July 2019 - Art, Extradimensional Horrors, and Ingrid Michaelson

August 1, 2019 Meghan Stratman

Much like June, July was all art, all the time. BUT! The show is finally done and hanging at the gallery and I’m really happy with how it all turned out. I look forward to going to bed at a reasonable time, playing some video games, and catching up on various shows and movies now that I have free time again.

MOVIES

Spiderman: Far From Home
I (perhaps irresponsibly) took a couple of hours away from art to go see SPIDERMAN: FAR FROM HOME. Tom Holland remains my favorite live action Spiderman. I think the new take on Mysterio works really well (Jake Gyllenhaal nailed it) and the whole adventure was a lot of fun.

The Last Black Man in San Francisco
One of the perks of working at a movie theatre is that I can sit in on the daytime press screenings for local film reviewers. This means that I was able to see a SECOND MOVIE in July! 😮 THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO is a really beautiful film about family (biological and chosen), identity, home, and gentrification. The trailer better summarizes the story than I seem to be able to in my sleep deprived state. It’s a lyrical, drifty sort of movie which savors little moments and gives weight to things not usually celebrated. The cinematography and music are also excellent. I would definitely recommend.

BOOKS

I spent most of my July book time re-reading some favorite comfort romances to help decompress during art breaks: An Unnatural Vice & An Unsuitable Heir by K.J. Charles and the Enlightenment series by Joanna Chambers. I also read a handful of new things, some of which were good.

The Affair of the Mysterious Letter (Alexis Hall)
Alexis Hall is one of my favorite romance writers and he branches out a bit here with a weird, fun, and delightfully queer riff on Holmes and Watson, set in a Lovecraftian world where basically everything exists: extra dimensional gods, time travel, multiple universes, magic, vampires, underwater cities, zombies, and more. The story follows Captain John Wyndham, who left his puritanical home country to go to school and then join the army. After returning from a war in which he fought unknowable beings in a different dimension, Wyndham becomes roommates with the strange, eccentric, drug-fueled sorceress Shaharazad Haas. When Haas’ former flame enlists her help in solving a blackmail plot, the housemates go on a series of adventures to solve the mystery. The book is presented as a series of vignettes, as told by Wyndham, whose conservative upbringing means he is uncomfortable transcribing fowl language or unsavory conduct (to very humorous effect).

Raze (Roan Parrish)
Raze is a strong third entry into Parrish’s Riven series. This installment follows Huey, a bar owner and substance abuse sponsor (featured a bit in the earlier books) who has spent the last 10 years staying sober and helping others do the same. He does this at the expense of relationships and any sort of personal life. Following a karaoke performance at his bar, Huey meets Felix, a sunshine cinnamon roll who has spent his entire life helping raise his siblings and has no idea what to do with his life now that his brothers and sisters have grown up. Romance ensues. 💕

Heartstopper: Volume 2 (Alice Oseman)
I mentioned earlier that I would be snapping up Volume 2 of this series as soon as it was available and I did just that! Where the first book follows the blossoming friendship/romance between Nick and Charlie, this second volume focuses on Charlie trying to come to grips with his bisexuality and his fear of coming out. The art in these books is beautiful and incredibly expressive; the way that Oseman is able to say so much with such simple, clean line-work and a few shades of gray is amazing.

MUSIC

Stranger Songs (Ingrid Michaelson)
While I have generally liked Ingrid Michaelson’s music in the past (and love her “Girls Chase Boys” video), I’ve never listened to a whole album or followed her work very closely. Then earlier this month, artist Kevin Wada posted that he had created art for an Ingrid Michaelson music video from her new album. I clicked the link and by that evening I was listening to Stranger Songs on solid repeat. The music is loosely inspired by Netflix’s Stranger Things; it has a romantic pop/synth vibe and there are a number of themes and direct references to the show. But you don’t need to know anything about Stranger Things to enjoy the album. The other element which is really neat is that each song from the album has an accompanying lyric video with art by a bunch of talented artists, including Wada, Nicola Scott, Kate Leth, and Jen Bartel.

