Jay's recent writing and drawings.https://jayperry.works/https://jpw-api.cdn.prismic.io/jpw-api/9a5d157d-5a1e-4ebf-807b-8feff791e058_jp-logo-reverse.svghttps://jpw-api.cdn.prismic.io/jpw-api/9a5d157d-5a1e-4ebf-807b-8feff791e058_jp-logo-reverse.svg7999ecen-ushttps://jayperry.works/blog/2026/05/18/seeing-ourselves-in-one-another/https://jayperry.works/blog/2026/05/18/seeing-ourselves-in-one-another/On April 12, 2026, I gave a short talk to the All Souls Waccamaw Unitarian Universalist Congregation. One of the pastors there is Bob Clegg, an old friend of my wife's and mine, and he invited me to join one of their Sunday services, remotely, as a guest speaker. I was honored, but also intrigued by the prompt he gave me: how do you employ art to make meaning in your life?Mon, 18 May 2026 16:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2026/03/16/spring-thaw/https://jayperry.works/blog/2026/03/16/spring-thaw/The prelude to spring here has see-sawed between snowstorms and warm days. As the snow has melted away, we've been getting dense fog in the mornings.Mon, 16 Mar 2026 19:15:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2026/01/19/winter-light/https://jayperry.works/blog/2026/01/19/winter-light/Some photos I've been taking on walks around my neighborhood. Winter around here gets a bad rap. Gray, dark, bleak. But the longer I live here by the Patapsco River, though, the more I can’t help but fall in love with the way sunlight behaves this time of year.Mon, 19 Jan 2026 14:35:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2026/01/14/penny-jane/https://jayperry.works/blog/2026/01/14/penny-jane/We adopted a new dog last week, a 3 1/2-year old greyhound we named Penny Jane. Her name was my wife’s idea: she loves the Beatles. And ‘Jane’ is a tribute to Jane Goodall. We call her Penny for short.Wed, 14 Jan 2026 13:56:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2025/12/05/first-snowfall/https://jayperry.works/blog/2025/12/05/first-snowfall/We've got a bit of snow today - only a dusting so far, but it's the first of the year, which always feels exciting. I took a walk down the road with my camera just because. It felt like a shame to watch first snowfall through a window.Fri, 05 Dec 2025 15:49:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2025/11/14/visit-to-montreal/https://jayperry.works/blog/2025/11/14/visit-to-montreal/I visited Montreal a few weeks ago for a conference. This was the first time I've been there and I hope it won't be the last - it's such a beautiful city.Fri, 14 Nov 2025 15:22:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2025/10/07/plans-and-pouring-water/https://jayperry.works/blog/2025/10/07/plans-and-pouring-water/In my adult life I’ve become more and more inclined to make plans — increasingly detailed plans — but I also get more and more invested in them. I wish I didn’t feel so flustered when my plans don’t work out.Tue, 07 Oct 2025 17:36:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2025/09/17/walking-around-the-lakes/https://jayperry.works/blog/2025/09/17/walking-around-the-lakes/Wed, 17 Sep 2025 13:12:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2025/09/05/birthday-card/https://jayperry.works/blog/2025/09/05/birthday-card/My wife’s birthday is September 1st, and I made a card for her: a series of quick drawings of a flower from our Rose of Sharon tree.Fri, 05 Sep 2025 00:19:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2025/08/16/a-walk-in-baltimore/https://jayperry.works/blog/2025/08/16/a-walk-in-baltimore/I took some time off this morning to walk around East Baltimore awhile. I haven't hung out in the city in too long, and, really, I just needed a break. I needed a minute to catch my breath, be somewhere that isn't my desk, and let my mind wander a little. So I picked up my camera, drove downtown, and took a long walk through my old neighborhoods.Sat, 16 Aug 2025 21:21:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2025/07/21/spring-flowers/https://jayperry.works/blog/2025/07/21/spring-flowers/A few photos I’ve taken with a few new lenses I’ve bought: photos of little details I’ve run across in our yard and the local forests. Flowers blooming in my wife’s garden, bugs in the creek, the trees and grass coming back to life.Mon, 21 Jul 2025 16:17:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2025/05/12/chapters-7-and-8-of-nightfall-are-up/https://jayperry.works/blog/2025/05/12/chapters-7-and-8-of-nightfall-are-up/These last couple chapters mull over what the night has meant to us humans over our history, and also what it means to me, personally. The dark scares us sometimes, but it’s also a place for us to step outside our senses, to lose ourselves, to rethink our priorities, to contemplate the source of things, to transform ourselves.Mon, 12 May 2025 14:58:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2025/05/04/spring-morning-light/https://jayperry.works/blog/2025/05/04/spring-morning-light/I love the way sunlight filters in through the windows in the morning this time of year. The sun gets brighter in April as the weather gets warmer, and it throws beautiful shadows and highlights across the house when it rises. I like to look out the window as the coffee brews, the house still quiet, and sometimes the light lures me outside.Sun, 04 May 2025 23:52:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2025/04/08/cherry-blossom-snow/https://jayperry.works/blog/2025/04/08/cherry-blossom-snow/Our cherry tree is usually the first thing in our yard to bloom. It kind of bursts into white in March or April, as the sun starts to burn off the winter gray. Then the rains and winds blow all the flower petals off the tree. There's a swirly, glittery, extremely local blizzard as the petals cover the deck, the tables, the cars, or anything that sits still too long.Tue, 08 Apr 2025 21:18:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2025/03/20/creature-of-habit/https://jayperry.works/blog/2025/03/20/creature-of-habit/The older I get, the more attached I feel to my daily routine. Over the years I’ve hammered my days into a certain shape and flow that works pretty well, all in all. But it also sometimes makes me feel … brittle.Thu, 20 Mar 2025 13:30:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2025/02/07/nightfall-chapter-6-is-up/https://jayperry.works/blog/2025/02/07/nightfall-chapter-6-is-up/Fri, 07 Feb 2025 18:48:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2025/01/16/nightfall-chapter-5-is-up/https://jayperry.works/blog/2025/01/16/nightfall-chapter-5-is-up/The 5th chapter of my new essay is up! This chapter is about how we orient ourselves in the world in a very specific way: up and down, land and sky, figure and ground. What might it feel like to escape (or abandon) that? Is our sense of 'figure' and 'ground' essential to our human consciousness? Without it, would we become ...something else?Thu, 16 Jan 2025 17:28:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2025/01/10/photo-walk-snow-days/https://jayperry.works/blog/2025/01/10/photo-walk-snow-days/We got a pretty decent snowstorm this week - roughly 8 inches on the ground in my neighborhood.Fri, 10 Jan 2025 14:19:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2025/01/08/the-costs-and-opportunities-of-dairy/https://jayperry.works/blog/2025/01/08/the-costs-and-opportunities-of-dairy/I ran across a fascinating piece in The Economist this morning that does a nice job of summing up all the complexity of the problem of cattle farming and its environmental costs versus its economic and cultural importance.Wed, 08 Jan 2025 14:54:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/12/30/photo-walk-12-29/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/12/30/photo-walk-12-29/I took a short walk the other morning. There'd been rain overnight and all the trees were covered in tiny water droplets. The air was awfully humid. As the sun rose everything dried out and it turned into a beautiful day.Mon, 30 Dec 2024 04:12:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/12/19/machines-computers-and-in-between/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/12/19/machines-computers-and-in-between/I got a new camera and it got me thinking about what photography means to me, and how our expectations have changed, over the years, about what a camera is.Thu, 19 Dec 2024 14:18:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/12/12/inking-the-illustration-for-chapter-4/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/12/12/inking-the-illustration-for-chapter-4/Here's some in-progress snapshots of the drawings I did for the 'Landing on the ceiling' illustration. The chapter is about bats' remarkable ability to land upside-down, and I thought I'd make a picture of some bats coming home to roost on the ceiling of their cave.Thu, 12 Dec 2024 15:19:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/12/09/nightfall-chapter-4-is-up/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/12/09/nightfall-chapter-4-is-up/I’m afraid I was running late getting this chapter together. It’s been a busy fall. But it’s up! In this chapter I took a closer look at bats’ remarkable ability to land upside down, and what that might mean for how they see the world.Mon, 09 Dec 2024 17:15:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/12/04/solstice-twilight/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/12/04/solstice-twilight/I took a short walk the other evening to stretch my legs and get some fresh air. I love how the light changes at dusk in winter. The cold air is super clear and in the dimming sunlight the landscape gets this low-contrast, subtle blue-purple-pink glow. I can’t do it justice with either my camera or my brushes, but I keep going out in the cold to admire it.Wed, 04 Dec 2024 12:39:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/12/02/for-the-love-of-fire-and-death/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/12/02/for-the-love-of-fire-and-death/There’s a clip floating around YouTube that I’ve watched many times: Ayrton Senna drives a Honda NSX around Suzuka, a racetrack in Japan. That video encapsulates a lot of the complicated feelings I have about cars these days. Watching the greatest driver ever in a classic sports car is a moment of captivating grace and skill, but it’s also a reminder of a world that I struggle to see as anything other than corrupt. Cars are beautiful, but they’re also the worst.Mon, 02 Dec 2024 15:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/11/18/a-surface-and-a-mark/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/11/18/a-surface-and-a-mark/I filled up the last page of my notebook last night, and it was time to start on the new one. I like to make my own notebooks; binding a new one has become a biannual ritual, my dorky way of marking the seasons. But this time I gave in and just bought one off the shelf. Why? I’ve got a lot going on