Aesop's Fable: The Mountain in Labor
Plus a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT and upcoming Art Challenge Prompts!
Hello and welcome to another edition of Art & Fable! It’s been a minute since I’ve appeared in your inbox. Or, maybe you’ve just signed-up and in that case THANK YOU for being here! I’ll be sending these out monthly moving forward as I balance my workload—hopefully I can ramp back up to every other week in the future. Thanks for being cool :) Let’s get into it!
The Mountain in Labor
Translated by George Fyler Townsend, via Project Gutenberg.
A MOUNTAIN was once greatly agitated. Loud groans and noises were heard, and crowds of people came from all parts to see what was the matter. While they were assembled in anxious expectation of some terrible calamity, out came a Mouse.
Don’t make much ado about nothing.
This is one of those fables that I first read and thought …huh??? But after considering it for a bit, I found it pretty profound. More on that in the epilogue.
*Big Announcement!!*
I’m a speaker at the Typism Skills Summit
Y’all, I am thrilled to be presenting a workshop at the Typism Skills Summit next week! If you don’t already know, Typism is a global community of lettering-lovers that hosts educational summits and publishes a curated book of art every year (one of my monster letters is featured in book 8). They are hosting a free three-day event at the end of January to help you learn new lettering skills.
I will be presenting my talk on January 26 at 4:40 pm CST with a live Q+A to follow at 5pm (no worries if you miss the talk - it is pre-recoded and available to access for a few days after). I’ll be demonstrating how to draw in a boxy, block letter style while designing the below Valentine’s Day card art. Anyone at any skill level can join! I’ll be working in Procreate on an iPad Pro, but feel free to follow along with pencil and paper. Click this link to sign-up!
If you’d like to add a reminder to your calendar, click the link below:
Work Stuff
Some of y’all may have seen on my Instagram that over the last month I’ve been the Artist in Residence for Women of Type - sponsored by Paperlike. It’s been such a joy sharing my work with the community and getting to know so many cool people! Below are a couple of the pieces I created as part of the residency:
Upcoming Art Challenge
Starting February 1st I will be co-hosting a love-themed art challenge with five other incredible artists on Instagram! You are welcome to create art for all five prompts, or just drop in for one of two when you feel like it. All mediums are welcome! Here are a few guidelines for participating:
Follow all 6 hosts: @lizvolpi @alyssamariag @artbybwsmith @chickofalltrade @jag.ink @seejessletter
Use the hashtag #cuteandcupid
Be sure to tag all 6 hosts in your posts! This ensures that we each see your work. We will be sharing many of our favorite entries, so don’t miss this step!
Bonus: Include the prompts list as your second slide so others know how to join!
As a newsletter subscriber, you get access to the prompts a week early!! Feel free to interpret the below prompts however you like: you can pull from half of the prompt or work to combine both words. Get creative and have fun!
Freebies!
I have two freebies this month in preparation for the Typism summit. The first is a boxy lettering mini-workbook, which includes some tips and templates for getting started in this lettering style. I’ve also collected all the swatches I use in my talk and put them in a small kit for use in Procreate. Links below!
Epilogue
Woof, I had a lot to share this month! Back to that fable…have I ever envisioned a mountain screaming in labor before reading this? No. But, do I actually kinda love this fable? Yes. Here’s my interpretation:
People often make a big fuss about nothing. Even a grand or formidable figure—who has the power to disturb literally everyone around them—will make their problem seem uniquely huge. But really… it’s the same small BS we all make a fuss about. Just because the person complaining is exceptional doesn’t mean the problem is, too.
Well, I hope you liked this edition of Art & Fable! As always, feel free to drop me a line if you have any questions, etc. Otherwise, see you next time!