ART

The solo show is done and everything is up at the gallery! *passes out on the floor*

Usually when I do a big show I have a couple of filler pieces that I’m not super excited about, but somehow I like everything I made for this one.

The opening reception is on Friday (Aug 2) from 6:30-9pm at Gallery 9 in Lincoln and the show will be up through the month of August. I will (hopefully) have new prints available at the gallery along with the originals and those prints will then be added to the online shop a little later in August.

June 2019 - Hedgehogs, Beatles, and Jaded Spies

July 5, 2019 Meghan Stratman

I spent all of my free time in June making art, so I don’t have many new recommendations this month.

I adopted a wayward hedgehog last week, though, so that’s kind of big news. Meet Barnaby! 🦔 He’s super shy but he licked my hand and rolled around in his ball yesterday, so I think we’re making progress.

MOVIES

Yesterday
YESTERDAY is a kind movie. I am at max stress right now, so seeing a kind movie with a happy ending was really nice.

Jack (Himesh Patel) is a struggling musician on the verge of giving up on his dreams. Late one night, all of the lights in the world mysteriously go dark and at this exact moment Jack is hit by a bus. While recuperating from the accident, he makes the strange discovery that he has woken up in a world where the Beatles never existed and he may be the only person who still remembers their songs. Jack begins recording/performing Beatles music as his own which soon leads to all of the fame and fortune he could hope for, but also intense guilt for taking credit for music he didn’t write. It’s a fun “what if” scenario and a sweet love story, with a great soundtrack and lovely performances from the two lead actors. The reviews for YESTERDAY seem to be rather mixed, but I for one really liked it.

BOOKS

Hither, Page (Cat Sebastian)
An Agatha Christie-style murder mystery and a sweet romance, Hither, Page is another great book from Cat Sebastian. In post WWII England, a jaded spy named Leo is sent to a tiny town to investigate a murder that may be connected to a larger case of international espionage. While there he meets a handsome doctor who is suffering from PTSD and doesn’t for one moment buy Leo’s cover as a “traveling architecture enthusiast”. The two end up solving the mystery, falling in love, and helping each other find a home after the darkness of war.

ART

I have a solo show opening in less than a month so I am in super hardcore art mode at the moment. I have about a million (well, more like 29) pieces in various stages of completion so basically every flat surface in my house has art or art-related things sitting on it. One of the big pieces in the show will this set of 12 birds which I included on the announcement postcard. The new art features a lot of birds (because birds are cool) but also includes other animals and some mythological creatures. I’m really excited and really stressed.

I can also finally show the new piece I made for Gallery1988’s official Yu-Gi-Oh show which will be on display July 5-14 in Los Angeles!

May 2019 - Reluctant Hitmen, Ridiculous Sword fights, and a Very Good Dog

May 30, 2019 Meghan Stratman

Somehow we’re already done with May?!? I have a lot of art work to get done in the next two months. * sweats *
I actually enjoyed a whole bunch of things this month, so I have lots of recommendations. You may also notice that I recently figured out how to add videos to the blog…

MOVIES + TV

Fleabag (Amazon Prime)
After thoroughly enjoying Killing Eve and finding out that one of the creators, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, is also the the creator and star of Fleabag, I decided to check it out. I LOVED IT. The show is about a woman (played by Waller-Bridge) dealing with all sorts of emotional issues involving sex, family, depression, guilt, and loneliness. She shares her thoughts directly with the camera, so we become her confidant as she copes with various adventures and dramas. It’s incredibly funny and also genuinely moving. At the end of the final episode (which was a perfect finale, IMO) I was literally laughing and crying at the same time. All of the actors are great and the fourth-wall breaking never feels like a gimmick - It’s actually part of the story. The whole show is only two seasons long, each made up of 6 30-minute episodes, so it’s very easy to binge. Definitely one of the best things I have seen in a while.

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum
While I didn’t love it as much as the first two installments, John Wick 3 is still a very entertaining action movie, with beautifully crafted fight scenes. Within the first 30 minutes, John has fights in a library, an antique knife shop, and a horse stable, all of which are great. Unfortunately after that, the excitement wanes a bit and the unending gun and sword fights started to feel a little repetitive. It all still looked amazing but I had trouble staying interested.