this fall. Time is short and this is one of those compromises.Mon, 18 Nov 2024 15:21:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/11/05/nightfall-chapter-3-is-up/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/11/05/nightfall-chapter-3-is-up/Chapter 3 of my new essay is up! ‘The upside-down people’ considers the world from a bat’s point of view, and the ways our own point of view — so different from theirs — makes it easy for us to misunderstand them.Tue, 05 Nov 2024 13:18:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/10/29/destino/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/10/29/destino/An animated short from Salvador Dalì and Walt DisneyTue, 29 Oct 2024 19:15:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/10/25/changing-leaves/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/10/25/changing-leaves/Fri, 25 Oct 2024 17:43:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/10/04/hurry-up-were-dreaming/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/10/04/hurry-up-were-dreaming/The other night I listened to M83’s classic double album, ‘Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming’, in my headphones. I hadn’t played it in a long time and I remembered, once again: it’s so, so good.Fri, 04 Oct 2024 16:15:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/10/03/nightfall-chapter-2-is-up/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/10/03/nightfall-chapter-2-is-up/I’ve posted Chapter 2 of my new essay, in which I buy a bat house and find myself deeply confused.Thu, 03 Oct 2024 12:11:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/09/19/young-people-with-books/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/09/19/young-people-with-books/Experience begets capability, but that isn’t always apparent or obvious. Year after year you do your thing, struggling with one dilemma or obstacle after another, and sometimes you look great and sometimes you look rough. I wonder: is this a thing that happens as you get older? You’ve put your 10,000 hours in, but young people who’ve read books keep dispensing advice, telling you you’re doing it wrong.Thu, 19 Sep 2024 18:14:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/09/17/a-new-essay/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/09/17/a-new-essay/I’ve been working on a new illustrated essay called Nightfall, which I’ve decided to post serially on my website, one chapter each month.Tue, 17 Sep 2024 15:56:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/08/26/down-the-ocean-this-year/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/08/26/down-the-ocean-this-year/Here's some photos I shot from our trip to Ocean City, Maryland this year. Or, as my people say, from down the ocean.Mon, 26 Aug 2024 19:12:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/08/15/margaret-renkl/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/08/15/margaret-renkl/I ran across a book at the library this week called ‘The Comfort of Crows’, by Margaret Renkl. Subtitled ‘A Backyard Year’, it sounded like something I could get into; I love local nature writing in that Annie Dillard-Roger Deakin kind of vein. This one is even better than I’d hoped.Thu, 15 Aug 2024 12:58:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/08/04/toumani-diabate/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/08/04/toumani-diabate/I’m so sad to hear that Toumani Diabaté has passed away. A musician from Mali, Diabaté played a traditional stringed instrument called the kora.Sun, 04 Aug 2024 19:35:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/07/25/can-you-feel-me/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/07/25/can-you-feel-me/Childish Gambino’s new album, 'Bando Stone and The New Word' is great and complicated and intense, like all his work. But one song, 'Can You Feel Me', is my favorite. It's a duet with his son, Legend, and it honestly gets me choked up every time. One of the most beautiful songs about fatherhood I think I’ve ever heard.Thu, 25 Jul 2024 16:55:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/07/22/a-billion-heres/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/07/22/a-billion-heres/Overheard the other day…Mon, 22 Jul 2024 22:46:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/07/16/shepherdstown-overnighter/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/07/16/shepherdstown-overnighter/I went on my first overnight-camping bike ride a few weeks ago. I picked a stretch of the C&O Canal Towpath between Brunswick, Maryland and Shepherdstown, West Virginia. I planned to park in Brunswick, ride the trail out to a campsite just past Shepherdstown, camp for the night, and then ride back to my car in the morning. I was feeling cautious because my ankle is still recovering from a fracture about 3 months ago, my fitness has taken a nosedive, and I’m very much a beginner to camping and long-distance cycling. I hoped this would be an ‘easy’ route to get my bearings on.Tue, 16 Jul 2024 17:03:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/07/14/up-and-running/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/07/14/up-and-running/I’ve started going on (short, slow) runs again, about three months after fracturing my ankle.Sun, 14 Jul 2024 19:15:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/06/18/roving-clouds/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/06/18/roving-clouds/There’s been some really great clouds over the past week or so — the kind that usually make me stop and take a picture. Here’s a few of those.Tue, 18 Jun 2024 17:53:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/06/13/being-waves/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/06/13/being-waves/On a road trip the other weekend, I played a new favorite album: 'Being Waves' by a British band called Kinkajous. It's an instrumental album by five people who look an awful lot like a jazz quintet. But I don't think they're a jazz band... not exactly. I'm not sure I can really say what they are. They seem to occupy this wonderful, strange ground between jazz, electronic, experimental, and ambient music -- a place I never really thought anybody but unicorns could go. But they do, somehow.Thu, 13 Jun 2024 20:38:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/06/07/an-owl-shaped-apparition/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/06/07/an-owl-shaped-apparition/The other night, an owl flew right by us! …At least, I think an owl flew by us. We were sitting on the deck, watching the sunset, and I looked up just as a big bird swooped around the cherry tree, whisked over our heads, and landed somewhere in the big maple behind us.Fri, 07 Jun 2024 17:46:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/05/31/chairs-illustration/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/05/31/chairs-illustration/I finished a new illustration for my upcoming essay, 'Nightfall'. Here's some in-process images and a timelapse video of the individual drawings and final composite.Fri, 31 May 2024 19:39:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/05/31/one-foot-in-front-of-another/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/05/31/one-foot-in-front-of-another/This week, a month after I broke my ankle, I had a followup appointment with the orthopedist. I've healed up enough that I've 'graduated' from the giant medical boot to a much smaller, lighter ankle brace.Fri, 31 May 2024 16:51:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/05/27/blogging-as-i-go/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/05/27/blogging-as-i-go/I’m trying out a slightly different approach to blogging: posting shorter notes more frequently. It’s a little more off-the-cuff and, also, a little more scary.Mon, 27 May 2024 14:58:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/05/22/birding-for-the-soul/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/05/22/birding-for-the-soul/I read a piece Ed Yong wrote about his birdwatching hobby and was intrigued. I like how he describes birding as a meditative act, a way of connecting more directly with nature.Wed, 22 May 2024 18:49:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/05/21/the-sentence/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/05/21/the-sentence/Reading ‘The Sentence’ this weekend, I remembered how much I love Louise Erdrich’s writing.Tue, 21 May 2024 16:59:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/05/20/the-collage-atlas/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/05/20/the-collage-atlas/I really love what John Evelyn has done with his new game, ‘The Collage Atlas’, recently released on Steam. The entire game is hand-drawn with fine-liner pens and it has this incredibly beautiful, intricate style.Mon, 20 May 2024 14:38:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/05/17/prohibitively-challenging/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/05/17/prohibitively-challenging/I’ve been thinking a lot about road safety lately. This is inspired, partially, by my running injury, but it’s been on my mind a lot longer. More and more, I believe that the cause of our dangerous roads is not bad drivers, exactly, but the design of the roads themselves.Fri, 17 May 2024 21:23:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/05/04/listening-notes-50/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/05/04/listening-notes-50/The other night I listened to Ezra Klein’s interview with Hannah Ritchie on his podcast. Ritchie is an environmental writer, and they were discussing her book, ‘Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the First to Build a Sustainable Planet’. It was a fascinating interview, but I was particularly struck by one thing she said: that humans currently use 50% of the world’s habitable land for agriculture — mostly for grazing cattle.Sat, 04 May 2024 15:18:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/04/29/ankle/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/04/29/ankle/On Monday this week I went and broke my ankle. I was out for a run, rounding a bend on a busy road. An SUV decided the cut the margin. When I realized they weren’t going to leave me any room, I jumped off the pavement and into the gutter. Unfortunately, I was watching the car and not my feet.Mon, 29 Apr 2024 21:59:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/04/12/structure-from-chaos/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/04/12/structure-from-chaos/I was fascinated by this post by Zach Seward, a transcription of a talk he gave at this year's SXSW. An AI expert who recently joined the New York Times, he talks through a few examples of both bad and good uses of AI in journalism. The use cases he describes are the first I’ve seen where AI tools seem to offer real value. Broadly speaking, in each case AI is used to analyze and find patterns in enormous sets of mostly-unstructured