Hmm. Great question. Well, little known fact is I was actually recovering from Covid when I did the interview for the podcast in late January. I was almost better but still had to occasionally mute my mic to have a cough. (*Long story on how my family got sick.... All I can say is we were MUCH more careful than anyone else but became ill anyway. It was at the start of a new variant spreading here in Malawi and when old precautions were becoming less effective. Something to think about as new variants make their way in Europe and the Americas right now.)
One thing that changed is my art for UN organizations became a lot more functional in terms of educating people about the virus and how to avoid catching it or spreading it. The "Nthambi" characters I created in collaboration with my Malawian colleagues at UNFPA Malawi (United Nations Population Fund) all had to be masked up. This led me to use some beautiful local Malawian designs for their masks. My love of these then started to creep into my other art and I have a sketchbook of watercolor pen drawings that are only patterns and designs inspired by Malawi as well as Myanmar (where we lived just before Malawi.)
I haven't yet figured out what I will do with the drawings. I've only put them on Facebook once in a while in my creativity group I run. I encourage anyone here to join if you'd like a place to share your stuff in a private, safe environment. facebook.com/groups/makeandshareda...
"The idea behind this group is to share something new daily (or more realistically every few days if need be!) It can be artwork you made, a photo you took, a quote you stumbled across, a blog post, some writing, a creative list, or any idea you may have. Research backs up that the more you create, the better and better your ideas and projects become simply by increasing the quantity of what you make."
I love my little Wacom tablet. That's what I use mainly along with Photoshop because they have so many brushes that mimic "real primitive" brush textures. But I am trying to also unplug and give my eyes a break. I am traveling the next few days and have just my paper and pencils and watercolor pens. It actually stresses me out a little to not be able to "undo" or "delete" when working the old fashioned way, but in the end I am always happy to try and reconnect with traditional art methods.
Hi K,
When you discussed teaching, you mentioned you taught in Swansea, MA!??! I grew up MA and know that area a bit. I have lived throughout the US for quite a while but have lived in Providence for the last several years and the Cape more recently. Are you a 'Nor-easter'? lol
PS Call me Matt ;)
Hi Matt,
Wow! Yes, Swansea is my hometown and I was born just nearby in Fall River. Providence is just 15 minutes away and one of my favorite cities. My brother is on the radio as Kevin Lawrence at Cat Country in Providence and you can also hear his voice on many commercials on local radio and TV.
I also lived in Provincetown and the Cape for a few summers back in the day. We go and visit every year... though due to the pandemic have not been back since 2019. We are trying to go this June/July but are currently navigating all the rules and regulations. Fingers crossed! I want me a stuffie and some chowdah. :-) I miss the foods I can't get so easily outside of New England. On the other hand, if I see snow even on TV, I will change the channel. I don't miss it.
I go to Warren and Bristol a lot. I can't say I listen to Cat Country much but I know it. Country and disco don't usually make my playlist. ;D I have found PVD an odd medium-sized city. It is kind of a stop over for the older mafioso wannabes that go between Boston's North End and NYC Little Italy.
Ah... P-town, I saw my first female impersonator there. In the key of "All in the Family", "Those were the days". My family is in Chatham. Luckily the past couple of winters have been veryyy mild in PVD and the cape. I don't think we had more than 2-3 inches then it melted very quickly. I admit I prefer the Southern weather to NE winters but my folk/family are here.
I'm not into Country myself but neither was my brother when he got the job. He was at a Top 40 station before that. I guess it grew on him though. I do love SE New England, especially in the summer. Stay warm and away from Tony Two-Times and Sid The Squid. :-D
I'm a friendly non-developer from NC who enjoys playing music/making noise, eating veggies, and hanging out with my best friend/wife, our 2 cats, and greyhound. (he/him)
Oh I feel ya ā I too caught COVID in February. I generally thought I was being pretty dang safe, but I had one friend who I was meeting up with regularly and the both of us got it. š Luckily, neither of us were hit too hard, but it definitely wasn't fun.
Thanks for sharing the backstory on the "Nthambi" characters. It's very interesting how your work took on a more functional nature here! Looking at your art now and I see the mask illustrations ā those are indeed some very cool patterns and it's awesome to know they're reflective of the local design.
So glad you are better now! We did all the usual precautions, but my older son has a nail biting habit and we think he picked up the virus from a car we were traveling in, even though we all wore masks and the windows were down. We'd hired a driver (with a 4X4) to take us up north because the roads are so bad in December. At the time, many locals didn't believe in Covid and were not wearing masks. He was only doing so to humor us. It turned out, he was using the housing/lodging money we'd paid for to save for his family and sleeping in the vehicle. He had complained of stomach issues at the end of our trip so we think we picked up the virus from him. We were probably one of the rare cases where we picked it up from a surface as opposed to through the air.
Thankfully we all recovered. My older son was sick for three days only. My younger one had no symptoms at all. My husband got it but recovered within a month. I took the longest for some reason.
Glad you like the Malawian patterns. I'm sure they will find their way into more future illustrations and paintings moving forward.
