An auction, a pomegranate, and art on the moon: the latest Oliviary
First, the big fun news in an otherwise bleak news landscape: the auction for Romancing the Vote is now live, and you can bid on all the things! Like this rainbow skull quilt, which is beyond epic. And I have several items available for bidding!
The only extant print copy of Hen Fever: a tiny hardback hand-typeset and bound by me in red bookcloth with velvet ribbon ties.
A complete signed set of the Feminine Pursuits series with delicate printed vellum covers
A luminous paper cover for a mass market paperback book, painted (by me!) with an original gemstone design in classic jewelry gouache techniques
Proceeds go to Fair Fight and VoteRiders so bid early and bid often!
Linkery
- The Plot Trysts podcast has been going through the entire Vorkosigan series, and it’s a delight. I was thrilled to get to discuss Brothers in Arms, but the whole series is chock-full of excellent analysis by some of my favorite authors.
- We’re sending some art to the moon — to join the art that’s already there. Marvelous!
- Nursing Clio, always excellent on the medical history beat, digs into the history of trying to quantify the strength of your pelvic floor.
- Bead artist Laura McCabe is teaching a workshop at the Museum of Beadwork this August! I’ve taken a number of her classes and they’re always excellent — this one requires a little prior experience with basic stitches but you get to make a little creature!
Crafty
This glass pomegranate vase from the Hellenistic era is one of the single most beautiful anythings I have ever seen in my entire life. Seriously considering changing my hobbies and career so I can learn how to make something this lovely, just once.
Reading recs
In the column this Pride month, I reviewed four new queer romances: a contemporary starring a superhero and a drag queen, a sapphic sci-fi heist, a rather bleakly lovely Paris-set historical, and a spectacular YA retelling of Twelfth Night.
Remember to keep checking the Romancing the Vote auction this week — new Buy It Now items are being listed all the time, and things are selling fast!
Until next month,
Olivia