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Category: Art

Avoiding “Sketcher’s Block”

an open book of drawing prompt, with watercolor paintings for each prompt, and the open watercolor box
November 10, 2025 ~ Kana Smith ~ 10 Comments

I have a weird relationship with drawing and painting. I'm utterly ignorant, have never taken so much as a weekend workshop, couldn't tell you if that Italian word describes a painting technique or a musical instruction. I've figured out some stuff, just playing---some stuff about light and shadow and perspective, at least. You can generally … Continue reading Avoiding “Sketcher’s Block”

Cross My Heart

photo of the writer's wall with cross-stitch pictures pinned to it
November 8, 2025November 13, 2025 ~ Kana Smith ~ 6 Comments

When I was a kid, I loved paint-by-number kits. I remember they always came in three-packs (three paintings of horses, three paintings of lighthouses), and I loved everything about them. I loved the tiny paint-pots, all connected in a little plastic row. I loved stirring up the oil paints with a toothpick, watching the sludgy-looking … Continue reading Cross My Heart

Poetry Ambush

AI-generated image of poet Walt Whitman with his hand over his mouth like a mischievous boy
November 6, 2025November 13, 2025 ~ Kana Smith ~ 17 Comments

I used to hate poetry. Really hate it. Like its-existence-made-me-angry hated it. So you'll laugh when I tell you I have a Master's degree in Creative Writing, Poetry. How was that turn-around effected? Two words, from my undergrad years. Walt Whitman. I had a flashback to my old way of thinking, recently, when I bought … Continue reading Poetry Ambush

A Ramble, and An Ode to my Frameo

drawing of a breakfast table on a patio on Maui at sunrise
November 5, 2025November 13, 2025 ~ Kana Smith ~ 7 Comments

GoodReads tells me I'm "behind" by 9 books. It's measuring against the pace I have to average, in order to meet my reading goal of 310 books this year. I've spent the year playing leapfrog with that number---sometimes I'm a number of books ahead-of-pace, obviously sometimes the opposite. But we're coming up on that time … Continue reading A Ramble, and An Ode to my Frameo

Here a Duck, There a Duck

Filipino "Jeepney" (AI generated photo)
October 24, 2025October 28, 2025 ~ Kana Smith ~ 2 Comments

In the Philippines, the streets are crowded with--- Well, I could just make that a full stop. The streets are CROWDED. But among the things that crowd them are specimens of a form of public transportation known as the "Jeepney"---a sort of mashup between jeep and school bus, often open-sided and always painted with incredible … Continue reading Here a Duck, There a Duck

In Which Kana is Delighted by a New Toy

AI-generated picture of a cat zooming around a room with a bonkers expression on his face
October 22, 2025October 23, 2025 ~ Kana Smith ~ 8 Comments

I've been playing. It was another blogger, The AI Grandad, whose post about "falling down the AI rabbit hole" led me to exploring MidJourney, an AI program that produces images from the written prompts you give it. This rabbit hole runs deep! For a start, I managed to create a pretty good approximation of Yoda-cat's … Continue reading In Which Kana is Delighted by a New Toy

Big Reveal: What APPLE Actually Looks Like

turquoise dragon at an Apple MacBook laptop, surrounded by nautical pictures and post-its and written notes all over the turquoise walls
October 19, 2025October 25, 2025 ~ Kana Smith ~ 8 Comments

We've been trying for weeks to capture a photograph of our cat, Yoda, when he goes into that crazed mode we refer to as "bonkers-ing." He gets the most unhinged expression on his face and goes tearing around the house, streaking from couch to chair to high shelving to cat-condo, pausing for a split second … Continue reading Big Reveal: What APPLE Actually Looks Like

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"As for me, I am tormented with an everlasting itch for things remote. I love to sail forbidden seas, and land on barbarous coasts."

~ Herman Melville, Moby-Dick

  1. yusefasabiyah's avatar
    yusefasabiyah on In Which We Don’t Sail Into the SunsetFebruary 16, 2026

    Owning the boat was associated with beautiful dreams of romance and adventure. If you sell the boat, you'll have a…

  2. judy thompson's avatar
    judy thompson on The Accidental Cat LadyFebruary 3, 2026

    I suspect we have a magic 'hobo' sign on our mailbox, for forty + years cats have wandered up our…

  3. Metal Odyssey's avatar
    Metal Odyssey on What is WRONG With People?January 31, 2026

    After reading this, all I can say is you have a soul of gold to put up with such Neanderthal…

  4. Jimena's avatar
    Jimena on In Which We Don’t Sail Into the SunsetJanuary 29, 2026

    It looks good on you ;) In my case, it"s not like it has completely disappeared from my belongings... Once…

  5. Kana Smith's avatar
    Kana Smith on In Which We Don’t Sail Into the SunsetJanuary 29, 2026

    My "teal phase" has lasted four decades, and shows no sign of waning. ;)

"It is not down on any map; true places never are"

~ Herman Melville, Moby-Dick

What is WRONG With People? A Pain in the Neck If the Present is a Gift, so is the Past Cow Physiology 101 The “Year in Books” On the Palm Tree as an Antidepressant Untitled Dragon Biography The Christmas-Tree Trade-In
  • When you Assume... you make an ASS out of U & ME
  • Hunting for Answers in Pink Camo: Why is it...
  • Marginalia & Time-Travel
  • Mythbusters Edition: "Depression is Just in Your Head"
  • On the Ethics of Storytelling, and the Art of Making Shit Up
  • One of My Very Bad Habits
  • History of a Helm-Hog
  • Pushed Over the Edge?
  • Looking for YA Reading Recommendations
  • Burning the Script

"Not all those who wander are lost."

~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

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