These lovely Medieval flowers are always swoon-worthy in the margins of various Book of Hours, sometimes in medical texts, sometimes in gardening books. I can never get enough of looking at these beautiful images and feeling inspired, mostly to embroider May Morris-style textiles. They are helpful when writing historical fiction, for they reveal the unique […]
The Marginalia of Flowers Read More »
Tucson's very old inner city neighborhood, The Barrio Viejo, has some of the best murals painted by residents over many years on the exterior of the houses. When my daughter and future husband were in town a number of years back, they took these wonderful photos of one of my favorite houses. I learned recently
Barrio Viejo: The Blue Mural Read More »
This is a lovely piece of animation from Russian animator Ekaterinburg Natacha Černyšovo who studied animation in France. It is so charming and delightful. It has been a few years since I first saw this little video, and in between my first posting and now re-posting, I have become a grandmother, which has made this film
The Return: Beautiful New Animation Read More »
The pleasure of unpacking in a rented house is deciding once and for all to unpack everything, knowing that in due time, one will be moving again. So there is a desire on my part to organize and winnow everything that has sat in a box somewhere in my old attic for thirty years waiting
“Forget me not,” More Friendship Calling Cards Read More »
I have been going through a cigar box of collected calling cards from my great grandmother and I am astonished by the variety of pretty designs combined with the elegant scripts. It just seems such a lovely convention and I am rather sorry we don’t do it anymore. Now we hand out “business cards” which
“From A Friend,” the Art of the Calling Card Read More »
The maze of Labirinto in The Innamorati (and reappearing in Zizola’s story) is a work of alchemy and fantastic art. It has an organic nature, the twisting pathways lined with walls of densely packed trees. From the outside, it appears solid, immutable. But once inside, it expands and contracts, and once on the path, one
Fantastic Life in the Maze Read More »
Yes…because sometimes writing just feels like this, right before working, in the middle of working, and for the rest of the day after working. It's not scary — but adjustments do have to be made. Probably better not to do anything involving knives or automobiles. Véronique La Perrière M., Dissolution et recommencement (swan), 2011.
Letting Go When Writing Read More »
I was immediately drawn to these two fabulous images from Finnish artist Samuli Heimonen because they remind me of how I feel when I am in that gestating almost there stage of writing. The first is called "Hiding Place" — where story hangs out, where my confidence hangs out, where anticipation hangs out. It feels
Hiding While Thinking About Writing Read More »
Penelope Writes to Odysseus I am still in awe of these amazing little Medieval illustrations of the classical Greek and Latin heroines of Ovid writing imaginary epistles. Ovid’s work was translated into French by poet Octavien de Saint-Gelais, and it so delighted Louise of Savoy (1476-1531), mother of the future king Francis I of France,
When Heroines Write Their Own Stories Read More »
I seem to be pulled in too many different directions to get much done on the blog…but one thing I have to say, is how much amazing art I have been collecting to keep my thoughts cooking with the novel. Sometimes, that's the best I can do for a while, build up an interior vision
Sometimes the Best Part About Writing a Book is First Collecting All the Art Read More »
