American painter Joseph Stella, a leading figure in the origins of American Modernism.

Capri, ca. 1926–1929
(oil on canvas)

small hours big time box of flints on the table round flints, thick flints, holed flints pale flints, slender flints, worked flints whale flints, moon flints, rude flints - flints

8/4/26 - nocturn

Things don't have purposes, as if the universe were a machine, where every part has a useful function. What's the function of a galaxy? I don't know if our life has a purpose and I don't see that it matters. What does matter is that we're a part.

The Floral Synthesis of Kesalan Patharan This 1989 advertisement for the Japanese cosmetics brand Kesalan Patharan features model Oda Miyako in a striking, avant-garde composition. Styled to resemble the center of a vibrant red flower, Miyako’s face is framed by a ruffled, petal-like textile and a crown of orange, textured fibers. The meticulous application of makeup—including liquid foundation, mascara, and a bold pink lip—highlights the brand's products, which are listed in a technical legend at the bottom of the page. This image serves as a definitive document of the bold, graphic creativity that defined late 20th-century Japanese commercial design.

This 1989 advertisement for the Japanese cosmetics brand Kesalan Patharan features model Oda Miyako in a striking, avant-garde composition.

Best in class alt-text

The Geometric Precision of Early Shōwa Graphic Art This circa 1930 poster by Junzo Ito for the South Manchuria Railway Company (Mantetsu) is a striking example of the modernist graphic style that defined the early Shōwa era. The composition features a profile view of a woman whose elaborate, beaded headdress is rendered as an intricate field of perfectly circular motifs in shades of pale blue and white. This geometric abstraction is balanced by highly detailed ornamental sections near the ear and neck, showcasing a blend of traditional East Asian symbols and Art Deco influences. The bold vertical typography flanking the central figure reinforces the structural discipline and commercial sophistication of the period.

This circa 1930 poster by Junzo Ito for the South Manchuria Railway Company (Mantetsu) is a striking example of the modernist graphic style that defined the early Shōwa era, Japan

Poetry 👌

A haiku written in vaguely italic script on a simple amateur line drawing of a face in 3/4 view with 4 slightly jagged curved lines, 2 bracketing the ear, two above the back of the head. The haiku meditation the shape of this headache the sound of rain The poem is to the left of the head, overlapping the head and the outer two curved lines. Six dotted lines represent rain.

meditation
the shape of this headache
the sound of rain

#haiku #haiga

Soft inky fox face. Soft sad nice love eyes. High contrast, many lines and, subtlety

Van Gogh with apples . With his blue eyes and also yellowness and the apples are red and a the textures are various

An inky red cone and purply road sign and duck head and hand and traffic lights and don’t know what to tell you

I have added these three drawings that I finished today to my website, as originals for sale cos that’s how I roll. Soft big fox face, Van Gogh with red apples, Duck hand traffic lights signs arrows cones (yes) www.chloecumming.com

You probably had them blocked already, they said some random stuff about Ursula not believing in depression and her dad being a eugenicist which is just ridiculous

Baseless and wrong on both caveats.

I took this as a challenge and I think I got my fastest ever mini time, 21 seconds 😳

I hope you do! She's one of my favorite writers. I built my profile around Shevek from The Dispossessed, one of my favorite books. Her Earthsea series was written for teens but is very much not "YA™" - very literary with lovely cozy stories + her sci fi leans a little more experimental+transgressive

Caravaggio, Narcissus at the Source & The Lute Player (Hermitage version) + Adobe Photoshop 4 + Paul Klee, Eros

Mad Science
May 2023

ALSO I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention my girl Ursula K Le Guin. A wizard of earthsea is quite cozy, a quick read with lovely writing and a wonderful introspective plot line.

But id probably check out some other stuff by Dianne Wayne Jones for more like her novel Howls Moving Castle too

My go To comfort writer is Becky Chambers. Cozy queer sci fi, very fun, good characters with a slightly optimistic world but still good tension in the stories. A long way to a small angry planet is my favorite.

This work © 2026 by Lee Zimmerman is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International

Emotions

I don’t think bluesky is actually dying. But I also think it can sometimes be a slog.

Drop something you’re proud of/excited about/loving at the moment

We’re going team-building mode, motherfucker!

I finished a poetry collection! It was a life saving measure when I was breaking down and reforming my world view. bsky.app/profile/sure...

vintage japanese antipsychotic ad

vintage japanese antipsychotic ad

vintage japanese antipsychotic ad

vintage japanese antipsychotic ad

a few more good ads i found while looking this one up:

drawing of someone surrounded by bottles text: We tried not to write poems. We made our poems weak. We just wrote notes in our phones, or we just wrote on weekends. Bit if we saw anything with a little poetry in it, we got ideas.