It’s worth noting that I watched the film as part of a triple-feature movie marathon and by hour 5 I was getting rather desensitized. It’s very possible that the action scenes wouldn’t feel as monotonous if you haven’t already watched 4 hours of the same thing right beforehand. Anyway, if you want a solid action film, with Keanu Reeves, gunfights, some battle-dogs, a manic dagger duel, and a very weird plot that dives a little too deep into magical underworld bureaucracy lore, John Wick 3 is worth checking out.

Her Smell
Her Smell is a surreal, disorienting, and incredibly acted portrait of the downfall of a punk rock musician (played by Elisabeth Moss). The structure of the film, mixed with an unnerving score and an unpredictable manic main character, meant that I was basically on-edge for two hours. Yet still really enjoyed the film.

Barry (HBO)
Barry is great; it’s a bizarre blend of comedy and very dark drama that somehow works. The show follows a hitman (Bill Hader) who discovers a passion for acting and tries to balance his life as a murderer-for-hire with his desire to attend theatre classes and be on stage. Hader is such a charming actor that you naturally root for him, which makes this show emotionally complicated and occasionally unpleasant because Barry does some really bad things. Luckily that darkness is balanced with outstanding comedy and sharp writing. Special accolades for Anthony Carrigan who steals every scene as NoHo Hank, a Chechen mobster and probably my favorite character, and Season 2, Episode 5 which is one of the funniest “plan goes wrong” scenarios I have ever scene.

Game of Thrones (HBO)
There are many things I could gripe about with Game of Thrones season 8 (and with the show in general) - it absolutely had problems and being watched by so many people means that everyone has heaps to say on the subject. But I wanted to mention it here in my faves blog because even with all of its issues, I really enjoyed the shared experience of watching something along with so many other people. I love big epic mythology stories and GoT has that in spades. Over the course of 8 seasons there were numerous episodes, characters, and narratives that I really liked and I think that is what is going to stick with me, more than all the things I wish they had done differently.

VIDEO GAMES

Devil May Cry 5
This game is utterly ridiculous, doesn’t always make sense, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. In Devil May Cry 5 you play as three different demon hunters using bonkers swords (one of which is somehow simultaneously a sword and a motorcycle?), rad flips, demon buddies, and oversized firearms to kill monsters and stop an evil dude from destroying the world. As you do. While I knew the basic Devil May Cry story, played a little bit of one the previous games (but couldn’t really get into it), and enjoyed Ninja Theory’s reboot (which had its own, mostly unrelated story), I was still a little rusty on the details and had to keep texting my friend for reminders about who did what in the earlier games. I’m also not the best at remembering how to do all the complicated button combos you need for special moves. But even without all the backstory and button skillz, I still had a lot of fun.

BOOKS

My Brother’s Husband, Volume 2 (Gengoroh Tagame)
My Brother’s Husband is a two volume manga that follows a Japanese father as he is forced to examine his biases and beliefs when his deceased brother’s Canadian husband comes for an extended visit. The story is sometimes sad but also really hopeful and genuinely made me cry at the end. Just sitting there crying on the couch. The art is beautiful and it is a wonderful set of books.

Heartstopper, Volume 1 (Alice Oseman)
A very sweet graphic novel about two high-school boys forming a friendship and falling in love. Alice Oseman’s illustration style is lovely, with a particular shout out for her amazingly expressive drawings of Nellie, a dog belonging to one of the main characters. Like, I don’t know If I have ever fallen in love with something as fast as I fell in love with this dog. Please see important examples below:

The whole comic is available online, or you can get a really nice collected print edition. I went with the latter and i’m definitely ordering volume 2.

A Prince on Paper (Alyssa Cole)
More Alyssa Cole! A Prince on Paper continues Cole’s Reluctant Royals series, which I have mentioned here before. These books are so much fun with great characters and chemistry. APoP contains a charming AF sibling-to-royalty (but not a prince himself), a really lovely non-binary character (whose coming out scene I re-read like four times), and a heroine that lacks world experience but never lacks self-worth or self-respect. I loved that.

