Lily S. May–Life with Art
For the Palestinian People, Drawing by Lily S. May, November 2024
I'm back again after bouts of recurring illness over the past few months. I'm doing well now. Below are are few images of where I've been and am now. First, there's the great mask of one of the giant Night of Dread puppets from October 26th this year. Next are two mixed media monoprint masks… Continue reading Returning
I don't know if you ever wonder what you're doing on earth at this fraught time, but it's something I wonder about. What has come to me is that, for reasons beyond what I can fathom, I'm here to witness what's going on. Over the past few months I've done little new artwork. Seeing images… Continue reading Witness
I love these lines by the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish that are part of his poem, Mural. The lines speak to me about so much of our world today, from genocide to climate change to extreme inequality to rising political authoritarianism. Darwish wrote Mural in 2000. The poem appears in the book If I Were… Continue reading On Limits & Excess
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'm writing this as the assault on the Palestinians in Rafah intensifies. While sorting through some of my past work, I came upon a mask I made maybe 20 or 30 years ago. I made a mould, then made several versions of it. Here are 3 of the versions--2 made with layers of brown paper… Continue reading Paper Translations
I recently finished reading The Hundred Years' War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi. It's an illuminating, hair raising, to say the least, book that has greatly helped me understand the history of where Israel and Palestine are today. A few days after finishing the book and with news of the continuing genocide of Palestinians on… Continue reading Palestinian History Book & A Beautiful Exhibition
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
As I continue to hear and read about the horrifying mass killing of Palestinians in Gaza and the violence also in the West Bank, I again turn to art. Sometimes I ask myself what the use of art is. Then I think "use" isn't the word or meaning I'm searching for. It's more like , what's the point… Continue reading Art and News of War
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
Arts of May 