Henry Goldkamp

via @cobramilk.bsky.social

scratchboard drawing of a humanoid with its hands on its face

scratchboard

#acrylics #abstractexpressionism #acryliconcanvas #abstractart #art #acrylicart #abstract #blueskyart #blueskyartshow #artistonbluesky

Front cover of a book titled "Held In Tension" by C.M. Shevek. Text in white smallcaps serif, title at top, author at bottom right. Cover art is centered with a white border and red background. Art is a collage of traditional art pieces, top is a painting of a volcanic eruption overlaid with textiles, papers, jewelry in an evocative style, bringing about an emotional yet serene scene.

Red background, white serif text. Top says “Dendritic tendrils extend to the heavens, clawing at the stars, prophetic plasma slipping through the filaments like smoke through a sieve.” in italicized font. Middle says "A story of transformation in three acts, told through melodramatic poems of self-reflection, often utilizing metaphors from science and the natural world to match the perceived weight of experience. C.M. Shevek languishes in passive self-hatred and a longing for innocence/ignorance in Act I, lingers in a black hole of depression and non-existent self-image while processing tragedy and personal breakdown in Act II, and rebuilds themself in Act III to a muddy clay of acceptance and mindfulness, forming a worldview that can be beaten but cannot be broken. A worldview that holds both mankind’s need for meaning and the harsh meaninglessness of the world in clear, absurdist clarity. Find hope through camaraderie in the honest, unflinching distillations of life and emotion in this collection." in smallcaps font. Bottom says "Follow @surelyshevek.bsky.social for poetry updates Cover art by @paulwelsh89.bsky.social" in italicized font.

Screenshot of a poem, page 28. Black serif text on a white background Held In Tension Emotional outbursting seams reigned back, garroted; deprived of life and another’s sight: my held-in tensions. Held intention and unoffered redemption wrecked my mind; here, have it all—it’s gushing from my pierced side. Views of grace compete with toxic waste leaks, and the frog with three eyes sewn wide holds itself in tension. Dangling from the heavens with a single finger embedded in the clouds; They hold me taut, a wound snare drum sounding out.

Held In Tension by C.M. Shevek.
A poetry collection available for free here: mega.nz/file/rt5RiBT...
The cover art was designed by @paulwelsh89.bsky.social, taking inspiration from the title poem Held In Tension.
It was written over a period of deconstruction + transformation, may it give you hope.

Crescent-Shaped Pendant with Confronted Birds. Made in Egypt, 11th century + Sketchbook: Souvenir of Naples. Unknown Artist, after 1821 + Astronomicum Caesareum (1540) + Easy Chair, Upholstered by Caleb Gardner Jr.

Held in Tension
a collage for the poetry collection by C.M. Shevek

Front cover of a book titled "Held In Tension" by C.M. Shevek. Text in white smallcaps serif, title at top, author at bottom right. Cover art is centered with a white border and red background. Art is a collage of traditional art pieces, top is a painting of a volcanic eruption overlaid with textiles, papers, jewelry in an evocative style, bringing about an emotional yet serene scene.

Red background, white serif text. Top says “Dendritic tendrils extend to the heavens, clawing at the stars, prophetic plasma slipping through the filaments like smoke through a sieve.” in italicized font. Middle says "A story of transformation in three acts, told through melodramatic poems of self-reflection, often utilizing metaphors from science and the natural world to match the perceived weight of experience. C.M. Shevek languishes in passive self-hatred and a longing for innocence/ignorance in Act I, lingers in a black hole of depression and non-existent self-image while processing tragedy and personal breakdown in Act II, and rebuilds themself in Act III to a muddy clay of acceptance and mindfulness, forming a worldview that can be beaten but cannot be broken. A worldview that holds both mankind’s need for meaning and the harsh meaninglessness of the world in clear, absurdist clarity. Find hope through camaraderie in the honest, unflinching distillations of life and emotion in this collection." in smallcaps font. Bottom says "Follow @surelyshevek.bsky.social for poetry updates Cover art by @paulwelsh89.bsky.social" in italicized font.

Screenshot of a poem, page 28. Black serif text on a white background Held In Tension Emotional outbursting seams reigned back, garroted; deprived of life and another’s sight: my held-in tensions. Held intention and unoffered redemption wrecked my mind; here, have it all—it’s gushing from my pierced side. Views of grace compete with toxic waste leaks, and the frog with three eyes sewn wide holds itself in tension. Dangling from the heavens with a single finger embedded in the clouds; They hold me taut, a wound snare drum sounding out.

Held In Tension by C.M. Shevek.
A poetry collection available for free here: mega.nz/file/rt5RiBT...
The cover art was designed by @paulwelsh89.bsky.social, taking inspiration from the title poem Held In Tension.
It was written over a period of deconstruction + transformation, may it give you hope.

#poetry #blueskypoetry #writing #poetrynews #writingcommunity

Thank you!

My poetry collection "Held In Tension" is releasing for free tomorrow! Here's the back cover and the title poem that @paulwelsh89.bsky.social used as inspiration for the cover art 🖼️