My first attempt at drawing with oil pastels. I'm pretty pleased with how the light blue and the white blended to make that wing. #drawyourstressaway #drawing #artsky #butterfly #oilpastels #nature

Wild turkey tries to intimidate an approaching truck. #turkeys #birds #wildlife #sacramento

I’ve embarked on a DnD campaign for the first time, and I’ve painted my character as a way to help me visualize him and nail down his personality. He’s the ghost of a Tiefling boy who protects the forest where he was murdered decades ago. #painting #art #artsky #dnd

Turnspits: An extinct dog breed formerly trained to assist chefs by running on a wheel that turned a spit. Described as having “a suspicious, unhappy look about them.” I think I can see why. #dogs #doghistory #extinctbreeds #history

Never a good sign when the mechanic asks you to go into the garage to look at something. It’s never, “I just wanted to show you what a beautiful fuel pump you have here!” It’s always, “Your fuel pump has Crohn’s disease!”

The ArtMix at the Crocker Art Museum was fun. I made an absolutely hideous Frida Kahlo at the crafting table. #art #crocker #artmix #sacramento

Getting a new scanner seemed like a good occasion to reupload all the paintings that I made last year. Make art! It's good for you! #artsky #painting #raccoons #skunks #mothman

At today's Draw Your Stress Away session, I took a little risk and pulled out the charcoal pencils that I bought forever ago. I'm not super comfortable with the medium yet, but I'm glad I challenged myself. #drawyourstressaway #brushtime #artsky #drawing

Forgot to post my Draw Your Stress Away sketch. This month we learned how to draw glass, a skill that has always eluded me. #drawing #drawyourstressaway #artsky

New friend on the side of the house. #prayingmantis #insects #bugs #nature #wildlife

This was us at Smart Axe in Folsom, CA. Axe throwing is super fun, like bowling but with weapons 🪓⚔️🏹 #axethrowing #smartaxe #sports #funnewwaytoprotectthehouse

This was us at Smart Axe in Folsom, CA. Axe throwing is super fun, like bowling but with weapons 🪓⚔️🏹 #axethrowing #smartaxe #sports #funnewwaytoprotectthehouse

I'll be checking out all of these artists. #kennedycenter #music #lookforthehelpers

Christmas accomplished! Now we can relax 😴

It’s usually the rule that I can never find the colored pencils in time for a Draw Your Stress Away session. Now the only thing keeping me from producing vibrant drawings is the fact that I’m colorblind 😵 #drawing #solstice #art #cats #christmastree

This cause is close to my heart - please sign: sign.moveon.org/petitions/st...

Finally, we have a quantifiable measure of who artists’ actual biggest fans are. Please come to Bluesky, Andrew Bird! #spotifywrapped #topartist #andrewbird

I’m okay being called an old soul. I would only have felt called out if they’d guessed my ACTUAL age. #spotifywrapped #listeningage

The best way to enjoy Wicked For Good is to watch the original no more than 48 hours beforehand and imagine both movies as one spectacular production. #wicked #wickedforgood #filmsky #movies

One major problem with studying the ancient writings of America is that none of them are named like “the mythology of Oaxaca” or anything that makes sense. They get named “The Paris Codex,” “The Codex Nuttall,” & “The Dresden Codex” Names come from current collections and not sources.

I’m no longer a Christian, but I grew up in a church that imagined Jesus as a figure of radical love and opened its doors to everyone. This article is a nice reminder that this vision of #Christianity still exists in the world.

Another relaxing session at Draw Your Stress Away. This is a chill guided drawing session that happens live over Zoom. Pumpkins were today's subject. That rough looking bird on the stem is a nightjar, which I added for an extra challenge. #drawing #art #nightjars #pumpkins

This is why we don’t have hover cars yet. The business model for all new technologies is “make it addictive.” If it doesn’t foster dependency, stockholders aren’t interested. #AInightmares #ChatGPT #technology #technews #dystopiawriterstakenotes

The narrative for the last year has been that Democrats still don't get why they lost in 2024. If there's a lesson from last night, it's that Republicans still don't get why they won. The people asked for cheaper groceries, Trump focused on immigration and culture wars. That's why he's losing.

Friday’s Halloween party was a roaring success. Thanks, Marielle, for your vision and tireless efforts.

