rinsemiddlebliss
"At the mercy of the geography"
Still lifes will continue until morale improves
by AK Krajewska
"Nights are drawing in," is uttered evenings at my house pretty much as soon as it turns September. By the 21st when the world daylight widget on the clock display turns from the familiar sine wave to a straight line between light and dark, the nights are decidedly drawn in, but it's... Continue reading (688 words)
All empires end
by AK Krajewska
ALLEMPIRESEND. All one word like that. Version two of what was meant to be a continuing expansion from a sketch watercolor I made in August has been pinned to my fridge for months. Even though it's a work in progress, or a partial work, I like it more and more as it hangs there. I like the... Continue reading (1138 words)
Decorative gourd season
by AK Krajewska
I don't know if you're aware, but it's decorative gourd season. There's a pretty famous essay about it, in point of fact. I am quite fond of decorative gourds, pumpkins especially, and threatened to spend my bonus this year on pumpkins to lavishly decorate the stairs and front porch, though after I did the calculations, it became clear that one, if I spent entire bonus on pumpkins Continue reading (818 words)
Autumn in the garden
by AK Krajewska
Converting even a small yard from grass to drought-resistant perennials and native plants is a ton of work. I started three years ago with just a little patch where I dug up grass and planted thyme. Each year, I've done a little more. Continue reading (472 words)
Mark making and color
by AK Krajewska
On the one hand, I like to paint things, I mean representations of objects, both real and imaginary. On the other hand, I like the act of painting with no specific goal. I like putting down shapes and colors on the page. It's deeply enjoyable to load a brush with color from the pan and make a... Continue reading (833 words)
Imaginary horizons
by AK Krajewska
I took another watercolor class through Case for Making in August. In "Horizons," taught by Melanie Lan, I learned how to use atmospheric perspective to create an effect of depth and distance for mountains. First, we used fairly... Continue reading (900 words)
Water wealth
by AK Krajewska
The late-summer green of forests, marshes, swamps, and riparian verges shocked me again as it always does when I visit the East Coast. Coming up from Washington, D.C. to Bradley, CT, I watched it all stretch out below me, first abstracted ribbons of river meanders and forests like green fur, and... Continue reading (447 words)
Recent reading
by AK Krajewska
Last weekend I went to a wedding that had a Wolf Hall book club as part of the celebrations. The other conversations also, naturally, drifted to books more generally. As I enthusiastically swapped book recommendations with people, I thought, not for the first time, that few things are as... Continue reading (1489 words)
Expansible Egg and Leomund's Tiny Hut
by AK Krajewska
The Dungeons and Dragons spell Leomund's Tiny Hut bears a strong resemblance to the the Expansible Egg artifact in Jack Vance's short story "Guyal of Sfere." I think it's likely the latter directly inspired the former, and while I couldn't find a direct quote from Gary Gygax saying so,... Continue reading (1655 words)
Imaginary islands
by AK Krajewska
I've been painting imaginary lands and seas ever since I took the class at Case for Making in June. It's relaxing because I never have a particular landscape in mind, so there's no messing it up. It lets me play with color and wet-on-wet... Continue reading (527 words)
