paprika southern
JULY 2015 / ISSUE 24
SUMMER DRIFT
OUR TAKE ON TOMBOY CHIC
WOMEN OF
THE SOUTHERN LITERARY TRAIL
AWARD-WINNG POET
SJOHNNA MCCRAY
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Issue 24 / July 2015
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SUPPOR T OUR KICKSTAR TER and reser ve your copy of the fall issue
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L ET T ER F R O M T H E CO-ED I TORS
10 BS CEHENI NESD T H E
PRIKA 12 PA R ECOMMEN DS
What’s new and notable in arts and culture
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Table of contents
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WO M E N O F T H E SO UTHE RN L IT E RARY TRA I L Artist Charlotte Oden creates a map celebrating the contributions of women writers to southern and American literature
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R EA D, MY C H I L D Little Free Libraries honoring the legacy of Georgia native and Savannah’s favorite daughter Flannery O’Connor
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SU MMER D R I F T 22 Tomboy-chic summer fashion www.paprikasouthern.com
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T RA NS I TI O N & 44T RAN SF O RM ATI O N
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MEET S J OH N N A MCC R AY
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GIRL CRUSH
The paintings of Melinda Borysevicz
M AR BL E D PA P E R A DIY
Winner of one of the year’s prestigious poetry awards
Harper Lee
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Letter from the co-editors Dear readers, as we hope you’re aware by now, Paprika Southern is in the midst of a Kickstarter campaign. The purpose is to raise money to fund our transition to a quarterly print publication. It’s something that you, our readers, have asked Read on for a for, but we cannot do it withKickstarter update! out your help. Up to this point Paprika Southern has been largely self-funded on a shoestring budget. Our contributors have donated their time, talent, and creativity because they believe in what we’re doing. In the past two years, we’ve brought you a total of 24 issues and nearly 2,000 pages of content. Our goal is to raise $6,000. As of the release of this issue we are still almost $4,000 short of this goal. Your contribution will not only help to fund the printing of our first edition, but an entire year of print, also enabling us to compensate the contributing writers and artists who truly deserve it. If you’ve come to value the content we provide, we humbly hope you will consider making a donation to make our dream a reality. This issue, our final online edition, contains content that has been brewing in our heads for some time. We’ve been wanting to do a full literary issue for two years, and this volume came together beautifully. The initial inspiration for our fashion feature, Summer Drift, came from learning of the upcoming release of Go Set a Watchman this month. We wanted to reimagine a grown-up, contemporary Scout for a shoot based on tomboy-chic style. Also in this issue are interviews with award-winning poet Sjohnna McCray and painter Melinda Boryesevicz, a Q&A about the recently formed Flannery O’Connor Book Trail, a DIY on marbled paper, and more. Making issues like this one is a process we cherish. You can click anywhere on this letter for a link to our Kickstarter, or visit our home page for a link. We hope you’ll take the time to view our video, share it, and make a contribution. In the meantime, please enjoy this, our July 2015 issue.
Bevin & Siobhan
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THE TEAM B E V I N VA LENTINE J A LBER T CO - EDITO R S IO BHA N EGA N CO - EDITO R AGEDA M A CHU CA INTERN
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C O NT R I B U T O R S
K RI STI E D U N C A N
J U L E S DE J ES US F RI TZ
A NTHO NY GARZILLI
C HAR L OT T E O D E N
A R S ENI O PA NDO LF O
RO S I E TAY LOR
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Behind the scenes
I N J U LY
We launched our Kickstarter in June! Be sure to watch the video and make your contribution by July 17 to help us fund our first year in print. Click here to visit our Kickstarter project.
Our intern Agee created a fun paper flower DIY for the blog
Learn more about the Savannah Mossterpiece, a unique piece of eco-friendly public art, on our blog
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We love sharing sneak peeks of what we’re up to throughout the month, as well as connecting with our readers! Sharing a sneak peek at our marbled paper DIY
We had a great time shooting our summer fashion feature on Tybee; look for a behind-the-scenes blog post this month!
