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  • Writer's pictureJan Avellana

I got a new sketchbook to play in. The quality of the paper is great, and takes gouache paints so nicely so far! It's small and compact and I hope to be playing in it lots more soon.


I really didn't know what I was doing here, just filling in the white space. It felt good just to get the brushes out and really let myself meander and play. Hopefully, more coming soon!

  • Writer's pictureJan Avellana

The valley was so awash in rain this morning, that all I could see out my window was a mist of rain--the mountains were disguised back there somewhere, unseen and unsettled. I hunkered down for a few more minutes of shut eye, burrowing myself in blankets deep, wishing it weren't a work day.


Now, here at my work the rain keeps dripping into a newly formed pond outside my window. The pitter patter is like a metronome, and I find myself mesmerized by the constancy of the droning drips. Soft voices float outside my window now, children making their way to school under umbrellas and sweating in crinkly rubberized rain jackets.





  • Writer's pictureJan Avellana

Freedom comes with keys in hand

to unbound every lock

With wings she flies

and clips the ties that bind

Loose! Loose!

With open arms she wanders to, and fro,

seeking the desperate and distraught,

Turning water into wine,

Turning water into wine.


-j. a. hongo, 2023

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