In Between Spaces
Late Summer Miscellanea (and a download)
Whenever my grandmother would say, “I’ve never known a summer to go by so fast!” I would invariably roll my eyes. When you’re 11, summer is just a never-ending string of long, languid days, everything blurring together. At that age, summer is a melt-y puddle of popsicles, bike rides and pool time. But now that I’ve made more rotations around the sun? My grandmother was right. She was also right about adding butter to egg salad and a whole host of other things. But that’s a story for another day.
That in between space between summer and autumn is a land I want to dwell in for as long as possible. It’s a both/and season, with its own curious tension. The garden is still producing, but you need a sweater come sundown. The hot nights that lend themself to staying up late reading have disappeared. But if you don’t think too hard, the idea of a beach day seems completely reasonable.
But the calendar is ticking along, so I’m starting to look at the last months of the year, taking stock of what’s been done and what needs to be tackled before 2025 comes to a close. I’m hoping to get my head around that this week and to share soon about plans for the months ahead. In the meantime though, here’s something to set you off on your autumnal adventures: a list of fall inspired creative prompts. Use it for sketchbook inspiration, writing, composing, what have you. There are the seasonal chestnuts on there (hello, pumpkins). But I did try to add a few unexpected items, including spooky season titles, like Agatha Christie’s Hallowe'en Party and Shirley Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Jane Eyre isn’t autumnal per se, but it does feel apropos for this time of year, ditto for Rebecca.
Want to download? Here’s a PDF version:
And a few things that are creatively inspiring me:
“You need to know what your core beliefs are so everything else can change.” - This interview with artist Steve Forster on the Idiosyncratic Nightmare podcast is so good. The conversation touches on artistic formation, breaking the rules, storytelling and so much more. Well-worth a listen.
I was doing some research for an upcoming book project, trying to figure out what historically accurate bedding for the Middle Ages looked like. In the process, I stumbled on the Tristan Quilt and it’s absolutely astounding. A 14th century Sicilian textile, it’s a marvel of needlework (and illustration).
It’s another year of the Edward Gorey House envelope art contest (open to all ages)! I’m excited to give this a go. In turn, talking about Gorey is making me want to head down memory lane with a Johnny Dixon mystery or two.