Music Monday (72): Nao & Solange

   Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: Over my break, I was working on a music related post (which will be up next Monday). In preparation for it, I’ve been listening to a lot of different music. One of the best songs I listened to was Curiosity by Nao. I’ve been a fan of Nao’s music for a while, and when Saturn was initially released in October of 2018, I missed it. That being said, Saturn is now one of my favorite albums. There are so many excellent songs—like Orbit, Love Supreme, and Drive and Disconnect—so it was hard to choose just one to talk about for Music Monday....

Adri: Lately I've been  chilling to Solange's new album When I Get Home. Here's the YouTube Playlist. My favorite songs are Down With the Clique and Almeda. Though I always end up listening to Almeda first, I love the whole album.

What are you listening to this week?

The Friday 56 (149) & Book Beginnings: Fashioning Fashion, European Dress in Detail 1700-1915 by Sharon Sadako Takeda & Kaye Durland Spilker

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

The creation of eighteenth and nineteenth century fashion moved at a much slower tempo than the lightning-speed pace of contemporary fashion, so great attention was paid to the smallest detail. Fashioning Fashion: European Dress in Detail, 1700-1915 celebrates these and brilliantly examines the transformation of the fashionable silhouette over this span of more than two centuries. Lavish photographs and illustrative text provide historical context, showing how technical inventions, political events, and global trade often profoundly affected style. It is little wonder that many of today's top haute couture designers often look to fashion of the past to find inspiration in the present. The intriguing and stunning examples of historic dress in this opulent volume are as captivating today as they were centuries ago. Fashioning Fashion showcases nearly two hundred highlights from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's new European collection of rare pieces of historic fashion and accessories for men, women, and children. LACMA recently acquired this singular collection, which numbers more than 1,000 objects and represents a total of fifty years of acquisitions by prominent historic dress dealers and collectors Martin Kamer of England and Wolfgang Ruf of Switzerland. The pieces were chosen for their roles in the story of fashion's aesthetic and technical development from the Age of Enlightenment to World War I. This in-depth look at the details of these luxurious textiles, exacting tailoring techniques, and lush trimmings is the first presentation of this remarkable collection...

Beginning: "The fashions of the times record the social history of a world transformed by revolution and industrialization, a world clinging to an idealized past even as it embraced modern technology."

56: "Repeating patterns of fanciful vignettes depicting whimsical human figures, fantastic architectural structures, and out-of-scale flora and fauna appear on this figured silk fashioned into a dress."

Comments: Fashioning Fashion was another book I checked out from the library. It was a fascinating look at fashion history from 1700 to 1915. The beginning comes from page 15 instead of the preface, because I felt it better represented the kind of information found in Fashioning Fashion. Plus, I just like the quote. What are you reading this week?

Review: A Winter's Promise by Christelle Dabos

Title: A Winter's Promis
Series: The Mirror Visitor
Author: Christelle Dabos
Translated by: Hildegarde Serle
Source/Format: Borrowed from the library; Hardcover
More Details: Young Adult; Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: Europa Editions; September 25, 2018 (First published June 6, 2013)

Goodreads     Amazon     Barnes & Noble     Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Volume 1 of The Mirror Visitor Quartet; Winner of the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire.... 

Where once there was unity, vastly different worlds now exist. Over each, the spirit of an omnipotent and immortal ancestor abides. Long ago, following a cataclysm called the Rupture, the world was shattered into many floating celestial islands, known now as arks. Ophelia lives on Anima, where inhabitants can read the pasts of objects. What’s more, she is also a “mirror-traveler,” possessing an ability that has been passed down to her through generations. Her idyllic existence on Anima is disrupted when she is promised in marriage to Thorn, an influential member of a distant clan. Still only a girl, Ophelia must leave her family and follow her fiancé to Citaceleste, the capital of a cold and icy ark called Pole. But there, her future husband seems indifferent to her and she slowly realizes that her presence on Pole is part of a much bigger plot and has far-reaching ramifications not only for her but for her entire world. 

An unforgettable heroine, an insightful study of relationships, a rich and bountiful universe, intrigue and suspense, A Winter’s Promise is perfect for readers of Margaret Rogerson, Scott Westerfeld, Melissa Albert, and N.K. Jemisin....

