeed in condensing themselves is separated from the pack and sent to live away from their peers on a tiny planet that no one has anything good to say about.

Alecto is John’s -- who even knows, past A Lot, and he puts her to sleep and locks her in a prison no one but he can get past.

God has seven friends. More if you want to count the people in the Cohort, but realistically, he has seven friends. Then they keep dying.

Harrow spends HtN in a spaceship with five people.

One is trying to kill her.

One ordered that one to try to kill her.

Two could not care less about the useless baby Lyctor.

One is Ianthe.

There is no real endgame. There is surviving life, and life has become a game of running as far away as possible so you don’t share your ruin upon your inevitable death.

It’s bleak and sad.

Harrow’s healthiest relationships are with dead people, and some of them she didn’t know at all in life.

Reiterating it, the most plot significant bit of the world is finding someone else in the world, swearing yourself to them, and smashing your souls together until you’ve lost the connection entirely.

My brain’s not in the best place so I can’t do more than gesture loudly at it, but a few people have mentioned that the series’ thesis is a counter to Ianthe’s statement that love is acquisitive.

Harrow tightens her hold around Gideon until Gideon would rather she just strangle her and get it over with, all things considered. It fucks them both up, and when they start working to get past it, circumstance wraps a chain around both their throats.

The necromancers who become imperfect Lyctors have all acquired their cavaliers, and besides the cav, it kills that bond.

Harrow’s rejection of that is why Gideon’s soul is still in the world of the living (and John blood).

She has spent her entire life eating pieces of Gideon to keep herself a horrid imitation of whole, and when she is finally offered that, she refuses.

Grief and how Harrow just can’t are active elements of the book, and Magnus gives her more therapy in five minutes talking about it than she has ever had in her life, but the reason why that isn’t the end of Gideon is because, unlike all the other Lyctors, Harrow turns the offer down.

With the exception of Babs and Ianthe, the relationship between cavaliers and necros about to do the Lyctor thing is cavaliers promising to burn for an eternity while their necromancer lives off the fumes.

Fuck that is Harrow’s response.

Cytherea says, in the aftermath, that they had the choice to stop.

Harrow stops.

A lifetime of doing exactly what Gideon is telling her to do with her death, and Harrow chooses to stop.

Harrow remembers Ortus’ poetry. She regularly sees her congregation off to their deaths. She keeps Gideon’s glasses. She views Palamedes, head exploded and all, as an infinitely better person than she is because of the quality of his exemplary character. She pulls Gideon the First from the incinerator on the night she plans to kill him.

Kiddo has so many fucking issues, but somewhere, she has learned to respect people for being people. That’s why she and Gideon are the heroes of the story, ultimately, and Ortus saying that they’re heroes worthy of the Ninth doesn’t fall flat. They’re actually trying.

Where that puts us for Alecto, I don’t pretend to know.

Since the first book is the temptation of an end to isolation, only to have it snatched away, the second book is the continuation of isolation with a few promising sparks of human connection that pave the way for hope...

That leaves the third book to shed the isolation and allow the connections to thrive.

With Gideon and Harrow MIA.

I know that the books kick things up into high gear in the final acts each time, but if they’re both gone for the majority of the book, no matter how much fun it is, I’m going to miss them. They’re the core leads, and I don’t want to be without them in the final part.

The 2022 release date has aged my soul. I deliberately planned my GtN read to land a month before HtN came out, then suffered when that was delayed. When really that was nothing at all. I hate waiting.

(Insert note that I’m very glad they aren’t forcing Muir to rush anything out. It’s been a rough time, but also, just in general authors should have the opportunity to create the best versions of their art they can, so the extra time hurts, but it’s obviously for the best.)

What I’m most excited for is probably the cover art. The first two have been awesome, and the artist said he’d likely do print sales for all three when the third’s revealed. My wallet cries but my heart does not.

What I dare not be excited for is the potential for Gideon and Harrow meeting again and perhaps hugging. In their own bodies.

I’d take other bodies, but ideally, y’know.

Also I would love for Harrow to finally meet her popsicle girlfriend.

I doubt it would be a wholly positive experience, but by golly I want it. Maybe they could hug too. It would probably kill Harrow again, but who doesn’t expect several people to die again in the third book?

However it plays out, I’m expecting to enjoy AtN. The writing’s the sort that I’ll happily follow wherever it goes. For everything else, there’s fanfic. The only real worry I have is the whole book will be narrated by Ianthe, and while I mentally groan at that, I actually find Ianthe’s commentary delightful, so even in the worst case scenario I’m having a good time.

Thank you so much for the ask.

[yurimother]

LGBTQ Game Review - Lingua Fleur: Lily

A significant part of my job is knowing the details of the goings-on in the world of yuri. It, therefore, shames me to admit that I almost missed out on the visual novel Lingua Fleur: Lily as I was completely unaware of it until Taiwanese studios Narrator and Storia, the game’s developers and publishers, messaged me. Thank the great goddess of yuri that they did, because I would have regretted missing this experience.

Lingua Fleur: Lily is a short kinetic visual novel set in a university told from the perspective of student Yuyi, the protagonist. Yuyi is a quiet and introverted student, hardly interacting with her classmates and having no close friends. Her isolated circumstances change when she is paired with the outgoing Yile, the deuteragonist of the story, during physical education. Slowly Yile beings to befriend Yuyi, helping her to come out of her shell and be truthful about her identity and difficult past.

As previously stated, Yuyi is extremely reserved and often anxious. However, she is also quick to anger, often getting short during Yile’s antics. This can make her seems stern and unlikable at moments but overall she is very realistically written. As the story progresses these moments mostly fade out and she becomes more likable and friendly while maintaining to her quiet and anxious demeanor. Her narration is the most enjoyable part of her character, as it gives insight into her feelings and her discomfort with certain situations, helping her to feel human.

In every way, Yile is the opposite of Yuyi. While the ladder is restrained and apprehensive, Yile has no such inhibitions. She is excitable and bubbly, often eagerly blurting out the first thought that comes into her mind without regard for how it makes others (specifically Yuyi) feel. This is never really treated for laughs, as this game is not in any way a comedy, but rather used to contrast Yuyi, helping develop her character by reflecting and responding to Yile’s actions. Unfortunately, most of the time Yile too easily falls into the stereotype of the naive and energetic girl.

There are however some lovely moments when Yile breaks out of this stereotype,  particularly when she or Yuyi is more emotionally vulnerable. For example, at the beginning of the game, Yuyi gets slightly during physical education and runs away. Yile chases after her to comfort and care for the reluctant Yuyi. It is a touching moment that really serves to establish the dynamics between the characters.

The game is complete with full Chinese voice acting. Both lead actresses do a decent enough job, shining especially during the quieter and more somber moments (which are plentiful). The louder moments of joy or anger are a struggle for them, the actress behind Yuyi does not carry enough vocal power for the scenes in which she yells (usually at Yile) and Yile’s tends to ascend into a grating shriek. I will give credit to the game for voicing even minor character that speaks only a few lines as well as the girls though. Overall, the voice acting added more to the game than it detracted but there is definite room for improvement.

Lingua Fleur is not a story of romance or attraction but rather of self-growth and healing. For me, this is a welcome change. It is not a happy story nor an overly sad cry-fest, but rather a very grounded and bittersweet narrative. Yuyi struggles to admit her identity (as a lesbian) and the ways in which this affects here are clearly shown and communicated in all scenes effectively.

The more emotional scenes are powerful and my favorite parts of the game. Thanks to not only a solid script but because they are so realistic and relatable. Yuyi’s struggles to articulate her identity to Yile will easily resonate with experiences of queer readers. I will not spoil the ending but it appropriately matches the somber tone of the story and is simultaneously hopeful and saddening.

I did have a few issues with the game. Some of these complaints are small, a few typos, a few places where the word choice could have been a bit better (is my English teacher side showing?). I also found what I can only assume to have been a mistake due to negligence where name cards such as “female student” and “male student” were still written in Chinese rather than being translated like the others. Additionally, while the English translation is mostly excellent there were a few terms that did not work as a direct translation into the language, such as “Sis Tutor.”

This character, Sis Tutor, is actually part of my biggest complaint. She and Yuyi share a difficult past together which is hinted at but not explicitly stated and explained until the final act of the game. This trope would be fine if it was not for the fact the story is told through Yuyi’s perspective and we hear her thoughts! This made the hints about her past unbearable and annoying. When you show the thoughts of the character with a hidden pass it does not work! It breaks immersion, as one can clearly see the writers’ attempt to contort the narrative of human thoughts as they clumsily build suspense to the big reveal. And it is a good (if obvious) reveal too, giving context to the actions of Yuyi, there is no need for it to be so hamfistedly teased.

Lingua Fleur: Lily’s CG artwork has a nice soft pastel look to it, with a serene hand-drawn quality to them. The artist was easily able to transfer the personality of the characters and the emotion of the script into the CG artwork, making them add to the experience. There is even one simple but stylistic animation. However, the CGs are inconsistent, with some being of clearly higher quality than others. Additionally, some of the choices for the CGs placement are questionable. Parts of the story were crying out for a nice piece of accompanying art but resources were put into other scenes which frankly did not need them.

The character sprite’s share soft design of the CGs but often, unfortunately, have an unpolished look to them. They also clash horribly against some of the backgrounds, leading to a clear cutout effect that regularly took me out of the experience. Their design, however, is quite nice, especially Yile, who is downright adorable. There is also some great employment of lateral movement and strategic zooming on characters, some of the best I have ever seen, and certainly, the most fluid, helping to illustrate the story.

The soundtrack of Lingua Fleur proves that a score does not have to be bombastic and overly complex to be successful. Indeed, the music was one of the highlights of my experience. Oli Jan and Sorane created twelve original tracks for the visual novel each of which I adored as I played through. Often they employ just a simple melody and maybe a few delicate strings or woodwinds, creating an excellent somber and soft backdrop that perfectly complimented the game. I was greatly enjoying it right up until the finale when I fell in love.

During the game’s climax the track ‘La Robe’ plays and MY GOD!! I was struck dumb by how perfect the track was, I was at a loss for words (a rare occurrence I can assure you). It keeps the same simple style as the rest of the soundtrack but was just… stupendous. The song is triumphant, delicate, intricate, and hopeful. The victorious crescendo reached its peak at the perfect point in the story I swear I applauded. I could easily extend this review another few paragraphs filled with nothing but adjectives about this song. If you do not get the game for the love of all things gay in this world at least give the soundtrack a listen! It is a whirlwind of emotions that perfectly encapsulates the relief and sorrow felt by Yuyi in the bittersweet conclusion. It is a special thing for a piece to convey so much.

Lingua Fleur: Lily is an imperfect but meaningful journey. It does not conform to the genre standers of destined lovers and soulmates but is rather a gentle and ordinary story of healing, grief, and friendship. While it lacks artistic polish and jaw-dropping prose the emotion and humanism of the game reverberate within me. Lingua Fleur is a lovely, simple, and bittersweet experience.

I also appreciate that Narrator and Storia have promised new content for the game in the form of DLC. Lingua Fleur: Lily is available now on Steam in English and Chinese.

Ratings: Story – 7 Characters – 6 Art – 4 Voice – 6 Music – 10 LGBTQ – 5 Lewdness – 0 Final – 6

Review copy provided by Narrator and STORIA

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[smoljoelito]

obra de arte || joel pimentel

word count: 2,499

requested by/request: my own idea I threw into my queue lmfao

description: you draw joel pimentel per request, but you don’t expect him to see it.

warnings: fluff

masterlist

tags: @quierick @mepuserojito @ericks-mala-actitud @woowoodaaboo @ella-se-vuelve-loca @joelsaww @honeyzhong @sarswilltakeyouout @pimentelssmile @whippedforcnco @notsoteenagegirl @richukisbb @besosdecnco @emsy55 @cloudfiveclub @erickspretend1 @hardtoadore

———————————————————————————————————--

Everyone has their outlet in life, as you like to call it.

An outlet, to you, any activity you do that brings you a happiness high or gives you a sense of calamity. For some, it’s working out. The intensity and achievement of small goals gives a lot of people a shot of dopamine that becomes an addiction. For others, a creative outlet suits them best. Some people sew, draw, sing, do DIYs, and/or dance and use it as their escape from the stressors of life. Then there’s the rare few, that their outlet is their job.

For you, you’re lucky to say that you have been able to take your favorite thing in the entire world, art, and make a living off it. Never in your life did you think you’d be able to do such a thing, but after beginning to innocently post a few artworks on your art Instagram account your friends encouraged you to make, you began to grow.

It was a snowball effect, starting slow, but as soon as the bigger art accounts began to repost your drawings, it grew faster then you could ever imagine. Whimsical art was never your forte, but realism for you came naturally. You could draw anything; humans, nature, dogs, cats, buildings, etc, as easily as breathing air. Some people even began to call you an art prodigy, which you never truly believed.

Your favored medium? Anything that you can make art with. You go through phases, sometimes loving markers for quick art, topping them with colored pencils for details. Sometimes, especially for nature, you enjoy pastels, oil, and chalk, to get the beautiful blending of colors needed to successfully make the picture come alive. Your favorite, however, seems to be painting, specifically watercolor. As much as you love oil paints, there’s nothing like layering watercolors together, giving a gentle and soft finish, but also an imperfect look that seems to draw the whole piece together as one.