F O L LOW PA P R I K A S OU T H ER N
I N S TAG R A M / TWI T T ER / FAC EBOOK page 11
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Paprika recommends W H AT’S N EW AND NOTABL E IN A R T S A ND CULT URE T H E OT H ER DAUGH T E R , L AUR E N W IL L IG Summer is the perfect time to get lost in a good book, and few writers are better at transporting the reader to another time and place than Lauren Willig. Her newest novel, The Other Daughter, plunges the reader into the 1920s London of the Bright Young Things. Drawing on the tradition of Mary Stewart and Charlotte Bronte, Willig updates the trope of the penniless governess for a new setting with her usual panache, throwing in a dollop of mystery with a healthy heaping of romance, making The Other Daughter a must in your beach bag this season.
G O SET A WATC H MAN, HARPER LEE The release of a second novel by Harper Lee is one of the biggest things ever to happen in southern literature. Setting aside the controversy swirling around the release of the reclusive author’s only publication since 1960, Go Set A Watchman was originally written prior to To Kill a Mockingbird, and includes the beloved characters Scout and Atticus Finch. Taking place some twenty years Available after the events of To Kill a July 21 Mockingbird, this newly discovered novel is certain to be the literary event of the summer. Available July 14 www.paprikasouthern.com
M R. H OL M E S Based on the 2005 novel titled A Slight Trick of the Mind written by Mitch Cullin, Bill Condon directs this crime, drama, and mystery film that tells the story of long-retired Sherlock Holmes, starring Ian McKellen, as he puts the pieces together to an unsolved case that led to his forced retirement. Trying to solve the case, he struggles with the diminishing powers of his mind and he relies on the help of the housekeeper’s son in order to find the answers to the mysteries of love and life. In theatres July 17 page 12
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JACKIE & RYAN Jackie & Ryan, written and directed by Ami Canaan, is a story of an unexpected encounter that turns into a relationship that may change the lives of both protagonists. The romantic, drama film starring Katherine Heigl (27 Dresses) and Ben Barnes (The Chronicles of Narnia), tells the story of a traveling musician who battles finding the courage to write his own music and a former country star who is going through a divorce trying to gain custody of her daughter. They meet by chance and they share an immediate connection. After a sudden accident they become closer and they soon discover that they share more than just passion for music and their lives may change forever.
PA P ER TOW NS From the author who wrote The Fault in Our Stars, John Green returns with another great bestselling novel turned film adaptation titled Paper Towns. This upcoming film is sure to be filled with teen romance, comedy-drama and mystery. Starring Cara Delevingne, a mysterious young girl name Margo who leads her secret admirer friend Quentin (Nat Wolff) on an all-night adventure through their hometown. The next morning Quentin discovers Margo has disappeared but has left cryptic clues behind so that he may find her. This mystery leads Quentin and his group of friends on a funny and touching adventure where Quentin must discover a deeper understanding of love and friendship.
Now playing
In theatres July 24
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T H E S TAT E O F GOL D, M AT T P ON D PA The group Matt Pond PA, led by singer-songwriter Matt Pond, has recently released their latest album titled The State of Gold. Their latest album delivers a mixture of indie rock, alternative sounds and pop rock. The thirteen carefully crafted songs draw from an accumulation of two decades of practice, experience and energy. In their latest album, fans will be happy to know that they explore an all-familiar theme of exploring and departure, which is evident in many of the lyrics found throughout the album, yet they stay true to their rustic roots. Available now
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The Southern Literary Trail highlights significant sites in the history of southern literature. Spanning three states, the trail connects more than thirty locations. This original map illustrated by Charlotte Oden celebrates some of the women who are represented on the trail. For more information, visit southernliterarytrail.org. www.paprikasouthern.com
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READ, MY CHILD
t h e f l a n n e r y o’c o n n o r b o o k t r a i l
words & photography by siobhan egan
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hen L eslie L ovel l an d Fr an c i s A l l en go t m ar r i ed in A pril 2014 i n s tead o f rec ei v i n g pres en ts th ey a sked their g u es ts to m ak e do n ati o n s to s tar t T h e Little Free L ibra r y in Savan n ah . I n s pi red by ar ti s t Pan h a nd le Slim’s portra it of F l an n er y O ’ Co n n o r, A l l en dec i ded to app roach the F la nner y O’ Co n n o r Ch i l dh o o d H o m e Fo un d ation in Sava nna h. And th us th e L i ttl e Free L i br ar y F l an n er y O’Con nor Book Tra il was bo r n . T h i s c o l l abo r ati ve ef fo r t also in cludes help from Ch r i s ti n e Saj ec k i , o utgo i n g bo a rd p resident of the F la nner y O’ Co n n o r Ch i l dh o o d H o m e, Ja red H all, project ma na g er at th e F l an n er y O ’Co n n o r Ch i l dh o o d H ome, Jeremia h Jossim, th e c ar pen ter beh i n d th e bui l d i n g of th e libra ries, a nd C o ur tn ay Co c o Papy, c reati ve di rec to r an d artist. L ovell, Allen an d Papy were k i n d en o ugh to a n swer so me questions a bo ut th e pro j ec t. How many little free libraries exist along the trail right now? How many do you plan/hope to have? Allen: We have four in Savannah at the moment. The first one at E. Gwinett and Broad at Starfish Garden. The second at the West Broad YWCA. Third at Flannery O’Connor House and the newest at Columba House. The fifth will be at Brighter Day/Sentient Bean very soon. There is one in production at Andalusia.
