My piece for the @falsesymmetryzine! Give the rest of the zine a read here.
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With a final, stubborn groan, the dingy coffee machine sputters to life beneath False’s palm. She gives it an approving pat.
However slowly it churns away, the rich, earthen aroma of fresh coffee is a welcome sensation once it reaches her nose, though she powers it down for now. The end of a season is always a mad dash to finish projects, clean up bases, and bid farewells, and the past few sleepless days have been no different—throughout them, False has mostly subsisted on admittedly rather thrown-together thermos tea, but it’s nice to cross ‘bar repairs’ off her to-do list.
Almost. False eyes the empty counterspace next to the machine. She’ll have to restock the mugs first.
After a brief foray into the storage room—‘organize shulkers’ still sits unchecked at the bottom of her list—False is left carefully balancing a tower of cups tucked between her palm and chin. The wobble back to the bar is all of fifteen paces, but for the entirety of its duration, stray worries catch and tangle within False’s mind as her gaze flits across her base.
She loves it—don’t get her wrong! Through a plethora of experimenting and tweaking of her own techniques, she’s brought to life what she had envisioned, down to the grime of the darkened main hub and the welcoming light of each building within it. It’s a cool base with cool little details that’s cool to wander around. It might even be one of her favorite bases she’s ever created. Still, she fiddles with individual banners, unsure of their color, and finds herself agonizing over walls she’s already swapped out once or twice.
It’s fine. If something’s crooked, or slightly out of place, it just matches the aesthetic more, right? Nothing to agonize over!
In practice, it’s a little harder to banish her perfectionism. She starts to stack the mugs to the left of the coffee machine, changes her mind, then re-stacks them to the right.
False goes back and forth between the bar and her storage room to grab all the cups, plus a few extra embellishments she thought the bar could use. Halfway through, the tell-tale whoosh of an elytra interrupts False’s process. She turns just in time to see Pearl, dressed in her postmaster ensemble and holding a white shulker box, gliding through the hub’s entrance.
“Uh, hello?” False calls out, arms full of mugs, banners, and a single flower pot. Pearl spots her and brightens, jogging over with a wave.
“Heya, Falsie!” she cheerfully greets. “Need a hand with all that?”
Pearl gives her brim a tap. “Indeed I have!” she says. “The sun hat doesn’t match the uniform as well, now, does it?”
“I guess not.” False reaches the counter and dumps her materials onto it. Pearl comes around the bar and perches on the stool opposite to False. “What are you doing over here? Also, do you want some coffee?”
“Oh! I’d love some.” Pearl sets the shulker down and pushes it False’s way. “Anyway, we’re so close to the end, now, I figured I’d personally deliver everyone’s last bits of mail,” she explains. “Call me sentimental.”
“Sounds nice,” False says. She tucks the shulker under the counter to investigate later and sets a mug under the coffee machine’s spout, poking at it until it begins to drip. “I’ll bet it’s exciting seeing everyone’s bases, too.”
“That’s my secret second reason,” Pearl says with a wink. “Everyone’s been working so hard on their final projects; it’s fun getting them to show it off.”
“That’s a nice way to end off the season,” False says. “Have you got everything at yours finished up?”
“You know how bases go—there’s always more that could be added. But I reckon I’m at a good point to call it done,” Pearl says. She leans over the bar conspiratorily. “You’re cued into my secret now, and there’s a lovely base here just waiting to be toured. So, False, I’ve gotta ask… what’cha been up to?”
The coffee in Pearl’s waiting mug has only just fully covered the bottom rim, and sitting around staring at it won’t hurry the process along. False dusts off her gloves and leads the way.
Pearl, as it turns out, is a fantastic audience. As they meander through the main hub, she compliments thoroughly, and asks all sorts of questions about the base and False’s season as a whole. She’s easy to talk to, and soon False finds herself rambling about the building techniques she’s utilized and the story she’s worked to construct, from the broad strokes to the nitty-gritty she’s still scrutinizing.
