Black and white swap and my Gorey card.

Doglvrs came up with a great idea for a swap. All white and all black. The results were fantastic! Almost everyone stuck to the all black and all white. Having finished reading Moby Dick the previous March, I got my inspiration from the wood block illustration peppered throughout the great American novel. I wanted to create waves and clouds on top and bottom but it didn't work out too well. On the back were quotes from the novel that were placed under the illustration in the book. The black card is Captain Ahab profoundly gazing into his soul reflected by the ocean. The white card is Moby when the crew actually gets to see him in all his glory. The realize not only how massive the white whale is but also he is something that can't be and won't be captured. A hundred pages later Quiqueg is making his own coffin. forebode!

In terms of my opinion of the novel I thought it was pretty good. It even inspired me to read some other Melville writing, Typee (not so great) and Benito Cereno (pretty great). The way Melville meticulously and poetically deconstructs the vestiges of whaling: rope, a simple harpoon or the essential members of the crew: the man in the crows nest, the harpooner, these details are worthy of the greatest American novel. However for me, I was hoping for more character drama and conflict. I wanted more confrontations between Ahab and the crew. So my favorite parts were the beginning and the end.

This last card is from the Gashley Crumb Tinies by Edward Gorey ring. I love the colors of the card and the Roy Liechtenstein stamp turned out excellent. But when I got this card back with rest of the alphabet I realized I had made a mistake. Mine stuck out like a sore thumb. Everyone else did the classic Gorey kid and then added their own creative touches like movable parts or fabric. I ditched the kid Maud and went this drowning girl. I don't know how this happened. People said they liked the card, but I wish it was more Gorey. It started this way when I decided I wasn't going to copy gorey but copy a more famous artist?? So dissatisfied. The stamp is kicking, though.