libraries dotting the way up to Andalusia, with stops in Statesboro, Swainsboro and Wrightsville. However, we have definitely hit snags in the process, mostly due to zoning issues and the want for libraries. That being said, we have refocused our efforts on where people want the libraries, which for the bulk, has been Savannah and Andalusia.
Our hope is that we can work through the placement issues and eventually have libraries in these spots, but I think the key to the book trail’s success is going where people How far does the trail stretch? want them and feel like they would Papy: The trail has certainly been positively impact their neighbora journey for all of us—like all DIY hood and community. efforts, a lot of learning curve! Our original intention was to have the How do you decide where to put
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the libraries and is there a specific significance of each one? Papy: In the beginning, we had very specific ideas about how many libraries we were going to do and where they would go—we wanted to be accurate to O’Connor’s journey. But as the project has moved forward, we’ve become less focused on “this spot was important to the Flannery legacy” and more into “this library and trail has purpose here.” I think community want is a huge aspect of it—does someone want a book trail library for their community, is this a space where a library would positively contribute, where multiple groups of people can access and use it? That’s the significance that has revealed itself. Tell us about the artwork that adorns the libraries. Who are the artists? Do you seek them out or do they come to you?
The Little Free Library at Columba House, created by artist Panhandle Slim. Previous page: The Little Free Libray at Gwinnett and Broad, created by artist Coco Papy.
ists people would definitely recognize like Katherine Sandoz or Panhandle Slim, or artists just starting out, like the kids at the West Broad Y. While we ask everyone to go with a “Flannery” theme, it’s so loose that what ends up on the libraries is always different and unique to Papy: Our artists are all the location and artist. We specifically talk about who locals, whether they’re art- we think are great local artists and whose work really would be perfect for the format of the libraries—what www.paprikasouthern.com
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and Jake Severance. Then we have donations from various people that help in supplying a variety of books from fiction to children’s to nonfiction books. What other authors are featured in the libraries? Papy: So much of it is a “you get what you get” luck of the draw, which The Little Free Library installed at the Flannery O’Connor Childhood I suppose is what keeps it Home, created by artist Kartherine Sandoz. exciting. There are days artists matches the aesthetic of the place it is going and when you go by and there the micro-community or neighborhood it represents? might be three copies of A That being said, if artists come to us wanting to paint a Dummies’ Guide to Excel or library, we would be more than excited. one book on info-graphWho stocks the libraries when they are first in- ics from 1954. Other days you go by and it’s chock stalled? full of Flannery O’ConLovell: We have various stewards that help to keep the nor, Zadie Smith, great books replenished. I think some locations have begun to spiral bound recipe and have a ‘take one, leave one’ system going. children’s books. Papy: It’s mostly a community effort. The Book Lady has been crucial in helping us with books, local authors are always donating copies of their own work, Deep has donated several of their books from the Young Author Project. Do all the libraries contain some works by Flannery O’Connor? Lovell: The Book Lady is supplying Flannery O’Connor books for each library. We have several local authors that have donated their book(s) such as Jane Fishman, page 19
What do these libraries do for the community? Papy: I think first and foremost, they provide untraditional places to gain access to books. They also provide a little nod to Flannery O’Connor in a way that is loosely interpreted through art, which is so much the backbone in Sawww.paprikasouthern.com
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vannah. Like Flannery, they are strange, little oddball things, but that is so much of what makes Flannery and Savannah tick the way it does.
rusing the library while they wait. That seems so small, but what a difference little things can make when you are tired and waiting for a bus.
