Virtual Brush Box

Fiction of the outside world. “As a science fiction writer I really fucking resent tech bros for ruining the phrase ‘artificial intelligence.’ 80 years of it being all about cool androids and interesting computers destroyed by five years of ‘Spicy autocorrect making everything shittier for money.’ NEVER FORGIVE.” Bluesky, @scalzi.com, 22 May 2026. Preach! “The premise for that post was less tech bro AI and more the AI from Cat Pictures Please.” [I Wrote This Post]

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The writer’s group at a local library put on a flash fiction live reading. I read Why Cities Have Tall Buildings.

From my notes.

Nerves. Low bar. Friendly group. Slightly nervous, probably from knowing that the evening will be videoed and immortalized on YouTube. (Note, the event was filmed but I have not seen a link yet. Will post when it arrives.)

Nerve range. Slightly more than a 5K. Nowhere near a horse show or work.

Husband looked up outfit suggestions for being on video: plain, not white, long sleeves.

Cover message to organizer, “I can go first, if you have trouble finding volunteers. Not in a screaming hurry to do so, but have gotten used to it in other venues.” (The ‘other venues’ would be saddle seat shows. Since jumping, dressage, etc. are solo performances, I am more used to going into the ring alone than people who show in group classes. I line up to go in first. People are happy to let me. Except for Nationals, then it’s a shark tank with added chum. But I digress.)

I was second out of 11. Very glad to be over & done early.

They had a microphone, which I don’t think I’ve ever used before. I’m generally loud enough without. Particularly as I had been practicing projecting to the cheap seats.

Wore a mask while not reading. This was where I got sick for two weeks, although in a different room. The reading venue was not as packed in. [The Twiddling of the Thumbs]

Agita was from performing. I had confidence in what I had written.

Whew!

Practice helped. Practicing in front of a live audience (of one) also helped. Live audience suggested looking up, slowing down. I did these things. Tried to be slow in general, distinctly tapped the brakes midway through.

Chatting during intermission. I am definitely out of practice. Compliments.

Relief after was bigger than concern before.

Left once it was done. No further socializing. Bedtime.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. CNN: Incredible images from the Sony World Photography Awards 2026 unveiled, Guy, Apr 16, 2026. WPO: Sony World Photography Awards 2026: Overall winners announced, Siemaszko-Chambers, 1 month ago. Hat tip to M.

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Photo by Greg Walcott
Shelby County Alabama
July 2025

I’ve always liked the vibe in this photo. Not our field.

Onwards!
Katherine

Horses of the outside world. Equestrian statues by Kees van Tilburg.

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Skittles
Stepping Stone Farm
14 May 2026

Came out to the barn to enjoy an outside lunch before a lesson. Had company.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Less ‘hill I will die on.’ More ‘garden I will tend to.’ Sentiment by @beaukorylak (Instagram) from repost by @thison0verhere, 18 May 2026 (Instagram).

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Goldy
Rosewood Stables
13 May 2026

Milestone, Advocated For Self

I can only jump small crossrails? [All That Glitters]

Very well, I will jump small crossrails. I specifically asked for fences that I could ride at 100%. I even requested my jump crew reduce a big crossrail to a small one.

I was able to trot and canter with certitude.

Milestone, Flying Change

On purpose. Because I asked.

In my past jumper life, I left such things up to Previous Horse. He had the balance for it. Wide turn? Rock on around. Tight turn? Thrown in change if you need it.

Goldy obliged, once he figured out what I was asking. I think that may have been the first time I did a flying change on request.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Hidden Disabilities Sunflower.

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{Backstory. Each morning, people & horses go on a unmounted team walk in the pasture.}

Milton asked me to get ticks out of his mane. [Magic Fingers & Bug Season Has Begun]

At one of the turnarounds during the walk, Milton sidled up next to me. I gave him a scratch. He backed up until the base of his mane was lined up with my fingers. I scratched. There was a bump that could have been a bug or a bug bite. Also, the weird grottiness associated with ticks.

We looked closer.

Turns out there were two. A regular sized one and a small one, which is either a youngster or a different species. I don’t know. I remove ticks. I have no desire to study them.

I find it fascinating when they make their requests so clearly.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. For reference. “Close contact is defined by CDC as 6 feet for more than 15 minutes.” The Dose (May 12): 4 hantavirus updates and other things that can impact your health right now, Katelyn Jetelina, May 12, aka Your Local Epidemiologist, available by mail as a newsletter or on Substack. I don’t get out and about much. When I do, it is errands, which means less than 6 feet from checkout folks (if any) for less than 15 minutes. Or it is barn, which means more than 6 feet for more than 15 minutes. Therefore, I find this reminder helpful for the rare occasions when it applies.