Within the circle, they stop to discuss the phantoms and give the stable horses carrots. Outside, they loop around the lower perimeter and stop beneath the main tree to feel the cool breeze rustling through its massive bough. Its lanterns capture their discussion for a fair few minutes before Pearl spots the river course across the way, and they both agree to meet up for a race before the season’s end.
What really gets Pearl excited are the airships.
“Oh, False, these are wonderful!” she exclaims, running a hand appreciatively over the curved hull of the docked ship they’re standing by. “This guy looks like it should be running supplies across the galaxy and back.”
False chuckles. “Something like that,” she says. “I haven’t thought too much about specific lore, honestly. It’s nice it comes across anyway.”
“Intentional or not, you’re a fantastic storyteller,” Pearl tells her. She turns to look behind them, a hand shielding her eyes from the late morning sun. “Gosh, this is an incredible base. You always create wonderful things, but you’ve really outdone yourself with this.”
“You flatter me,” False says, feeling both the warmth and the slight antsiness that manifest when it comes time to accept a particularly earnest compliment. “I wasn’t sure about the copper on these, honestly.”
“Don’t sell yourself so short, mate!” Pearl playfully nudges her. “It’s looking awesome around here, seriously. I know I’ve loved exploring it.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” False says sincerely. “Wanna go see some science-y stuff?”
“I’d enjoy nothing more.”
By the time they return to the bar, the mug under the coffee machine is perfectly full. After adding some sugar and a dash of cream, False slides it across the counter to Pearl, who immediately takes a hefty swig. If it’s too hot, she doesn’t show it.
“As lovely as the base,” she says with a wink, and turns the cup in her hands to inspect its flecked design. “I’m gonna miss it! Everything we’ve all made. This season has felt really special, you know?”
“Yeah, it has,” False agrees. “Do you have any ideas yet? For the next season?”
“Not quite yet,” Pearl says between sips. “I’ll have to see where things take me, you know? Find inspiration along the way, after I’ve found a good spot.”
“That’s fair,” False says. “I’ve got a… vibe, for mine. No plans, but I think it’ll be cool.”
“I can’t wait to see it,” Pearl says. “Honestly, it’d be pretty fun being close enough to watch it pop up in real time. I don’t think we’ve ever been neighbors, have we?”
False casts her memory back to the previous seasons they’ve shared. “I don’t think we have,” she says after a moment. “It'd be nice being nearby, though.”
“Well, we can’t say anything too quickly, but if we happen to wander in the same direction, I’d be pretty darn happy about it,” Pearl says.
“I think I’d be pretty happy about it too,” False says, smiling.
“We’ve come to an agreement, then, haven’t we?” Pearl polishes off her coffee and sets the empty mug gently down. “This has been wonderful. Do you accept tips?”
False laughs. “Haven’t set up the tip jar yet, you caught me.”
“In that case, then,” Pearl says, slinging her mailbag back over her shoulder and hoisting her shulker onto her hip, “enjoy a cup yourself for me, will you? It’s quite tasty.”
“Will do,” False says, and gives a little salute.
“Thanks for the tour!” Pearl calls over her shoulder as she spreads her wings wide. “Catch you next season!”
“See you!” False waves to Pearl’s retreating back. When the sound of rockets fully disperses, False grabs the mug and washes it out, sets it to rest alongside the others, and gets back to work.
Hours later, after the sunny afternoon has cooled into a crisp evening, False puts away her empty thermos and sets herself a cup to brew while she tidies her storage room. The coffee machine dings just as she’s picking up the final shulker, and the mug’s heat is welcome through her gloves. She brings her drink over to the western entrance to watch the sunset. All she’s built is bathed in gold; surrounded by warmth, she’s satisfied with it in its entirety.