Most of all, I think our goal for this was ul- I think our biggest hope is that everyone timately that the book trail would pay who has come in contact with the projhomage not only to the art of reading and ect—stewards, patrons, passersby, artists, writing, but connect the dots to everyone, etc.—feels that it is a positive thing and from patrons of that it does betthe libraries, to ter the commuthe artists, to the nity, even just I T S E E M S T H A T P E O P L E passerby. through someALSO ENJOY SEEING thing as simple How has the THEM. ANOTHER as an easily accommunity recessible book WHIMSICAL SURPRISE sponded to the from a beautiFOUND THROUGHOUT libraries? fully painted liS AVA N N A H . brary. We cerLovell: They tainly didn’t set seem to be well out to change received and the world here, have become a part of the community by being well only to add something of value that evused. It’s a wonderful thing to see it being eryone can use and enjoy. utilized by so many different people. What would Flannery O’Connor Allen: It seems that people also enjoy think of the book trail? seeing them. Another whimsical surprise Lovell: Who knows with Flannery but we found throughout Savannah. like to think that she would be delighted. Who do you think gets the most out of Allen: Flannery had a rather acerbic these libraries? And why? manner when in fact she was very reliPapy: I think the trail provides differ- gious and spiritual so we don’t know for ent experiences for everyone. I know it sure but I think she would be proud as a really makes me happy when I drive by peacock. my own library at the Starfish Garden Papy: I think she’d say “I can, with one and see people waiting at the bus stop eye squinted, take it all as a blessing.” with either a book from the library or pewww.paprikasouthern.com
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click here to lear n more about the flanner y o’connor book trail
ARTISTS ON THE TRAIL CO CO PA PY Gwinnett & Broad KINDERGA R TEN CHILDREN We s t B r o a d Y W C A K ATHERINE S A NDO Z Flannery O’Connor House PA NHA NDLE S LIM Columba House (seen here) BRIGHTER DAY / S ENTIENT BEA N Cleonique Hilsaca
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summer drift
photography by siobhan egan styling by bevin valentine jalbert hair and makeup by jules de jesus fritz for dollface by jules
assistant / ageda machuca model / lauren davis, halo location / tybee island, georgia
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a childhood spent swinging in tires, the air rushing through her hair the memory of impact, the cool crash into a secluded pond on a summer afternoon endless sweltering days melting into thick evening
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TRANSITION & TRANSFORMATION T H E PA I N T I N G S O F MELINDA BORYSEVICZ
words by bevin valentine jalbert photography by arsenio pandolfo
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n the Mediterranean, not far from Pompeii, an ancient sarcophagus bearing one of the last remaining examples of Greek painting exists. The Tomb of the Diver depicts a figure jumping off a pillar over a body of water. He is forever suspended in midair, having left his previous state, grounded on the pillar, but not having yet reached his destination. It is this transitional state that fascinates painter Melinda Borysevicz. She viewed the Tomb of the Diver shortly after her recent arrival in southern Italy, where she is working in a self-imposed residency this summer. She describes the significance of her viewing of the Tomb of the Diver—one of the last surviving intact examples of painting in the Classical world—as the same as the significance of a partially-remembered dream. You awake with an image in your mind and it feels significant. n
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A Savannah resident of twenty years, Melinda fell in love with oil painting in high school. She immediately knew she had found her medium, and after her move to Savannah, she got local gallery representation for the paintings she made on her front porch. As her young sons grew up, her studio space expanded, but when she went to work full time, painting was relegatwww.paprikasouthern.com
ed to the backburner. Eventually Melinda decided to return to college and completed a BFA in painting about four years ago. Melinda loves working in the studio. “There’s something monastic about it,” she says. Her still life work—mostly populated by bones and shells—betrays this love, with careful attention to light and shadow, and precise rendering of detail. This earlier work also shows evidence of the artist’s interest in fabrication—cow skulls are wrapped in red ribbon and shells are suspended from an unseen support. In Melinda’s first figurative work, she continued to pull in elements from her still lives. She incorporated the figure with the objects she was already working with such as in the 2013 painting Directions (North). A young girl, dressed in a white slip and black fur hat, faces the viewer, holding a bovine skull. In this painting, along with companion pieces, Melinda was exploring seasons and directions, and the idea of transition is evident in the skull. It is a symbol of death, but the girl holds it casually. Melinda describes her gesture as that of a young girl holding a purse. She does not confront the viewer with it, simply holds it as something natural, something that is to be accepted. n