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One evening last week, I heard yelling outside. Walked out to find a man on a roan horse stomping around the bushes next to our front yard. Turns out he was chasing a loose cow from next door. [Now Appearing on Cow TV]

Didn’t seem to want or need my help. Eventually, man, horse, and cow all headed back down the driveway. Cow horse was cool with it.

Our horses freaked out.

This happened once before, years ago. A loose herd of cows ended up in our side field until their owner could come get them. Both of the horses we had then were on alert, as you would expect. Once the cows left, Matilda, the mare, was over it. Situation resolved. Previous Horse, the gelding, was NOT. For him, the only thing worse than cows was a place were cows used to be.

It was the same this time. Milton, more in touch with his inner mare, ran back and forth along the fenceline, monitoring the cow situation. Once the cow was trotting down the driveway, he was ready to resume dinner.

Since it was dinner time, Rodney was in the stall for the hay course. He cantered – cantered! – back and forth. When the circus left town, he was in a frenzy to go find them. He needed to destress before we could turn him out, otherwise he would gallop around the field, mostly likely taking Milton with him. By dark, he was still agitated. We ended up leaving Rodney in the stall overnight, checking on him every few hours, making sure he was settling, not colicking, etc., etc., etc.

The joys of country living.

Milton is in favor of middle-of-the-night carrot checks.

Onwards!
Katherine

Art of the outside world. Washington Calligraphers Guild: 2026 Graceful Envelope Contest Winners!

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Process Notes

There are two ways to draw an alphabet: related or different.

In a related alphabet, you take a few shapes – a vertical line, a curve, a diagonal – and construct all of the letters from that handful of shapes. Letters can be modifications of each other, e.g. E & F. Letters can be mirrors images of each other, e.g. M & W. Letters can be rotations of each other, e.g. H & I. The result is an alphabet as a unified whole. Examples, [Square Alphabet] & [Two No and One Yes] & [36 Days Of Type 2023]

In a difference alphabet, you start with an idea and aim to construct each letter noticeably different from the ones before. The goal is to avoid mirror images and rotations and so on. The result is a celebration of variety. Examples [Square Flourishes] & [Fractal Alphabet & Numbers].

Pourqui pas los dos? Alternatively, you could do both, intentionally. Five different shapes as themes, seven variations within each theme. [36 Days Of Type, 2022 scroll down]

In the case of the colorwork alphabet, I started with the second type and ended with the the first. Fortunately or unfortunately, the A was intriguing. It got me started. The others were less so and/or hard to get a good design. Toward the end, I started doing the letters in clumps.

I also wandered away from underlying theme of blackwork embroidery. On one hand, there was more to say on the subject …

“Holbein Stitch, also known as double running stitch, is used to stitch blackwork patterns. The stitch is the same on both sides of the fabric, hence its use on collars and cuffs which would be visible from the front and the back.” RSN Stitchbank: Holbein stitch

… but, on the other hand, I’m not sure there was an entire alphabet’s worth, at least not for me.

Done. Moving on. Next up, gonna work with words for a while.

Links

String or Nothing: BLACKWORK INSPIRATION

Art Threads: Friday Inspiration – Blackwork Embroidery. This has an amazing blackwork of a horsehead, alas the site that it links to is no longer active.

Project Description [Colorwork Alphabet Introduction]

Letters
[Colorwork Alphabet A], Alphabet, Amethyst
[Colorwork Alphabet B], Book, Bittersweet
[C Is For Color, C Is For Cerise, Colorwork Alphabet]
[D Is For Digital Art, D Is For Damask, Lettering]
[E is for Electrum with an Ebony Edge, Colorwork Alphabet, Lettering] Blackwork Engraving, not
[E Variations, Colorwork Alphabet, Lettering] Noodling with letter shape
[F is for Fuchsia, F is for Fabric, Colorwork Alphabet] Chunky letters to maximize interior space
[Colorwork Alphabet, G is for Gold, G is for Goldwork, Art]
[Colorwork Alphabet H & I, Art] From here on, I continued with named colors but not letter-specific subjects.
[Colorwork Alphabet, J & K & L, Art]
[Colorwork Alphabet, M & N, Art]
[Colorwork Alphabet O & P & Q, Art]
[Colorwork Alphabet R & S & T, Art]
[Colorwork Alphabet U-Z, Art]

Also over on my storage site. [Colorwork Alphabet]

Onwards!
Katherine