Most say you have the ability to make anything come alive; from highlights to lowlights, from perfecting skin colors and providing the correct background to make it all tie together. It’s a special gift of yours; being able to find whatever makes people’s eyes sparkle, and this is how you have your success as an artist. You have the ability to make your models look alive by putting them in a situation where they automatically feel the most lively, where you can see the natural glow coming off their skin. The sparkle in their eyes isn’t painted on, and the flush in their cheeks isn’t just the paint, but it’s the model, and artist, in the prime. People look better when you decide to paint them, it’s like magic, how everything comes together so perfectly on the canvas. It’s like you have an innate ability to make absolutely anything, beautiful. 

Now on a full-ride scholarship to your favored art school in LA, you’re living a dream. Most of your artworks for school, you sell for money, but in the summer, you take commissions and requests to keep your talent and extra money up. So, at the moment, you’re working on a gouache watercolor painting of Joel Pimentel, a request you recently got. You know the band he’s from, since you’ve been listening to them for quite a while, but never so much into it to learn their names.

When you got the request, you decided to do it out of other’s you’d received since, for some reason, you had an incredibly good feeling about it. Your intuition is usually fairly good and right, so you decided to paint the curly-haired boy, whose name you just learned. 

Finding the right picture seemed to take you longer than the drawing, but after searching his Instagram account, photographer’s accounts, and google images, you found the most candid photo you could find of him smiling, seeming to be in his element, and he is.

The picture was taken inside of what appears to be a recording studio, but that’s not going to matter anyway since you’re making the background a single color; blue ombré, light blue at the top to accentuate his hair, and then dark blue at the bottom. Painting him, however, would be done in black and white. You enjoy messing with colors in such a way, just to experiment and keep creativity flow up.

With the picture in front of you, you begin your sketch. For some reason, once you get the basic shapes of his face and body down, you always start with the eyes. Eyes are your favorite thing to sketch because they are so versatile. With a few highlights, you can make them look alive and glowy, and with a few more highlights and some shadings, tear-filled and irritated. To perfect them, that’s where you always start. Then you move up to the hair, and then down the rest of the body. 

When the basic outline is done, you already have pride in the drawing, excited to finish it. Painting it is your favorite part, and once you get a basic grey wash across the entire drawing, you start with, surprise, his eyes. Once you get down the basic color blocking, you begin to add details; small white highlights around the inner corner to make his eyes look extra radiant. From there, you work outwards, building shadows in his face and hair, then letting it dry while you start on the bottom half of his body. 

This is how you work, layer by layer, until the clock reads 3:11 A.M. and your eyes are shutting every few seconds, requiring you to jolt yourself awake. After cleaning up your art hands, which is what you call your hands after they’ve been covered with whatever medium(s) you’ve been using for the day (A/N: this is what I call my hands after I’ve made some art since they’re trashed lol) and you wash your face, you practically collapse in bed. 

Upon waking up the next morning with the brilliant sunlight of the morning lighting up your room, you groan at the light pounding of your head. It’s your own curse, you’re a perfectionist, and you absolutely cannot stop doing anything you’ve started until it’s completed. 

You pop a few Advil that you leave by your bed, gulping them down with some water before pulling back the covers, exposing your body to the AC. A hiss escapes your lips as the cold meets your body rather gently, brushing over your skin like a light kiss, yet leaving behind shivers and goosebumps in its wake. Quickly, you snatch your favorite hoodie you wear around the house, pulling it on your body, before letting your toes greet the chilly floor. 

After you freshen up in the bathroom, your feet pad against the floor towards the kitchen to get yourself a cup of coffee. While it brews, you head back to your art desk you keep by the window of your apartment, finding the painting of Joel staring back up at you. A gasp escapes your lips as you hold it up, heart-swelling at how good it turned out. Just as you take out your camera to take a photo of it, you can hear your Keurig spit out the last bit of your fresh cup of coffee.

Once you have mixed in enough cream and sweetener, you head back into the living room, setting the cup down on a coaster on your desk. From there, you pick up the painting, signing it quickly, before hanging it on the white wall of your apartment. After you set up some white lights, you snap a picture of it with your camera. 

While you work at your desk, you leave the painting on the wall for fear of spilling your coffee on it, yet you have no fear of it spilling on your computer. The realization of your art life makes you chuckle as you plug in your camera to your computer.

After a few quick edits, you send the photo to your phone before uploading it to Instagram and your story, making sure to tag Joel and CNCO to help with exposure. From there, you set down your phone and put away your computer, sipping on your coffee as you think about your next possible artwork. 

Once you’ve downed your first cup of coffee, you stand up, putting all your lights away and placing the painting of Joel in a portfolio case, before picking up your phone.

A gasp escapes your lips as you find your phone blowing up with notifications from Instagram, a few specific ones catching your eye.

cncomusic has uploaded your post to their story.

cncomusic has tagged you in a post.

cncomusic has mentioned you in a post.

joelpimentel has uploaded your post to their story.

joelpimentel  has tagged you in a post.

joelpimentel has mentioned you in a post.

joelpimentel wants to send you a message. 

Quickly, you open Instagram, reposting the notifications to your story as you squeal with excitement. Then, you head to your direct messages, accepting the request to allow him to message you.

joelpimentel: Hey! You’re drawing is so good, I love it so much and so does my mom. We were wondering if we can buy it off you if you’d be willing to sell it to us. Thanks so much! You’re really talented :)

Your jaw practically hits the floor as you stare bug-eyed at the message. Before your brain can even process it, your thumbs are typing.

artbyy/n: Hey! Thank you so much! I really appreciate it. Unfortunately, I won’t sell it to you, but I will send it free of charge :)

Almost immediately, you see he begins typing back.

joelpimentel: You’re welcome, anytime :). No, there’s no way I’m not paying for it! That had to take forever. My mom says she’s going to pay you.

artbyy/n: LOL it didn’t take me that long. The medium I used wasn’t my most expensive medium and it was a request, not a commission, so I don’t really mind. I mean you already reposted my art and tagged me in it on your account and on CNCO’s account, that’s payment enough. My follower count is skyrocking lol thank you!

joelpimentel: Fine, okay. You’re welcome lol. Do you want to ship it to me?

artbyy/n: Sure! I can get it in the mail today if you send me your address right now.

joelpimentel: Alright, here it is! Thanks again :)) My mom is really excited.

artbyy/n: LOL well, tell her I said thanks! And you’re welcome, anytime!

Quickly, you take one of those long yellow envelopes and write the address on it with a brush pen to add to the artsy vibe. Calligraphy is also something you do in your free time, just to take a break from art sometimes. Then, you take the artwork and slide it in between two pieces of cardboard inside the yellow envelope before sealing it off with a rubber stamp with your initials on it. 

After putting on a stamp and paying for shipping, you take your keys and slide on some shoes, before walking outside to find your mailbox. Unfortunately, all the mailboxes are on the first floor of your apartment building, so you hop on an elevator and take the ride all the way down.

Around ten minutes later, you find your way back into the apartment, locking the door and kicking off your shoes. You head back over to your phone, finding many new notifications from Instagram.

joelpimentel liked your photo.

joelpimentel liked your photo.

joelpimentel liked your photo.

joelpimentel liked your photo.

It goes on and on for many notifications making you giggle, and then you see there’s a new message from him.

joelpimentel: Your art is amazing holy crap is there anything you can’t draw? Sorry for bombing your phone my mom and I were looking LOL.

artbyy/n: LOL I tend to draw the same things over and over again, so probably haha. It’s totally okay! A celebrity is liking all of my pictures and you think I’M complaining? Also, hi mom lol.

joelpimentel: I think you’re wrong you could probably draw blind. LOL you still have a right to complain. She said hi and wants to know if you speak Spanish cause she saw some of your captions are in Spanish.

artbyy/n: I actually have drawn blind before! It’s a form of art called the blind contour line drawing! Lol yeah I do! I love speaking Spanish so much I would speak it over English if I could. I took classes in high school and now I’m getting a minor in it! Last year I went to Ecuador to study abroad and I just got back a few weeks ago. It feels weird to speak English lol.

joelpimentel: I know the feeling. When I travel with my band and speak Spanish all the time then flip languages it feels unnatural. That’s so awesome you learned it though! Not a lot of people speak it that weren’t raised in a Latin family. My mom says that’s really cool and wants to know how you liked Ecuador.

artbyy/n: Thanks! I know right. I love the language and culture. I just love languages and cultures in general though. Really I could sit and listen to someone tell me about their culture for hours. In my free time last year I started teaching myself Italian too just because languages are cool. 

artbyy/n: Ecuador is the most beautiful country I have ever been too. I cried like a baby when I left. Everyone was so nice there, including my host family. I miss my host mom so much :( she’s the light of my life lol.

joelpimentel: I love languages too! I try to learn a few words from every country I visit. The world is an incredibly cool place haha. I’m interested just like you are :). 

joelpimentel: Ecuador is amazing. One of my bandmates, Chris, is from Ecuador! He’d be so happy to hear you loved it. Aw, I’m sorry :( hopefully, you can visit soon.

The conversation goes on for hours like this, and you only realize when your stomach starts rumbling from lack of food. Really, you’re never on your phone, so it’s odd for you to sit, staring at a screen all day long. A smile has been plastered across your face the entirety of the conversation, and you can’t help but hope he keeps talking to you for a while. It seems you both have the same likes and dislikes, so the flow of conversation is some of the easiest you’ve ever had. 

The smile on your face lasts the rest of the day as you two happily text until it is time to go to bed. When he wishes you goodnight, you swoon, phone dropping onto your chest as you stare up at the ceiling grinning.

Oh boy, you’re in for some trouble.

———————————————————————————————————--

do we want a part two?

[onthefilmfrequency]

A few weekends ago my best friends and I went to the Andy Warhol museum. It was legitimately one of the best experiences I have ever had. My favorite part, I think (other than being with my friends) was watching Warhol's films. Both the ones with acting and the more candid ones.

Even when there was acting, the filming style was so genuine, authentic that i was mesmerized by each one. And it all glowed with imperfection - it wasnt edited and redone a million times like modern, popular movies are. I could feel a practically tangible sense of awe - the awe that Warhol felt about emotions and movement and dialogue and architecture and style - humanity. I felt so completely immersed in the realization that I can make something beautiful from how I experience the world, and especially that I am inherently beautiful, in part because of how I experience it.

I usually tell people I don't enjoy movies (ironic to say on this blog) because i always want to analyze them. I don't like watching movies I can't analyze. And recently I haven't really wanted to watch movies at all, not just because of that. Ever since we visited the Warhol museum, though, i have realized why many movies bother me. They're too perfect. They have that Hollywood filter on. So I have been hungry for films and documentaries like those. Ones that are so full of authenticity that it overflows into me.

Another thing I especially loved about Warhol's work is that he had plenty of films of and about the queer experience. He himself was queer and was a very involved member of the queer community while he was alive. And that was communicated so well in his work, i nearly died of appreciation.

We went to an indie art gallery in an upstairs apartment type place (i am not sure what to call it.. studio? It was rather large and had public type bathrooms installed and an emergency exit, but it felt like a kind of apartment) and it felt rather similar. A bunch of human beings, many of them being queer and neurodivergent people, being super authentic - and the art was kinda postmodern in some places. For example, there was a plain white, child sized mannequin without a head. It had a blonde wig where its neck should be. Around the navel (twas naked) in somewhat chickenscratch handwriting, it said, "dis my bely" and below, on the smooth spot where genitals would be, it said, "dis ma but." It was literally the funniest piece of art I have ever seen in my entire life.

Experiences like that make me super excited to go to college in the city - i will have an opportunity to be like that, completely authentic, and surround myself with like-minded people. Plus, i will have my best friends by my side. And I get to learn!!!!

@gothkoala69 @psychedelic-peacock i love u lol

[ellisfinejewelersnc]

Should I Throw away My Time period Dating an “Imperfect” Chap?

Should I Throw away My Time period Dating an “Imperfect” Chap?

30 minutes. That’s about how extensive you in general have to “get to know” a man previous to deciding to experience a cup of coffee and also date by using him. People meet on the internet, or in the local traditional bank, and that’s to sort it out.

But this individual seems imperfect. He’s clearly missing amongst your must-haves. Should you fantastically decline? Not surprisingly, you have almost no time to fritter away, right?

We all have a checklist, or at the very least a vision of the perfect guy. She’s probably hysterically funny, always interested in ones own happiness, overtly shows that people rock her world, along with shares a love with art, music, astronomy, etc . Oh, and I believe he’s higher than everyone.

When you have an opportunity to meet someone, but he or she sure is not going to seem like all those things, is it some waste of your energy?

One of a blog readers sent people an email wondering that question. I perceive forms of this particular so often, so I thought I will share some of our emails. Please read on if you learn of that the adult men you’re get together aren’t lifestyle up to ones standards.

Greetings Bobbi,

My partner and i answered a contact from a man on An abundance of Fish. com He met all a minimum necessities ie: your dog contacted first, nice, not too long or soft email, mentioned on my smile and what that showed involving my attributes. I ended up being impressed. I am about out by using him despite the fact he’s less tall when i like (he’s 5’7 as am As i and with any luck he’s not necessarily stretching that! ).

He or she wrote which https://datingstatus.com/fr/5-best-vegan-dating-sites-in-2020-find-your-ripe-tomato/ it seemed I actually was looking for special someone and not a “one night time stand. ” I responded by indicating he had been right on together with his assumptions. I told him if after that he’s still interested okay know along with I will allow him this number.

He replied he was even now interested along with I gave him this number, This individual didn’t call for about 5 days nonetheless sent people a message on the website just saying he ended up being sorry he or she didn’t telephone and rapidly as he or she got your breather coming from work he’d call. He or she finally called last night and we setup a meeting meant for Friday (for a drink) at 6: 45pm.

