Lily S. May–Life with Art
Last week I began rereading Like a Straw Bird It Follows Me, and Other Poems. It's by the Palestinian poet, Ghassan Zaqtan. Straw Bird is translated into English by Palestinian doctor and poet, Fady Joudah. I bought the book in 2013 after attending a reading of the shortlisted poets for the Griffin Poetry Prize in… Continue reading Wood Carving by Ghassan Zaqtan
I continue following the dreadful news of the Israeli genocide of Palestinians. And as I continue making art, the unfolding horror is on my mind. Here's 2 sketches I recently made plus a collage using fragments of some of my early prints. When I went back over some of my sketches, I was shocked to see… Continue reading War, Peace & a Collage
Most of the bright autumn colours have subsided in Toronto. But late autumn has still been a wonderful gift. Here's two photos I took this past weekend on a walk by ponds and among trees in and around Evergreen Brickworks. While walking in these protected places, I continue to think of the Palestinian civilians that… Continue reading Beauty and Darkness
I’ve turned to making raw drawings as I listen to the horrifying news out of Israel and Gaza: the murders of many Israelis by Hamas on Oct. 7 and the ongoing revenge siege and bombing of the entire population of Gaza by the Israeli military. This is a genocide. The immediate cease-fire that so many… Continue reading Horror
This past summer, I was looking through some of my old sketchbooks and realized I wanted to begin sketching again. Here's a few drawings I did in September of household plants and objects. Also, I've been fortunate to take a few vacations outside the city this past spring and summer. These are 3 photos on… Continue reading Sketches & Travels
This past week, as I was pondering what my next post would be, I came upon a file folder I had filled with some old drawings. I made these sometime in the mid to late 1990s. They're line drawings of fantasy worlds that I added photocopies of lace and feathers to. These are the original… Continue reading Lace, Feathers & Pen
The Night of Dread has been a wonderful event in Toronto for many years. It's an event held to face fears, to mock and banish them. On October 29th, the 23rd annual pageant put on by Clay and Paper Theatre returned after a two year hiatus during the pandemic. My husband and I paraded among… Continue reading The Return of The Night of Dread
This week the juried drawing show at the Aird Gallery is up online. A scratchboard drawing of mine is part of it. You can view the exhibit as a slideshow with playlist or download it as a pdf to scroll through it. I'm very happy to have one of my pieces included among the works… Continue reading Drawing 2022 is Up Online
This is the group of comic faces that I made following an exercise by Lynda Barry in her book Making Comics. The faces were all made very quickly with each element drawn separately. So, first all nine head shapes, then all nine eyes or ears or hair--I forget the exact order. And each element was… Continue reading Comic Faces
A few weeks ago I read an article on rabble.ca that certainly had my hair standing on end. The article focused on the opinions of a Canadian named Michael Ignatieff who believes that nuclear weapons should be used against Putin if he crosses into NATO countries. I checked Michael Ignatieff’s site where he describes himself… Continue reading I don’t know about you, but…
Arts of May 