data.Fri, 12 Apr 2024 16:18:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/04/09/eclipse-photos/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/04/09/eclipse-photos/In our area, near Baltimore, we had 88% coverage of the eclipse. The peak happened at 3:21pm. There was some cloud cover but, standing on our deck, I got a pretty good view here and there. Around 3 the sky got noticeably darker, from 'sunny' to what felt more like 'rainy/foggy'. Nothing like the night-for-day change that folks in Buffalo experienced, but still: it was pretty cool.Tue, 09 Apr 2024 19:26:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/04/05/the-eastern-shore/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/04/05/the-eastern-shore/A few more photos from our trip to the mouth of the Potomac at the Chesapeake Bay.Fri, 05 Apr 2024 20:05:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/04/03/fixed-rss-feed/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/04/03/fixed-rss-feed/Apologies to everyone who might be following this site on RSS; I realized yesterday that my feeds have been broken for awhile. It looks like some dependencies updated with breaking changes I didn't catch, and my feed stopped generating any new content. Ugh. But I got it sorted, and looks like it's back up now. I'll keep a closer eye on it from here out.Wed, 03 Apr 2024 13:14:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/03/30/queer-in-appalachia/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/03/30/queer-in-appalachia/I was really moved by this Out There podcast episode: Newt Schottelkotte narrates a personal essay about growing up in Appalachia, coming out as nonbinary, and trying to reconcile their identity with their perception of their home.Sat, 30 Mar 2024 21:48:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/03/25/eastern-shore/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/03/25/eastern-shore/We’re taking a short vacation this week. We rented a house on the Chesapeake Bay, on Maryland’s Eastern shore. So far I’ve spent hours sitting outside, listening to the wind and water and, gloriously, not much else. It’s a chance to catch my breath and reset a little after a busy winter.Mon, 25 Mar 2024 17:22:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/03/08/new-notebook-march/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/03/08/new-notebook-march/I finished a new notebook I started last week. This one turned out pretty well, although a bit different from what I expected to make.Fri, 08 Mar 2024 16:41:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/03/01/a-thousand-stitches/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/03/01/a-thousand-stitches/Good Lord, it’s been a busy couple months. Too many projects. No time left to recharge. I try to remind myself that freelancing work ebbs and flows; it’s flood and drought in unpredictable cycles. You have to be flexible and, I tell myself, remember that things tend to balance out in the end. That may be true in the long run, but in the moment it feels like I can’t regain control of my time.Fri, 01 Mar 2024 17:53:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/02/16/bikepacking-by-day/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/02/16/bikepacking-by-day/I took a day off last week and decided to try riding my bike out to a park near Laurel, Maryland called Oxbow Lake. I’d never visited and the out-and-back route from my house looked like a nice ride.Fri, 16 Feb 2024 18:56:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/01/19/snowstorm/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/01/19/snowstorm/We got a pretty big snowstorm this week. The forecast, originally, was for about 3 inches last weekend. It started snowing on Sunday, sure enough, but never stopped, and it’s stayed below freezing all week. More snow came today, and we’ve got a foot on the ground by now. It’s still going.Fri, 19 Jan 2024 18:04:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/01/08/moonflowers-round-5/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/01/08/moonflowers-round-5/I took another swing at painting the moonflowers in our back yard. After several failed attempts, I'm hoping I can apply what I've learned so far about gouache and dark-to-light layering.Mon, 08 Jan 2024 16:22:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2024/01/05/charlie-parkers-awful-sublime-night/https://jayperry.works/blog/2024/01/05/charlie-parkers-awful-sublime-night/Really neat story: one night in 1953 Charlie Parker and his band were having a Very Bad Night. They were about to play a show at Massey Hall in Toronto, but just before they went on, his sax broke, band members went missing, the sound system failed, and a thousand other little things went wrong. Somebody handed Parker a plastic saxophone. It's now considered one of the greatest jazz concerts ever played. Parker somehow convinced his terrible 1950s plastic toy to sing like a bird (pun intended) and, from the audio clips I heard, the whole band sounded amazing.Fri, 05 Jan 2024 20:29:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/12/28/lachlan-mortons-amazing-ride/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/12/28/lachlan-mortons-amazing-ride/Lachlan Morton’s bicycle ride down the 2,670-mile Tour Divide route was amazing and I loved this documentary about it.Thu, 28 Dec 2023 21:56:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/12/05/rob-english-commuter-velomobiles/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/12/05/rob-english-commuter-velomobiles/Really enjoyed this piece by bicycle framebuilder Rob English on the 'velomobiles' he uses for his commute. I've seen these vehicles before, but usually in the context of something like a speed record attempt on slat flats. I've never thought of them as a way to 'bike' to work but the idea of staying (relatively) dry and warm sounds pretty great. Maybe in a few years they'll be a common sight downtown.Tue, 05 Dec 2023 15:15:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/11/24/words-i-dont-know/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/11/24/words-i-dont-know/Sometimes I read a word I haven’t seen before, and it’s not obvious how to pronounce it from the way it’s spelled. I know I should just go look it up. But: there’s just… something about words I don’t know. I like how mysterious they feel. They’re closed doors with light shining through their cracks.Fri, 24 Nov 2023 06:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/11/18/flow/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/11/18/flow/I went for a run yesterday on a favorite trail through the woods. At one point I rounded a bend and heard a noise in the distant treetops that grew louder as I approached. I heard a vast chorus of squawking, chirping, fluttering, rustling — thousands of songbirds. Migrating, I guessed. Arguing and chatting and milling around, like a crowd of humans waiting to board a plane. Suddenly, they all took flight in a burst of flapping and motion. Together all their wings sounded like a water bursting through a dam. A pouring-out of birds.Sat, 18 Nov 2023 23:35:30 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/11/13/calendar/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/11/13/calendar/For some reason, I've always imagined the yearly calendar as a circle. In my head, the circle is divided into quadrants — one for each season. When I think of the year ahead (or behind) me, I imagine a you-are-here dot on that circle, in whatever zone marks the current season.Mon, 13 Nov 2023 21:26:11 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/11/03/sacred-books/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/11/03/sacred-books/I went home a few weekends ago to visit my parents. My Dad has been doing some research lately on his family history. As we caught up, the conversation turned to genealogy, and we ended up in the spare bedroom closet digging through boxes of material he’s collected. Dad pulled one out of the closet and opened it. Inside it were a couple big, heavy books. ‘I thought you might find this interesting’, he said. He wiped the dust off the covers, and laid them on the bed in front of me.Fri, 03 Nov 2023 15:40:15 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/10/26/trees-turning-orange/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/10/26/trees-turning-orange/A long time ago I visited South India. One night, on a beach near Kollam, I met a couple kids and we talked awhile. ‘Is it really true,’ one asked me, ‘that in the fall, in America, all your trees turn orange?’ For a moment I stared at him, confused. My trees turn orange? Then I realized what he meant.Thu, 26 Oct 2023 00:36:27 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/10/13/video-on-my-website/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/10/13/video-on-my-website/I’ve gotten in the habit of making time-lapse videos as I work on new drawings. I’ve been posting these videos to Instagram and Mastodon for awhile, but I also wanted to have them on my website. But there was a problem: how would I host them?Fri, 13 Oct 2023 17:58:55 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/10/06/bat-house-trees/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/10/06/bat-house-trees/A timelapse of another element in my bat house illustration — the trees in the background, in black ink. Later, I'll composite it all together to make a finished scene.Fri, 06 Oct 2023 22:20:22 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/10/06/my-average-color-is-black/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/10/06/my-average-color-is-black/I use a series of buckets to process the rinse-water I use for painting and drawing. The water in each bucket becomes, roughly, the average color of whatever I've been working on lately. Apparently, a few months ago I was doing greenish-gray stuff, and this month I'm using a lot of black.Fri, 06 Oct 2023 22:09:10 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/09/23/new-notebook/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/09/23/new-notebook/I filled up my old notebook (RIP, old friend) and it was time to make a new one. Making my own notebooks is a weird ritual I’ve become more and more attached to. I like being able to make the choices — the paper, the page count, the cover fabric, the colors, etc. — and bookbinding has become a hobby.Sat, 23 Sep 2023 19:29:06 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/09/19/and-not-a-drop-to-drink/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/09/19/and-not-a-drop-to-drink/In which my daughter tragically succumbs to dehydration while alone, and neglected, in the bath.Tue, 19 Sep 2023 01:26:22 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/09/07/painting-a-bat-house-part-2/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/09/07/painting-a-bat-house-part-2/I'm