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Melinda paints on linen, a material that emerged as a support in the sixteenth century when Italian Renaissance painters replaced wood panels with linen canvas. As opposed to cotton-based canvas, the threads that compose linen are the same weight, resulting in an exceptionally smooth, and archival, painting surface. Melinda’s work is united by what she describes as “a quiet feeling of open space.” Figures exist and interact on the picture plane, against a backdrop from nature. It is significant that the Directions (North), 48” x 36”, oil on linen, 2013 / Image courtesy backdrops are landof Melinda Borysevicz scapes—we see mounPrevious pages: Melinda is pictured in her Italy studio with The tains, cliffs, and valleys— Hunting Party, 60” x 80”, oil on linen, 2015. but the majority of Melinda’s focus is on the treatin warm, late afternoon light. Working ment of the human figure. The landscape with people she knows allows her to capbecomes almost a theatrical backdrop, as ture something about the individual and if the figures are playing out a drama on infuse it into the character she creates on the stage. the canvas. The figures are rendered from reference “I prefer life,” Melinda says of her paintphotos Melinda takes herself. She likes to ing practice. She spends time observing use people she knows and take the photos nature directly and painting from it. She page 47
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believes it is imperative, as a painter, not only to observe nature, but to understand. If the setting is outdoors, for example, and someone is standing with the sun behind them, what happens to the face? What happens to the other side of the body? The artist does not only observe, but also analyzes.
As a whole, Melinda’s current project is a study of the Greek myth of Icarus. She describes it as an exploration of the story, rather than a retelling, an important distinction. It was a story that stuck with her from childhood. In the myth Icarus’ father, Daedalus, warns him against using the wings they have made of wax and feathers to fly either too close the sea, where the moisture will collect and weigh his feathers down, or to the sun, which will melt the wings. Icarus does not obey, instead taking joy in the freedom of flight, soaring and dipping.
In her current work, Melinda takes reference photos she sets up, and then further composes in Photoshop. Rather than working out compositions through extensive sketching, she prefers to move figures around on the screen. The process is about more than copying, but rather synthesizing visual elements to support the story the paintings are creating. Most people will remember the end to www.paprikasouthern.com
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the story—Icarus flies too close to the sun and is destroyed. The tale is a cautionary one, a warning of hubris. As a child hearing the tale, Melinda hated the ending, seeing Icarus punished for reaching high and pushing the limits. She sees instead the potential for transformation, “with a minor adjustment,” she says. The paintings are an exploration of the theme of transformation, and though they are inspired by her personal response to the myth, she emphasizes that that knowledge is not vital to the understanding of the work. “If you know the myth, it won’t make the work make any more sense at this point.” Rather, the paintings are different episodes, like those broken memories of dream. The pieces may not appear significant on their own, but together they form a whole. n
The Lookout, oil on linen, 72” x 36”, 2014 / Image courtesy of Melinda Borysevicz www.paprikasouthern.com
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When Melinda arrived in Italy, she describes an immediate connection. There was a sense of familiarity, rather than the feeling of arriving in a foreign land and being set adrift. “My sense of being home was immediate.” The Tomb of the Diver is written about page 50
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The Prologue, oil on linen, 60” x 80”, 2015 / Image courtesy of Melinda Borysevicz. Melinda’s paintings can take a month or more to complete.
as representing transition. It is painted on the lid of a sarcophagus—a concrete symbol of death. Yet it depicts the concept death in an abstract way—as transition, as a leap into the unknown. This, one of the last extant representations of Greek civilization, does not show death as an ending, but transformation.
significance. The Tomb of the Diver was one of the first things Melinda saw after her arrival in Italy. It felt significant. “I think it’s beautiful,” she says.