I understand it’s a meeting, nevertheless just have your skilled opinion: So i am not overly impressed he took too long to telephone. And she’s 42 along with I am fifty-one. Am I actually wasting your time?

Thanks so much,

Natalie

Hi Natalie:

In a word: NO . Age truly isn’t of which important. Life experience and additionally lifestyle usually are what usually end up checking.

I know a number of us have “rules” about grow old; but We encourage my own coaching purchasers to be opened about this. Mainly at your ages. My hubby is 10 years older than We. He had been out of your search range, but in this case I am, thrilled as a clam. (Thank rewards he did not care! )

Doesn’t this man realize your age? It obviously doesn’t bother your ex.

Don’t get much too stuck for a guy not really calling straightaway. For many of those, until people meet you they look they have no skin with the game. (Unlike us who are able to imagine by themselves married for a piece of paper. )

It’s pretty simple slide you aside due to the fact he is not going to even know you. It’s nothing related to you. And don’t think this measures your partner’s interest in any meaningful manner. How many people have shown terrific interest and next dumped ya like a popular potata? Thus don’t position much emphasis on this starting off part concerning the buy in which your dog meets most people. It’s when there is after that matters.

And, Natalie, I know most people didn’t ask, but Concerning a little more suggestions:

I want nothing at all of that “if you’re nevertheless interested” material! That is an item comes from ladies who is unimpressed and apologetic about looking for what this lady wants. You will be neither. (If you don’t feel like this now, trust us, if you get started in being aware of this, and take better attention of PEOPLE in the internet dating process, you might become a assured woman in dating. For now, fake this till everyone make it. )

Instead, I would have quite that you reacted with like: That’s a rather intuitive statement! Yes, that could be what I’m looking for. Expect you fit the bill! (This compliments him… in that case confidently informs him what you need for yourself. )

Natalie, the sole waste of energy is saying “no” to adult men because of shallow criteria and also prejudging. You should face this: very few of united states who are “well over 40” and online dating have many hundreds men available. We should get hold of our opportunities and see where we can get them.

Each and every date is often a chance to see love, or simply at least a sexy companion. At minimum it’s a chance to put into practice so you can get nearer to it. My partner and i encourage you to ultimately:

Revisit ones list in addition to decide that which you truly really need and if what you are looking is realistic. If you want a extensive head of hair, in addition to you’re internet dating 60 year olds… good luck with that! Notebook decreased ones own chances of getting “your perfect man” by way of about 70%. (A estimate. ) Remember that you know very little around these fellas you are meeting, so becoming flexible with all your judgments definitely will serve you properly. Spend more time with them – get which first and maybe the second date – and then start examining him vs your (newly created) directory. Great job and a massive atta woman for attempt to getting out generally there and doing work toward a person’s dating along with relationship targets. Remember to enjoy, and that kindness and rational thought can be your best friends.

I actually encourage that you keep reading a blog, and reach out plainly can further more support you as a result of with amongst my instructing programs.

Let me know how it goes!

You might have my love and support,

Bobbi

Greetings Bobbi,

With thanks for getting oh no- me which means that quickly. I DO appreciate your input. Sometimes I feel like a 15 365 days old going out on a meeting!

Your suggestions and assistance makes people feel like I’ve got my own exclusive teacher together with cheerleader. That could be exactly what I want to be able to get available feeling which confidence together with going for this!

Thank you, from the bottom from my middle,

Natalie

[daveywankenobie]

OK

I will get the obvious out of the way.

I’m NOT feeling down.

There’s not a single fibre of my being that’s blue, malcontent, irritable, sad, annoyed, dissatisfied or irascible.

I have my mojo back and I’m workin it baby!

Part of my mood is (as always) attributable to a calming (and creative) nearby presence, who – while I write – is creating her own unique little pieces of art and beavering away with pliers and metal next to me.

It’s not at all unusual to see these little ‘jump rings’ floating around the house (occasionally the hoover finds more than it’s fair share) and in a radical departure from how things used to be I now find that I live in a world where (for the very first time in my life) I’m considering and appreciating the aesthetic merits of all kinds of jewellery.

This used to be something I wasn’t particularly keen on.

I have always viewed people (male or female) that were dripping in jewellery as materialistic. I didn’t understand why they needed such (usually golden) things, and for the longest time (mostly because I wanted simplicity but also because I had fat sweaty wrists) I never even wore a watch.

When I make the first tentative attempts to connect with my other half and we began to learn more about eachother I shared my thoughts on such matters.

She replied outright that she had a weakness for jewellery.

My honest thought at the time was ‘uh-oh… I hope she’s not high maintenance…’ but it turned out that nothing could be further from the truth – unless that is you count the endless cups of tea required to keep her running smoothly.

What I didn’t realise at the time was that she made a large amount of the jewellery that she wore herself – and what she didn’t construct with her numerous tools and materials was usually purchased frugally from very individual and bespoke suppliers.

I realised very quickly when we became closer that the items she owned were pretty much never made of precious metals or set with rare stones (many are constructed with  things like Lego!) but each and every item reflected her unique personality and tastes.

Tonight, while I’ve been creating this post she created this chain mail bracelet – and it just blows me away that I have such a quirky and inventive little soul next to me whenever I need cheering up.

I can’t just expect her to deliver my good mood whilst I give nothing in return though.

At times this can be hard and I feel like I’ve struggled a bit in the last few weeks. I’ve had to lean into my partner and other people more than I normally would (which is a natural part of life) but this week I finally feel like I’m making headway again.

As I’ve mentioned in my last few blogs my mindset recently has been a carefully cultivated one that’s taken a lot of effort to turn into something that is once again positive.

After burying my head in the metaphorical sand for a while and packing a good few pounds back on in the process I decided that the only way to tackle the issue I’d created was head on.

I needed to work hard, try at all times to be a ‘can do’ person and follow the Slimming World plan, which for me means no longer giving myself free reign to eat like an idiot.

It also means moving my arse more because not doing so has been a big contributor to my weight gain recently.

So in an effort to change I’ve explored all around Warwickshire this week, and in doing so discovered that despite the cold and grim weather there are still many flashes of colour or interest to be found when you’re out and about.

For a start there are mushroom rings everywhere!

I love that there’s always something new to find when you’re out walking. The natural world changes all the time – and the only thing I never seem to find when I’m outside in it is boredom.

It’s not just the natural world that holds joy and interest mind you.

Getting out and about regardless of where you go is good for the soul because there’s life of many different kinds of life to be found everywhere and lots of people to talk to or just watch as they pass by.

On Friday I walked into Coventry Market with a friend and we spent a while combing through the fruit and veg stalls where the variety and quality of produce puts most supermarkets to shame.

Around one third of these items are completely alien to me. I’ve never cooked with them, and I wouldn’t know where to begin in some cases (particularly with the bitter melon) but I love that we live in such a culturally diverse society that all of the Chinese, Indian and English sellers that were in the market have space for their wares and ALL of them seemed to have a bustling, diverse and above all engaged clientele.

There’s life inside that run down looking building that you can’t find in a supermarket.

Within its walls you can interact with, touch, smell, feel and examine items that aren’t everyday objects – or at least they aren’t to me.

In this environment my childhood returns to me – because a greengrocer was (back then) a daily reality in which potatoes were covered in dirt, cucumbers curled like springs and apples were different shapes colours, tastes and sizes.

Fruits and vegetables had bumps, knobbles and imperfections which I loved and shopping back then didn’t require removal of leaves and mud.

You got to see the way that items looked when they’d been pulled out of the ground – without them being sanitised and shoved in clear plastic to put under 24×7 spotlights.

I absolutely love the naturalness of this scruffy little place – and I can’t believe that until six months ago I’d never ever been there before.

If you haven’t visited yourself then leave your car (or bus) at War Memorial Park and take a walk into town (it’s only a mile away – you can do it!). If you have an Ikea Family card then you can also get a free tea or coffee in their nearby cafe.

If you don’t purchase anything you still get a cheap day out and some exercise – which I’ll admit was the main reason for this discovery in the first place.

This brings me neatly onto my next topic – because If you’re not in calorie deficit and moving about as much as possible then you won’t lose weight.

In my Apple Watch stats I haven’t failed to hit all of my daily exercise goals for over two years – but during the last few months I’ve gradually done a little less every day and eaten either the same amount or more.

My life is a pretty fine balance due to my reliance on rather large portion sizes, and I’ve had to accept recently that I simply cannot get away with eating huge volumes of (very good non processed and natural) free food without then immediately burning it off.

The truth is that although my stats look good they have to be viewed with a bit more of an inquisitive eye.

My walking distance is great – and it’s remained constant throughout the year (now I swim as well) at about eight miles a day.

My average swimming distance shows that I do around 50 continuous lengths of the pool each time I swim, meaning I have great stamina. However what it doesn’t show in this average is that last month I went swimming less times in October than since I started in November 2018.

Bad Davey.

The stats that really can’t lie – and highlight the dip in the number of times I’ve swum are my active energy ones (kcal expended through movement above normal ‘just living and breathing’ levels) and my exercise minutes.

Whilst they’re probably higher than a lot of people’s daily burn they have (by my standards) tailed off lately, and in August (shortly after I handed over to the new MOTY) they pretty much said ‘enough of this sh*t – I’m staying on the sofa.’

As you can see in November I’ve begun to address this – and after a slow start to the month I’m once again cooking on gas. Since weighing in last Saturday I’ve managed to walk 80+ miles and swum 7.5km.

After taking a 12lb gain on the chin last weekend I had two choices – sort it out with activity and a positive mindset or deal with it by burying my face in the fridge.

I’ve therefore been very active and very outdoorsy.

I’ve also cooked every large, hearty meal from scratch and prepared the breakfasts, lunches and dinners for myself and my other half each day (I just love cooking for us both) with feeling satisfied and full in mind.

There have been no complaints from her – and looking back at some of the week’s pictures I think you’ll agree we’ve not gone hungry!

It’s fair to say though that in between these shots an awful lot of plums and carrots also died to service our needs to snack between meals.

There were also some more serious transgressions involved though – and on Thursday I hoovered up 200g of sweet popcorn in one very flexible evening that equalled 44 syns. I refuse to feel guily though. I really enjoyed it – and after some epic exercise genuinely felt I deserved a treat.

I felt absolutely zero guilt.

Neither of us has.

We’ve instead had a pact that’s revolved around promising eacother that we’d focus on our individual sabotaging behaviours and do our level best to support eachothers’ success – which we have.

My partner’s weaknesses and mine are quite different – but we’re the same in that (like most people) we fall down in times of stress or worry. Although it’s been tough for both of us to turn things around it’s also been really empowering to take our bulls by their horns and wrestle them to the floor.

This week – thanks to our individual commitments (and efforts with walking and swimming which have been mutually engaged in as much as possible) this has resulted in huge strides.

We both had big losses on the scales this morning and for the first time in a while since I got my new Slimming World book (which frankly looks like a complete mess to me with its gains and losses) I feel really proud of myself.

This morning I smashed out a 9.5lb loss!

Now – I don’t for a minute think that this is sustainable and I’m sure that at least half of this is fluid rather than fat. I know this because I can feel the bloat and swell when I’m not eating right.

If I change my habits then I pee like a racehorse for a day or two and then I’m magically a few pounds lighter. It’s only after the first couple of days that the real weight loss starts. With this in mind I’ve probably lost about 4-5lbs in real terms.

This is still a fabulous weight loss – but I’m not naive enough to think I’ll get this figure regularly.

I’ve been doing this too long now and I know my body.

When Angie asked my how much I wanted to lose by next week my reply was simply ‘a loss’, because to lose lose two weeks in a row with an initial spurt like that is no easy task and I don’t want to set myself up for a fall.

I don’t want to put anything on or maintain – just a loss is enough for me.

So that’s it.

The result of hard work.

Now to do it over and over again every week until I get back to target!!!!

Davey

Got my mojo back baby! OK I will get the obvious out of the way. I'm NOT feeling down. There's not a single fibre of my being that's blue, malcontent, irritable, sad, annoyed, dissatisfied or irascible.

[theragamuffininitiative]

Christian Films and Misc Rambling Thoughts on the Subject that Might or Might Not be Actually Connected

@cogentranting​ At some point, years from now, when all else is turned to dust and the sun has set for the last time, a post for this reply, stating I will reply in a longer fashion later (which would actually be now) shall appear. I will likely delete it out of pure spite. Stupid mobile app uploads.

I haven’t seen God’s Not Dead. Or God’s Not Dead 2. I should. Not because I just want to, or because It Is The Inspired Word Of Our Lord™ (hahahah it’s not guys, ok), but because of my overall interest an involvement in the world of film. I should be informed.

Also, I appreciate the sarcasm. XD I hope that was sarcasm or now I look really stupid but you’re going to get an earful either way, so it works out.

So let’s get to it:

I hate the Christian Film Industry™

Whew. There. I said it. Pray for my salvation.

Why? So, soooo many reasons.

1. The Sacrifice of Art in the Name of ‘Message.’

I, for one, want to know why the Christian church is constantly smashing down on the creative outputs of their members for not being enough about God, or published by Thomas Nelson, or advocated by Willie Roberts. Why. We would rather squelch the heartfelt, beautiful, God-given art produced by our brothers and sisters for not showing a clear Conversion Experience rather than be amazed at the ability God has allowed us to have to make such fantastic, whimsical, thought-provoking, emotionally-resonant things.

This is point number one because it. is. my. biggest. issue.