drawing the bat house in my back yard, an illustration for a new essay. This is a timelapse of the second stage — painting the house itself, using a mixture of gouache and ink. Later, I'll draw the other elements — the trees, sky, etc. — and then composite it all together to make a finished scene.Thu, 07 Sep 2023 15:07:34 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/08/30/pour-one-out-for-jane-austen/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/08/30/pour-one-out-for-jane-austen/I re-read Pride and Prejudice last week. I find myself drawn back to that story every few years, and every time my experience is a little different. It struck me, this time around, that the story takes place almost entirely inside Elizabeth Bennet’s head. And so much of her journey is invisible to everyone around her.Wed, 30 Aug 2023 18:15:30 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/08/29/when-your-pen-matches-your-book/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/08/29/when-your-pen-matches-your-book/Sometimes it's the small victories. When I'm annotating a book with a pen that matches its cover, I can bask in the feeling (or at least the pleasant illusion) that the various parts of my life are working together.Tue, 29 Aug 2023 17:17:11 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/08/24/late-nights-and-basement-parties/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/08/24/late-nights-and-basement-parties/The New York Times ran a nice profile of Sean Paul that took me straight back to 2002. I found myself watching a bunch of early-oughts music videos, thanks to YouTube’s rabbit-hole suggestions, and it stirred up a whole brew of complicated feelings.Thu, 24 Aug 2023 15:58:30 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/08/14/varnishing/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/08/14/varnishing/I finally got around to varnishing a few of my larger paintings. I've been putting it off, I think, because varnishing is pretty scary for me. I've gotten it wrong before and ruined paintings. On the upside, when I get the varnish right, it not only protects the painting but usually makes it look better in an extremely satisfying way.Mon, 14 Aug 2023 18:14:15 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/08/09/brr/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/08/09/brr/Sometimes one good blog leads to another. Robin Rendle wrote a nice post about another blog he discovered called 'brr'. It’s about day-to-day life at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica, written by an engineer there.Wed, 09 Aug 2023 15:27:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/08/03/bat-house-part1/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/08/03/bat-house-part1/I’m working on another illustration of my bat house for a new essay. I plan to finish it in gouache and ink, but first I did some pencils to try to figure out the composition. I ended up wrestling a lot with the layout and perspective.Thu, 03 Aug 2023 15:46:11 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/08/02/a-kind-of-silence/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/08/02/a-kind-of-silence/Every year I accompany my in-laws on their pilgrimage to Ocean City, Maryland. The morning after we arrived, I stepped out for a walk and headed north along the beach awhile. There was a thick morning fog and the tide was low. I could hear the waves and snatches of conversation from the people around me. I felt a kind of rhythm take me over and, as I kept walking, my mind got quieter.Wed, 02 Aug 2023 16:54:13 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/07/27/reading-notes-hands-of-time/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/07/27/reading-notes-hands-of-time/I just finished 'Hands of Time' by Rebecca Struthers and really, really enjoyed it. A watchmaker and historian, Struthers runs a shop in Birmingham, England with her husband, Craig. They repair and restore old watches using traditional techniques and tools, and (as of recently) create their own line of handmade watches. 'Hands of Time' is both a history of the mechanical clock and a memoir of Struthers’ journey in her craft.Thu, 27 Jul 2023 16:36:51 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/07/19/hauling-oates/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/07/19/hauling-oates/An embarrassingly short time ago, I realized that the band I’d been calling ‘Hauling Oats’ was actually named ‘Hall & Oates’. In my defense, I grew up in a rural place and it made perfect sense to me that you’d name your band in honor of your farm truck.Wed, 19 Jul 2023 19:47:11 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/07/07/faster/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/07/07/faster/A lovely moment this morning: I’m out on a run, heading home. The heat and humidity today are pretty brutal, all the worse because we had a cool June and I’m not acclimated. The back half of the loop I’m running is mostly uphill — not steep but endless and slow. I’m trudging along, sweating buckets, draining glucose, and wondering why I don’t choose hobbies that include air conditioning. Up ahead I hear a whoop. A little caravan approaches. A barely post-toddler kid (maybe 4) on a scooter tearing down the hill. Just behind him follows his older brother (maybe 6?) on a bike. Both are yelling and pedaling/pushing for all they’re worth. Big smiles, squinting eyes, blowing hair. 'Wooooooooo!! FASTER!'Fri, 07 Jul 2023 15:16:55 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/07/01/introvert-nightclub/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/07/01/introvert-nightclub/A thing I would really like to see in the world: a public library that serves craft beer. By 'world' I mean Howard County, Maryland.Sat, 01 Jul 2023 19:40:24 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/06/29/our-own-lost-worlds/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/06/29/our-own-lost-worlds/We went to visit some old friends a couple weekends ago. We hadn’t seen them in an awfully long time. 8 years, by our reckoning. Over glasses of wine and whiskey we traded stories that wandered back to earlier days. We were single, no kids yet. Apartments in downtown Baltimore. Meeting and dating the people who would become our partners. Getting careers off the ground, one shaky mistake (and, sometimes, lesson) at a time.Thu, 29 Jun 2023 12:55:16 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/06/21/invisible/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/06/21/invisible/For the past month or so, I’ve caught myself wanting to kind of drop out of the world for a little bit. I find myself wishing that time could stop for a little while; that the world could forget I’m here; that I could disappear like a walking-stick insect on a tree branch, or a flounder on the sandy ocean floor.Wed, 21 Jun 2023 17:46:39 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/06/14/monsters/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/06/14/monsters/I took a weekend trip to a cabin in West Virginia a while ago. I was alone, on a 2-day ‘retreat’ my wife gave me as a birthday present. It was a really wonderful gift and I was grateful for a quiet weekend with no responsibilities. I could read, walk, ride my bike, watch the clouds, catch my breath. But eventually it occurred to me, with a little drop in my stomach, that I was really alone out here. My mind couldn’t help reminding me that I was a small, hairless ape out here with no backup. It was a visceral and instinctive feeling that had no time for my rational mind’s reassurances. It came, I suppose, from somewhere deep and old inside me.Wed, 14 Jun 2023 22:55:48 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/05/29/reading-notes-golden-glow/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/05/29/reading-notes-golden-glow/'The Golden Glow', by Benjamin Flouw, has become one of my all-time favorite picture books. If I remember right, I stumbled across it in a bookstore in Vermont while on vacation one year. It was sitting there, face-out, on a shelf and the cover illustration stopped me in my tracks.Mon, 29 May 2023 15:23:12 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/05/18/my-body-hates-fresh-air/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/05/18/my-body-hates-fresh-air/I have been brought low by either a cold or allergies. I can’t really tell which it is. My head is full of motor oil, my throat is relentlessly sore, and my voice is a raspy croak an octave or so lower than what I’m used to hearing from myself. The fatigue is thick. I want nothing more than to lie in bed and listen to audiobooks that, ideally, include trolls and wizards and spaceships.Thu, 18 May 2023 15:00:04 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/05/10/reading-notes-an-immense-world/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/05/10/reading-notes-an-immense-world/I’m about halfway through Ed Yong’s 'An Immense World' and it’s quickly becoming one of my favorite nonfiction books I’ve read this year. Here's a few notes.Wed, 10 May 2023 17:34:26 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/04/19/ahmad-jamal/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/04/19/ahmad-jamal/I was really sad to read the other day that we lost Ahmad Jamal. A phenomenal jazz pianist, he kept playing and recording over an 80 year (!) career. He lived to 92.Wed, 19 Apr 2023 15:23:07 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/04/10/lightest-ink/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/04/10/lightest-ink/I decided to try an experiment to see how well my favorite archival inks resist fading in direct sunlight. I made two swatches each for a few inks. One swatch will be kept in a closed notebook in a drawer, away from sunlight. The other will be taped to my office window, exposed to as much sunlight as possible. My office faces southeast, and it's early spring. My swatches should get pretty fried through the summer.Mon, 10 Apr 2023 17:55:09 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/03/15/hiking-on-a-day-off/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/03/15/hiking-on-a-day-off/I went for a short hike with my daughter a few weeks back, on a day when school was closed. A lovely, warm day, and it was nice to be back on one of our favorite trails: Cascade Falls in Patapsco State Park.Wed, 15 Mar 2023 15:11:21 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/03/10/parenthood-inversion/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/03/10/parenthood-inversion/Sometimes parenthood feels like a very odd inversion of my childhood. When I was a kid, holidays, snow days, and sick days were time off to relax, and were usually pretty fun. But as a parent they're more work. Shoveling snow, policing cookie intake, dispensing cough syrup, de-escalating tantrums, mopping up barf. Late