Shadows You Left (Taylor Brooke & Jude Sierra)
A tattoo artist and a cage fighter fall in love and try to deal with a mountain of emotional baggage and fraught histories. This book has really lovely prose, plenty of drama, and a strong romance centered around healing and trust. Twas a good read.

ART

All of my solo show pieces are drawn, frames and glass have been ordered, and it’s now time to actually begin construction... If you are interested in the behind-the-scenes process, check out my Patreon where I will be posting more details, photos, and video. I also completed a little X-Files piece this month for Gallery1988’s “The 90s” show.

April 2019 - Assassins, Space Monsters, and Armageddon

May 7, 2019 Meghan Stratman

Well, I managed to get the Very Worst cold and we’ve had our first tornado of the season. How is your spring going? Here are some of the things I enjoyed in April…

MOVIES + TV

Avengers: Endgame
I can’t quite say that all of it made sense and I was not very happy with the way the filmmakers kept using someone’s weight as a joke, but I still overall enjoyed the spectacle and experience of Endgame; an appropriately epic and satisfying conclusion to 11 years of movies. I have a weird aversion to rewatching most MCU movies (with some exceptions), but I could definitely watch the final battle a few more times.

Killing Eve
This was one of those situations where “I’ll just watch one episode” turned into accidentally staying up until 3am binging the entire first season. Killing Eve is an amazing showcase for some phenomenally talented actresses and I was enthralled. The show follows the increasingly obsessive relationship between Villanelle (Jodie Comer), a sociopathic assassin, and Eve (Sandra Oh), the MI5 officer who is trying to stop her. It is full of spy intrigue, tense situations, and a surprising amount of humor.

VIDEO GAMES

Prey
I started this game when it first came out in 2017 but got stuck at a difficult bit and ended up taking a very long break. I started it up again in April and had a much better time. The developer, Arkane Studios, is very good at creating beautiful, haunting locations that are incredibly fun to explore (they also created the Dishonored series). Despite having a more-or-less silent protagonist, the game manages to tell a really interesting story through the environment (an art-deco space station in the midst of an alien outbreak), well acted non-player characters, and various emails and audio-logs you find along the way. If you like really creative first person stealth/action games, put this one on your list.

Far Cry: New Dawn
I also blazed through Far Cry: New Dawn this month, which, in contrast to Prey, is one of those games where a silent protagonist doesn’t work well at all. Throughout the entire game I kept wishing I was playing a character who actually reacted to things and had a story. That being said, I still had fun playing it. New Dawn sticks to the tried-and-true Far Cry formula of taking over enemy bases, battling with charismatic, ruthless villains, and accidentally setting everything on fire as you mash buttons in a mad dash to escape a wildlife ambush involving two bears and a very angry wolverine. It’s not an outstanding game, but it’s fun junk food. Plus, bonus points for battle companions Horatio, a wild boar, and Timber, a very good dog.

BOOKS

Bloom (Kevin Panetta & Savanna Ganucheau)
A coming-of-age story (with a smidge of romance), Bloom is a lovely graphic novel written by Kevin Panetta and beautifully illustrated by Savanna Ganucheau, which focuses on Ari, a young man full of young-man-angst who desperately wants to do more with his life than work at his family’s struggling bakery.

Good Omens (Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman)
Many years ago, my family and I listened to the Good Omens audiobook while road-tripping to Canada and I accidentally slept through a large portion of it. Car trips make me sleepy. Since Amazon is getting ready to premier a new cinematic adaptation, I figured this would be a good time to properly re-read the book while actually awake. I’m a fan of both Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett and I really like this combined work. It’s silly and satirical and smart and just an all-round fun book full of memorable characters and clever writing. It’s kind of hard to concisely describe the story, but basically it’s time for Armageddon, the four horsemen have been summoned, the Antichrist is an 11-year-old boy, and a demon, an angel, a witch, and a novice witch-hunter join forces to save the world.

