Kate Gladstone on the Writing Systems of Africa

Posted on November 4, 2023 by Aya Katz

On November 3, 2023, handwriting expert Kate Gladstone gave a presentation on the writing systems of Africa. The livestream is part of the “Interviews with Aya Katz” podcast.

Kate Gladstone on the Aya Katz Podcast

The slide presentation in the video includes the following images.

Title Slide
Indigenous Writing Systems of Africa
Sample African Scripts
A list of the writing systems
Kate’s Introduction to Adlam
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Interview with Howard Andrew Jones author of LORD OF A SHATTERED LAND

Posted on June 11, 2023 by Aya Katz

On June 9, 2023 I interviewed Howard Andrew Jones, author of Lord of a Shattered Land, coming out from Baen Books this August. Lord of a Shattered Land is part of a series, known as the Hanuvar Chronicles.

Book Description: “Hanuvar, last and greatest general of Volanus, still lives. He now travels the length of the Dervan Empire that conquered his homeland, driven by a singular purpose—to find what remains of his people who were carried into slavery across the empire, and free them from subjugation by any means necessary. Against the might of a vast empire, he had only an aging sword arm, a lifetime of hard-won wisdom, and the greatest military mind in the world, set upon a single goal. No matter what the empire musters against him, no matter what man or monster stands in his way, from the empire’s festering capital to its furthest outposts, Hanuvar would find his people, every last one of them. And he would set them free.”

https://www.baen.com/lord-of-a-shatte…

A map of the world of Hanuvar — created by Darien Jones

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INDEX OF THE INTERVIEW

Content 00:00 Introduction 1:48 The Genre of the Book 4:11 The names of the Countries and the Geography of Hanuvar’s world 25:04 A Reading from LORD OF A SHATTERED LAND 32:10 A look at the map of the Inner Sea, drawn by Darien Jones. 41:11 Hannibal (and Hanuvar) as a patriot and a freedom fighter, not a conqueror 01:25:59 Religion of Hanuvar and Others in the Book

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Interview with Professor Kevin D. Hunt

Posted on May 20, 2023 by Aya Katz

Our guest on the livestream on May 19, 2023 was Kevin D. Hunt, Professor of Anthropology at IU in Bloomington, Indiana. He has been studying chimpanzees at Semliki for a number of years. Professor Hunt links specific anatomical features in chimpanzees and australopithecines with specific behaviors. He uses these links to trace the path of human evolution, particularly through reconstruction of their foraging habits. Professor Hunt’s Homepage: https://anthropology.indiana.edu/abou…

Professor Hunt’s new book is called “Chimpanzee: Lessons from our Sister Species.” Order his book: https://www.amazon.com/Chimpanzee-Les…

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Table of Contents 0:00 Introduction 14:25 The Presentation begins: The Geography of Semliki 18:56 The Locomotion of Chimpanzees and Bipedalism 25:53 Introducing Individual Chimpanzees at Semliki 37:03 Diet & Foraging Behavior at Semliki 41:31 Digestion Process & Chimpanzee Digestive Tract 53:50 Comparative Skeletal Analysis 1:08:34 Endocrine Disruption Due to Pesticides 1:09:47 Well Digging Behavior of Semliki Chimpanzees 1:18:47 Summary 1:24:04 Endangered Species: The Prognosis for Semliki Chimps 1:28:14 Information About the Field School 1:32:17 The Book: “Chimpanzee: Lessons from our Sister Species.” 1:33:51 Hanno the Carthiginian and Chimpanzees

Mandarin
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Review: Calvin the Coolest President

Posted on March 14, 2023 by Aya Katz

Calvin the Coolest President is a children’s book written and illustrated by the husband and wife writing team of Austin and Stephanie Petersen. Recently I had the opportunity to interview both authors on my livestream.

Interview with the Petersens

A picture book about the 30th president of the United States, Calvin the Coolest President addresses libertarian issues in simple language that every child can understand.

Order the book here: Calvin the Coolest President

Here is a whole gallery of pictures of the authors reading the book to their dogs.

Would you like to read Calvin the Coolest President to your dog? It makes a great gift.