A Winter’s Promise is one of the best books I’ve read so far this year. True to its synopsis, this book reminded me a little of N.K Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy, but also of Howl’s Moving Castle. There was an element of domesticity present throughout the novel rather than a focus on weapon and or magic heavy battles. And you know what? That worked out perfectly fine. A Winter’s Promise is a story that suited the characters as much as the characters suited the world they inhabited—which was all around a fascinating setting. And while the end of the book yielded more questions than answers, A Winter’s Promise was an excellent beginning to The Mirror Visitor series.

One of the elements that initially drew me to A Winter’s Promise was the event known as the Rupture. There was a lot of mystery surrounding it, which persisted throughout the novel. However, there are sequels to A Winter’s Promise. I hope some of those answers will be provided as the series goes on, because the history of the setting was fascinating.

The overall premise is pretty simple: Ophelia ends up in an arranged marriage she can’t escape from, and she’s not exactly the biggest fan of her new fiancé. Yet, the plot was anything but simple, and it was something that became apparent as more of the details surrounding the engagement were revealed. The situation also afforded a direct look into the individual societies on the two arks prominently featured in the story. Anima, Ophelia’s home ark—while strict about their ways and the expectation placed on her about her engagement—was still almost idyllic in comparison to that of Thorn’s. Pole was like Anima’s polar opposite. On Anima, the weather was fair and everyone was like family. On Pole, it’s always cold and snowy, and there was a clear hierarchy with distinct classes of people. A point of interest for me was seeing how Ophelia would adapt, if at all, to the new environment.

The characters were also something to make note of. I won’t go into specifics since I don’t want to spoil anything, but I enjoyed reading from Ophelia’s perspective. The synopsis says “an insightful study of relationships,” and that’s what I got from the story. It was a character driven story, and a lot of time was devoted to exploring relationships as well as everyday happenings. I did like how seemingly innocuous abilities could have unintended consequences. One such effect was Ophelia’s clumsiness. Initially, it came off as a bit off-putting at times, but I did catch the details about the cause of it. Thorn was a mystery and mostly remained as one, and what information there was about him revealed hints of an interesting character. I hope to see more of him in the next book.

So, there are a number of questions I still have. Thus, I’m looking forward to The Missing of Clairdelune. Luckily, the wait won’t be too long…

Exploring Colored Pencils Part #2

Where I last left off, I mentioned that I was going to try the necessities set again to see if I would have any of the same issues I had with the fundamental pencils.

I tried another picture using the Necessities set using similar colors, facial features, and shadows to see if there would be a difference in how I felt about them. While this set doesn’t blend as well as the Prismacolor colored pencils, it does layer better than the Fundamentals. I was able to build my layers and deepen the shadows. I did have to work with them and preserve as much of my white-space on the page as possible—because the white pencil doesn’t do anything (I feel like this is becoming a bit of a theme)—that being said, they had a better color payout overall.

If I put the two images side by side, there are noticeable differences, especially when viewed in person. The one made with the Fundamentals set (on the right) looks flatter and the other (on the left) has more depth and a cleaner look overall.

To make the comparison’s a little clearer, here are some swatches. Looks like three shades of orange right? Well, the differences aren’t so easy to spot when they’re lined up side by side. However, when I did a quick blend test with orange, red, and pink of comparable shades, the differences become a little more obvious. The Prismacolor’s blend together with ease and I got a smoother transition between the three colors. The Necessities set all the way down at the bottom, did blend together. While the Fundamentals set didn’t have as bright a red, and when it came time to blend, it did so a little but on close inspection the transitions weren’t as smooth as they could be.

There are pros and cons to every set, but my final thoughts are that the Prismacolor Premier pencils—while a little pricey—are worth the cost because they fit well with what I mostly do. They blend easily, the colors are vibrant, and I can layer without feeling like I have to fight the pencils to get where I want to go. For my sketchbook, I’ll use the Necessities set, because I have them. They’re not bad. However, when looking at the prices of some of the other Artist’s Loft colored pencil sets online, if I’m going to spend $36, I’ll probably just go with Prismacolor. My thoughts about the the Fundamentals set hasn’t really changed. As such, I’ll still keep them, but they’re going to be reserved to very light uses.

I'm Taking a Break...

I’m taking a break from blogging until March. I want to get caught up on reading, and there are some things I’m currently working on that need my full attention. See you all next month!