It was Saturday evening in middle of the dark Finnish November. I found myself digging deeper into what fun activity I could do. Virtual hangouts have been an effective activity for staying connected with my family and friends in Amman and around the world. One virtual hangout that is always of particular importance is a call with my calligraphy teacher in Amman, Master Riad Tabbal. Continue reading
So the pandemic hit me hard. I am not saying I was fully sane before the pandemic but remote MATD workshops, spacing my typeface in solitude, and dissertation writing affected my judgment and I just went crazy with tea. Some people spent their money on toilet rolls during isolation but I spent (yes, I still do it today —sorry, not sorry—) my savings on tea. That majestic hot beverage commonly prepared by pouring boiling water over some fresh or dry leaves. Continue reading
APRIL 2020. I’m scrolling through my Instagram feed and I see a post from @ofcommoninterest offering a free-of-charge 5-weeks long remote workshop. It’s a collective research looking into feminist periodicals in collaboration with @lesigne_cndg. The possibility of taking part in something exciting is plutôt rare these days! I applied immediately. A few days later my participation in the workshop is confirmed. Continue reading
During these crazy times when this world has been turned upside down, we look for some moments of distraction from this new ‘reality 2.0’ that we live in nowadays. After living in another city for four years and in the Netherlands this past year, I moved back to my hometown, Madrid, in July. It’s astonishing seeing how fast a city changes. And it felt even more weird being back with the world upside down. For me, being able to go to museums after they re-opened became a big way to reconnect with my city, my new reality, and with the life we all had before the pandemic.
Mel Bochner’s pieces resonate with this year, It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This, 2013 and I’ve Had It Up to Here, 2012. Part of the exhibition “The american dream” in Caixaforum Madrid.
A significant part of a typeface designer’s job is looking at small details. A regular person might look at a font and be able to identify the difference between a sans and a serif. But if they take the time to look and learn, they could appreciate the little quirks that make each typeface unique. It’s the same with hiking; For a first stroll in the woods, someone might only be able to distinguish between trees and bushes. But they might look closer, at the tiny differences, at the blossoms and berries and lichens. They’re in a fascinating world with so much to explore.
Cherry blossoms, Northern bayberries, and Old Man’s Beard growing on branches.
Zappa liked the cooling, crumbling concrete
Actually I am not ‘the’ gardener, don’t have a green thumb nor the required patience…usually! 2020 was different. I discovered the joy of having flowers around and to take interest in rose slugs (sawfly) who were determined to eat all the roses I had planted. The little green patch in my yard had been a mess for years, waiting to be transformed. Well, this summer I finally had some extra time on my hands — thank you COVID-19 — and raised the motivation and energy together with my partner and we started buying plants, rose bushes, oleanders, lavender, hibiscus, bougainvillea, and others that I can’t remember the names. Continue reading
I pride myself with being an early 2020 adopter as my 2020 suddenly turned to poo at the end of January.
As pretty much the rest of the world I spent a lot of this year indoors. I baked sourdough bread and pizza, looked outside the window, checked out the weekly fox fight, envied the small balconies in the building opposite to mine and admired the persistence of the second floor lady sitting in one of the aforementioned balconies, working on her suntan, 9 to 6, Mon to Sun, April to September. In the UK. Talk about optimism…
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My days of uncertainty began a bit earlier than the pandemic. In the May of 2019, my husband and I decided to move out of India, packed up our home in Mumbai, and started what turned out to be a very very long journey to Europe. We were initially hoping to move to Vienna, but encountered a lot of obstacles with the visa application and long story short, after spending five months, figured that wasn’t going to be possible after all. Finally in January of 2020 we decided to relocate to Berlin instead and Rob was able to get a visa in just two days! This seemed fantastic and we assumed we would be in Berlin by April, but little did we know… Continue reading
![[Hand written title: What got me through 2020 by Lila Symons] [ID: drawing of a mug with matcha latte] [Text: mastering the matcha latte] [ID: drawing of laptop. On the screen, a yoga class is happening on zoom] [Text: all the virtual yoga classes and meditation groups that got me through my darkest days] [ID: drawing of black bathingsuit] [Text: lunchtime swim breaks] [ID: drawing of full laundry basket with a washer and dryer behind it] [Text: having a washer & dryer in my home] [ID: drawing of a patch of grass] [Text: reading a book in the grass at my favorite park] [ID: drawing of a fuchsia heart] [Text: relief your friend who was on a ventilator fighting for her life survived COVID-19] [ID: drawing of two face masks. One cloth in a colorful pattern, the other a one-time use mask] [Text: face mask, and everyone who wears them] [ID: drawing of a scented candle] [Text: candles from Verdant] [ID: drawing of the New York Times Daily Mini crossword puzzle] [Text: solving the New York Times Daily Mini the fastest (a rare occurrence)] [ID: drawing of paper money. One of the bills is a five-dollar bill] [Text: seeing a delivery person or barista light up when they discover the large tip you gave them was not a mistake.] [ID: drawing of the walking tracker icon on my smart watch] [Text: those days I walked over 10,000 steps] [ID: drawing of an open sketchbook. Each page has a letter A drawn on it in different colors and styles. Next to the sketchbook is a paintbrush and a small palette of paint.] [Text: secret art projects with friends] [ID: drawing of mobile phone in a text message box where two users send text messages to each other. The first bubble is a heart, the second bubble is a heart, and below both text bubbles the ellipses bubble, a symbol on iPhones that means a message is waiting to be received] [Text: the peace that comes with knowing that your last words with a loved one were "I love you"] [ID: drawing of rainbow] [Text: rainstorms and rainbows reminding us that they are with us, even if they are no longer in this world.]](http://www.alphabettes.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/2020doodlesLCS.png)