a firebird in flight


Going Analog

This is loosely inspired by Jason Burk's /analog page: the equivalent of /uses for non-technical subjects. It also seemed like a good place to put links for general offline subjects, like the vinyl section below.

Paper

  • Watercolors: My go-to are Beam Paints supplemented by colors from Ko-Z Paints. Beam's paintstones are just an absolute joy to paint with.
  • Notebooks: Art Creation sketchbooks in the pocket size go everywhere with me. I keep ending up back in these even compared to the excellent Leuchtterm1917 because the heavy paper means I can write, draw, even watercolor, use any thickness of ink, and I don't have to worry about it.
  • Pens: I have two Kaweco pocket fountain pens that my spouse has bought for me, and I love them. One or the other is pretty much always in my pocket. If I need something else I generally grab a Pilot Juice-up these days. I also have a Zebra Lightwrite that I use when I'm journaling in bed. The Lightwrite lets me see what I'm writing without disturbing my spouse! It's amazing.

Magic

  • Tarot: My go-to deck is the Numinous Tarot, which is so colorful and evocative, I always love pulling it out.
  • Other Tarot: I like making magpie decks as well, including a mixed magpie tarot, a Wild Hunt deck composed of a mix of cards that speak of the Hunt to me, and a Queen's Deck that's all women from different decks.
  • Oracles: I have my own oracle deck, the Empty Sky, that I've been using for a little over ten years in one form or another. I also use the Threadbound Oracle (which is bookbinding/library themed!), the Forty Servants, and sometimes draw from Kim Krans's Archetype deck and the Citadel Oracle.

Zoetrope Vinyl

As both an animation nerd and budding vinyl hipster, it was probably inevitable that I would be fascinated by zoetrope records.

Zoetropes were an early form of motion picture. I first played with them as a kid and I think a lot of other people do too- it just involves having a ring with a series of pictures on the inside, and a way to spin it, usually with a slot to look through so you're only seeing one part of the ring at a time.

Looking around, I've seen a lot of people say they don't think zoetrope records are worth it because you need to use a strobe light or app to watch them, but I think it depends on