drawing

Inside Outside

I've enjoyed making some line drawing sketches recently. Here's another one from my work room with part of the avenue below. Inside Outside, Line Drawing by Lily S. May, Oct. 2025

drawing, Poetry, Writing

After the Flower

I'm back again, this time with a poem I've recently written plus a sketch. Here they are: After the FlowerYears agoI named myself after a flowerbut hell on earth now calls forsomething less innocent,so I will call myself clenched teethfollowed by shouts out loud.I'd like to become:she of rock earth and treesshe protector of birds… Continue reading After the Flower

Books, drawing, Poetry

On Limits & Excess

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

drawing, Masks, Photography

The Return of The Night of Dread

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

drawing, Printmaking, Writing

How I’d Change the World

You may have heard about the far right-wing convoy of trucks that has occupied our capital in Canada for nearly two weeks. The organizers are opposed to all covid mandates and to the federal government. Their message has spread to demonstrations in other cities, to the border with the U.S. and around the world. After… Continue reading How I’d Change the World

drawing, Masks

Bespectacled

Here's a recent sketch of a bespectacled papier/paper maché mask that I made in the 1990s. It's 7" high and is dangling from a lamp in the living room. Drawing--Papier/paper maché mask, Lily S. May artsofmay.etsy.com

creative process, drawing, Photography, Printmaking

This Autumn

November 2021, Brickworks, Toronto Though the work I'll show today is black and white, outdoors the colours were magnificent this past week. We came out of much rain and clouds to days of sunshine on the turning leaves. Photos don't do the leaves justice, but invoke memories. I felt that that's as it should be,… Continue reading This Autumn

drawing

From My Sketchbook

In the evenings, I often sketch imaginary images in a variety of sketchbooks. Some of these images influence other work I do, some feel like extended doodles with no need to be anything other than themselves. Here are several recent images that I've made with felt pens. The divided image below did influence the scratchboard,… Continue reading From My Sketchbook

drawing

Bowl

We recently had our place painted. It involved packing up all our stuff, giving some of it away and moving it and furniture to the centre of rooms so the painters could get to the walls. During that time I drew boxes and disorder. Now that that's over, it's enjoyable to sit down and draw… Continue reading Bowl

drawing

Gourd

Here are 3 drawings I made earlier this month of an ornamental gourd I bought in the countryside. I love the wild shapes of the gourds of autumn. This one is yellow-orange and dark green, but I've focused on the shape and sketched it in black on white.  I believe that when I was a… Continue reading Gourd