Eye of the Storm - Oct. 2023

Happy Halloween! I hope you had a great October. For some reason, October always flies by too quickly for me. Here are a few things that caught my eye this month…

A Total Eclipse in the Yard

I’m sure you heard about the solar eclipse that happened earlier this month. We had a great experience here in Texas and enjoyed watching it from our front yard with some of our neighbors.

What surprised me most was the shadow effects created by the eclipse - see image below.

Artist of the Month: Lynda Barry

“You have to be willing to spend time making things for no known reason”

- Lynda Barry

I am not sure how I discovered the work of artist and educator Lynda Barry but oh boy am I glad it happened. Lynda’s work has had a huge impact on my art as well as my teaching, especially exploring “bad drawing” methods.

Several times a year I will pore over the pages of her books full of doodles, comics, collages and instructions on exploring your imagination and memories. Lynda’s books are chocked full of intricate drawings and writings which often leave my head spinning from image overload (in a good way.)

Music of the Month: Hank Williams

I’m not sure why but I’m a big fan of old school country music. Something about it reminds me of visiting my grandparents up in the farmlands of South Dakota as a kid. It feels like I’m taking a Time Machine to a long ago era of simplicity when I listen to Hank Williams or similar artists.

Just a few weeks ago, Mr. Hank Williams would have celebrated his 100th birthday, so I took October and listened to as much of his music as I could.

Top 5 Favorite Tunes by Hank Williams

1. Hey, Good Lookin’

2. I Saw the Light

3. Move It On Over

4. Howlin’ At The Moon

5. I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive

Skull Sketches

Around this time of year, it’s normal to see a lot of skulls and spooky stuff. I understand why people are creeped out by skulls as Hollywood and pirates give them a pretty bad rap.

However, I am a big fan of skulls as I see them as amazing sculptures divinely designed by God. Also, I am fascinated by the reality that we all have a skull underneath our unique face and likeness.

Anywho - one of my favorite things to do (which I picked up from Lynda Barry) is to ask my students if they will draw me a quick (no more than 20 seconds) skull from memory. The results are always interesting and entertaining.

Pareidolia of the Month

While returning books a few weeks ago I noticed a donation box that had a funny looking face on it (see above.)

Also, my aunt-in-law - Aunt Nannie enjoys sending me funny faces she sees from time to time - check those out below:

Thanks for taking the time and following along. Have a great November and see you next time!

John