Katya Reimann, Writer & Artist
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Katya Reimann : 2020

Katya has been telling stories, building worlds, and creating the art to go with them for most of her life.  

The content of these pages reflect her diverse interests over time.

Lego Circa 1981

2/28/2020

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This photo has been circulating on the Internet since at least 2013, when someone first sent it to me, along with the caption, "Before girls were told that every single last thing in their life must be pink."

But it's not just about the pink. It's about... Well, this is the way I was able to dress when I was 7 years old.  Blithely... No. Blithe. "Blithe to my gender." What I had of one at the time.

It is not possible for an ad like this to be produced today.

Note also that the little girl (or the marketer) did not believe she needed a kit to decide for her what she should build.
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My Great Uncle Served at Ypres

2/20/2020

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We live in an amazing age when it comes to family documentation.  Philip Sampson was my grandmother's older brother.  He was one of the soldiers who participated in that famous "Christmas in the trenches."

Thanks go to my cousin Julie, for finding, and sharing, this article with me.
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Clearing the desk

2/4/2020

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As I clear my desk & toss old envelopes...

Comical dog in lifejacket, ~2015

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Epictetus, ca 100

2/1/2020

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If you are told that such a one speaks ill of you, make no excuses against what was said, but answer, "He was ignorant of my other faults, else he would not have mentioned these alone!"
Epictetus (~55 - ~135) was a Romano-Greek philosopher who lived during the reigns of Nero, Domitian, and Hadrian, as the Roman Empire was slowly collapsing. No writings by Epictetus are known--his discourses were transcribed and compiled by his pupil, Arrian. Many versions of the above quotation float across the web. For me, this one is the strongest.

His work is largely concerned, from what I understand, with distinguishing between those things in our power (
prohairetic things) and those things not in our power (aprohairetic things). 

Why I love this quotation: so much in life is, or can be, dictated by caring about other people's perceptions. And here, ~2000 years on, is an idea from a man, born a slave, deliberately crippled, it is believed, by his master. But--his mind was slave to none.

Obviously Epictetus knew that long before he gained his freedom.



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Unattributed portrait, probably 18th c.
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Helen Sadowy Reimann, Portrait of the Artist's Daughter, ≈1972

1/30/2020

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When I was young, my mother did a number of bad portraits of me. Or so I thought, at the time she was doing them.

My feral child self thought this one in particular was hideous, and especially was furious that she gave me yellow eyes.

Now that I am not young ... I better appreciate that my Mother was a patient painter.

​I was not a patient model.

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Practicing Foxes

12/7/2019

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Practicing drawing foxes, because pen and ink is not very forgiving... (sketch for an illustration of a few years back)

I send out Christmas cards, yearly. When I have time, I do an illustration. When I don't have time, they become... New Year's cards, or even Valentine's Day cards. I have lots of reasons for sending them, many of which have changed as the years go by. At this point in my life, having reliably updated mailing for my friends and the people I care about are definitely a big part of it. An "Addressee Unknown/Returned to Sender" rubber-stamped envelope is a pretty good way to be sure you've lost track of someone you once had much love for!

This year, with our late (U.S.) Thanksgiving, I am doomed. Lots of New Year's cards, for sure.
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Yes, I bought it for the label.

11/26/2019

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William Merritt Chase

11/15/2019

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 My mother took this photograph of me and my Dad in 2016. We were visiting the William Merritt Chase exhibition at the Boston MFA.

We got a wheelchair for my mom, so she wouldn't have to walk. She was extremely nervous about the outing. In her last years (my mother passed in 2018), she had diminished lung capacity owing to a severely dysfunctional diaphragm. We had a big argument in the car before we got to the museum.

*At* the museum, we had a wonderful, wonderful time. WMC may not have been the most original painter of the 19th century, but he is a painter's painter, with luscious brushstrokes and a sensualist's love of color. And he's one of those 19th century artists who got to spend a lot of time on beautiful beaches, and in lovely country homes, shaded by old trees. I'm glad I have this picture, to remember.

William Merritt Chase could have been another John Singer Sargent, but--he isn't. Sargent. Had something bigger or more complex going on. This said--I'd be happy to have a good WMC at home on one of my walls!
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"A Memorable Fancy" Goodbye, Sixth Chamber

3/20/2019

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For years, this was my local used bookstore. I missed buying a first edition of The Game of Thrones there. I missed buying a 12 volume set of My Bookhouse, a beloved childhood companion (the edition we'd grown up with was my father's, an early 1930s printing, and it's become too fragile to trust in a young person's hands... and many of the volumes are "read alone," not "read aloud"!).