“Message films are rarely exciting. So by their very nature, most Christian films aren’t going to be very good because they have to fall within certain message-based parameters. And because the Christian audience is so glad to get a “safe, redeeming, faith-based message,” even at the expense of great art, they don’t demand higher artistic standards.” ~ Dallas Jenkins, movie reviewer and director of The Resurrection of Gavin Stone??? (Imma have to check back with you later on this, but the quote still stands on its own.)

“We have the makings of a movement that can change this culture. I honestly believe this. But I also believe the first step toward establishing the groundwork for a vibrant, relevant cultural movement based on scriptural thought is to stop producing “Christian films” or “Christian music” or “Christian art” and simply have Christ-followers who create great Art.” ~ Scott Nehring, in his book You Are What You See: Watching Movies Through a Christian Lens.

“If we are trying to evangelize, the fact that most Christian-themed movies are torn to shreds by non-Christian critics becomes an issue. If, however, we just really want to see our fantasies validated on screen, then we will write-off these poor reviews as “persecution.”” ~ Andrew Barber, in his article “The Problem with Christian Films.”

On a similar note, I want to know what the Mormon church is doing that the Christian church is not. Every time I turn around, I discover that another of my favorite artists, whether it be in film or elsewhere, is a professing Mormon:

musicians Imagine Dragons, the Killers, and Lindsey Stirling

authors Brandon Sanderson, Shannon Hale, Heather Dixon, and Brandon Mull

animator Don Bluth

actress Amy Adams and actor Will Swenson (both formerly)

etc, the list goes on

Hi, my Mormon friends. What is your secret. What ways of encouraging art and artists do you employ that my Baptist upbringing, and the Conservative Christian community in general, is so sorely lacking in?

2. The Christian Culture’s Subsequent Villainization of Hollywood.

This past Christmas, my sister gifted me a book titled Behind the Screen, “Hollywood Insiders on Faith, Film, and Culture.”

I sat down after all the gift-giving was done and read the first three sections before the holiday meal was served. But let me quote from the introduction which had me “Amen!”-ing and punching my fist to the sky every third word:

“We obsess about “the culture” endlessly; we analyze and criticize. But we can’t figure out anything to do but point an accusatory finger at Hollywood... Blaming Hollywood for our cultural woes has become a habit... Casting Hollywood as the enemy has only pushed Hollywood farther away. And the farther Hollywood is from us, the less influence we have on our culture. We’ve left the business of defining human experience via the mass media to people with a secular worldview.... In pushing away secular Hollywood, haven’t we turned our backs on the very people Christ called us to minister to - the searching and the desperate, those without the gospel’s saving grace and truth?”

Btw, if this subject is something you are interested in, I highly recommend this book. Written by creatives and executives in the film world (including one of the writers from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the producer of Home Improvement, and even the multi-credited Ralph Winters, among others), it’s a frank, beautiful, and challenging read for artists, Christians, and film buffs.

The point here is that the church culture says if it doesn’t come from Sherwood, or have Kirk Cameron or Ducky Dynasty in it, or have a conversion sequence, it isn’t Christian and therefore Christians should not view or encourage it in any way. This. Is. Crap. Pardon my French.

Beauty can come from imperfection.  Even unregenerate hearts still bear the image of the Divine and are capable of producing so much worthwhile and significant art. Which leads to...

3. Guess What? Secular Film Companies Make Quality Faith Films Too??!

Idk what I should even say here, but I’m just going to go with the one shining example I always think of: Dreamworks’ Prince of Egypt. It is purely a work of art from any standard, and that is the epitome of what Christians should be looking for in their endeavors to create good film. PoE is gorgeously animated, seamlessly directed, well-scripted, morally driven, more Biblically and historically accurate than you would believe (and where it falls down on direct representation, it remains true to theme and character), etc. etc. etc.

I could go on for ages about how much I adore this film. (Joseph, King of Dreams, is also noteworthy, but nearly up to par with the craftsmanship of its predecessor.

I mean

just look at

the art

4. I Do Like Some Films Made By ‘Christian’ Companies

Idk, I might step on people’s toes or surprise you by which of these I actually approve of, but here we go:

I like Fireproof. I have many issues with it, but overall it is a fairly well-made, Hallmark-style emotional flick. The acting leaves much to be desired, but it’s a decent bit of showmanship, story, and truth.

I do not like Facing the Giants. Give me Blind Side any day of the week, except don’t because... sports.

However, both Courageous (some actual real life dialogue and not a completely happily ever after, whaaaat???! Oh, but token conversion experience, of course), and the early-and-forgotten Flywheel (which, although low in camera quality and acting, is actually an enjoyable story), come in as films I would sit down and watch at least a second time.

Risen is well-made and acted and has some establishment of genuine Craft. However, as far as story plots go, a lot was sacrificed. The mountain-top encounter with Christ was, while perhaps the most generally cliche piece of story, to me the most heartfelt and provocative. After that...the film kind of ended in mediocrity. Like...what did the characters do after the credits rolled.

I actually really enjoy Mom’s Night Out. The manic theme almost kills me, but the quiet and the reveal at the end is worth sitting through to see.

And I appreciate Luther. I don’t watch it often, because I personally can’t stomach the more violent aspects (the reason I haven’t/don’t watch The Passion or End of the Spear.) But Luther is a great biographical film, and I would encourage anyone studying Catholic and/or Protestant history, especially Martin Luther, to watch it. This is a Film in both art, message, and class.

Tbh, I’ve been avoiding most of the other Christian films, which is why I won’t talk about them there.

5. You Don’t Have To Slap A Jesus Fish Bumper Sticker On It To Be Christ-Honoring

Walden Media is a prime example, I believe, of what Christians in the film industry should be doing. I mean, they’re not perfect at all, but they are not sacrificing art for message - or vice versa for that matter. While not strictly a Christian Film group, Walden is founded and run by a majority of Christian Conservatives who are actively seeking to make quality and wholesome films for people of all diversities. They’ve had a few flops and several more that just didn’t quite live up to their potential, but they also brought us

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, as well as

Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, and the one I will never stop talking about:

Amazing Grace.

Well-crafted films, put out by *gasp* an assortment of believers and non-believers. Art. Good films. Not Messages dressed up in makeup with a classy Instagram filter and a 30-day challange booklet to get your revival outfit on.

In looking through this stuff, I just found this article, which is a superb read and really gets at the heart of what I feel, and am very badly trying to communicate:

Why Faith-Based Films Hurt Religion

So.

When Christian Films start being an actual representation of creative community and the artistic talents God has given to us as personal and spiritual gifts, rather than a cheap way to try to force morality on Hollywood and on our neighbors without ever leaving the confines of our Bible Boxes in case we might get soiled, I may start appreciating the Christian Film Industry™. Until then??? I’ll stand behind my fellow creatives and my fellow believers and hope and work for the best.

Lastly, two things:

Christians Can Enjoy Secular Film Productions.

I would even argue that they should. We were created by a Creator God, who takes pride and joy in making beautiful things, in making each of us. And we are made in His image. We are creators as well, we make art all the time. Scripture tells us to worship God in everything we do. The movement of making “Christian Films for Christian Audiences because of Christian Reasons” is missing the point entirely. We as creatives are not here to make God Art, we are here to make art that glorifies God

Christ Does Not Need Hollywood. However, Hollywood Does Need Christ.

“While many missionaries travel to remote villages in Africa or South America to spread Christianity, [Karen] Covell believes her calling—her mission field, if you will—is right here in Los Angeles, in an industry that many of her fellow Christians find immoral or even downright sinful, both for its on-screen depictions of sex and drugs and the real-life sex, drugs, and other temptations that exist behind the scenes. Covell, who was a film producer in the early 1980s, says "the church did not get how I could justify being a Christian in Hollywood, and Hollywood did not get how I would follow God. It was a divide." It was nearly impossible to meet other Christians working in the industry, let alone ones who would express their faith openly. "I said, 'The church hates Hollywood, Hollywood hates the church. There's got to be some way to bridge that divide.'" - in an article by Jennifer Swan.

As I said in my original little “about me” tag response, I have felt called to ministry in this world. Whether it be film or live theater, that world is calling to me, both in its creative endeavors, and in its desperate need for the hope, truth, life, and light of Christ. Actors and directors in Hollywood and on Broadway are in as much need of the grace of our Lord as the starving orphans in the unreached people groups on the other side of the planet - same as your next door neighbor.

If Christians continue to tie themselves down, and group themselves together, cutting themselves off from the culture and the culture off from them, then we are doing absolutely no heavenly or earthly good to anyone.

So, you see, it’s not just the artistry (or, so often, lack thereof) in the Christian Film Industry™ that gets to me.

It’s the fact that the film media culture is a people group that the church as a whole is ignoring. We are ignoring the impact Hollywood has on the world around us and still trying to be relevant to that world, which is counter-productive and just plain silly.

It’s the fact that I see actors, actresses, producers, writers, who are obviously searching for the Something that will fill the void in their souls, and their primary exposure to Christianity and Christ - the only One who can satisfy them - is the Christian Film Industry™, which is largely full of broad and meaningless substance because heaven help us we should talk about something real, and then just plain bad art.

I believe God has called us to higher things than this.

Higher art, loving to create as he lovingly created us.

High impact, going deeper into the issues of our culture and our nature to address and satisfy problems and needs felt be every human, not just the church-goers who will show up for Sherwood’s next big thing.

So, yes, my pet peeve cracked from its proverbial nutshell:

I have issues with the Christian Film Industry

[mebell01]

Sanna Annukka

Growing up, British printmaker and textile designer Sanna Annukka would spend summers in Finland with her grandmother. While there she spent plenty of time outdoors. Sanna points back to these experiences as the main inspiration for her work. She is particularly drawn to culture and art of the indigenous Sami people of Lapland, an area encompassing the far north areas of Scandinavia. The patterns and mythology of other cultures around the world also make it into her designs (“About Sanna”).

Inn 1983, Sanna was born in Brighton, England. She studied illustration at the University of Brighton. The band Keane discovered her prints in a London shop and contacted her to do their album artwork. After this success, she joined the Marimekko team of designers where her work is sold as various housewares and prints. Along with Marimekko she takes on other clients and also has her own online store (“Sanna Annukka”). Despite the subject matter being nature, Sunna’s designs are generally geometric and pattern-heavy. In describing her own work, she says “My style is all about pattern. Simple, bold and folkloric” (Annukka).

“Sunset” is a screenprint. It features a thin rectangle with triangles and angular shapes that follow the edge of the rectangle, all leading up to the top of the print that has a white circle, indicating a sun. Although the patterns are geometric, there are curvilinear shapes as as well, representing hills, waves or another kind of landscape. At the bottom of the print are small triangle and circles, adding texture and detail. The colors are maroon, orange and a gold. White breaks up these colors and leads the eye back up to the sun. Overall, it is a successful, interesting design. The viewer immediately looks at the white circle at the top, then the two white curvilinear shapes directly below start the journey down to the bottom. It was a wise choice to leave the maroon area behind the sun a flat color rather than add more pattern, as it adds drama and a place to rest. My critique of this design is that the viewer isn’t sure what the area below the sun is. While I appreciate the abstraction, Sanna’s other work is a little more clear. The colors are also subdued. I think the gold could be a brighter, warmer yellow. Although the piece is entitled “Sunset,” it feels very cold. Arguably, she could be depicting the cold Arctic landscape she often does in her work, but the color choices are still dull.

“The Fir Tree” is a fairy tale written in 1845 by Danish author/poet Hans Christian Anderson. The story tells about a fir tree unable to appreciate living in the moment and always wishing for bigger and better things until it is too late (“The Fir Tree”). Sanna illustrated this entire book but unfortunately I could only find the cover artwork. The hardcover book is a solid bright green. A large and small tree stand side by side, each made out of a dark green triangle pattern. Gold foil triangles are mixed into the pattern as well, along with negative space shaped like birds’ heads. To the top right of the two trees is a gold foil sun, made out of triangles arranged around the center of the circle. The smaller tree has tiny dots making stripes horizontally along its length. The design as a whole has a limited color palette. The lighter, bright green and the dark green emphasize the story being about a fir tree, even before you read the story. The gold adds a grand, festive feel which is appropriate for a very old fairy tale. The use of any more color or anything other than green would be ineffective. Considering the brightness of the green, other colors would vibrate and clash. The gold is striking, even in its limited use as a third accent color. The sun does not have anything to do with the story but it adds another compositional element and the cover would be empty without it. The font choice for the title has interesting thick and thins that serve as a nice base to the tree illustrations, negating the need for tree trunks or a horizon line. The thin, small caps text of the author and illustrator’s name’s does not take away from the rest of the illustration or the title and was an appropriate choice. Overall, the design of the book cover is successful, with appropriate color and composition choices considering the subject matter of the story.

The album art for the British band’s “Under the Iron Sea” album kickstarted Sanna’s career. Years ago when I saw this album artwork and knew nothing about the band I was drawn to it because of the swirling, organic shapes of the sea monsters/horses and their bodies playing off the shapes of the waves. The cool ocean colors work well. The very dark blue, almost a black, represent an angry and stormy sea effectively. The smallest sea monster with its teals and greens give the entire design depth, as the larger the monsters get the darker the colors and the darker monsters are in the back. This particular creature is also closest to the front and breaks up the large, overbearing shapes of the rest of the creatures, preventing them from becoming one large blob. Three of the dark monsters have red eyes, which are distracting and my least favorite part of the design. The red, although very small parts, is still too much. It would be interesting to see the eyes be the teal or green of the smallest sea monster, which would draw the eye around the design more. The white dots for the other monsters’ eyes are repeated in the bubbles and foam of the waves. There needs to be another cluster of these dots in the bottom middle or bottom right to break up the waves a bit more. The patterning on the monsters helps make up for this. The inside sleeve of the album has an interesting pattern with the turtle/fish creatures and the missile shapes. The pattern is disconnected from the subject matter of the album cover at first glance. However, the design in the center of the record works well and connects these two elements. The viewer can imagine the fish/missiles coming from the sky and disrupting the more uniform wave pattern on the front cover and turning it into the chaos on the record itself.

