Nomenclature and Planetary Textures

On renaming this newsletter, the beauty of geomorphology, and holiday blahs.

Renaming the newsletter

Admittedly I was in a cheeky mood when I originally named this newsletter “Space Artist-Nerd Opines”, partly because I was in a rush and Twitter seemed to be burning down. I was never satisfied with it, even if is an accurate description. Instead, I’ve changed my tagline to incorporate it: “A space artist-nerd opines. D. Rose Studio art updates. Oddments. Nattering.” (Side note: my husband Nate looked over at that and said something like, “pulled out the dictionary, did we?” Look, I can’t help that I know what opine and nattering mean.)

Anyway, I have officially christened this newsletter Analog Ansible.

• analog (adj) - not involving or relating to the use of computer technology, as a contrast to a digital counterpart. (Chosen because my art is all traditional media, no digital.)

• ansible (n) - a category of fictional devices or technology capable of near-instantaneous or faster-than-light communication. (Chosen because email newsletters are near-instantaneous. Over the course of several decades since “ansible” was coined by the formidable Ursula K. LeGuin, many authors have borrowed the term, most notably Orson Scott Card. I humbly graft my tiny twig onto this family tree. )

Incidentally, if you signed up for this newsletter and got the better-than-all-others coupon code, that code is good through the end of this month. (Looking for a last-minute Christmas gift? It won’t get there in time. Got Christmas cash of your own to spend? By all means.)

Otherworldly: two new pieces I finished this month. "Ice Cliffs of Pluto", 7x10", watercolor. "Hues of Venus", 10x13", pearlescent watercolor on black.

The beauty of geomorphology

• geomorphology (n) - the study of the physical features of the surface of the earth and their relation to its geological structures.

I painted three new pieces this month (so far)—cropped versions of two of them are above. I’m really enjoying painting planets, especially geomorphological features like the icy surface of Pluto (above left), or the amazingly fractal-ly alluvial features of the Sahara Desert (below). It hearkens back to my geology studies, and I look forward to doing more in the series, especially the near-abstract close-up shots like the Pluto piece. (There’s several Mars images I’d love to capture, for instance.)

There’s something so inherently beautiful about the natural world, and those aesthetics present themselves both in the micro (the close-up of a leaf or the interlaced mineral texture of a granite boulder) and the macro (the alluvial fans of a river’s delta or the repeating patterns of sand dunes.) I was fascinated with the natural shapes and textures around me from a young age, and a geology background gave me context for what I was seeing. I use it on a daily basis, to enjoy the world more fully.

Alluvial features seen in the Sahara Desert, as viewed from the International Space Station. Watercolor, 7x10”. Source photo taken by astronaut Shane Kimbrough.

Holidays and blah

I’m not trying to pre-game my “holiday blahs”, but as this is only the second Christmas I’ve spent without my dad (he passed shortly before Thanksgiving last year), I’m trying to manage my expectations. It hits randomly.

I’m not sure how many more paintings I’ll get done in 2022—working on one now. I have many in my head, but it’s been a gloomy, rainy winter here in southern Oregon, and I’m fighting the urge to hibernate in the evenings and curl up with a book, or a movie. (At present I’m wiping tears away from the rescue scene of The Martian, which I have seen at least 100 times. Yes, I still choke up every time.)

Wishing you a very spacey, very happy holiday, whatever you choose to celebrate. May you be with people you enjoy, eating all the best things.