Eliza. I love that this Zeus is drawn with such a lived experience as an artist. “Lived”meaning full confidence of making each line just as it is on the paper. So glad Kim found it.
What a journey you are on! I know by the end you will know more about your parents - individually and together - as most of us will ever learn. And more about yourself, I suspect. Thank you for sharing with us.
There is something so vulnerable in this revelaton about your father fearing he might leave behind evidence of his flaws, shortcomings, imperfections. Yes, there is a certain narcissism to it and he was an artist, but also there is a deep personal insecurity exposed. Such a lovely Zeus he drew and a bit of a self-caricature?
I agree, both narcissism and vulnerability. The Zeus was pure imagination. It was amazing he could still do that with his limited vision. Thank you for your kind words, Jill.
A great read! Raises questions about judging art, and what it means to be remembered, and of course about being a parent. Have you read Tove Jansson's short stories? Her father was a well-known sculptor, and her mother a visual artist, and she wrote a number of stories about being a child in that household. I think from this that you'd find them interesting. (I wrote about one of them on Substack that really echoes one of the scenes you have here.)
Lovely read as usual. There's a lightness in your writing and I can clearly visualise all the scenes you describe. That vis art heritage got in there somehow! Amazing detail about the Degas painting.
Eliza. I love that this Zeus is drawn with such a lived experience as an artist. “Lived”meaning full confidence of making each line just as it is on the paper. So glad Kim found it.
Thank you, Jean. Me too!
What a journey you are on! I know by the end you will know more about your parents - individually and together - as most of us will ever learn. And more about yourself, I suspect. Thank you for sharing with us.
Thank you, Amy. Xo
There is something so vulnerable in this revelaton about your father fearing he might leave behind evidence of his flaws, shortcomings, imperfections. Yes, there is a certain narcissism to it and he was an artist, but also there is a deep personal insecurity exposed. Such a lovely Zeus he drew and a bit of a self-caricature?
I agree, both narcissism and vulnerability. The Zeus was pure imagination. It was amazing he could still do that with his limited vision. Thank you for your kind words, Jill.
A great read! Raises questions about judging art, and what it means to be remembered, and of course about being a parent. Have you read Tove Jansson's short stories? Her father was a well-known sculptor, and her mother a visual artist, and she wrote a number of stories about being a child in that household. I think from this that you'd find them interesting. (I wrote about one of them on Substack that really echoes one of the scenes you have here.)
I haven’t but thank you for the recommendations! Can you share the link to your post you refer to?
Of course! Though glancing at it now, I see that I left out the content of that scene in the essay, probably hoping not to spoil the story. (Or maybe it's there but I'm just not seeing it at a quick glance-through as I dash out the door.). It gives you an intro to the story, in any case! Here it is: https://open.substack.com/pub/notesfromlinnesby/p/three-short-stories-by-tove-jansson?r=2u2cxe&utm_medium=ios
Lovely read as usual. There's a lightness in your writing and I can clearly visualise all the scenes you describe. That vis art heritage got in there somehow! Amazing detail about the Degas painting.
Thank you, Lucy.
Another wonderful piece Elizabeth!
Thank you, Marjorie