bedtimes. Long car rides. Virus-sharing. So much cooking. So much laundry. In parent-times, regular school days are when I get a break. Eight hours of peace and quiet. I can finish a cup of coffee, and write a whole email without interruption. Glorious.Fri, 10 Mar 2023 19:18:02 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/03/09/deep-breath/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/03/09/deep-breath/When my mind keeps drifting or a problem seems intractable, I’ve learned that sometimes the best thing to do is to get up and walk away. Go for a walk, move around, change the scenery, make a cup of coffee, take a few deep breaths. But it’s hard to remember to do that.Thu, 09 Mar 2023 18:22:12 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/03/02/reading-notes-wayfarer/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/03/02/reading-notes-wayfarer/I just finished reading the last of Becky Chambers' 'Wayfarers' novels, and they've already become favorites. Here's a few notes on the books.Thu, 02 Mar 2023 16:50:36 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/02/22/designing-for-the-web/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/02/22/designing-for-the-web/An interface, I believe, has less in common with a book or film than it has with a museum or garden. It's not a linear thing to be passively consumed. It's a space to move around in. I love that interaction design is a medium concerned with exploration, suggestion, choice, open doors. As a designer, you can provide a space for the user to 'walk' through, connecting dots as they like.Wed, 22 Feb 2023 18:43:51 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/02/15/moth/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/02/15/moth/Working on a new illustration for an upcoming essay, I've learned a bit more about how to use gouache paint in my process. In my earlier experiments, I ran into a problem when I scanned the finished drawing: it was really hard to build masks from the scan. So, a possibly better approach occurred to me: I could use gouache as before, but work only in grayscale. Then I could handle color digitally. Let's give that a try.Wed, 15 Feb 2023 21:56:30 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/02/01/map-of-the-unknown/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/02/01/map-of-the-unknown/Our language and our media serve as a kind of shared memory, a shared knowledge. I've never, for instance, seen a rhinoceros in person. But I could describe one to you pretty readily. All the images and words I’ve seen allow me to know — to ‘see’ —something outside of my own experience, beyond the limits of my own eyes.Wed, 01 Feb 2023 21:16:04 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/01/25/reading-notes-underland/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/01/25/reading-notes-underland/I've almost finished "Underland," by Robert MacFarlane. It's a dense, complex book that I've found myself wrestling with, again and again, as I've read it over the last six months. I imagine I’ll be pondering its ideas for many years to come. Here's a bunch of notes about it so far.Wed, 25 Jan 2023 16:51:13 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/01/24/stromae-multitudes/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/01/24/stromae-multitudes/Really, really enjoying Stromae's new album "Multitudes." My French is absolutely awful, so I need to spend some time studying the lyrics, but the instrumentation and production are amazing.Tue, 24 Jan 2023 20:59:41 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/01/16/measurements/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/01/16/measurements/This week I varnished a new painting, Measurements, and hung it in our kitchen. This piece was an experiment: a mural-size diagram of imperial measurements using typography. It ended up being a very hard picture to design and execute, but I learned a lot along the way.Mon, 16 Jan 2023 19:07:19 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/01/11/hindsight-foresight/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/01/11/hindsight-foresight/A fog settled on the ground here on New Year’s Eve, weather that was just maybe perfect for the start of a new year. I found myself contemplating where I've been, and the times ahead — the landscape I couldn’t yet make out.Wed, 11 Jan 2023 19:38:16 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2023/01/09/hard-boiled-egg/https://jayperry.works/blog/2023/01/09/hard-boiled-egg/TFW you crack an egg over a bowl of waffle batter... and the egg turns out to be hard-boiled.Mon, 09 Jan 2023 20:50:14 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2023/01/okra/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2023/01/okra/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Part of my Inventory series. Print editions available.Thu, 05 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2022/12/19/enough/https://jayperry.works/blog/2022/12/19/enough/There’s a lyric in hte play "Hamilton" that’s lingered in my head ever since I first heard it: "That would be enough." It seems like a straightforward line. But it brings up questions I’ve rolled over and over in my head and, now, at the end of the year, I find myself dwelling on it again. What does “enough” look like to me? When will I know that I have it?Mon, 19 Dec 2022 17:49:54 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2022/12/14/denver/https://jayperry.works/blog/2022/12/14/denver/I took a trip to Denver to meet with a client, and had a chance to wander around the city a little. Here's a few notes and a few photos.Wed, 14 Dec 2022 17:13:17 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2022/12/07/farmers-and-sailors/https://jayperry.works/blog/2022/12/07/farmers-and-sailors/They say there are two kinds of people in the world: "sailors" and "farmers." I’ve been a “farmer” for most of my adult life: raising my kid, being a husband, fixing up our old house and its little garden. I see my work — drawing, writing, design, and code alike — as a similar kind of “farming”; a slow cultivation of my own discipline, skill, and voice over a lifetime. It’s a good life and I’m very lucky to be here. But from time to time I still feel a little restless.Wed, 07 Dec 2022 22:32:37 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2022/11/25/in-a-dark-wood/https://jayperry.works/blog/2022/11/25/in-a-dark-wood/One night, when I was in high school, I went hiking off the Blue Ridge Parkway with a few friends. It was a warm summer night. I don’t remember what prompted the expedition, exactly, but it was something to do. Something different. We'd seen all the movies, we'd loitered too long at Waffle House, and we didn't have trucks worth showing off on the Avenue downtown. So we met at the trailhead around nine and took our first steps into the dark forest.Fri, 25 Nov 2022 16:41:15 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2022/11/23/the-cold/https://jayperry.works/blog/2022/11/23/the-cold/The wind coming off the Atlantic hit me. It cut through my parka, my fleece, my sweater, my long johns, my skin, and my bones with an immediacy that impressed the vastness of the cosmos upon my mortal soul. Locals, meanwhile, sauntered by in their knit sweaters and jeans, enjoying the sunshine. It was, by Icelandic standards, a pleasant spring day.Wed, 23 Nov 2022 19:34:14 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2022/11/17/learning-to-speak-in-gouache/https://jayperry.works/blog/2022/11/17/learning-to-speak-in-gouache/I wanted to try something different for a new series of illustrations. As a test, I thought I’d try to paint some moonflower blooms from our yard last fall. But gouache is a different beast from the media I've used before, and I’ve struggled to learn how to handle it. I ended up painting many versions of the same flower picture, trying a new approach in each one. I struck out again and again.Thu, 17 Nov 2022 14:52:25 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2022/11/09/swimming-in-the-air/https://jayperry.works/blog/2022/11/09/swimming-in-the-air/When I watch the bats flying around my yard every evening, I wonder what it would feel like. What’s it like to be a flying creature, and how does that affect your perception? What would it be like if we could swim through the air in the same way that we can swim through the ocean — as a space we can traverse at any height or depth?Wed, 09 Nov 2022 18:29:10 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2022/11/02/reading-notes-high-sierra/https://jayperry.works/blog/2022/11/02/reading-notes-high-sierra/I’m about one-third of the way through Kim Stanley Robinson’s The High Sierra: A love story. Here's some favorite lines and a few thoughts on what I've read so far.Wed, 02 Nov 2022 18:42:31 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2022/10/26/the-upside-down-people/https://jayperry.works/blog/2022/10/26/the-upside-down-people/We bought a bat house for our yard. At first glance it looked familiar; a birdhouse but wider and flatter. But the closer I looked, the more it perplexed me.Wed, 26 Oct 2022 15:31:09 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2022/10/19/suburban-nightlife/https://jayperry.works/blog/2022/10/19/suburban-nightlife/Last summer we got into the habit of watching the sun set from our deck. Our back yard is a busy place at night.Wed, 19 Oct 2022 14:42:54 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2022/10/12/the-upward-abyss/https://jayperry.works/blog/2022/10/12/the-upward-abyss/Laying in my yard that night, I gradually lost my sense of up and down, figure and ground. An overwhelming vertigo overtook me.Wed, 12 Oct 2022 18:46:06 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2022/10/05/barefoot/https://jayperry.works/blog/2022/10/05/barefoot/Taking my first steps beyond the threshold, I felt as vulnerable and hesitant as if my feet were made of styrofoam.Wed, 05 Oct 2022 14:26:20 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2022/09/28/weather-of-anxiety/https://jayperry.works/blog/2022/09/28/weather-of-anxiety/There's a lot to do this week and I can feel my anxiety rising. Reminding myself of coping strategies.Wed, 28 Sep 2022 16:45:36 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2022/09/21/relaunching-my-blog/https://jayperry.works/blog/2022/09/21/relaunching-my-blog/After giving it up for a few years, I'm taking another swing at blogging, with a new perspective on what writing, rituals, and routines mean to me.Wed, 21 Sep 2022 21:08:10 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2022/07/assassin-bug/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2022/07/assassin-bug/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Part of my Inventory series. Print editions available.Tue, 05 Jul 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2022/05/tea/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2022/05/tea/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Part