Such a Nice Chandelier, Too
(Digital)
When I was a teenager, my parents let me paint two murals on my bedroom walls. One was a giant green and black landscape with THE X FILES written over it in white text.
The other was the opening bars of the Phantom of the Opera, with the mask and rose imagery from the Broadway signage.
(This is where most people would tell you they know they weren’t a cool teenager, but I was a perfectly acceptable teenager. I was just REALLY good at passing for normal in complex social situations. Anyone who knew me well enough to get near my bedroom already knew I was a fucking nerd.)
Anyway. The point is that teen me would have heartily approved of adult me's evening.
Into the Warmth of Tiphareth
Working on the Six of Wands.
(Pencil on Paper; digital color)
As someone who lives deep in the bones of the Pillar of Severity, I can use as much time examining balance as possible. The sixes are a nice place to rest my brain after the fives. I’m also back to listening to Discworld audiobooks, which are crucial for an overly serious brain like mine. Pratchett is a glorious antidote to my ferocity, and I am grateful that he existed.
In the glow of Tiphareth and the slow, octerine-tinged sunlight of the Disc, I also get to celebrate one year of working on a piece every day. In the last few months, that has meant many, many Tarot cards, but I’ve made a lot of other stuff as well. I started with a test post, and kept going well before the start of 2025.
I also get to celebrate eight years of the Bert. My mom and I went to get him the day of family Thanksgiving, before everyone started dying and holidays got hard. The Bert was so little he just lay in my lap and slept while we ate dinner. My sister made fun of his little round puppy belly.
He’s not much of a snuggler these days, but he’s still (and always will be) my favorite piece of the animated universe.
Through the Labyrinth and All Its Guardians
From a dream.
I visited Twelve Vultures in Minneapolis last weekend and there was a bucket of ribs for sale, all white and smooth. I wondered, what would I do with a bunch of ribs? Maybe hang them from the ceiling, like in that Criminal Minds episode? I couldn’t think of anything, so I resisted the urge to haul home more bones.
In this dream, I had gotten lost because I wore the wrong shoes on a hike and couldn’t make a jump from one cliff to another. I backtracked into a more standard dream, with an architectural maze mash-up of libraries, hospitals, and schools, with halls full of monsters.
I wrapped rib bones around my fist until it was a hammer, grabbed a bat, and made my way through all of it by sheer force.
Slightly less creepy than mimicking the decor of Criminal Minds, still slightly unsettling, psychologically speaking.