Stephanie and Austin Petersen reading Calvin the Coolest President to their dogs

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The Last Painting of the Year

Posted on January 1, 2023 by Aya Katz
The Painting as Seen in the Pens

The last painting of the year sounds so final. Will there be other paintings in the future? Maybe. But this is the last of the year.

How I painted the last painting of the year

Sometimes the asymmetries and the disproportionate representation seem all too obvious in my work. Will it ever get any better?

But then I look at something I painted nearly three years ago, and I can see that I’ve improved.

A similar painting I attempted in January of 2020

As imperfect as the last painting of the year may seem right now, it is still a step forward.

Self Portrait with a Chimpanzee — acrylics on 12×16 stretched canvas

Happy new year from me and Bow!

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A Portrait in Red: Dominant Colors in a Painting

Posted on December 25, 2022 by Aya Katz
Portait in Red with a Pooch

The above is a high contrast photograph of a portrait that I recently painted of my daughter. Red is the dominant color. Shadows are red. Low areas are red. High contrast is achieved through a vibrant, undiluted bright red.

An earlier stage of the painting with less contrast in lighting

Below is a video that shows the process by which the painting came about.

Using vibrant unmuted colors can be a stylistic choice. This same portrait could have had more muted and natural looking colors by adding a semi-transparent coat of greyish white over the top.

Let me know in the comments if you think the reddish light in this portrait is too harsh.

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Beginner Painting Project: A Cardinal for Christmas

Posted on December 9, 2022 by Aya Katz
Demonstration of How to Paint the Cardinal

Are you looking for an easy holiday painting project that can be completed in ten minutes? Consider painting a cardinal on a small square of canvas board.

What you will need?

  • A canvas board, prepainted light green. (A square four inches by four inches is a good size, but it can vary.
  • Acrylic paint tubes: titanium white, bright red, blue and yellow.
  • A small roller brush and a few other brushes for finer detail.
  • a paper plate to use as a palette

How to Paint the Cardinal

  • Mix white and blue and use the roller brush to create random patterns of the two colors to create an impression of depth through a blurry background implying shapes out of focus.
  • Draw the silhouette of the cardinal in bright red paint, undiluted with other colors.
  • Add red berries hanging in the air.
  • Mix equal parts of red and blue and half as much yellow to create black. Add the black areas in the cardinal around the eye and also include the eye.
  • Use some of the black for the branch the cardinal is perched upon and the vines from which the berries grow.
  • Add white highlights to the branches and white snow on the berries,
  • Add white and and yellow highlights to the cardinal, refining the texture of its plummage.

Now you are done. Here is how your painting will look.

Not bad for something that only took ten minutes!

Need some supplies? Try my Amazon store.

https://www.amazon.com/shop/ayakatz

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Proportions Don’t Matter in Face Recognition

Posted on July 23, 2022 by Aya Katz

Some artists are very good at photo realism. They create excellent mockups of real world scenery, taking into account both perspective and proportions. And yet somehow those same artists fail when it comes to creating recognizable portraits. Why is that? Because for facial recognition, proportions do not matter.

A Caricature of Grover Cleveland

Don’t believe me? Then consider caricatures. Caricatures are famous for getting the proportions wrong while making the person recognizable.

A Portrait of Mark Twain with poor porportions

But surely if an artist is good enough, he can create a recognizable face just by getting all the details right, including the perspective and the proportions? After all, photographers do. You would think that, but every drawing or painting has to leave some information out in order to recreate a part of our world in a limited number of strokes. Unless you actually focus on the things that are important to facial recognition — individual idiosyncracies of facial features — then you will fail to capture a recognizable face.

Our brain has an area that is dedicated to facial recognition. Software that tries to capture that same function has to rely on complex algorithms that go far beyond geometrical issues of proportions and perspective. People whose facial recognition center is damaged might perfectly describe a person they see and still not be able to recognize the individual. Knowing what you see and recognizing who you see are two different things.

If you are trying to paint a portrait that will be recognizable, don’t obsess over proportions. Try to make the person recognizable first, and worry about proportions later.

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Fields Full of Flowers: Restoring Native Prairie with Kathy Freeze

Posted on June 18, 2022 by admin

This Friday the guest on our livestream was Kathy Freeze.

Kathy Freeze with her fields full of flowers.

