Vesperisms
Art • Books • Spirituality/Belief
Vesperisms: The Art of Thinking For Yourself is a podcast and gathering place for artists, creatives and iconoclasts—let's take back an artistic worldview and bring some shape and sense to the low-resolution, human-flattening craziness. Through explorations and open discussions of the arts, history and culture, we're going to strive toward creating our work unto a healthy humanity.
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November 24, 2020
Live Not By Lies, by Alexander Solzhenitsyn

I'm reading (or listening to, more accurately) Rod Dreher's new book, "Live Not By Lies." The title comes from Solzhenitsyn's essay by the same name, written shortly before his arrest and expulsion from the USSR.
It's not terribly long, but well worth a read. We must decide ahead of time how we will live, because when life makes harsh demands, if we haven't already built in an allergy to lies, it will be too late to sneeze. The principles are below. Here is the link to the full essay.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/03064220408537357
"And the simplest and most accessible key to our self-neglected liberation lies right here: Personal non-participation in lies. Though lies conceal everything, though lies embrace everything, yet not with any help from me...If we did not paste together the dead bones and scales of ideology, if we did not sew together the rotting rags, we would be astonished how quickly the lies would be rendered helpless and subside.

And from that day onward [the person refusing to lie]:
-Will not henceforth write, sign, or print in any way a single phrase which in his opinion distorts the truth.
-Will utter such a phrase neither in private conversation not in the presence of many people, neither on his own behalf not at the prompting of someone else, either in the role of agitator, teacher, educator, nor in a theatrical role.
-Will not depict, foster or broadcast a single idea which he can only see is false or a distortion of the truth whether it be in painting, sculpture, photography, technical science, or music.
-Will not cite out of context, either orally or written, a single quotation so as to please someone, to feather his own nest, to achieve success in his work, if he does not share completely the idea which is quoted, or if it does not accurately reflect the matter at issue.
-Will not allow himself to be compelled to attend demonstrations or meetings if they are contrary to his desire or will, will neither take into hand not raise into the air a poster or slogan which he does not completely accept.
-Will not raise his hand to vote for a proposal with which he does not sincerely sympathize, will vote neither openly nor secretly for a person whom he considers unworthy or of doubtful abilities.
-Will not allow himself to be dragged to a meeting where there can be expected a forced or distorted discussion of a question. Will immediately walk out of a meeting, session, lecture, performance or film showing if he hears a speaker tell lies, or purvey ideological nonsense or shameless propaganda.
-Will not subscribe to or buy a newspaper or magazine in which information is distorted and primary facts are concealed. Of course we have not listed all of the possible and necessary deviations from falsehood. But a person who purifies himself will easily distinguish other instances with his purified outlook."

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November 14, 2022
New piece for our Kickstarter!

This was honestly one of my favorite pieces of the year to work on. If you'd like to get your hands on this special illustrated edition of Nicholas Kotar's novella Son of the Deathless, you can get it through our Kickstarter here:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1402845448/jolabokaflod-christmas-book-flood-in-a-box
We're so grateful that we were fully funded in about 4 hours, so there are new perks opening up for everyone! We're almost at our 3rd stretch goal, which is very exciting. Go on over and choose your level!

00:00:38
October 27, 2022
BERLINERS Book Trailer

My husband Ben is creating a series of short book trailers for BERLINERS, and I swear, each one is better than the last! Here's the first! Feel free to share on your social media!

00:00:15
Trailer for Berliners

This isn't the official trailer, but I wanted to talk about how the idea for Berliners came to me. You can pre-order at https://bookshop.org/books/berliners-9780593428375/9780593428368 and, you know, that other place that starts with an "A".

00:01:12
Disbanding Vesperisms (for now)

Hi all,
Since I haven't been as active on here as in the past, I'm going to officially disband this Locals community. If you'd like to stay tuned with my work, the best way to do that is via my email newsletter. Just go to https://vesperillustration.com and at the bottom of every single page there is a newsletter signup. I don't send a ton of mail, just important updates like appearances and new projects. Let's see if I come back in the future, but for now, if you've been a supporter, feel free to end your support and stay in touch via the newsletter or Instagram (@vesperillustration). Thanks to all of you—nothing's over, just paused!

November 08, 2022
November 07, 2022
NEW Vesper Book—In Time for the Holidays!

Vesperisms Community, dears:
I'm so excited to announce today that I am doing a collaboration with fantasy author Nicholas Kotar (the Raven Son series, and the fabulous fairy tale/fantasy podcasts In a Certain Kingdom and Fantasy for Our Time).

The dead will rise. The living will fall. The Deathless will reign...

This collaboration is a very special edition of Kotar's novella, Son of the Deathless, available in hardcover with illustrations by none other than Yours Truly—just in time for the Holidays! Here's an illustration in progress to whet your appetite.

With book design by Graphic and Surface Designer for film and television, Heather Pollington (Harry Potter, Malificent, Marvel, and more.), this is going to be a beautiful, gift-worthy edition that will be perfect for yourself or for your holiday giving. Son of the Deathless is one of those cozy winter reads that you want to pair with a warm beverage, a blanket and a crackling fire.
So how does one obtain this ...

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