When she brings her coffee to her lips, she finds it to be delicious.
ok so, I approached my local library with a proposal to donate a mural as a way to A: build portfolio/gain practical experience and B: give back to a beloved public institution. The director was very enthusiastic about it and i've been working on it since the beginning of March. Come with me as I endeavor to paint what is in all honesty an excessive amount of birds
I wanted the birds to look like they were actually in the space so first thing after doing the draft was to do a lighting study
after that I covered the walls in letters in lieu of a projector/vr headset bc i have neither of those :) Then i take a picture of the section of wall and superimpose the lineart over top of it so I can pencil in the lines
et voila
and that was a whole week on it's own so next comes the paintin' >:)
my chains are broken i am FREE. although i did have a great deal of fun with this, the barring on the wings itself took me like four days and i am READY to move on
this was a week and a half of continuous work so please excuse me for getting a little emotional in the bg 🙏
BIRD NUMBER 10!!! The Male Mallard Duck, Anas platyrhynchos
the male and female ones are gonna be posted separately bc they're taking a lot longer lol but yea! super happy i was able to capture the iridescent green of the head, i found metallic green and blue paint at a craft store that really made his head POP. it looks better in person i promise
ALSO!! As this is the 10th one, BIG announcement. The end is in sight!!!!! I plan to finish within the next 3 weeks and there will be a small dedication ceremony/ unveiling happening at the library to commemorate its completion on the 16th of May. If you live in the Western New York region and want to check it out for yourself shoot me a dm!
Also thank you everyone for your kind words and support throughout this whole process, it's been a genuine treat thinking there are potentially thousands of you out there cheering me on while I paint this 🥹
we're movin right along with bird numero 11!! The lady Mallard!! Anas platyrhyncos
the 16th is looming in the distance so i'm trying to get thru these as quickly as i can so i can have as much time for the GBH as possible. i still need to do the names next to all of them so i've got about a week and a half to finish everything which is GREAT because i have adhd and nothing gets my ass in gear like a fuckin deadline, let me tell you
power couple that they are, here's bird number 12 and 13,
the Northern Cardinals, Cardinalis cardinalis
and NOW that they are complete, ITS GO TIME, in the next five days (library's closed for mother's day 😭😭) i need to have the GBH fully rendered, the names of the birds vectored, weeded, masked, applied to the wall, and then painted, plus additional cattails throughout. I may be able to get away with just getting the GBH done in time for the unveiling and then just have the names and cattails added later, but i'm gonna really try to get it all done in time. BUT, i have a plan. Part of why i take so long on these is because i really am just figuring it out as I do it lmao. there have been many a time where i am sitting on top of the ladder googling "how to paint birds" but I think if i take the time tomorro to do all that figuring out how to approach it beforehand, this will go a lot faster. I may also recruit some of my artist friends to help with the placing of the names... hrmm we'll see.
Anyways, shout out to the librarian who tracked down exactly the thing i needed so i could figure out where to place the highlights in my birds eyes, ur the real mvp
thank you to everyone who reached out or got excited about this project, it genuinely gave me the fuel i needed to keep going. In total, the 480+ total hrs it took me to cover this wall pales in comparison to how long its expected to spend on there, hopefully imparting a sense of beauty and love for the natural world to the next generation and here's hoping i'm only getting started with these.
"Bailando sola en la oscuridad," my piece for @falsesymmetryzine !! Check it out HERE !!
Some of my thoughts about making this piece below
Named this piece "Bailando sola en la oscuridad" (dancing alone in the dark) in reference to the song Bailando Solo by Los Bunkers, a song i constantly listened to while drawing this. i cant even begin to explain how much efalse means to me. when esmp2 came out i was going through the worst months of my life and those videos were the only thing that made me have something to look forward to, when everything seemed hopeless, her character became my only comfort.
Bailando Solo is, to me, a song about loneliness and the feeling of being stuck (both physically and emotionally) in a place you cant seem to get out of, which is exactly what this painting is about. it is also a reflection on how i used to feel back then
to conclude: everyone needs to get more false pilled
snowghoul
turnnoffyourmind
dededos
2087
izzy806
yousharknotpass