“Kultakero” is a textile design created by Sanna Annukka for the Marimekko site. It features rolling magenta and red hills with the silhouettes of fir trees against a deep plum background. A gold, orange and plum stripe pattern that reflect the shape of the hills break up the dark colors. A horizontal uneven stripe pattern also breaks up the space and adds texture and interest. The horizontal stripes add contrast to the triangle-shaped fir trees. Although there is a lot of pattern and detail going on in the piece, the dark plum adds a sense of calm. As seen in her other work, Sanna doesn’t let the use of pattern make her designs cold and stiff. The imperfections in the lines and shapes give it life and add to its handmade quality, even though it is a mass-produced fabric in this case. Looking closely, each cluster of horizontal stripes is different from one another. However, the small dot pattern, gold stripes and the trees are exactly the same throughout the design. This piece would be more successful if all the elements were slightly different, like the horizontal stripe motif, and had variations instead of being exact copies.

“Nomadimaa” or “Nomad Land” is a two-color print that utilizes negative space as well as detailed patterning dark, solid shapes. The sun in the top left corner and a few hatched stripes below it is the only orange (and color besides black for that matter) in the entire design. Any other use of color, even the orange, would make break the solid composition of the piece and add confusion. While the compact design is a lot to take in at first, the more time you spend looking the more you will see the patterns and the negative space surrounding make up animals such as the horses and birds. The small trees in the top right make a horizon line with the activities of the wildlife taking place below. The small, thin hatching adds a great deal of texture, but the solid black shapes keep it from taking over. Sanna is a master of utilizing great deals of detail and texture without hindering legibility of the scene, and it is prevalent in this piece. The shapes and patterns have a combination of sharp and curved edges. The curved lines such as the horses’ necks repeat the shape of the sun throughout. This piece is successful because again, Sanna uses pattern but adds imperfections to keep it looking handmade and human. What could be a chaotic and confusing piece is expertly organized into a successful composition because of Sanna’s placement of pattern and shape.

Sanna Annukka’s illustrations are works of art on their own but also work well when applied to textiles and housewares. In each design, Sanna brings the landscape and culture of Finland and combines it with carefully-considered detail and patterning as well as interesting color palette to add life and uniqueness to any application.

Works Cited

"About Sanna." Sanna Annukka. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Apr. 2017. < https://www.sanna-annukka.com/pages/about-us>

"Sanna Annukka." Finnish Design. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Apr. 2017. <http://finnishdesign.com/sanna-annukka/>

Annukka, Sanna. Interview with Catherine Lazure-Guinard. Nordic Design. Nordic Design, 2011. Web. 9 Apr. 2017. <http://nordicdesign.ca/profile-sanna-annukka/>.

"The Fir Tree." Hans Christian Andersen: The Fir Tree. Zvi Har'El, 13 Dec. 2007. Web. 10 Apr. 2017. <http://hca.gilead.org.il/fir_tree.html>.

[intergalactic-nimrod]

Finished Breath of the Wild today (Spoiler Free)

First off, I’m not much of a gamer. Mum never let me get a console when I was a kid, so I never got to get into them. I always knew though that eventually when I would get a console it would be a Nintendo one. Nintendo is the root of video games as they are today, and their main line IP’s have always really resonated with me. So, I preordered a Switch launch day, fully aware it would have problems and a limited selection of launch games, but I wanted to support a game company that still sought to innovate with how people play games, rather than pushing an ultimately futile graphics barrier. There’s only so high of a resolution that the human eye can see, and no matter how realistic you try to make a game it simply will not hold up in time, whereas games with more artistic styles have much greater life spans.

My expectations for Breath of the Wild were sky high. Again, I’m not much of a gamer, especially because of my restrictive budget, but it just looked exciting and fun. I had watched playthroughs of the other Zelda games and loved the general world and culture of the series, and gained a huge appreciation of its history. I loved seeing Breath of the Wild trying to break away from conventions and both defy and redefine what a Zelda game could be. I thought it would make an excellent introduction for me into console gaming, and I just fell for the emotional tone of the trailers.

So here I am, having finished the game 13 days after its release, and I have to say, it was good, but it was NOT a 10/10 game. In fact it was great, it was ambitious, it was almost as perfect as I could’ve asked for it to be in a lot of parts, but this is not the end of the Zelda franchise, with no place for it to go from here.

I enjoyed my Zelda experience immensely. I found myself smiling and giggling throughout parts of it, and I find it hard to feel emotions these days through art and entertainment after being exposed to it my whole life. I felt pure and honest joy through most of it. The game play was always fun and clean, and there were few things I would change mechanically.

The flaws with the game come not out of its mechanics, but out of its philosophy, which paradoxically is also the thing that is so amazing about it. The world is open, it’s free, and you can easily get lost in it, but it’s a happy feeling of being lost. At the same time though, there is the story and general motion/pace to the game that flows nicely and can guide the player, or let them break away from it. The problem with this though, is that at times it can be too much... and I know this is where I may lose some, but after I had finished the story (exempting final boss), about 100 of the shrines, found all the memories, beat all the dungeons, and completed my map of Hyrule, I suddenly found myself bored. VERY bored.

The greatest experience of BotW is that Hyrule itself is a character. Each tower was a checkpoint, but also a step forward as it opened up more of the world to explore. When I first left the Great Plateau and went out into the world, it was wild, open freedom and discovery. As I went on, I would find shrines to serve as mini checkpoints, and that’s the brilliance of the game. You can get lost, but you only get lost exploring. As you open up the map, you see things you didn’t see before, and the shrines serve as stations to teleport you around and get you closer to interesting things. They help you fill out the spaces in the world, and whereas at first I was just a kid named Link, running about, I slowly found myself literally conquering Hyrule. I was going about, enthralled by the story, and mastering shrines, becoming stronger, and facing the wild. It’s an excellent formula: the confusion and wonder of stepping into the unknown, the curve and quest to survive and thrive, pulling the content and rising above its challenges, and then besting it, becoming its master as you teleport around, filling in the gaps of your understanding of the area.

But when all was said and done, I had conquered Hyrule, and suddenly there was nothing to do. The last shrines I missed were a drag to find tucked away amidst the huge map that I had already conquered at 97%, and that last 3% felt like it wouldn’t have been worth it without story to keep my trajectory going forward. There was one last thing really worth doing: Ganon, the biggest, baddest, overhanging quest and priority. I ended up looking up walkthroughs to find and get the last shrines, just because I wanted the final reward and to max myself out for the final challenge.

I thought about finding all the Koroks, but after my entire time playing the game I only found 171 out of NINE HUNDRED. Definitely not worth it. I tried maxing out my armors, but soon found that to be boring, as it was mostly just trying to tediously gather hard to get materials.

I had conquered Hyrule, gone over it a ton of times, and there just wasn’t enough tucked into every percent and square inch of the game to drive me to go beyond the story too much. In fact, that’s another criticism: I love the story for what’s there, but I wish there was more for such a larger game, OR I wish the game and world was smaller to balance out the actual scope of what the story does. It’s very simple, and though it is perfectly done for what is there, the world is too big and its spirit gets stretched thin.

Hyrule is enormous, and that becomes a problem when you start seeing the same towers and art styles and patterns everywhere. I started noticing how geometric a lot of the terrain was, and the imperfections of the world and graphics as I constantly went back over. The world, for as big and fun as it is begins to lose some of its face that it desperately needs its story for. Some things just look and feel too samey, like certain parts were just copy-pasted about. Eventually a lot of shrines were just combat trials to fill in the gaps and most Korok puzzles felt the same. I lost the drive to look around for secrets because I knew they were always going to be the same thing, whether it be a chest with rupees or some weapon I’ve seen a hundred times.

The only mechanical problem with the game was the now infamous glass weapons, which is a criticism I agree with- to a limited extent. I was constantly having new and powerful weapons being thrown at me as I went around, so having plentiful weapons helped to easily balance how quickly they broke, but the constant fear of a weapon I liked or was saving breaking or having to be tossed out of my limited inventory lingered over every battle, and I just wished they would have higher durability so I could experiment more and find a style or set of weapons that worked and made combat situations like a puzzle in themselves, with me having a versatile strategy which I could employ to fit the context of the battle. It makes the player become more skilled and trained with the combat system, but instead I found myself stocking up on high powered weapons and just wailing on enemies until they broke, just to bring out the next disposable weapon and continue the same. It didn’t completely not work, but it felt counter intuitive to the brilliant and challenging philosophy the game had set up about choice, but also choice with the limits of strategy and thinking. You COULD run into a battle stupidly and just go swinging wildly, but it would be more EFFECTIVE and BENEFICIAL to the player to go about things carefully and with thought. Unfortunately, the brittle weapons undermine this idea, and throw a spike into the squeaky clean design of the battle system.

My favorite thing about this game by far though, was its philosophy. In every piece of media, there is the concept and then the execution. Breath of the Wild is an excellent idea, with just a few missteps in execution that I’ve already mentioned that undermine its philosophy. However, don’t let that take away from how brilliant most of it is conceptually and doesn’t belittle the player. It perfectly understands what Zelda games were, what they should be, and did an extremely admiral job of nearly getting there. It’s a game that’s clearly designed and aware of what it wanted to be, unlike lots of other modern games. You could execute the most perfectly polished and well put together turd in history, but it’s still a turd. Breath of the Wild is quite the opposite, though its imperfections in execution are not nearly so horrible as could be eluded from such an absolute analogy.

The best thing that Breath of the Wild could have done is perfect its philosophy, and that much is very clear. The name of the title is The Legend of ZELDA. This is not a game about Link. Zelda is made the most complex and likeable character in this game, and your quest is to go out and remember her, to regain the past that was her, and restore her future. I wish Link were a little less stilted, as in a little more expressive (in cut scenes I mean), but the game clearly understands what Zelda was about in its first inception. Zelda is your ultimate quest, your ultimate goal. SHE is the legend and the core of the game, and so long as I was going after saving her, the game was amazing.

[Very mild spoilers from here on out, but nothing major at all. I’m still keeping things very vague] The final boss fight of the game was good, but almost underwhelming, and it made me wish Ganon had been somewhat of a character, rather than just a force. It would rhyme well with Zelda, as the calamity was the source of her pains and her need to fulfill her duty (and her inability to do so). Making Ganon an actual character again would’ve embodied this force into something more human and relateable, giving part of her struggles a face to identify with. The only face the calamity has is the threatening image of the corrupted Hyrule Castle, always in the distance, always looming. That in itself is very effective, but I still can’t help wishing for more story. Again, it was amazing for what was there, I just wish there was more.

I was also partly disappointed by the ending, partly because I wished it were still harder (and it would’ve been more satisfying if Ganon were a character/individual rather than just a beast), but also I wish the ending would do more than just... end. I’m probably flawed in that I do have a specific image of what I’d like the end of a Zelda game to be, but at that point I’m probably better of making a Zelda movie. For as much as the game redefined the Zelda series and took itself back to its roots while also moving forward, I wish the ending would’ve also moved their world forward. I’ve always hated the Zelda timeline, where every game is essentially a reboot or re imagining (often with some gimmick or circumstantial them). It would’ve been amazing to see a very satisfying ending where it breaks all final conventions, and takes the future of the franchise in a new direction as well. That wouldn’t have just been amazing, that would’ve been REVOLUTIONARY (for the series at least). It’s not all bad, in fact not bad at all, and in a sense it does fulfill my desire be leaving things off in an open way. It really felt like this was just the first installment of a new series, like there was more to come... and thus that brings me to a conclusion.

This is not the epitome of exactly what a Zelda game should be. It’s not PERFECT, and it’s not the Zelda game to end all Zelda games that I hoped it would be. Instead, BotW presents itself as something completely different: a new beginning. From here on out, I want Zelda to continue what this game has started, not just rebooting itself over and over, but expanding and fixing the flaws that lay in the small cracks of its perfect foundation. I think I ultimately found this game a little unsatisfying because the world began to look and feel the same throughout a lot of it. Also, it felt like too much of Hyrule was destroyed and disjointed. I’d like to see the next installment be a restored Hyrule, at its near full glory, but without erasing the ruins of the past. I want the history implied in BotW to still show, like destroyed town and places, but I want to see a more flourishing and characterized Hyrule rising out of its ashes.

The next installment could be made even better by doing just a few simple things. Ultimately, the world was made bigger than the game could comfortably sustain. It lost some of its streamlined nature and its fat began to spill out of its inappropriately fitting clothing (which it could’ve fixed by scaling up, and finding something to wear that was more flattering and appropriate to its larger form, though this is where I end this analogy), and by just making the game less of an open world, it could actually FEEL like more an open world, only one far more interesting. This game can’t afford to look generic like the environments of Minecraft, because in that game the player directly manipulates their world. Here, the players relationship with the world is just a little more restricted, and that’s fine and good and perfect, but that also means implementing more design, environment specific things, and unique areas of interest.

I don’t like numerical grading systems, but I highly recommend this game. It’s a real blast and worth picking up as soon as you can. Seriously, this is not one to miss. My consensus can be most closely comparable to an 8.5 or 9 out of 10 (closer to 8.5 though).