Nothing beats waking up rested on the first day of Standard Time, getting back the hour that Daylight Saving sucked out of my soul in March, like the evil time demon that it is. #timechange #autismobsessions #fuckdaylightsaving

My roommate’s perfect traditional pumpkin and my ambitious, lopsided raccoon that came out looking angrier than I intended. #halloween #pumpkins #raccoons #jackolanterns

One of those books I'll remember liking more than I did. I could talk for hours about the world of Paradys, its history and monsters, its gender nonconforming characters, but I often felt detached from the protagonists, making parts of the book feel like a homework assignment. #books #booksky

If you don't plan to read all 39 Hercule Poirot books, make space on your TBR shelf for Sad Cypress. With courtroom drama and a possible death sentence at stake, it's a departure from Christie's formula. The solution caught me off guard, but it felt like a puzzle piece snapping into place. #booksky

Columbus' voyage wasn't just about exploration, it was about enriching the Spanish Crown at all costs. When he realized that he hadn't discovered a route to Asia, he resorted to enslaving and brutalizing the Taino people to make a profit. If we must memorialize him, let's not gloss over his legacy.

Highly recommend this chill group on Meetup called Draw Your Stress Away. It’s a free guided drawing session that meets live on Zoom once a month. The drawings are simple, but participants are encouraged to stray from the prompt and make it their own. The skunk is my own addition! #art #drawing

My hunt for a new favorite author to replace Gaiman led me back to Krystal Sutherland. She's a master of sensory detail, which means you smell and taste everything. Blood, vomit, decomposition. Yup. Don't try to read Invocations in one sitting, but read it! #booksky #books #horror #witchy #mystery

Hey! We got fudge!

Who should appear at Sacramento’s #farmtoforkfestival to do a solo acoustic set? Why, it’s Michael Angelakos of #passionpit, playing some old favorites and debuting a song about his cat!

Poor, poor Harley had her bladder stones removed this week, and now she must wear the cone of shame 🥺 #dogs #coneofshame #australianshepherd #aussie

If you're the mother of an autistic child, you did nothing wrong. Don't let an administration with a pathological hatred for autistic people (and an utter contempt for science) make you think otherwise.

I figured an oversized spear would be a good weapon for a warrior skunk, since owls are among skunks’ few natural predators. I also read that skunks don’t like their own stink, hence the oleander cape. #art #painting #acrylic #skunks #owls #paintsky #artsky

It’s hard not to see this as the goal of the immigration raids. Not a vehicle to suppress (nonexistent) crime waves, but to suppress public expressions of cultural identity. When the idiot’s supporters say they want to “make America White again,” believe them.

Which of Odin’s 170 names is your favorite? Top contenders for me would have to be: Hangadróttinn (lord of the hanged) and Hrosshársgrani (horse-hair mustache) #mythology #norsemythology #odin

Not a memorable story, but an amazing sensory experience. I could feel the drops of rain on my face, smell the baklava and cottage bread baking in the oven, taste the mnimi soup. I don’t even know what the hell mnimi soup is! #books #booksky

Little praying mantis on my bike break! I gave him a home on our lemon tree. I hope the spiders don’t get him! #prayinmantis #bugs #insects #wildlife

Some great pieces on display at the Crocker Art Museum. I like that the captions include a “look for” blurb that draws your attention to some easily overlooked detail in the artwork.

We’ve been Sacramento residents for 3 weeks now. So far I’m really enjoying our giant backyard with fruit trees, our Canada goose next door neighbors, the million and one book and record stores, and the bike paths that actually feel safe.

The art gallery at the #CAstatefair made the whole event worth the price of admission. I saw some gorgeous art pieces from local artists, some as young as 5, are already better than I’ll ever be. #art #painting #sculpture

I could watch these lemurs running around all day. #CAstatefair #wildlife #lemurs

Raccoon brothers at the #CAstatefair wildlife exhibit. They’re nocturnal, so they slept most of the day, but once the sun went down, they started wrestling. #raccoons #wildlife

One of the cutest animals at the #CAstatefair wildlife exhibit: Sleepy kookaburra.

Cuddly porcupines at the #CAstatefair. Signs warned visitors strongly against petting them. #wildlife #porcupines

Friendly reindeer at the #CAstatefair wildlife exhibit let us pet them. Their antlers are super fuzzy! #wildlife #reindeer

I laughed a lot more than I expected to. Superman really leans into the corniness of super heroes, but with moments of sincerity that keep the whole movie from feeling like a joke. #superman #film #movies