I’m tidying up loose ends today, submitting my acquittal for my Trudy and Dodds grant project, a work long overdue, that sadly became entangled in Thunderstorm Dancing, and the many complications of life.

It’s my own manuscript, and I can’t say the text is finished. I’m only on the fifth draft; that must be near the beginning, hey?. In writing up my acquittal, I’ve bonded with it again, and maybe it will come to fruition one day. But for now it will go into the cupboard to wait until Leonard Doesn’t Dance is finished.

sketch of Dodds from Trudy and Dodds

Trulli sketch with Dachshund. The setting for Trudy and Dodds is a little town in Puglia, southern Italy, where the houses wear hats and so do many of the dogs.

Another trulli sketch.

Drawing the trulli was fun. They have a lovely inbuilt contrast in texture; smooth plaster walls and shingly roofs with delightfully irregular curves. The more I drew them, the more irregular the curves became, which I saw as a good thing. And although the tips of the roovess do in reality have little ornaments which are like the signature of the individual trullo builder, in my versions, the ornaments have started to take a more fanciful form. Really, these ideas are just at the beginning stages.

And tomorrow I will be off for a long weekend with some dear friends, my Refashionista Sistas. This yearly sojourn is always full of love, creativity and relaxation. We will depart in cars brimming with art and craft materials, delicious food, and comfy slippers. On my return, I will probably share with you some of my creations… unless I end up falling asleep in a chair for the whole weekend. If so, I promise to post a photo of the slippers and the chair at least.