[catcomixzstudios]

How To Life Chapter 22

Art And You

As I’ve said, art is all about self-expression, usually intending to invoke a certain concept, idea, or emotion (and just otherwise affect people in some way). Where do you fit in in all this? It’s great to want to leave your mark, but how do you do it? Well, your options aren’t limited! Try everything! Seriously, don’t just stick to one medium because you’re comfortable with it. Are you probably gonna suck at first when you try something new? OF COURSE. But the important thing is to practice. Make an effort. Realize the mistakes you’re making and work on them. Figure out what you can’t do and keep trying to do it. In short, start everywhere! Give everything a try! At the worst, you’ll certainly get some fun stories and experiences from it all. With that said, if you find a certain medium works well for you, then by all means, go right ahead and keep working with it. There’s nothing quite like finding that spark of passion when you’re enjoying your favorite form of self-expression. For some, it’s a pleasant break from the hustle and bustle of daily life. For others, it’s the only reason they get out of the bed in the morning.

There are several things you’ll encounter as an artist. Artist block, having a ton of passion in a moment where it can’t be used, never being able to create the perfect representation of whatever was in your mind. All these wonderful things and more await you when you enter the exciting world of art! But don’t get too caught up in the things you “can’t” do. In fact, stop doubting yourself so much. With every picture you draw, or every song you write, or whatever form your art takes, you’ll get better and better with practice. You’ll understand more and more, and you’ll find others who’ll enjoy what you have to offer. Keep working at it so you can look back on what you did years ago with fond… no actually when you look at the stuff you did only like 5 months ago you’ll probably react with disgust. That’s usually how artists tend to feel.

One of the biggest pieces of advice I can give to someone is to just dive headfirst into your ideas sometimes. Do you think I just let this book sit around in my head for a couple years with meticulous planning out every detail? No. I’ve changed and edited things I never thought I would. Every artist is different. Some can start working on something on a whim and just keep going from there. Some want to build a foundation and then start working on their idea proper. And you know what? Both are totally valid ways of going about things. I can’t stress enough that any idea you have, no matter how much time you give it, will never be perfect, especially not in your own eyes. That 6 part epic book series you want to write is amazing in your head, but it probably won’t come out as epic on paper. But that’s ok. Don’t just let an idea sit in your head for years at a time. Try something with it! Try working on little bits and pieces of it over time. Remember that you don’t have to simply make something from start to finish. You could begin at point c and work your way back to point a. If you’re truly stuck, try working on something else. NEVER just flat out stop (breaks are important, but dropping things for too long will make you get rusty). I think you’ll find that, no matter how busy you are, there’s always at least a little time for art. Even those small moments, the one panel you draw before bed, that half of a chapter you write before work, they add up. You’re only going to get things done if you actually work on them, and doing so will tend to increase the quality of your future works. They’ll never be perfect, I can’t stress that enough, but it can be good. Perfection is basically impossible anyway, so don’t worry about it. Just get out there and do it. No more excuses.    

It’s very important to keep things in perspective when you’re working on something you love. You might be working on something that basically has a built-in audience, or you might be trying to get people interested in something brand new. So long as what you’re doing is making you happy, it doesn’t really matter. Just keep in mind that fans and attention rarely just appear overnight. For some, it’s going to take longer to get people interested in what they’re producing. Of course most people want to be making art because it makes them feel good, but not having anyone to appreciate it tends to bum folks out. I implore you to do your best to not become discouraged. Keep trying to imbue what you make with as much passion as you can manage. The fact is, maybe you’ll never have any kind of huge fanbase or anything, but just the small (yet dedicated) friends and fans you’ll make can make for a much more intimate creator-consumer relationship.

If you want to make your material the best it can possibly be, seek as many allies and resources for things in your field as you possibly can. Read books about your craft. Watch commentaries and behind-the-scenes stuff about how the best of the best went about making their work. I’m not advising you to copy them directly, of course, but to understand what makes what they did work.

Having friends with whom you can personally relate to when it comes to your artistic pursuits is a huge boon as well. You can both learn from one another, bounce ideas off each other, and constantly get jealous over how well they’re doing. When all else fails, these friends will be the ones to inspire you to make your artistic dreams happen. These are the kind of people that’ll always support trying new things to become even better. Without people like that, I can’t be sure I ever would have made this book in the first place.

(If you’re having trouble finding artist friends, just try looking around and talking to people that are making stuff you admire. Almost all of my artistic friendships started with me just complimenting someone and it growing into genuine companionship. You never know who might end up being a best friend until you try!)

Now then, let’s say that you finally DID get around to making that series you always wanted. You even gained a fanbase! Exciting stuff. There are a couple matters I’d like to bring to your attention. One is that some series have a clear-cut starting and ending point, while others are more free-form with their storytelling. In either example, you may be tempted to make tons of sequels, prequels, and other expansions in the series for the sake of money. Now, these are by no means inherently bad. In fact, if done for the right reasons (usually not JUST money), they only serve to make things better! Expansions to a series should preferably be made because you have a genuine interest in continuing the series and because you have something worth contributing. There’s nothing wrong with doing it for money, but if that’s the sole reason, it might hurt the quality of the work. In my opinion, a series can be good for 100 installments, so long as each one innovates in even the smallest measure and there’s a clear passion behind it. Just the same, a series can go to utter crap by part 2 if it’s made out of greed and a lack of understand of what made the original material great. People may consume art without really acknowledging its poor quality, or they may decide that any expansion isn’t going to measure up. If you’re lucky, they’ll weigh and determine the value of each piece as its own, but that usually doesn’t happen until long after you’re dead.

The next major thing to consider about making art is that everybody is going to interpret things their own way. It’s one thing I really love about it, that two people can look at the same image and get two completely different messages from it. Now, as the creator of something, you can absolutely have a specific message in mind behind what you create, but it probably won’t change some people’s minds if they’ve already decided what it means to them. That’s just how it is. Regardless of how overt or ambiguous you are, people will see what they want to see. That isn’t always a good or bad thing, just something to be aware of.

Two of the best pieces of advice I can give is to have a sense of humor and to acknowledge your mistakes. If someone points out that you gave a character a weirdly proportioned arm, or that a chapter got kind of slow around the middle part, don’t lash out. Feel free to admit it. If you’re really cool, laugh it off. I know this can be really hard to do; taking criticism can be extremely difficult (it’s like having someone insult your child), but healthy, constructive criticism will help you avoid making the same mistakes in the future. Of course, if someone’s just trashing you in every aspect without reason and/or trashing you as a person, feel free to ignore them. And hey, you should be giving feedback to other artists as well. It doesn’t just have to be negative either! If they did a fantastic job on their latest song, by all means, praise them! We need some healthy praise to keep going as artists, but we also need to be told about aspects that require improvement. If it hurts, remember that it’s just making you stronger. And this is where humor can be a vital thing. Go ahead and laugh at the silly things you might have done, accidentally or otherwise. Let yourself be part of the joke when you make a mistake, rather than being the joke. You’re imperfect and that’s just fine.

Lastly, try to maintain a healthy balance between art stuff and relationships. It’s really easy for me to get extremely sucked into my stories and comics, to the point where my loved ones poke fun at how much of a hermit I can be. A passion for what you love to do is awesome! Still, you’re human, and you need time to recharge. You don’t need an excuse to take a break every once in awhile, especially if you’re getting alot done. And hey, going out with people and seeing the sun now and then might even give you some inspiration for that next project you’re working on.

I really tried to encompass as many mediums and forms of expression as possible. But the fact is, traditional avenues of art just don’t work out for some people. We all have stories in our heads, but some people just don’t feel they fit into the artistic crowd. And that’s just fine. To the non-artists out there, you’re still expressing yourself, just in different ways. You’re making an impact just by supporting artists, or by taking an important political stand, or just by talking with others. Who cares if you can’t paint a picture? Art isn’t only the visual or auditory. The creative process can take billions of forms. If you’re trying to add something to the world, you may impact people just as much as a more “traditional” artist. Hopefully you’ll find the means to do so in a positive way.

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[sunnydawn444]

New Post has been published on Sunny Dawn Johnston

New Post has been published on https://sunnydawnjohnston.com/blog/march-31st-in-the-sign-of-libra-537-am-full-blue-moon-when-2-full-moons-occur-in-a-single-month/

Full BLUE Moon Report - March 31st in the Sign of Libra

I always love the energy of the full moon – well … almost always. Sometime it gets a bit intense, which is why I ask people that tune into moon energy to let me know, in advance …  what to be mindful of. I’m one of those types of people that would rather have awareness ahead of time … than not … so … Here is some great info for this month’s FULL MOON by Melissa Corter – Enjoy – SDJ ♥

March 31st 2018 Full Moon in Libra

A special Full Moon, it’s the second one in the month of March, making this a Blue Moon. Blue Moons also signify a time to be mindful on inner and outer communication. Do your words align with your desires? Do you complaining while hoping for a change? This sort of counter intention can become clear during this time. This Full Blue Moon is in the sign of Libra; fond of balance, and healthy compromise.

Libra strives for harmony, and this one in particular calls for saying yes! Go for it, accept the offer or invitation, and have clarity in these actions. You’re your role and responsibility, and clearly articulate this to others. Say yes, and have boundaries while doing so. This Libra energy favors joint ventures; conscious creative experiences rooted in intention and passion for like minded souls.

Air signs such as Libra are known for having powerful mental energy, this Full Moon can tap into this quality if seen with a grounded and clear mind. Meditation and balance bring this into view, otherwise you may feel scattered and unsure of your own decisions. Deep breathing coupled with meditation will calm the mind to help you bypass the mental confusion.

March’s Full Moon is also known as the Full Worm Moon. As the temperature begins to warm and the ground begins to thaw, earthworm casts appear, heralding the return of the robins. The more northern tribes knew this Moon as the Full Crow Moon, when the cawing of crows signaled the end of winter; or the Full Crust Moon, because the snow cover becomes crusted from thawing by day and freezing at night. The Full Sap Moon, marking the time of tapping maple trees, is another variation. To the settlers, it was also known as the Lenten Moon, and was considered to be the last full Moon of winter.

(Farmers Almanac)

Libra energy can sometimes feel like it reveals the opportunity for justice in various situations. Do not be caught off guard if you start to see hidden agendas, for this is also an opportunity for you to redirect your own internal desire. This time offers vast moments of clarity in areas you could have been noticing a block or questionable space within your life.

This full Moon also brings attention to balance in being a total pushover, or generous and kind. People pleasing tendencies can surface for healing, shining a light on the true areas of healthy compromises vs. letting someone else dictate your next move. Empathy is a quality displayed with the Libra Full Moon; sensitive beings will feel a shift within this area. Let the energy guide you to witness this as a gift and it will feel less assaulting to your nervous system.

This Full moon is also about beauty, the arts, and appreciation of the finer things in life. Notice if you struggle to spend money on luxuries; this is a sign you may be are resistant to treating yourself well and feeling worthy of receiving. Does the thought of spending money on a lavish dinner turn your stomach? There is healing available for you here, do something kind and a bit out of the routine for yourself. Focus on abundance and receiving and you will allow in new levels of spiritual abundance in various forms.

“Because true belonging only happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves to the world, our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self-acceptance.” ~ Brene Brown

  Tips for March 31st Full Moon in Libra:

             Go out for a fancy dinner, or splurge on yourself. Make it about you, and let yourself receive it. Try to keep others out of it, and see if this feels uncomfortable for you to do. If it feels challenging, you are healing a money story with this beautiful Libra energy. If you tend to go overboard only spending on yourself, you then can include others into the experience.

             Let this Moon animate newfound appreciation for art, creativity, and beauty. What ore could you see in this world if you were looking through a lens of love? There is no greater time than the present moment to witness the vast beauty surrounding us all, even in turmoil the light of spirit lives.

  Ways you can allow this Full Moon to support you:

Find out when the moon rise is in your city by going here: http://www.timeanddate.com/moon/

Find a place where you can see or sense the energy of the full moon. Preferably a comfortable position with the moon in sight. If you can sit outside, on the earth for this exercise you may notice a larger shift.

Have your journal, or a piece of paper and writing instrument nearby. The full moon is the feminine aspect of our being, she can help release and reveal all things ready to find a way to the surface.

Begin with closed eyes, focusing on breathing deeply, releasing any tension or worry for the body and energy field. Bring your internal attention to the world “appreciation”, repeat this word like a mantra as you get lost in your breath.

Start pulling images and thoughts of appreciation into your mind, choosing to see everything as a miracle. Stay present to this … Breathing, and focusing on everything that floats through your mind, breathing deeply for a cycle of 10 to 20 breaths.

Write about your experience in your journal, was there something that popped up that surprised you? How does it feel to open up to appreciation in this way?

If you find yourself releasing … you may safely burn your paper to honor the transition and release.

**Reminder: each full moon will impact you for up to 3 days prior to the full moon and 3 days after the full moon.

Full moons are always powerful times for releasing and letting go. Try creating your own ceremony or honoring of this time to embrace the energy that this time has to help you create space in your life for what you truly desire. As always remember, you are not alone in experiencing this phase, be mindful of this when encountering others over these next few days. Send them love as they are also shining a light on themselves and may be extra sensitive during this time. The next full moon is in the sign of Scorpio on April 29th and is known as the Full Pink Moon.

Melissa Kim Corter

Melissa Kim Corter is a Certified Hypnotherapist and Shamanic practitioner certified over 20 healing modalities. She helps clients release fear & clear away the emotional clutter from their life experiences. Through various modalities coupled with her heightened intuition, she connects with your spirit for expanded truth and guidance on how to shift limiting beliefs. The earth, moon, and elements have been a channel for deeper levels of healing and connection for Melissa, stirring a passion within her to teach others to embrace the natural world.