of my Inventory series. Print editions available.Mon, 30 May 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2022/05/orange-slice/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2022/05/orange-slice/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Part of my Inventory series. Print editions available.Sun, 08 May 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2022/04/walnut-shells/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2022/04/walnut-shells/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Part of my Inventory series. Print editions available.Fri, 15 Apr 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2022/02/trailhead/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2022/02/trailhead/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Part of my Patapsco series. Print editions available.Mon, 21 Feb 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2022/02/patapsco-entrance/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2022/02/patapsco-entrance/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Part of my Patapsco series. Print editions available.Sun, 20 Feb 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2021/12/rocks-moss-and-water/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2021/12/rocks-moss-and-water/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Part of my Patapsco series. Print editions available.Sat, 11 Dec 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2021/12/patapsco-summer-creek/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2021/12/patapsco-summer-creek/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Part of my Patapsco series. Print editions available.Wed, 08 Dec 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2021/12/07/photo-collage/https://jayperry.works/blog/2021/12/07/photo-collage/I've been experimenting with photo collage.Tue, 07 Dec 2021 20:36:32 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2021/12/patapsco-tadpoles/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2021/12/patapsco-tadpoles/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Part of my Patapsco series. Print editions available.Sat, 04 Dec 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2021/11/rotting-wood/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2021/11/rotting-wood/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Part of my Inventory series. Print editions available.Wed, 03 Nov 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2021/11/gutter/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2021/11/gutter/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Print editions available.Mon, 01 Nov 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2021/11/curtains/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2021/11/curtains/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Print editions available.Mon, 01 Nov 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2021/11/concert/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2021/11/concert/A new drawing: ink wash, watercolor, and digital composite on paper. Print editions available.Mon, 01 Nov 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2021/10/28/train/https://jayperry.works/blog/2021/10/28/train/A photo of a train I grabbed while out on a bike ride.Thu, 28 Oct 2021 16:00:52 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2021/10/28/pen-and-ink-experiments/https://jayperry.works/blog/2021/10/28/pen-and-ink-experiments/I’ve been experimenting a bit.Thu, 28 Oct 2021 14:34:18 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2021/10/13/morning-ride/https://jayperry.works/blog/2021/10/13/morning-ride/Morning bike ride - nice to see you again, fall.Wed, 13 Oct 2021 15:40:33 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2021/10/12/foggy-morning/https://jayperry.works/blog/2021/10/12/foggy-morning/A photo of a field on my street, as the sun rises.Tue, 12 Oct 2021 15:58:51 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2021/10/06/kepler/https://jayperry.works/blog/2021/10/06/kepler/Yesterday we lost a member of our family. Kepler, our gentle, patient greyhound, loved to accompany us on long walks and has been a constant, steadying presence in our lives for the last decade. We’ll miss you terribly, old friend.Wed, 06 Oct 2021 18:25:36 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2021/10/hummingbird/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2021/10/hummingbird/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Part of my Inventory series. Print editions available.Wed, 06 Oct 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2021/09/29/walk-photos/https://jayperry.works/blog/2021/09/29/walk-photos/A few photos I took on an early-morning walk awhile back.Wed, 29 Sep 2021 17:25:55 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2021/09/26/blooming-moonflowers/https://jayperry.works/blog/2021/09/26/blooming-moonflowers/A couple photos of our moonflower vine at night.Sun, 26 Sep 2021 15:49:08 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2021/09/newt/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2021/09/newt/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Part of my Patapsco series. Print editions available.Fri, 24 Sep 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2021/08/jumping-spider/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2021/08/jumping-spider/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Part of my Inventory series. Print editions available.Sat, 21 Aug 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2021/08/but-they-stayed-in-the-closet/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2021/08/but-they-stayed-in-the-closet/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite. Part of my Patapsco series. Print editions available.Thu, 05 Aug 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2021/07/caterpillar/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2021/07/caterpillar/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Part of my Inventory series. Print editions available.Tue, 06 Jul 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2021/06/spring/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2021/06/spring/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Part of my Seasons series. Print editions available.Sun, 06 Jun 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2021/06/winter/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2021/06/winter/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Part of my Seasons series. Print editions available.Sun, 06 Jun 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2021/05/27/citroen-birotor/https://jayperry.works/blog/2021/05/27/citroen-birotor/This extremely rare, rotary-powered Citroën combines my two favorite kinds of automotive-design crazy: Citroën quirk and Wankel engines.Thu, 27 May 2021 14:02:07 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2021/03/02/christmas/https://jayperry.works/blog/2021/03/02/christmas/This is the kind of person my grandmother is: she couldn't bear to show up to Christmas without presents, despite the fact that she'd been in a hospital bed for several weeks with memory and function loss so severe she couldn't walk or recognize her own daughters.Tue, 02 Mar 2021 14:53:28 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2021/01/patapsco-leaves/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2021/01/patapsco-leaves/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Part of my Patapsco series. Print editions available.Tue, 26 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2020/10/toadstools/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2020/10/toadstools/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Part of my Inventory series. Print editions available.Tue, 13 Oct 2020 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2020/09/bee-hawk-moth/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2020/09/bee-hawk-moth/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Part of my Inventory series. Print editions available.Fri, 18 Sep 2020 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2020/09/praying-mantis/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2020/09/praying-mantis/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Part of my Inventory series. Print editions available.Sun, 13 Sep 2020 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2020/08/31/tokyo-storefront-paintings-by-mateusz-urbanowicz/https://jayperry.works/blog/2020/08/31/tokyo-storefront-paintings-by-mateusz-urbanowicz/Mon, 31 Aug 2020 22:03:56 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2020/08/24/kaethe-butchers-figurative-ink/https://jayperry.works/blog/2020/08/24/kaethe-butchers-figurative-ink/Mon, 24 Aug 2020 22:11:09 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2020/08/17/scientific-tattoos/https://jayperry.works/blog/2020/08/17/scientific-tattoos/Mon, 17 Aug 2020 22:18:17 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2020/08/daylily/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2020/08/daylily/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Part of my Inventory series. Print editions available.Thu, 06 Aug 2020 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2020/08/bridge/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2020/08/bridge/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Print editions available.Wed, 05 Aug 2020 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2020/08/04/new-prints-are-in/https://jayperry.works/blog/2020/08/04/new-prints-are-in/Tue, 04 Aug 2020 22:21:18 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2020/08/re-growing-celery/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2020/08/re-growing-celery/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Part of my Inventory series. Print editions available.Tue, 04 Aug 2020 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2020/08/dragon-fruit/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2020/08/dragon-fruit/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Part of my Inventory series. Print editions available.Tue, 04 Aug 2020 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2020/08/toad/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2020/08/toad/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Part of my Inventory series. Print editions available.Tue, 04 Aug 2020 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2020/08/basil/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2020/08/basil/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Part of my Inventory series. Print editions available.Sat, 01 Aug 2020 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2020/07/27/frogger-in-reverse/https://jayperry.works/blog/2020/07/27/frogger-in-reverse/Mon, 27 Jul 2020 22:43:19 