Snow and Stalkers

Considering the wintery abyss that has become our new home in the last few days, I found it imperative that I at least reference snow in my weekly blog. So, as I browsed through websites of my sister’s Ringling friends, I was lucky enough to stumble upon the image above. In this drawing, Brooke Olivares, has depicted a snow-covered alley with tints of warm colors to brighten up the scene. In the upper right hand corner, the rustic orange color of a building seems to draw out the warm hues dispersed throughout, as the snow melts away at its touch. Instead of the typical foreboding alley, Brooke has turned this image into an almost welcoming abode. Although the stairs lead to the ajar doors at the top, the viewer, as they would in any shady situation, follows the 'light at the end of the tunnel.' One cant help but wonder what they might find if they walk beneath the shadows to the sparkling snow in the distance.

In addition to this winter wonderland scene, Brooke’s website contains many other quick drawings. My favorites were those of people caught in everyday actions, such as snoozing in the airplane, eating a leisurely lunch, or zoning out in math class. Although each piece isn’t perfectly proportioned or completely colored in, the viewer gets just enough to know what she is trying to depict. My personal favorite is a pen drawing of a student slouching in his chair. He is obviously trying to be focused but at the same time battling a sleep deficit. Because of the more intense shading used to depict him, the viewer gets the illusion of a photo in which the up close shot is in focus while the rest is blurry. As I browsed through her drawings I began to realize that art is somewhat of a stalker hobby – I bet most of people in her sketches are still unaware that she ever drew them. So word of the wise for those traveling this holiday season: beware of the figure scribbling away in the corner because you may just be the target of a sketch that a high school student uses on her blog.

'Wild Things' in our midst

As a tyke, according to my parents, I was what one could call as a wild thing. They like to tell the story of the time I almost strangled the minister in the middle of children’s story time…. Yes it sounds bad, but in my defense, I was just giving her a tight hug from behind. It wasn’t until the young age of six that I had my first encounter with a wild thing like myself. It went a little something like this:

“That very night in Max’s room a forest grew and grew…And when he came to the place where the wild things are they roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws till Max said be still and tamed them with a magic trick.”

Not surprisingly, this became one of my favorite books along with the Big Hungry Bear and the classic Green Eggs and Ham. Not only did the plot of the story draw my attention, the pictures of the many wild things fascinated me. There were talons, scales, feathers, beaks, snouts, and horns galore. All portrayed in bright colors; sure to catch any curious 6-year-old’s eye.

The artist and author, Maurice Sendak, uses pen and ink for most of his illustrations along with other mixed media to show color. Extensive crosshatching can be seen in all of his drawings, used to convey shadows. In the story, as Max’s room transforms into a jungle, the amount of pen and ink decreases and a less stark media takes over. The background scenes in the jungle are all fairly muted and have a somewhat blurry feeling, which I assume is an allusion to Max’s dream. Yet, like Max, all the wild things are portrayed using pen and ink. Just as I did, the viewer easily overlooks this artistic transition at first glance. But as I continued to scan the book I noticed much more detail than I ever had before. In my young wild state, I didn’t fully appreciate the talent of Sendak, but now as a somewhat tamer individual I see what a great artist he is.

Morals from the Wizarding World

Yes, I have to admit; I was one of the crazy Harry Potter fans that flocked to the midnight premier. Although non-fans would beg to differ, seeing HP on the big screen at midnight was definitely worth my time. Not only did I feel a sense of overwhelming excitement for the next movie, but also my love for the wizarding world was rekindled. This particular movie was different from all the rest in that they used graphic animation for an entire scene. Hermione reads the story of the three brothers, as black and white graphic images flit across the scene. I loved this part and I think it added a lot more to the movie than if she had simply read aloud. The story is about 3 brothers who come to an impassable river and create a bridge, angering death so much that he stops them in their path. Cunning as he is, death gives them each one request. The first brother asks for a wand that can never be defeated. The second brother asks for the power to bring back loved ones from the dead. And lastly, the third and wisest brother asks for a way to be invisible to death until it his time to leave the earth. Unsurprisingly, the first two brothers do not live long, for their wishes turn against them and death gladly takes them for his own. But, the third brother lives a long life until he gives his invisibility cloak to his son, greeting death as an old friend. This fictional story is meant to teach kids the morals of humility, wisdom…etc. But also, it unveils universal messages; one cannot cheat or ignore death for it is inevitable.

Long before the time of Harry Potter, the sagacious lessons taught in the tale of the three brothers were present. On the wall of the Camposanto, the enclosed burial ground next to Pisa’s Cathedral, is a fresco called The Triumph of Death. On the left, young aristocrats, in lavish attire, stumble upon three corpses decomposing in their coffins. The men hold their noses and the women turn away in horror, as they stand amidst the atrocity of death. In the far left upper corner, Saint Macarius unfurls a scroll, which discusses the inevitability of death. In comparison, the figures in the far right scene seem to foolishly ignore death. As they amuse themselves, angels and demons compete for the souls of the corpses piled in the foreground. The wealthy persons carousing in luxury are unprepared for death, and therefore are unlikely to achieve salvation; imagery meant as a warning against greed and lust.

Although some die-hard fans derive their moral lessons from Harry potter, I am proud to say that I have learned equally as much from a 14^th century Italian fresco.