Best wishes,
Kristen
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Hi Michael,
Hmm. Great question. Well, little known fact is I was actually recovering from Covid when I did the interview for the podcast in late January. I was almost better but still had to occasionally mute my mic to have a cough. (*Long story on how my family got sick.... All I can say is we were MUCH more careful than anyone else but became ill anyway. It was at the start of a new variant spreading here in Malawi and when old precautions were becoming less effective. Something to think about as new variants make their way in Europe and the Americas right now.)
One thing that changed is my art for UN organizations became a lot more functional in terms of educating people about the virus and how to avoid catching it or spreading it. The "Nthambi" characters I created in collaboration with my Malawian colleagues at UNFPA Malawi (United Nations Population Fund) all had to be masked up. This led me to use some beautiful local Malawian designs for their masks. My love of these then started to creep into my other art and I have a sketchbook of watercolor pen drawings that are only patterns and designs inspired by Malawi as well as Myanmar (where we lived just before Malawi.)
You are most welcome to see my recent illustrations here: kpalana.com/illustrations/
I haven't yet figured out what I will do with the drawings. I've only put them on Facebook once in a while in my creativity group I run. I encourage anyone here to join if you'd like a place to share your stuff in a private, safe environment. facebook.com/groups/makeandshareda...
"The idea behind this group is to share something new daily (or more realistically every few days if need be!) It can be artwork you made, a photo you took, a quote you stumbled across, a blog post, some writing, a creative list, or any idea you may have. Research backs up that the more you create, the better and better your ideas and projects become simply by increasing the quantity of what you make."
Thanks!
Best,
Kristen
Saw your illustrations. Wow! Very Cool!
Are the pics done using a drawing tablet or 'primitive' (LOL) paper and pencil/pen?
Thanks so much MCCurcio.
I love my little Wacom tablet. That's what I use mainly along with Photoshop because they have so many brushes that mimic "real primitive" brush textures. But I am trying to also unplug and give my eyes a break. I am traveling the next few days and have just my paper and pencils and watercolor pens. It actually stresses me out a little to not be able to "undo" or "delete" when working the old fashioned way, but in the end I am always happy to try and reconnect with traditional art methods.
Best wishes,
Kristen
Hi K,
When you discussed teaching, you mentioned you taught in Swansea, MA!??! I grew up MA and know that area a bit. I have lived throughout the US for quite a while but have lived in Providence for the last several years and the Cape more recently. Are you a 'Nor-easter'? lol
PS Call me Matt ;)
Hi Matt,
Wow! Yes, Swansea is my hometown and I was born just nearby in Fall River. Providence is just 15 minutes away and one of my favorite cities. My brother is on the radio as Kevin Lawrence at Cat Country in Providence and you can also hear his voice on many commercials on local radio and TV.
I also lived in Provincetown and the Cape for a few summers back in the day. We go and visit every year... though due to the pandemic have not been back since 2019. We are trying to go this June/July but are currently navigating all the rules and regulations. Fingers crossed! I want me a stuffie and some chowdah. :-) I miss the foods I can't get so easily outside of New England. On the other hand, if I see snow even on TV, I will change the channel. I don't miss it.
I go to Warren and Bristol a lot. I can't say I listen to Cat Country much but I know it. Country and disco don't usually make my playlist. ;D I have found PVD an odd medium-sized city. It is kind of a stop over for the older mafioso wannabes that go between Boston's North End and NYC Little Italy.
Ah... P-town, I saw my first female impersonator there. In the key of "All in the Family", "Those were the days". My family is in Chatham. Luckily the past couple of winters have been veryyy mild in PVD and the cape. I don't think we had more than 2-3 inches then it melted very quickly. I admit I prefer the Southern weather to NE winters but my folk/family are here.
I'm not into Country myself but neither was my brother when he got the job. He was at a Top 40 station before that. I guess it grew on him though. I do love SE New England, especially in the summer. Stay warm and away from Tony Two-Times and Sid The Squid. :-D
Oh I feel ya ā I too caught COVID in February. I generally thought I was being pretty dang safe, but I had one friend who I was meeting up with regularly and the both of us got it. š Luckily, neither of us were hit too hard, but it definitely wasn't fun.
Thanks for sharing the backstory on the "Nthambi" characters. It's very interesting how your work took on a more functional nature here! Looking at your art now and I see the mask illustrations ā those are indeed some very cool patterns and it's awesome to know they're reflective of the local design.
Appreciate the response here and wish you well!
So glad you are better now! We did all the usual precautions, but my older son has a nail biting habit and we think he picked up the virus from a car we were traveling in, even though we all wore masks and the windows were down. We'd hired a driver (with a 4X4) to take us up north because the roads are so bad in December. At the time, many locals didn't believe in Covid and were not wearing masks. He was only doing so to humor us. It turned out, he was using the housing/lodging money we'd paid for to save for his family and sleeping in the vehicle. He had complained of stomach issues at the end of our trip so we think we picked up the virus from him. We were probably one of the rare cases where we picked it up from a surface as opposed to through the air.
Thankfully we all recovered. My older son was sick for three days only. My younger one had no symptoms at all. My husband got it but recovered within a month. I took the longest for some reason.
Glad you like the Malawian patterns. I'm sure they will find their way into more future illustrations and paintings moving forward.
Best wishes,
Kristen