Kathy told the story of how she turned different portions of her 23 acres into native prairie with beautiful flowers for pollinators to enjoy.

You Can view the entire interview on YouTube
Photos from Kathy Freeze of her Fields Full of Flowers

If you live in Missouri and are interested in wildflowers and native plants, here are some resources:

https://www.hamiltonnativeoutpost.com/

https://mowildflowers-net.3dcartstores.com/

https://mdc.mo.gov/trees-plants/tree-seedlings

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The Dark Side of Rain or Shine

Posted on March 21, 2022 by Aya Katz
Rain or Shine is a Korean show about survivors of a mall collapse that killed 48 people

Rain or Shine as a K-drama

Rain or Shine is a gem of a South Korean show. I rank it right up there with My Mister, and just a little below Mr. Sunshine. In fact, since it has a positive character who is both a loan shark and drug dealer, I might actually rank Rain or Shine above My Mister as a libertarian drama.

Ha Moon-S00 and Lee Gang-Doo

Rain or Shine: The Basic Plot

Years after the collapse of a mall kills 48 people and the architect of the mall commits suicide, the survivors of the collapse come together to rebuild. In the process, hidden memories surface, love blossoms, and emotional conflicts are explored and resolved.

Ha Moon-Soo

Rain or Shine: The Characters

  • Ha Moon-Soo (Won Jin-A) — A survivor of the mall collapse who builds architectural models for a living.
  • Lee Gang-Doo (Lee Joon-Ho) — A survivor of the mall collapse who works in construction.
  • Seo Joo-Won (Lee Ki-Woo) — The son of the architect who designed the mall that collapsed, he is now in charge of designing the new mall. He is the direct supervisor of Ha Moon-Soo.
  • Jung Yoo-Jin (Kang Han-Na) — Her father was in charge of the building project of the collapsed mall. She and Joo-Won used to be romantically involved. Her brother is in charge of the new building project. Her father is married to Joo-Won’s mother. She herself is an architecturally trained business woman.
  • Yoon-Ok (Yun Yoo-Sun) — Moon-Soo’s mother, who runs a bath house for women. She is racked with guilt over the death of her younger daughter, Yeon-Soo, in the collapsed mall and has become an alcoholic.
  • Ha Dong-Chul (Ahn Nae-Sang) — Moon-Soo’s father who runs a noodle shop close to the site of the collapsed mall. He is separated from his wife. He is also the person whose confrontation with the architect caused Joo-Won’s father to commit suicide.
  • Ha Yeon-Soo (Han Seo-Jin) –Moon-Soo’s little sister who was killed in the mall collapse.
  • Jung Yoo-Taek (Tae In-Ho) — Yu-Jin’s brother, a very incompetent businessman.
  • Lee Jae-Young (Kim Hye-Jun) — Gang-Doo’s sister, a doctor.
  • Ma-Ri (Yoon Se-Ah) — A kind hearted madam.
  • Sang-Man (Kim Gang-Hyun) — An autistic neighbor of Gang-Du.
  • Loan Shark/Drug Dealer Grandmother (Na Moon-Hee)
  • Joo-won’s Mother (Nam Gi-Ae)

Rain or Shine: The Moral Dilemmas

Who is responsible for the mall collapse? Was it the architect who put together the perfect blue prints? The construction company who tried to cut costs? The construction worker who was caught reselling materials from the mall construction project? Who should be blamed? Who is responsible for a little girl’s death in the collapse? Her older sister who should have been at her side? Her mother, who sent both girls unaccompanied into the mall alone? And what if none of them are responsible? What if life is just cruel? Do you blame the heartless universe or whatever god you believe in?

I explore these issues in greater depth in the video embedded below.

Rain or Shine: Libertarian Aspects

The character of the loan shark/drug dealer with the heart of gold is a very nice touch. This show demonstrates that there is a clear difference between what is immoral and what is illegal. Some of the kindest people sell medicine under the table to people the medical profession refuses to serve. Some of the best bankers are loan sharks, lending money at exorbitant rates to people who otherwise would be turned away.

Like many other shows about art and architecture from South Korea, this drama also features architectural drawings. If you are interested in the art of Rain or Shine, watch the video embedded above.

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