Melissa has opened the Moon Vault! Do you feel erratic, wonky, or emotional during the Full Moon? The Moon Vault is your home for monthly recordings, information, tips, and practices to find your own natural rhythm and harmony with the moon cycles. http://melissacorter.com/join-the-moon-vault

info@melissacorter.com www.melissacorter.com

[toddrogersfl]

Lalique celebrate their 130th year

Lalique are celebrating their 130th year – and so, to mark this marvellous occasion, we’re sharing an article from The Scented Letter on the man himself, to share with you.

René Lalique was far more than just a maker of fineries. He was an innovator, a maverick, a trendsetter. He also changed the way we see perfume today. So: read on to find out more about our visit to the epic Musée Lalique, below…

Carson Parkin-Fairley paid a visit to the Musée Lalique to check out the world’s greatest collection of the legendary glassmaker’s bottles and objets d’art

Lalique was not only a maker of fine crystal, a fabulous jewellery designer and an innovator within those industries. In his time, he so influenced the fragrance world that we would almost certainly not be sitting back and spritzing in the way we do, if it were not for René Lalique’s role in popularising perfume.

The very best way to marvel at his contribution to glassmaking and perfumery (and where the two meet) is to journey to Alsace, France, for a visit the Musée Lalique – as I did recently. The museum houses an exquisite collection of over 650 pieces – jewellery, drawings, vases, chandeliers, 230 antique perfume bottles and pretty much every other item of crystal finery one could fantasise about – all showcased in one resolutely modern structure. In the setting of the Alsatian town of Wingen-sur-Moder, where René Lalique set up his first glassworks in 1921, the Musée Lalique‘s aim is to show the extensive range and diversity of his work. And it succeeds brilliantly, following a timeline of Lalique’s career that will fascinate any perfume-lover and bottle collector.

Left: The Musée Lalique in Alsace, France. Right: The vast collection of 230 vintage perfume bottles

Born in 1860 in Ay, in the Champagne region, René Lalique was a notably skilled young man from the word ‘go’. By the age of 16, he had already been awarded prizes for his drawings, later working for brands like Cartier and Boucheron, before setting up his own atelier at the age of just 25.

This was a man who sought to innovate in everything he did. He once recalled: ‘I would work tirelessly (…) with the will to achieve something new and create something that has never before been seen’. He was a true pioneer in the glass world, and later, the world of perfumery.

Widely regarded as the inventor of modern jewellery, Rene was audacious with his designs. These introduced elements like enamel, horn, ivory and later – which he would become famous for – glass, into a world of fine jewellery. Delighting in an item for its beauty, rather than for the luxury it exuded, Lalique often combined glass with gold or precious stones – with the feeling and beauty of an item taking precedence over materials.

It was his unrivalled talent with glass which eased Lalique’s path into the perfume world. In 1905 René opened a boutique at 24 Place Vendôme (the square which remains the heartland of Paris’s world of haute jouaillerie), where he exhibited his jewellery alongside other glass objects. In 1907, perfumer François Coty visited the atelier – and was so impressed by his works, he invited Lalique to collaborate.

Left: A portrait of René Lalique. Right: The first bottle designs for François Coty.

Coty’s philosophy was simple. ‘Give a woman the best product you can make, present it in a perfect flacon with beautiful simplicity and impeccable taste, ask her to pay a reasonable price, and that will be the birth of a business such as the world has never seen.’ And boy, was he onto something.

That idea, however, was revolutionary. Before Lalique and Coty got together, perfume had been sold only in costly crystal flacons that were immensely expensive to produce, often far more pricy that the juice within. Fragrance was most definitely only for the wealthy, rather than for everyone.  But Lalique found a way of producing affordable glass bottles, with just as much beauty and finesse as their expensive counterparts – transforming the perfume world. From that moment on he worked increasingly on designs for the fragrance industry, many of which can be seen at this museum – including the magnificent drawings for the first bottle Lalique ever created for Coty, alongside the finished flacon itself.

As so many of his designs for bottles and stoppers show, Lalique was a man who appreciated and celebrated nature, his main inspirations being flora, fauna and women. He developed a highly technical way of creating textures on glass: swirls, butterflies, insects, swallows and more. Observing these creations in a museum setting induces a kind of awe – like looking at a piece of history that for me, forever changed my perception of the industry I love and work in.

Left: Leurs Ames bottle for d’Orsay by Lalique. Right: Le Baiser de Faune bottle for Molinard, by Lalique

Flacons range from those for Le Baiser du Faune (created for Molinard, delicately depicting a woman and faun embracing), to Leurs Ames (created for fragrance house d’Orsay, the stopper of which is adorned in an ethereal image of women swinging from branches of a flowering tree). With a breathtaking collection of 230 beautifully illuminated perfume bottles – alongside many other items that so perfectly illustrate the man and the artist, including his designs for ocean-going liners and luxury trains – the Musée Lalique is a (crystal) window into his world, keeping the history and heritage of a remarkable man alive.

During my visit, I was lucky enough to visit the Lalique factory nearby to watch how the crystal is made – sadly not an opportunity extended to the general public. (Health & Safety strikes again…) But along with a small band of fellow writers, I gained an insight into why Lalique items come with such a hefty price tag.

We were shown around the factory by a man introduced as ‘Amen’, whose passion for his work shines through as clear as the crystal he has devoted his life to producing. Amen told us of the rigorous processes required to create these items of sheer perfection. The furnaces themselves are container-sized: vast, fiery, blasting out heat. Within these are placed smaller ovens-within-ovens: clay vessels which take three weeks to construct (and over a year to dry), housing up to 12 crystal moulds in each – for a statue, a vase, perhaps a centrepiece. These are filled with sand, lead and water to form the crystal, then placed within the furnaces. After just three months, the clay will have degraded, requiring these smaller ovens to be replaced.

Then there’s the challenge of staffing; trialling new workers is a lengthy process with serious vetting – because, as Amen observes, ‘It takes a long time to find someone who can basically create gold with their hands…’ The art of blowing glass can take five to 10 years to perfect, using artisan methods that have endured for hundreds of years. And as Amen explains, ‘It is impossible to make it fast. You have to go at the speed of the crystal.’ Today, Lalique employs many of the people of the town it’s situated in, passing the tradition of crystal-making down to the youth of today. (Hands are never idle: alongside their own bottles and limited edition flacons, Lalique create special designs for brands like Tom Ford, Nina Ricci and Bentley.)

For limited edition bottles (for instance, the gilded flacon for Living Lalique), resin moulds must be created – the final steps of which are always done by hand, taking up to six weeks to complete. (This is an industry where robots will never be able to compete with human skills.) A trial is done in wax, and finally, crystal; 50% of all glass produced will be disposed of for imperfections at this stage.

Left: Lalique vases on show at Musée Lalique. Right: A limited edition flacon for Living Lalique

As I learned about the immense amount of work required, about the fact that a minimum of 20 people will have touched and worked on any piece that reaches the shelves, Lalique’s price tags suddenly didn’t seem so hefty. Whether you collect crystal or not, these these are things of beauty and perfection. Holding a vase or bottle, its journey suddenly seems very tangible. The hands that have held and sculpted it, the rigorous checks it will have been through, the love and care with which that item was made.

Artist, innovator, perfectionist, visionary. Visiting this museum, it’s clear why – over 72 years after his death – Lalique remains relevant in the perfume world. There’s surely no better place to experience Lalique‘s crystal creations in all their glory – and appreciate the finesse and precision that goes into them.

One word of warning: don’t blame me if you come away wanting to own one of their exquisite pieces yourself. You may have to mortgage your house for one –but at least you’ll understand why.

A visit to Musée Lalique is priced 6 euros per person; family tickets are available for for 14 euros (one or two adults and one to five children), and is free for those under 6 years old.

Musée Lalique, Rue du Hochberg, 67290 Wingen-sur-Moder (open 10am-6pm daily, except national holidays)

The Villa René Lalique Hotel and two Michelin-starred Restaurant

WHERE TO STAY

For those seeking opulent surroundings, the Villa René Lalique is nearby, surrounded by Alsatian forest and decadently furnished with Lalique items – from lamps to coffee tables. Even the hotel’s bath surrounds are adorned in crystal. A two Michelin-starred restaurant offers exciting gastronomic experiences, all outfitted with the finest Lalique crystal ware. (During dinner, our party heard a glass smash – and couldn’t help but wince a little.) Opposite the museum is the Chateau Hochberg – slightly less grand, but equally stylish, with 15 rooms and another fabulous restaurant.

Villa Rene Lalique – rooms for two cost from 350 to 1,300 euros per night  villarenelalique.com

Chateau Hochberg – rooms for two cost from 140 to 320 euros per night  chateauhochberg.com

CLOSER TO HOME 

You don’t have to go all the way to Alsace to revel in the delicate treasures of Lalique. Head to their equally beautiful flagship store, in Conduit Street: a serene shop that sings of luxury, with incredibly knowledgeable staff. You’ll find the full range of Lalique fragrances (priced £59 to £230), including the exclusive Noir Premier Collection. Explore them at your leisure while surrounded by some of the most dazzling crystal the world has to offer. (The luxury limited edition fragrance flacons start at £1000.)

Lalique, 47 Conduit Street, London, W1S 2YP/020-7292 0444

Written by Carson Parkin-Fairley 

  The post Lalique celebrate their 130th year appeared first on The Perfume Society.

from The Perfume Society https://perfumesociety.org/lalique-celebrate-their-130th-year/

[wildheartcoach]

Fitting things together that have come apart

The quotes within this article come from the documentary "Look & See," which revolves around the stories of several residents of Henry County, Kentucky, where the writer and activist Wendall Berry bought a small farm in the 1960's. Working the land forms the basis of much of his writing. 

The documentary uses this area of Kentucky as a showcase for how agriculture has changed since its industrialization. Berry, an activist attempting to preserve the natural and humane ways of farming, asks us to consider the importance of protecting the land from erosion, protecting farming families from debt and dissolution, and protecting the beauty of crafts and honest work from the greed of profit and capitalism.

I heard in his prose a narrative that explains what I believe has brought humans so low today. The loss of one's connectedness to nature, to honest values of making things with your hands, of using your brain to solve problems and your body to work the land -- this great loss is our nation's great loss. 

"We all come from divorce. Things that have come together are taken apart. You can't put it all back together again. What you do is the only thing you can do. You take two things that belong together and you put them back together. Two things, not all things. That's the way the work has to go. So that the made thing becomes a kind of earnest -- of your faith in and your affection for the great coherence that we miss and would like to have again. That's what we do, people who make things. Whether it's a stool or a film or a poem or an essay or a novel or a musical composition. It's all about finding how it fits together and fitting it together."  -- Wendell Berry

When Trump and his supporters talk about making America great again, I don't believe they're talking about this particular loss, but I do believe that it is what a large majority of Americans are thinking about. What would make this country great again is when we can bring back together two things that belong together. What belongs together is man's great mind with his true nature (his spirit, his purpose). What belongs together is the land and the worker who lives off the land. 

As described by one of the farmers who chose the route of mechanized and large-scale industrial farming, you can't relax when you're worrying about your enormous debt and the insecurity of being able to meet the quotas needed to cover the cost of the land, equipment, seed and fertilizers. These farmers are living on the edge of bankruptcy. How can anyone live a happy life when each action you take could make or break your livelihood?

Wendall Berry on remembering to appreciate the small things (he was asked what he does with the desperation that comes from looking at how the world is moving towards a profit-driven society, rather than a human society):

"You feel desperation when you believe that an economically driven world is all there is. The world is, in fact, full of free things that are delightful. Flowers. The world is also full of people who'd rather pay for something to kill the dandelions than appreciate the dandelions. I'm a dandelion man myself."

So, how can you get back to a simpler and more connected life? On the opposite side of the spectrum from the large-scale industrialized farmer is the organic farmer. One organic farmer in the film describes how he felt his soul whither when he considered large-scale farming. By luck, he was given a book on organic farming that in fact offered a more humane way of raising livestock, of working the land, and doing so in a sustainable way. Not only did he get excited about farming again, he was making more money per acre than the industrialized farmer who was growing what are considered cash crops, such as tobacco, corn and soybeans. 

There is a domino affect to this great idea of reconnecting man with nature. Not only do farmers thrive -- when they can work land that isn't constantly eroding, having minimal rather than massive debt, growing healthy foods that you can put on the table rather than products that will be shipped to processing plants, and living within communities where people support and help one another rather than working in isolation -- but all Americans thrive. They  have healthier foods to eat, their lands and water sources around them aren't contaminated with carcinogenic fertilizers and herbicides, and they live within thriving communities, counties and states full of proud families who contribute to their fellow man, who create solid foundations of faith and community and social equality. Plus, the products from these organic farmers are made locally rather than in foreign lands that require fuel and a waste of resources to get them from there to here. Everyone profits, rather than the handful few at the top of the industrialization foodchain.

"There is -- and you can find it if you sidle up to people who are working on a scale that is human and humane enough -- people who love doing their work, who do it out of a great liking or great love for it. That's been my privilege. As a caretaker [of the land] and a writer. I love the work. Not necessarily every day. But it's something I look forward to. When you have that, that's beautiful to see."  -- Wendell Berry

You don't have to be a farmer to find your way back to yourself, to what made you excited about doing the work you do in the first place.

When I started out down my career path as a teenager, I knew that my future was in writing. However, the more I listened to the advice of those around me, the more I drifted away from my initial intent of pursuing this career. I wanted to write books and articles, but the influencers in my life said this was not a practical path to take. Find a solid job and do your writing on the side, they said. Writing doesn't pay, they said, unless you're really lucky, or really, really good.

