Color Beyond Color

Favorites from a season of stockpiling sunshine

I forget how much I retreat into myself during the winter months. When the sun comes out, I poke my head out like a shell-dwelling creature and begin to walk around and bask in it. When it goes again, so do I. Inside my shell I am not discontent or forlorn, but I am waiting for the sun, thinking of the sun, reminding myself that it still shines. Here are some of the things I have been loving as I await the sun.

• Making books. The construction of little books is something that I’ve always wanted to do, and lately I’ve been following the impulse. The first one I made was a book of poems for Ethan’s birthday. I loved the whole creation process—stitching it together, coming up with poems, playing with colors and shapes and words.

The next book I made was a small picture book for my baby niece which I illustrated with paint and collage.

I also made this tiny sketchbook to bring on our recent trip, which brings me to…

• Watching old television. Gray days are perfect for becoming invested in a TV show that ended 20 years ago. For me, right now, it is The West Wing. See my character sketches, done on the long flight back to California from DC. If you’d like to see more of this book, I shared about it in this video.

• Hot water bottle. It is necessary to stay warm and I have a new favorite method of doing so. We live in an old house with old wires which means sometimes the outlets will melt or we’ll get a bit electrocuted while turning on a light. Our electrician said we should stop using a space heater (my beloved space heater) so I turned to the old reliable hot water bottle. For Christmas my mom got me this gorgeous handmade cover for it so now it is not only warm but also makes me happy to look at.

• Oranges. It’s strange to me that orange season is in winter as they both look and taste like little suns. But perhaps it is so that we can taste the sun while missing it most. Our orange tree is heavy with fruit and I have been delighting in the picking and the eating of them. There is really nothing like a fresh, ripe, in-season orange eaten while leaning over the sink. Golden sunshine on the tongue!

Letters from strangers

If you read my last post, you know that I’ve opened a submission box for anything creative you want to send my way. Like this sketchbook spread by Alanna Beckwith.

“On the left is a drawing my 9 year old discarded after trying to draw a kpop demon hunter. I turned it in to Frida kahlo. On the right, a pocket with a tortilla chip label pasted on , and within, reminders for microhabits I could adopt if I only read that card everyday.”

Isn’t it fantastic? Seeing this in my inbox made me smile, and I was instantly inspired to go and make something out of whatever I might have on hand. A bag of chips! A demon hunter! Anything at all! You can see more of her creativity here.

Do you have something you’d like to share? It could be something you’ve created, something you’ve written, or art by somebody else that inspires you. Send it my way! pdap.submission@gmail.com

The Hazel letters. Three Edwardian era postcards addressed to a Hazel McKiernan. Apparently this was the era when sending a lovely little postcard just to say hi was all the rage. I adore the embossed ones; they feel like real petals under my fingers.

Paintings

Running Eagle–Blackfeet Warrior Woman, 2012, Terrance Guardipee, Pikuni Blackfeet

While in Washington DC last week we had the chance to go to the National Museum of the American Indian. There I learned about Ledger Art, a traditional Native American practice that began in the 1800s of using old ledger paper as a surface for drawings and paintings. There are artists who continue this practice today, such as Terrance Guardipee. His work is astonishingly beautiful. I love the interplay between background and foreground, and of course it speaks to my love for art made up of found objects and preexisting materials.

Diving into the world of Ledger Art also reminded me of an artist whose work I have admired for years. Treasure Frey makes the most wonderful pieces, among which are illustrations done on old book pages.

Treasure Frey, Illustration on an old book page

On that same long flight home during which I sketched characters from The West Wing, I also read the last few pages of Daybook by Anne Truitt. It was a book I’d been reading, slowly, for months. I was almost reluctant to finish it, because it is one of those books in which I immediately recognized myself. When I feel deeply understood by an author, instead of devouring the book I take it in smaller bites, because it feels precious and a little bit goes a long way. Truitt’s journal entries could each give me enough to think about for a week. Anyway, I wanted to share something from this book but I couldn’t decide what because I highlighted and underlined so much of it. So I opened it to a random page and my eyes fell on the phrase, “This winter is bringing me to a confrontation with the truths behind truths, like the color I know to lie just beyond color.” Are you not dying to know what she means?

I’d love to hear what you’re reading, making, or loving these days.