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2020/07/wildflower/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2020/07/wildflower/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Part of my Inventory series. Print editions available.Mon, 13 Jul 2020 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2020/07/cicada-shell/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2020/07/cicada-shell/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Part of my Inventory series. Print editions available.Sat, 04 Jul 2020 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2020/06/21/fog/https://jayperry.works/blog/2020/06/21/fog/Sun, 21 Jun 2020 22:48:55 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2020/06/16/new-work-my-inventory/https://jayperry.works/blog/2020/06/16/new-work-my-inventory/Tue, 16 Jun 2020 22:26:42 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2020/06/tomato/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2020/06/tomato/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Part of my Inventory series. Print editions available.Sat, 13 Jun 2020 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2020/06/mosquito-hawk/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2020/06/mosquito-hawk/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Part of my Inventory series. Print editions available.Mon, 08 Jun 2020 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2020/06/07/dominic-frasers-lego-race-photos/https://jayperry.works/blog/2020/06/07/dominic-frasers-lego-race-photos/Sun, 07 Jun 2020 22:46:26 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2020/06/honeysuckle/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2020/06/honeysuckle/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Part of my Inventory series. Print editions available.Sat, 06 Jun 2020 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2020/06/catbird/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2020/06/catbird/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Part of my Inventory series. Print editions available.Sat, 06 Jun 2020 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2020/06/summer/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2020/06/summer/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Part of my Seasons series. Print editions available.Sat, 06 Jun 2020 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2020/06/02/considering-george-floyds-murder-and-the-protests/https://jayperry.works/blog/2020/06/02/considering-george-floyds-murder-and-the-protests/Here's a few things I've been reading this week that I've found really helpful and inspiring.Tue, 02 Jun 2020 22:51:04 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2020/05/25/new-proof-came-in/https://jayperry.works/blog/2020/05/25/new-proof-came-in/Mon, 25 May 2020 23:05:30 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2020/05/whirligigs/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2020/05/whirligigs/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Part of my Inventory series. Print editions available.Wed, 13 May 2020 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2020/05/japanese-maple/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2020/05/japanese-maple/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Part of my Inventory series. Print editions available.Wed, 06 May 2020 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2020/05/01/the-air-we-share/https://jayperry.works/blog/2020/05/01/the-air-we-share/These days there is a chronic lack of time and energy in our isolated household. Daycare is closed for the foreseeable future. Our days are composed entirely of work and childcare, a schedule so tight that air and sunlight rarely penetrate.Fri, 01 May 2020 23:15:17 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2020/04/16/pretty-much/https://jayperry.works/blog/2020/04/16/pretty-much/The other day I was sitting on our deck with my 4-year-old daughter, Evelyn.Thu, 16 Apr 2020 00:30:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2020/04/09/coach-kessler/https://jayperry.works/blog/2020/04/09/coach-kessler/My high school cross country coach died this week.Thu, 09 Apr 2020 00:34:01 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2020/04/04/roberta-williams/https://jayperry.works/blog/2020/04/04/roberta-williams/Sat, 04 Apr 2020 00:37:22 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2020/03/18/martin-lewis-streetscape-etchings/https://jayperry.works/blog/2020/03/18/martin-lewis-streetscape-etchings/An early-20th century illustrator and friend of Edward Hopper.Wed, 18 Mar 2020 00:40:46 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2020/03/12/all-about-fountain-pens/https://jayperry.works/blog/2020/03/12/all-about-fountain-pens/A nice piece in the New York Times about my favorite anachronism.Thu, 12 Mar 2020 00:44:59 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2020/02/26/the-return-of-serotta-but-not-their-lovely-logo/https://jayperry.works/blog/2020/02/26/the-return-of-serotta-but-not-their-lovely-logo/Thoughts on bicycles and branding and broken heartsWed, 26 Feb 2020 00:41:47 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2020/02/19/jonks-photos-of-reclaimed-buildings/https://jayperry.works/blog/2020/02/19/jonks-photos-of-reclaimed-buildings/Wed, 19 Feb 2020 00:55:53 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2020/02/12/painting-with-data/https://jayperry.works/blog/2020/02/12/painting-with-data/Tabletop Whale's gorgeous visualization workWed, 12 Feb 2020 00:57:05 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2020/02/09/brace-yourselves-for-the-next-y2k/https://jayperry.works/blog/2020/02/09/brace-yourselves-for-the-next-y2k/Sun, 09 Feb 2020 01:25:43 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2020/02/03/the-history-of-myst/https://jayperry.works/blog/2020/02/03/the-history-of-myst/Mon, 03 Feb 2020 17:03:48 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2020/01/10/javascript-and-the-mysteries-of-asyncawait/https://jayperry.works/blog/2020/01/10/javascript-and-the-mysteries-of-asyncawait/"Promises" are a part of the Javascript language that I've always had a hard time getting my head around, despite the fact I use them all the time. There's just something oddly magical about them to me and I'm not sure I've ever been completely clear on all the nuances of the Promise object as it has evolved.Fri, 10 Jan 2020 17:08:23 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2019/11/08/yann-philippes-infrared-landscapes-in-norway/https://jayperry.works/blog/2019/11/08/yann-philippes-infrared-landscapes-in-norway/I'm not sure how these images were made but they're gorgeous.Fri, 08 Nov 2019 17:10:46 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2019/08/23/google-slides-under-the-hood/https://jayperry.works/blog/2019/08/23/google-slides-under-the-hood/It's SVG, all the way down.Fri, 23 Aug 2019 16:17:12 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2019/08/23/a-history-of-the-national-parks-design-system/https://jayperry.works/blog/2019/08/23/a-history-of-the-national-parks-design-system/Oh dear Lord I want this book.Fri, 23 Aug 2019 16:13:18 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2019/08/06/cpt-is-bringing-the-weird-back/https://jayperry.works/blog/2019/08/06/cpt-is-bringing-the-weird-back/Tue, 06 Aug 2019 16:19:37 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2019/07/25/birchbark-louise-erdrichs-bookstore/https://jayperry.works/blog/2019/07/25/birchbark-louise-erdrichs-bookstore/Thu, 25 Jul 2019 23:49:27 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2019/07/16/fontsmiths-guide-to-type-styles/https://jayperry.works/blog/2019/07/16/fontsmiths-guide-to-type-styles/The foundry Fontsmith has a really nice blog post by Krista Radoeva, describing the different styles of typefaces and their history.Tue, 16 Jul 2019 23:51:47 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2019/07/09/finished-a-new-sketchbook/https://jayperry.works/blog/2019/07/09/finished-a-new-sketchbook/Tue, 09 Jul 2019 23:54:17 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2019/07/02/mild-peril/https://jayperry.works/blog/2019/07/02/mild-peril/What does 'mild peril' look like, as the MPAA defines it?Tue, 02 Jul 2019 02:02:58 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2019/06/27/techna-sans/https://jayperry.works/blog/2019/06/27/techna-sans/A nice open-source sans-serifThu, 27 Jun 2019 02:06:31 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2019/06/09/levi-walter-yaggys-amazing-geographic-illustrations/https://jayperry.works/blog/2019/06/09/levi-walter-yaggys-amazing-geographic-illustrations/I'm really blown away by these maps and diagrams.Sun, 09 Jun 2019 22:11:34 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2019/06/06/inked-a-new-drawing-last-night/https://jayperry.works/blog/2019/06/06/inked-a-new-drawing-last-night/Thu, 06 Jun 2019 23:15:34 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2019/06/ink/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2019/06/ink/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Print editions available.Thu, 06 Jun 2019 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2019/05/17/thank-you-mr.-pei.-well-miss-you./https://jayperry.works/blog/2019/05/17/thank-you-mr.-pei.-well-miss-you./Fri, 17 May 2019 23:21:30 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2019/05/16/a-bicycle-frame-made-from-wood/https://jayperry.works/blog/2019/05/16/a-bicycle-frame-made-from-wood/Thu, 16 May 2019 23:27:51 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2019/01/25/in-praise-of-friction/https://jayperry.works/blog/2019/01/25/in-praise-of-friction/I wonder: is the "easier = better" law of user experience design always true? Sometimes friction, complexity, and learning curves are not only necessary but maybe even helpful.Fri, 25 Jan 2019 00:31:22 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2019/01/03/beautiful-images-of-snowy-trees-and-icy-lakes-from/https://jayperry.works/blog/2019/01/03/beautiful-images-of-snowy-trees-and-icy-lakes-from/Thu, 03 Jan 2019 23:33:56 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2018/11/22/hilmas-af-klints-groundbreaking-abstraction/https://jayperry.works/blog/2018/11/22/hilmas-af-klints-groundbreaking-abstraction/Thu, 22 Nov 2018 23:36:52 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2018/11/fall/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2018/11/fall/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Part of my Seasons series. Print editions available.Thu, 22 Nov 2018 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2018/11/20/playgrounds-with-sharks-and-sinking-ships/https://jayperry.works/blog/2018/11/20/playgrounds-with-sharks-and-sinking-ships/Tue, 20 Nov 2018 23:38:56 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2018/11/18/nightshift-by-florian-mueller/https://jayperry.works/blog/2018/11/18/nightshift-by-florian-mueller/Sun, 18 Nov 2018 23:41:15 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2018/09/29/nike-new-face/https://jayperry.works/blog/2018/09/29/nike-new-face/Sat, 29 Sep 2018 22:45:21 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2018/09/24/kenichi-hoshines-puzzles-memories-and-layers/https://jayperry.works/blog/2018/09/24/kenichi-hoshines-puzzles-memories-and-layers/Mon, 24 Sep 2018 22:49:36 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2018/09/08/the-new-york-times-why-i-love...