But I also purchased many excellent books there. A replacement copy of Farley Mowat's Never Cry Wolf. Connie Willis's Bellwether. And many more. Books and Christmas shopping. But evidently, between myself and the rest of my community, not enough.

​​In all the years... I was too shy to ask "why 'Sixth Chamber'?" and after that it was so familiar that I never thought to look it up. Only as it was closing, did it post my answer, on its Facebook page. The name came from "A Memorable Fancy," written and illustrated by William Blake (1790), a passage/page from his longer work, "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell":
I was in a Printing house in Hell & saw the method in which knowledge is transmitted from generation to generation.

In the first chamber was a Dragon-Man, clearing away the rubbish from a caves moth; within, a number of Dragons were hollowing the cave.

In the second chamber was a Viper folding round the rock & the cave, and others adorning it with gold, silver and precious stones.

In the third chamber was an Eagle with wings and feathers of air; he caused the inside of the cave to be infinite; around were numbers of Eagle like men, who built palaces in the immense cliffs.

In the fourth chamber were Lions of flaming fire raging around & melting the metals into living fluids.

In the fifth chamber were Unnam'd forms, which cast the metals into the expanse.

​There they were reciev'd by Men who occupied the sixth chamber, and took the forms of books & were arranged in libraries.

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"A Memorable Fancy" William Blake, 1790. The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
I accept that the world is changing, but this change, this closing of my used bookshop--it's a bad one.
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Nancy Carlson's Daily Doodles

11/24/2018

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“You were wild once don’t let them tame you.” Isadora Duncan © 2018 Nancy Carlson
Carlson's books were not household favorites when my kids were young, but what she's going through right now--I have empathy for it. A beloved family member's illness torpedoed her life on every level. Through it, she produced--and uploaded a "Doodle a Day," to keep herself going.

Nancy Carlson's Doodling Process

​The first article I read about her doodling was not very interesting--but then I looked at the images. She is going through a fascinating evolution, day-by-doodled day.
In the bedroom-turned-studio of her apartment in Bloomington, her drawing table sits next to a window that overlooks a parking lot.
“Barry would have caught that,” she said. “He was the detail guy. Before we would have rented this place, he would have walked around the building and said, ‘No, let’s find a unit with a better view for you.’ ”
I wish Carlson all the best as she works her way through this painful episode. Hope she makes it to the other side & back to joy.
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    Garden

    Sites I recommend

    These ones are maintained by long-time personal friends.

    William Reimann
    is a consummate artist.  There are so many images to enjoy on this site.  His carved wooden long-leaf red pine Rhinoceros (which he made for me when I was ~11 years old)  is a personal favorite.

    Starless River
    Is the U.K. based caving gear store run by serious hard-ass Tony Seddon. This link goes to the 'caves' section of the store's site--complete with alarming portrait photo of Tony ("After 7 days underground and 700m prussiking").

    The Oxford University 
    Cave Club
    Maintained by Steve Roberts, a guy who is extraordinary in so many ways, I'll just limit myself here to saying "Steve is a man who knows about motors."

    Bensozia
    John Bedell is an archaeologist, historian, and father of five living in Maryland. His blog is a fascinating grab-bag of historical, artistic, and political materials.  This entry about work and leisure gives a good example of his voice.

    Earthsign Studios
    This is Liz Manicatide (now Liz LaManche), principal at Emphasis Creative's personal art & graphics site.  I love Liz's work, panache, and aerial artistry, which leads me to-

    Flying Squirrel Consortium
    Phil Servita's site, and the place to go for custom fabricated circus equipment (either freestanding or fixed point), and aerial classes, if you happen to live in the area.

    Paul Nordberg
    Paul's site is... unique, authentic, & expressive, and pretty much exactly what I think of when I think of a website as an artform.

    Metro Bikes Trails Guide
    (St. Paul, MN)
    "Reviews and Reports on over 70 bicycle paths in the Minneapolis/Saint Paul area!"
    Maintained by the tireless Seamus Flynn, and a great little site for those local to the Twin Cities area.

    Green Ivy
    I enjoy the Ukrainian/Russian artisanship on this website.

    Sites I enjoy

    I don't know these people, but I appreciate their work.

    What's That Bug?
    The title says it all.  A useful site for both the non-bug-phobic & the consummate bug-phobe.

    Margaret & Helen
    Best Friends for Sixty Years and Counting…

    Raging Grannies
    I'm not a grandmother (or raging!), but I appreciate this site.  Especially the fact-checking part.
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