Notes from the top of the hill
Notes from the top of the hill
The Looby List: Miniature artists, comics news, poached eggs
Hello hello,
Hope you have had a good week. It’s a long weekend here, and I plan to spend it drawing. And I have my ice cream maker in the freezer because as I move through my list of 52 things to cook before I turn 52, next up is ice cream, and I am stupidly excited. The question is - which flavour will I begin with? Vanilla seems obvious, but with so many possibilities, I am already impatient.
In the meantime, here’s the list for this week:
Watching
This one-hour documentary is beautiful. Put it on in the background while you are working. It's just the right amount of engaging, inspiring and peaceful.
Also watching…
Succession. (SPOILERS) I mostly avoid online speculation about the unravelling of the Roy family et al. But I just noticed some online chat about fan theories that Tom Wambsgans (oh, Tom) might be the ultimate villain because he uses an Android phone and not an iPhone. Apparently, Apple has a "no villains" policy regarding the onscreen appearances of their devices. What!? Knives Out director Rian Johnson said in an interview, "Apple, they let you use iPhones in movies, but — and this is very pivotal if you're watching a mystery movie — bad guys cannot have iPhones on camera." Oh, Tom.
Miniatures
I decided to post some of my miniature photos here again this week, but mostly because it makes an excellent reason to direct you toward this article in the NYT, Inside the Big World of Small Objects. Those images are so great. Now I want to make a mid-century stereo console.
And if that isn’t enough - The World of Interiors has a profile of miniaturist Elizabeth Joseph, whose eclectic and inspiring work in miniatures flourished during the pandemic. Elizabeth is now the resident miniaturist at London’s Museum of the Home.
“For International Women’s Day 2022 the museum commissioned Elizabeth to create an installation to celebrate 20 inspirational women in the arts. The final piece can only be described as a table of trailblazers, reminiscent of Judy Chicago’s epic 1979 installation, The Dinner Party.”
Listening (podcast)
Mike Birbiglia interviews Craig Mazin (The Last of Us, Chernobyl) on his weekly podcast Working it Out. They talk about his The Last of Us insights and Chris’s excellent screenplay and story writing expertise. He co-hosts the podcast Scriptnotes with John August, which is always a good listen.
Listening (music)
This is the Kit’s new album is coming out in June. This single is super listenable - and the video is a delight. Keep your Converse sneakers together so they don’t get sad!
Creating
I have spent time over the last few days working on some comic pages for my Wednesday subscribers. In a story that I have dubbed “Welcome to Standalone,” I am creating a comic that invites readers to vote for the next steps at the end of each instalment. To get us going, I used a poll to see whether people wanted to see something entirely fictional or loosely autobiographical. “Loosely autobiographical” took 83% of the votes, so that’s where we will begin. Of course, the storyline will inevitably take unexpected twists and turns due to the votes, so it won’t remain autobiographical (thankfully), and you know I can’t resist a little nonsensical magic realism. Still, I hauled out some of my high school diaries for inspiration. So we begin. Join us on Wednesdays if you wish to take part.
Speaking of nonsensical magic realism, the short teaser for Yorgos Lanthimos’ (The Favourite and The Lobster) new film Poor Things looks weird and good. I hope it is.
Reading
Drawn & Quarterly's Winter Catalogue is out, and now my wishlist is bulging at the seams with new titles. In the meantime, I hope to order a copy of Benji Nate's Girl Juice this week, as it's available from Monday.
The nominees for the 2023 Eisner Awards were announced this week… I was happy to see Kate Beaton's Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands there and Geneviève Castrée: Complete Works. I have just ordered It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth by Zoe Thorogood and added Francis Rothbart!: The Tale of a Fastidious Feral by Thomas Woodruff to my "keep an eye out at the library" list.
Crone Cooking: Poached eggs
In an effort to cook 52 essential recipes by the time I turn 52 (March 2024), I have started a little list, and this week was dish number seven: Poached eggs!
When I was small, my mum occasionally served us poached eggs, which she made in a little saucepan set with individual poaching cups. They were kind of pleasantly rubbery and would make a change from the usual fried or boiled egg. These days, poached eggs are usually served at breakfast cafes as a delicately light cloud of egg white around a perfectly runny yolk. They are cooked in a vortex of boiling water, and I know it’s notoriously challenging. So this was the week for learning how to poach eggs. I followed this video for poaching techniques, and it worked! I may have made only one… and while it looked disgusting in the pan… it was perfect on the plate. Over the weekend, I will attempt to make more than one. And maybe even a hollandaise sauce. But then again, next week, my project is ice cream!
And that’s all for this week, Thanks for reading.
xo,
Claire
Hey you!
Each week I send my Sunday newsletter to a lovely group of readers (you!). I call it the Loobylu List, and yes, it’s free to subscribe. It’s a list of the things I’ve been enjoying during the week or things I‘m looking forward to, plus other curious tidbits I have thought about or found.
On Wednesdays, I send a bonus email to paying subscribers, the Looby Journal. It’s a little more personal and has a bit of a work-in-progress vibe. It usually has news from my life and studio, some illustrations, current projects, special offers, craft projects, guest posts, and lots of comics. I have even been known to send out special little free zines in the mail. If you do choose to become a paid subscriber, you’ll have my complete gratitude. Not only that, you are keeping this little enterprise going - and you’ll also receive the extra newsletters.
Thank you, no matter how you choose to subscribe!
Perhaps Tom will be the Norwegian prince on stage after Hamlet’s last act! I sort of feel by now that the only reasonable way out will be if everyone loses everything. Even Greg. Can’t watch until Monday week after next so avoiding spoilers will be a chore :o