-series/https://jayperry.works/blog/2018/09/08/the-new-york-times-why-i-love...-series/Some really brilliant editorial UI design.Sat, 08 Sep 2018 22:51:57 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2018/07/26/erik-wernquists-short-film-wanderers/https://jayperry.works/blog/2018/07/26/erik-wernquists-short-film-wanderers/Thu, 26 Jul 2018 22:56:32 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2018/05/14/coffee-by-bike/https://jayperry.works/blog/2018/05/14/coffee-by-bike/Mon, 14 May 2018 22:59:55 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2018/05/10/schnyder/https://jayperry.works/blog/2018/05/10/schnyder/Thu, 10 May 2018 23:02:23 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2018/03/24/a-love-letter-to-the-santoor/https://jayperry.works/blog/2018/03/24/a-love-letter-to-the-santoor/This weekend I got to see a local Indian classical concert.Sat, 24 Mar 2018 22:33:31 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2018/02/15/wow-im-still-alive.-lets-do-that-again./https://jayperry.works/blog/2018/02/15/wow-im-still-alive.-lets-do-that-again./I ran across this article about the friendship between two skeleton racers in the Olympics, one from Ghana, the other, Jamaica.Thu, 15 Feb 2018 23:37:18 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2018/01/26/mail-recap/https://jayperry.works/blog/2018/01/26/mail-recap/An insightful post-mortem from Tobias Van Schneider on his brilliant product concept.Fri, 26 Jan 2018 23:39:28 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2018/01/19/lines-and-colors/https://jayperry.works/blog/2018/01/19/lines-and-colors/I like to look at this painting and illustration blog every morning because it makes for a wonderful few minutes of peace and inspiration.Fri, 19 Jan 2018 23:45:36 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2018/01/05/a-font-for-code-and-words/https://jayperry.works/blog/2018/01/05/a-font-for-code-and-words/“FF Attribute” is a new sans family with both monospace and regular (kerned) versions — this is not unusual, per se, except that the two versions use (what looks like) almost identical character sets.Fri, 05 Jan 2018 23:47:27 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2017/12/shoes/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2017/12/shoes/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Print editions available.Fri, 01 Dec 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2017/11/20/thom-bjorklands-beautiful-illustration/https://jayperry.works/blog/2017/11/20/thom-bjorklands-beautiful-illustration/Thom Björkland is one of the most amazing natural history illustrators I’ve ever seen.Mon, 20 Nov 2017 23:50:27 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2017/10/30/luna-display-from-astropad/https://jayperry.works/blog/2017/10/30/luna-display-from-astropad/I’m excited about this: Luna Display is a new hardware piece from Astropad, allowing you to use your iPad as a Cintiq-like second display with a Mac.Mon, 30 Oct 2017 22:52:46 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2017/10/29/farm-visit/https://jayperry.works/blog/2017/10/29/farm-visit/We took my daughter to a farm/petting zoo near my hometown. It was a lovely clear day and I followed her around with my camera as she “milked” a wooden “cow,” fed (real) goats, and stomped in some choice puddles.Sun, 29 Oct 2017 22:54:30 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2017/10/19/diwali/https://jayperry.works/blog/2017/10/19/diwali/One of my favorite bits of verse is from a Sanskrit hymn called "Jyota se jyota", which Diwali often reminds me of.Thu, 19 Oct 2017 00:42:40 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2017/10/14/an-interview-with-phillip-pullman-in-the-new-york-times/https://jayperry.works/blog/2017/10/14/an-interview-with-phillip-pullman-in-the-new-york-times/This interview piece in the Times is excellent. I’m a huge fan of the Golden Compass/Northern Lights series and I was happy to find that Pullman himself seems like someone who’d be fun to get a cup of tea with.Sat, 14 Oct 2017 00:46:37 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2017/10/01/in-the-passenger-seat-as-you-were-driving-me-home/https://jayperry.works/blog/2017/10/01/in-the-passenger-seat-as-you-were-driving-me-home/As I pulled out of the daycare parking lot, I turned on the stereo for distraction. The songs knew exactly how I felt and told me all about it.Sun, 01 Oct 2017 00:48:58 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2017/09/06/font-review-journal/https://jayperry.works/blog/2017/09/06/font-review-journal/Font Review Journal is a lovely site offering thoughtful reviews of typography with the nerd turned up to 11. Yay: typographic rabbit holes are a thing the internet needs more of.Wed, 06 Sep 2017 00:54:47 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2017/09/03/an-acoustic-album-spinning-on-the-record-player/https://jayperry.works/blog/2017/09/03/an-acoustic-album-spinning-on-the-record-player/A few vignettes of our living room.Sun, 03 Sep 2017 00:56:12 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2017/08/14/its-not-your-country-and-it-never-was/https://jayperry.works/blog/2017/08/14/its-not-your-country-and-it-never-was/They call themselves by a new name, and they didn't wear white hoods, but this was a Klan rally in all the ways that mattered.Mon, 14 Aug 2017 23:51:09 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2017/06/sidewalk/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2017/06/sidewalk/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Print editions available.Thu, 01 Jun 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2017/03/29/a-camera-and-a-fine-evening-are-eternal/https://jayperry.works/blog/2017/03/29/a-camera-and-a-fine-evening-are-eternal/I'm sitting on the docks tonight at the lake and there's a kid, a bit south of 20, I'd guess, wandering up and down the pier, snapping photo after photo on his phone.Wed, 29 Mar 2017 23:58:15 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2017/01/29/lennart-nilsson/https://jayperry.works/blog/2017/01/29/lennart-nilsson/I’m very sad to hear that Lennart Nilsson died today. He was a photographer who deeply influenced both the art and science worlds, and was a hero of mine.Sun, 29 Jan 2017 01:25:28 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2017/01/29/to-my-muslim-neighbors-and-friends/https://jayperry.works/blog/2017/01/29/to-my-muslim-neighbors-and-friends/I can’t imagine what you’re going through right now.Sun, 29 Jan 2017 01:01:30 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2017/01/madeleine/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2017/01/madeleine/A new drawing: ink wash and digital composite on paper. Print editions available.Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2016/11/25/an-extremely-unscientific-paper-test/https://jayperry.works/blog/2016/11/25/an-extremely-unscientific-paper-test/Ink wash is a medium that makes odd demands on paper. I set out to find drawing paper that works better.Fri, 25 Nov 2016 01:27:37 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2016/09/02/a-one-act-play/https://jayperry.works/blog/2016/09/02/a-one-act-play/"Maryland Poison Control, how can I help you?"Fri, 02 Sep 2016 01:28:29 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2016/08/06/how-kate-bush-changed-the-course-of-hip-hop/https://jayperry.works/blog/2016/08/06/how-kate-bush-changed-the-course-of-hip-hop/It makes me very happy that Big Boi (of OutKast), one of my favorite rappers, is a huge fan of Kate Bush. I can’t help but smile as I imagine 13-year-old Antwon Patton walking around Atlanta with "Babooshka" playing on repeat on his walkman, utterly lost in his headphones.Sat, 06 Aug 2016 01:32:33 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2016/01/10/andys-journal/https://jayperry.works/blog/2016/01/10/andys-journal/My brother Andy went to Germany last summer as part of a research project for the engineering degree he's working on. As a Christmas gift, I decided to print and bind a hardcover book that he could keep as a momento.Sun, 10 Jan 2016 05:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2015/10/01/pens/https://jayperry.works/blog/2015/10/01/pens/I found a specialty pen shop nearby, where I picked up this great Pilot Namiki fountain pen.Thu, 01 Oct 2015 21:37:17 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2014/07/eroded-asphalt/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2014/07/eroded-asphalt/A new drawing: ink wash, watercolor, and digital composite on paper. Print editions available.Tue, 01 Jul 2014 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2014/02/18/homeward/https://jayperry.works/blog/2014/02/18/homeward/A bit of the story behind a recent painting.Tue, 18 Feb 2014 23:34:35 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2014/02/small4/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2014/02/small4/A new drawing: ink wash, watercolor, and digital composite on paper. Print editions available.Tue, 18 Feb 2014 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2013/11/07/up-and-down/https://jayperry.works/blog/2013/11/07/up-and-down/A bit of the story behind a recent painting.Thu, 07 Nov 2013 01:58:19 GMThttps://jayperry.works/blog/2013/11/06/eroded-asphalt/https://jayperry.works/blog/2013/11/06/eroded-asphalt/A bit of the story behind a recent painting.Wed, 06 Nov 2013 22:48:20 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2013/09/frozen-waterfall/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2013/09/frozen-waterfall/A new painting: acrylic on triptych panels, 72" x 48". Print editions available.Mon, 02 Sep 2013 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2013/07/up-and-down/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2013/07/up-and-down/A new drawing: ink wash, watercolor, and digital composite on paper. Print editions available.Wed, 10 Jul 2013 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2013/02/cliffs/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2013/02/cliffs/A new drawing: ink wash, watercolor, and digital composite on paper. Print editions available.Mon, 18 Feb 2013 00:00:00 GMThttps://jayperry.works/pictures/2012/10/creekbed/https://jayperry.works/pictures/2012/10/creekbed/A new painting: acrylic and ink wash on panel, 24" x 24". Print editions available.Sat, 20 Oct 2012 00:00:00 GMT