A Duke in Disguise (Cat Sebastian)
Cat Sebastian is one of my favorite historical romance authors. Her books are full of fun twists on HistRom tropes and always feature positive LGBTQ+ characters and happy endings. A Duke in Disguise is the second in her Regency Imposters series, but you don’t have to read them in order (this one actually takes place first). Our main characters are Verity, an anarchist newspaper publisher who has decided to print a steamy adult novel, and Ash, the engraver, and long-time family friend, who she hires to do the illustrations. Oh, and Ash is secretly the lost heir to a dukedom. 😬

What It Takes (Jude Sierra)
This was my first Jude Sierra book but after I finished it I quickly added the rest of her work to my “to-read” list. What it Takes follows two boys, Milo and Andrew, best friends since childhood, who grow up together in Cape Cod. Milo’s father is emotionally and physically abusive, and Andrew is Milo’s sanctuary and support. But as they grow up, emotions and attractions become confusing and ultimately they part ways for college. Years later Milo returns home and the two men are forced to deal with a whole bunch of emotional baggage as they try to reconnect and address their long-simmering love. Be prepared for lots of angst, longing, and warm, squishy feels.

An Unconditional Freedom (Alyssa Cole)
So last month I went on at length about how great Alyssa Cole’s Reluctant Royals series is and this month I will tell you about how great her Loyal League series is. Alyssa Cole is great, is what I’m saying. An Unconditional Freedom is definitely the darkest book in this series, which follows a group of spies in the civil war trying to fight the confederacy. The main protagonist in the story is Daniel, who was born free but kidnapped as a young man and sold into slavery. When An Unconditional Freedom begins, Daniel has been rescued and is working for the Loyal League, but is haunted by his past and can’t see beyond his all-consuming need to burn the world down. He is paired with Janeta, a new recruit from Cuba who is secretly working as a spy for the South. This is a tough story to read but ultimately very hopeful. My one complaint is that I found Janeta’s naiveté about slavery to be, at times, hard to swallow. Her character was really hard to sympathize with for a good portion of the book and I did a lot of really long frustrated sighing. But the book is about growth and change and that’s definitely what she does. It just takes a while to get there.

ART

Show prep continues, so April art was lots and lots of drawing and planning. Here are some robins!

March 2019 - Doppelgängers, Demon Cats, Witches, and Ghosts

April 5, 2019 Meghan Stratman

It’s finally spring! The snow is gone. Green things are peeking out of the ground. There are robins everywhere.

Here are some of the things I enjoyed in March. Apparently I consumed a lot of spooky things? I wanted to do some sort of spooky + March word smoosh but it is apparently impossible. Prove me wrong.

MOVIES + TV

Us
I am not good with scary movies, so I was nervous about seeing Us. Gore I can handle, but dread is a whole other matter. I knew that I HAD to see it, because Jordan Peele is amazing and I kicked myself for not seeing Get Out in the theatre. I also knew that whatever I was going to see was going to stick in my brain and demand attention right when I close my eyes to go to sleep. But I gathered my courage and saw the film and holy cow wow. It is so good. It ended up being the kind of weird, surreal horror that is right up my alley. A film that is filled with creepily beautiful imagery, a perfectly unsettling score, great performances, and a clever story you want to experience again right away. Like the best horror films, it requires a certain suspension of disbelief. There are elements that, upon trying to dissect them and reason them out, don’t really make sense. Which ultimately doesn’t matter in the slightest. A very high recommendation from me on this one. And yes, I totally slept with the light on afterwards. Don’t judge me!

Captain Marvel
To say that it was about time for a female hero to headline a Marvel movie is a bit of an understatement. In a series where probably 75% of the women have been relegated to “girlfriend” roles, Captain Marvel was sorely needed and I think the character will add a lot to the MCU. While I found the film to be a tad generic - I always hope for something visually arresting and strange when dealing with big, cosmic space dramas - it was still entertaining and brought a different perspective to the well-hashed origin story template. While so many hero origins involve someone getting powers and then having to become a better person to live up to those powers, Carol’s journey is in her realization that she has always been good and strong and doesn’t need to be beholden to those who want to diminish and control her. She doesn’t have to prove herself to anyone.

