art and other things

Late to Tumblr, but living for it! I'm probably bored, talk to me.

[xansheu]

Fish.exe

[ranuunculus]

there is a terrible thing inside of you which you cannot see (OC)

[artofmaquenda]

There's a dog loose in the woods

[madame-duckie]

I think starting from scratch was the way to go for this one. Starting lighter had definitely helped me retain more detail. Also I guess working with a huge sheet of high quality paper really helps....

[penandinkprincess]

parenting commitment level 3000

[penandinkprincess]

apparently a requirement for working at poison control is a talent for stand-up comedy

[boldlyawkward]

I made stew. It was awesome. I love potatoes.

[potato]

i luv u too

[potato]

wait what was in the stew

[amphibulous]

playlists are truly a combination of the two best things in the world:

1. Music

2. Sorting Things Into Categories

[miamaimania]

“Architecture of Density” by Michael Wolf

[ladytuarach]

Thank you @posttexasstressdisorder for the complete picture

[cryptonature]

If tomorrow the world was littered with magical portals that could transport us to and from a kaleidoscopic world of candy foliage, most would be used to it in a year. The next generation wouldn't find it strange at all. This is our situation now, here, in this world of electric eels and glowing beetles. In these bodies of iron-infused blood and gravity-hardened bones. Choose to see past familiarity. Choose to be amazed.

[thewindowofthesummerhouse]

Greg Ruth  @gregthings

[draconym]

Me: Fuck, the paper towels I want are on the top shelf.

The Sir David Attenborough That Lives In My Brain: Being smaller-than-average presents an added challenge to foraging ... but necessity is the mother of invention. A little creativity turns a baguette into a tool, and voilà--

(paper towel roll falls on my face)

Sir David Attenborough, pleasantly: Success.

[st4rboyloser]

gotta run to google to make sure this phrase i’ve used correctly a million times before hasn’t changed meaning so i don’t use it incorrectly

[undead-knick-knack]

Reading this book really is like falling down the rabbit hole

[thesefallenembers]

the problem with reading and writing leading to a strong vocabulary is that you tend to know the vibe of words instead of their meanings.

if I used this word in a sentence, would it make sense? absolutely. if you asked me what it meant, could I tell you? absolutely not.

[fixyourwritinghabits]

OKAY HOLD UP I KNOW THIS IS A SHITPOST BUT I HAVE A DEGREE IN THIS

Okay, so when we talk about the meaning of words, we are talking about denotation, the dictionary definition of the word, and connotation, the context in which native speakers associate with the word. Connotation is why just looking up synonyms of words doesn't always work.

When teaching this to ESL learners, my favorite example is the word "accumulate." Accumulate means to gather or collect in the dictionary definition of the words. The error in the example is for someone to say "I accumulate things" instead of "I collect things." This sounds wrong, because despite the denotation of the word, the most common connotation of accumulate is that a process done over time and without intent. Water accumulates. Dust accumulates. Money accumulates. But a person cannot say they accumulate things, because that is not a natural usage of the word.

However! As a writer who likes to learn new words, you can now use this knowledge to your advantage. Consider the following sentences:

Bob collected unread books until they piled high around his bed.

Versus

Books accumulated around Bob's bed, turning it into a fortress of unread words.

Both sentences are telling us the same thing - but the latter gives us a bit more insight on Bob, in that he's not intentionally obtaining so many books and not reading them, and that's a far more interesting thing to learn. The more you learn these words in context, the more you can use them to enrich your own writing. Embrace the thesaurus - but pay attention to those example sentences and how those words are actually used!

[lescarnetsdehaku]

Luxurious and showing it 🔥🍾

Part of this year's Inktober serie - week 1 and 2 were ORANGE and GREEN, and I just had fun.

See you for the next weeks!

[cryptonature]

You've had disappointments because you've been brave enough to have hopes. You've got scars because you're a foundational part of a big, wild world that leaves nothing unchanged. You're not separate from nature, the sky and sea and sun on the treetops. Your existence is a load-bearing support of this universe, the vast cosmic alchemy that gave rise to you. The same universe that crafted koalas and quasars and crocus petals authored the mind reading these words. Don't let intimate knowledge of your own life rob you of the dignity and wonder you are owed.