So I used my writing skills for another purpose, and found myself embedded within companies who needed someone who could formulate their business ideas and services. I was talented enough to be able to take those ideas and write about them in ways that the general public could understand. The path I took moved me further and further away from the topics I was interested in writing about. My last job, the one I held the longest, ten years, was writing for the IT department within an institute of technology. 

Was I, like Wendall Berry said, doing this out of a great love or even liking of the work? No. It was a paycheck. It was safety. It was easy, and my heart was not in it. In fact, I hated it. I felt dead inside. I dragged myself to work each day, wishing to be somewhere else.

Unaware that I was doing it, I sought to bring two lost things together; the two things that had become divorced, separated. On one side was my love of writing and sharing my thoughts with others. On the other side was being true to myself, to my own values, interests, strengths and personality traits. Somewhere along the way they had been separated and that's when things began to fall apart. As W.B. Yates says in his poem The Second Coming, "the centre cannot hold."

When I brought those back together, it was like a joyous reunion. All kinds of ideas sprouted. I decided I would run my own business. I would help people like me who had lost their way. I would be a person others could turn to in times of crisis, in times of change, when all felt lost or difficult. Most of all, I would support them along the journey towards wholeness. I would write my own story for sure and maybe what I shared would resonate.

My marriage had fallen apart long before and I found myself alone but on the threshold of a new possibility. A few years later I lost my job at the institute but was by then happily remarried and with all the support I needed to make my dream happen. I had just finished my training as a life coach. 

My choice to look within and see my gifts, the beautiful things that made me who I was, healed me. I recognize that this process of becoming whole is exactly that. It's not a rebirth, it's not turning a corner, it's not a leaping off into an abyss. When people talk about making a transformation later in life, it can take the form of all kinds of metaphors. I see it as a beautiful opening, like a flower. It's not becoming something different, it's becoming more yourself.

It is also a healing, a fusing of something that had broken apart, had cracked into two or more pieces. But rather than seeing this as a flawed or imperfect attempt to put something broken back together, it becomes an even more beautiful thing. The cracks make the whole even more interesting, they make what was once small pieces that had no cohesion or coherence, as Berry says, into something we have always longed for. 

The Japanese have an art form called Kintsugi, which means "golden joinery."  It is an old art form that repairs broken pottery with gold, silver or platinum. The result is something even more beautiful than the original piece of pottery. 

"It's all about finding how it fit together and fitting it together."

Consider coming home to yourself as the method for bringing together the pieces of you that have come apart. Come back to your true nature, which is everything you need and everything the world needs. Once you have done that, and you have found your home, your solid foundation, allow yourself to break wide open again and let all your gifts out. Let the world see them. They are beautiful.

[posmatraclegenda]

Наслов: Inclusive Illustrations, By Design, Линк: http://ift.tt/2pgc4Tg , Садржај:

I like to think that designers solve problems, while artists ask questions. And when the two go hand-in-hand, real magic happens. Why? Because the right question gets answered with the right solution — art asks, and design responds.

Here at Automattic we were extremely fortunate to recently get to partner with independent artist and designer Alice Lee, who seamlessly integrates abstract ideas with concrete solutions. The following is an interview with Alice that is followed by another interview with Joan Rho, the designer who led the project.

JM: How did you become an illustrator?

AL: My path is a little nontraditional. I was always an artistically curious kid growing up, but was never of the “stand-out art star” variety. Rather, I went to business school, and after graduating, I worked at Dropbox as an early product designer.

Some of my first few projects there involved designing for externally facing projects (new user education, onboarding flows, home & landing pages), and I found that adding illustrations really elevated my work — understandably, no one wants to read paragraphs of text describing file sharing. At the time, there weren’t any dedicated full-time illustrators on the team, so I decided to just do it myself, learning as much as possible on the side and receiving guidance from teammates. Eventually I transitioned over into brand and communications design at Dropbox, working full-time as a product illustrator. I left to freelance almost three years ago and have been illustrating since!

JM: I’ve found that many people confuse an illustrator as someone who is “good at drawing.” I’ve found that description to be terribly narrow-minded. Anything to add?

AL: That’s a really interesting question because it describes two key qualities to being an illustrator. The first is the technical ability to draw — one doesn’t necessarily need to be the “second coming of art,” but it is important to possess a foundation in basic draftsmanship. The second is the conceptual ability to think like a designer — as an illustrator, you’re interpreting challenging design prompts and figuring out how to present visual ideas that often represent complex topics.

Having one piece but not the other is extremely limiting; a great illustrator balances and sharpens both. If you have more of the technical art / draftsmanship piece, this limits the type of high-level projects that you can take on and requires a heavy hand by an art director to guide you through. If you’re more of a conceptual thinker but lack drawing fundamentals, it limits the way that you can express your ideas — e.g. perhaps you can only work in a few basic styles. It’s never so black-and-white, of course, but putting the two together in illustration yields high-quality, conceptually brilliant work.

JM: Having worked in the technology world for many years, what recurring patterns have you seen in the kinds of commissions you’ve been awarded?

AL: I’m excited by the fact that illustration has become a huge part of the tech branding landscape; so many companies are incorporating illustration as keystones of their brand. Companies are now developing their own unique illustration styles that build into their brand voice, exploring different mediums, differentiating themselves, etc.

This is exciting to me because I love to work in a variety of styles and mediums; it’s a great feeling to extend yourself as an artist. Many of my recent projects have involved building illustration branding systems in addition to creating the illustrations themselves, and I love bring analog media and textures into a traditionally vector world. We experimented with this a bit on this WordPress.com illustration branding project, of adding a subtle, candid brush stroke to accent vectorized, precise shapes. With little touches here and there, under an editing eye, this interplay between mixed media does a lot to elevate what an illustrative voice is saying.

JM: Tell me about your commission from Automattic.

AL: This project had two parts: 1) the first, building out an illustration branding system: the voice and style guidelines for how to create illustrations that extended the brand; 2) the second, producing 50+ illustrations that expressed this style to be used for the product and marketing collateral.

We went through lengthy explorations of the illustration style: what brand did we want to express, and how could it be expressed visually? A key tension was in balancing the friendly, fun, accessible direction of the brand with the business need of still being professional and refined. In many ways, our final output reflects this: it’s a combination of sturdy, grounded shapes that fill out most of the composition, guided by the expressiveness and imperfection of linework that adds in quirky detail. The solidness of these geometric shapes is still tied in to the prior style of illustration used in the product, but the linework adds in personality, playfulness, and a hand-drawn quality.

JM: What was the same with respect to your past work for tech companies, and what was different?

AL: One thing I’ve noticed is that this balance of “warm, relatable, friendly, fun” and “polished, serious” is a common tension in past work for tech companies. I think this is due to a few factors: first, it’s a natural tension to exist when you’re trying to express complicated, often technical concepts via visually appealing illustrations. Second, though I work with each company’s unique brand voice, you can still see my personal voice coming through across all of my work: energetic, bright, and purposeful.

Something different that I loved was how the team uses the WordPress product to document and comment on the design process, because everyone is remote! We had a central illustration blog where I would post up each round of exploration, pose questions to the team, and receive feedback. At the end of each major deliverable, it was nice to look back on the progression and evolution of the style and work produced. It was a very structured way to document the process, which is lacking when your working files exist solely in emails or asynchronous chat tools.

JM: How did it feel to be pushed harder on the inclusion question?

AL: It was something that I deeply appreciated. We all carry our own internal assumptions and biases; and just like in design, assumptions should be challenged and improved with different perspectives, user research, and critical thinking.

For instance, John, you had just gotten back from doing user research in the field, talking to small mom and pop shops and individual entrepreneurs in the suburbs. In some early illustrations, I had drawn a lot of younger characters sipping coffee on their computers to illustrate people working on WordPress.com, and you challenged the “perfect latte / laptop world” that is a common backdrop in tech illustrations.

This made me realize that there was a whole range of characteristics I was missing from my internal definition of inclusiveness in illustration, due to my own biases: age, occupation, location, lifestyle, socioeconomic background, etc. I worked to place characters outside of the “perfect latte / laptop world,” drawing different backdrops in the larger scenes, expressing different jobs and backgrounds through props and attire, and including a section on how to depict age in the style guide.

JM: What is difficult about taking this direction? And what is easier?

AL: It is always challenging but necessary to address your own biases and assumptions in order to produce better work. In the above example, for instance, user research about who actually uses the product helped inform what the brand illustrations looked like — which in turn results in visuals that are more in line with the business objective of catering to the actual users.

It can be difficult because it’s also personal: the biases in a person’s artwork can also reflect their personal biases. Sometimes it can be hard to be challenged on that, but it’s necessary to acknowledge and no one is ever finished with this journey. I also think it is easier to start with inclusion and representation as core values than it is to tack it on after you’ve finished the branding process.

JM: What are your hopes for how people use this language you’ve produced for us?

AL: Artistically, I hope that this language can be extended and applied across the platform by many collaborators: designers, illustrators, animators, etc. I always love to see how a style evolves, and I also think it is really cool to have distinct mini-styles within a larger brand family — so that would be neat to see.

Socially, I hope that we can use these conversations around inclusivity to spark a larger dialogue in the illustration community about what it means to be inclusive in the work we produce. For instance, I personally rarely see people of color depicted in tech product illustrations (or, on a personal note, even Asian characters). When John pointed out the “perfect beautiful latte / laptop world” bias that’s common in tech illustration, I sat back and thought to myself, “you’re so right!” It made me realize some of my own assumptions about what should be depicted in illustration, and I hope that we can continually challenge each other within the illustration community.

Just like photographers, art directors, and designers, we as illustrators have the power to be thoughtful and inclusive in our work, to create artwork that shows people that anyone can use these products, not just a certain perceived stereotype of who “should” be.

I’ve found over the years that behind every innovative project launched by a company partnering with an outside artist, there’s a special somebody within the company who cared enough to make the case for doing things differently. That person, in the case of this project, is Joan Rho — one of our new Marketing Designers here at Automattic.

JM: How did you come by the work of Alice Lee?

JR: I’d seen Alice’s illustration work before and admired both the quality of her work and range of styles she was able to execute. After a brief initial chat with her about her work, her process, and learning that she was already familiar with our platform having been a longtime blogger on WordPress.com, I could tell she’d be a great collaborator who could help us elevate and unify our brand’s visual language.

JM: What is “design”?

JR: It’s communication, it’s innovation, it’s aesthetics, it’s optimization, and it’s strategic. Design shapes the way a message or experience is delivered. Good design is informed by human behavior—it makes things easier to use, more intuitive, and more enjoyable to experience.

JM: Can you describe the development of this project — from its conception to completion?

JR: Our company, Automattic, was founded on open-source principles: community, collaboration, and hard work. We’re fully distributed with our ~550 employees spanning the globe representing over 50 countries and over 76 different languages. WordPress.com, our major product in our family of offerings, is powered by WordPress, the open-source software project (which was co-founded by our CEO). WordPress.com has been around since 2005 and is primarily known as a powerful blogging platform. However, these days, you can use WordPress.com to do much more—such as starting a website for your business, creating a portfolio, or even just getting a domain name. So, as part of updating our message to communicate this better, we wanted our visual language to also reflect what we stand for and what we offer.

This illustration project was a collaborative effort that looped in many different members of our Automattic team spanning various timezones, cultures, and backgrounds. Some of our collaborators weren’t even designers, but one thing they all had in common was that they intimately knew WordPress.com and Automattic, which helped me greatly as a relative newcomer to the company. I had the benefit of working closely with Kjell Reigstad, a more veteran designer on the team, who was my “brand partner” in this project from the start. Kjell’s knowledge of our brand’s history helped us develop an illustration language that combined a geometric style in line with how we historically represented the WordPress.com brand with a newer, organic style that felt more distinctive and embodied our brand values and personality.

JM: What are a few turning points in its evolution where you saw “inclusion” coming into the picture?

JR: During one of our creative reviews, we were exploring the representation of human characters (which we hadn’t ever used before across our site pages or UI) and it was actually a comment by you, John, that initiated the discussion of introducing more diversity in skin tones, body types, hair color, age, etc. into these characters. Many Automatticians joined the conversation thanks to a prompt by Mel Choyce, sharing personal stories and pictures of themselves and their friends representing a wide variety of people, backgrounds, and personal styles. This provided inspiration for the diverse cast of characters you can now see across our brand illustrations. As a minority female who grew up seeing mostly Caucasians represented in media and design, it’s been very rewarding to help shape a more inclusive brand identity.

JM: When you consider our company, as a fellow newbie as we joined around the same time last year, what lessons do you take away from leading this project with Alice?

JR: Your best work will always be the result of collaboration. Great collaboration happens only with equal trust, respect, and engagement from everyone involved. Leadership isn’t about bossing people around; it’s about fostering an environment that encourages great collaboration.

JM: Any shoutouts for other designers who participated in this work?

JR: Shoutout to Alice Lee, Kjell Reigstad, Ballio Chan, John Maeda, Ashleigh Axios, Dave Whitley, Davide Casali, Mel Choyce, and all of the Automatticians who participated in the brand discussions and creative reviews throughout the process.

You can find these new illustrations by Alice Lee on any of our main pages, such as /create-website, /create-blog, /business, /personal, /easy, /premium, and more!

And you can read the complete story behind these illustrations at Alice Lee’s site right here from the same titled post, Inclusiveness in Illustration.

Filed under: Design, Diversity & Inclusion, WordPress.com