Legend of the Demon Cat
Set in China during the Tang Dynasty, Legend of the Demon Cat is a grand fairy-tale fantasy about a demonic ghost cat out for revenge against those that have wronged him. It’s a spectacle movie: huge sets, amazing costumes, and a beautiful array of images and color. Plus it has a ridiculous talking cat that still somehow curled up in my heart and made me cry at the end. The film is based on a popular book that I have not read and I think there were a lot of things that would have made more sense if I knew the story. But while I occasionally had no idea what exactly was going on, overall I still really liked the film.

Apollo 11
This documentary collects a trove of beautiful archival footage from the Apollo 11 space mission and creates a linear account of the entire voyage to the moon. There is no narration, other than actual recorded audio from reporters, NASA, the astronauts, and other commentators. If you are interested in space exploration history, this is a good one.

Game of Thrones
Up until February, I had not watched past season 2 of Game of Thrones. I don’t really know why. But I knew that I wanted to watch the final season as it aired instead of waiting years and having things spoiled. So over the course of two months I binged my way through the whole dang thing. There were some really rough years there, where it wasn’t particularly fun to watch, but when it was good it was REALLY GOOD.

BOOKS

A Princess in Theory & A Duke by Default (Alyssa Cole)
If you enjoy modern romances, this series by Alyssa Cole is definitely worth checking out. What I love most about these books are the women; smart ladies who have actual lives, friendships, and jobs separate from their romances. I’ve read a string of books recently where the female characters had NO existence beyond their interaction with the dashing heroes. Barely any mention of their work, ambition, dreams. So when I started A Princess in Theory and found a substantial amount of time dedicated to establishing the life, history, and science career of our main character, I was overjoyed. We get to know her so well before the love interest is even introduced. APIT follows Naledi, an epidemiologist who was raised in foster care and discovers that she was betrothed at birth to a dashing prince. A Duke by Default is about Naledi’s wayward friend Portia, who travels to Scotland for a sword-smithing internship and attempts to figure out her life while she’s falling in love with the gruff master sword-maker. These premises are ridiculous fun and and the books are very entertaining to read. *thumbs up*

Witchmark (C.L. Polk)
I’m having a hard time figuring out how to summarize this one. While Witchmark feels very much like a first novel, with rough edges and a slightly overstuffed narrative, what it lacks in finesse it makes up for in heart. I felt like I was reading something that the author cared about and loved. This sense of passion kept me engaged even when some of the book seemed a bit unpolished.

The setting is reminiscent of pre-WW1 England and takes place in a country where magic exists but is kept hidden. Wealthy, powerful mages secretly rule, while every other witch (those not born to noble families) lives in fear of being shipped off to an asylum. Our main character, Miles, was born to nobility but faked his own death to escape his family and their dark plans for his powers; he joins the army, becomes a doctor, and heals people (sometimes with magic). When a handsome stranger arrives at the hospital, carrying a witch who was poisoned, Miles has to leave his secret life and try to solve an increasingly deadly mystery. As you can tell, there’s a lot going on here and it doesn't always work. But overall, I still found this book to be charming and memorable.

The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal (K.J. Charles)
Despite being a KJ Charles super fan, somehow I had missed this one. Secret Casebook is a collection of stories about frosty ghost hunter Simon and his companion/lover/assistant Robert, presented in a style akin to Watson writing about Sherlock Holmes. Just with, ya know, a bit more sex and some actual ghosts.

The book is structured as a series of recollections from Robert as he looks back on his adventures with Simon and life they shared together. Each chapter follows a different paranormal case, involving things like a lewd poltergeist, death-by-butterflies, the haunting cries of murdered ghost children, a rat god, and the wild hunt. Through these various cases, over the course of many years, Secret Casebook builds a caring, passionate, and sometimes tragic relationship between the two men. Another great read from KJ Charles.

ART

I’ve been doing a lot of solo show prep work this past month, writing lists and sitting around at coffee shops drawing things on my iPad. I am really excited to have some art energy back and can’t wait to start sharing things (once I have things to share).

I also finished up my tribute to tiny murderess Arya for Spoke Art’s “Winter is Here” show, on display this weekend (April 6 & 7) in San Francisco.