Melinda is also the founder and director of The Studio School in Savannah, GA. Click here to visit her website and learn more about A broken memory of a dream is sig- her work. nificant because one imbues it with page 51
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MEET SJ O HN N A MCC R A Y winner of one of the year’s prestigious poetry awards
words by anthony garzilli photography by siobhan egan
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johnna McCray, winner of the 2015 Walt Whitman Award from the Academy of American Poets, has had his poems and essays published in many literary journals, but next year he’ll walk into a bookstore and feel like he’s really accomplished something.
He was selected for the award, which debuted in 1975 to promote emerging poets, by decorated poet Tracy K. Smith. “It’s an honor to have someone like Tracy read the poems and think they are valuable,” McCray said. “Rapture” explores McCray’s relationship with his parents, especially his father. His dad married his mother, a “comfort woman” he met in Korea during the Vietnam War, worked hard at his blue-collar job, and died when he was in his late 40s, when McCray was 24.
McCray, 43, will realize a childhood dream when he sees a copy of “Rapture,” the book of thirty-five poems that he’d been refining for decades, assembled among hundreds of others. He has been published in Chicago Quarterly Review and The Southern Review and is an adjunct instructor in the English department at Savannah State University, McCray’s father was a janitor in Ohio. It but McCray said the book allows him to was unheralded work that McCray apconfidently call himself a writer. preciated. Sometimes as a teenager he’d go to work with his dad in the early morn“It feels like you accomplished something ing and they’d mop bar floors and clean you wanted to do,” McCray said. “I’ll toilets and McCray said those experiences walk into a Barnes & Noble and it might were some of the best times of his childbe in there. That sounds kind of cool. hood. There’s sort of like a distinction between thinking of yourself as a writer and feel- “It was just kind of neat to go work with ing like I can call myself a writer. Now I your dad,” said McCray, who grew up in feel like I can.” Cincinnati, Ohio, graduated from Ohio University and earned an MFA from the McCray’s manuscript will be published University of Virginia. by Graywolf Press. “Rapture,” which is expected to publish next spring, will be in McCray has a great affection for his fastores and the Academy of American Po- ther, but he understood his complexities. ets will distribute thousands of copies to He knows a parent intends to nurture a its members. child, but can also be a source of a lifepage 53
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a parent’s concern for his child’s future, but there’s an ominous final line that In the poem “Father as Jellyfish,” a dad McCray said is different from the origilooks at his infant son and wonders if nal version. the boy will be smart and successful. The father is aware of what awaits the “[Originally] the last line was more comchild beyond the crib. It’s a poem about forting, very loving,” McCray said. “When time of hangups.
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McCray grew up devouring comic books, particularly the New Teen Titans by Marv Wolfman. He started to write, using classmates as characters and teachers let him read his work in class. McCray was shy, but his writing gave him an outlet—a way to talk. As he developed his writing skills, his father became the first subject he studied. “My father talked to me as a man,” said McCray, who has earned the AWP Intro Journal Award, Ohio University’s Emerson Poetry Prize, and a Pushcart Prize nomination. “He was complicated. I think most of my life I idolized my dad, even through the bad things. I know he did the best he could.” The book’s final section, which includes the title poem “Rapture,” ends with poems that reflect being happy with the life lived. McCray used to worry about the worth of his life’s accomplishments, but he’s realized he’s done just fine. He has a partner, lives in a beautiful city, teaches at a I revised that line I wasn’t sure about it. college, won a prestigious award and will But I thought it changed the energy; it have a book published next year. was more interesting.” Life is good. It’s a line that lingers long after the initial “The name of the last poem is sort of tellreading. ing,” McCray said. “It’s OK to just be. That seems like rapture to me.” page 55
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Marbled Paper A D.I.Y.
CRAFT BY KRISTIE DUNCAN PHOTOGRAPHY BY SIOBHAN EGAN
SPECIAL THANKS SCRIBBLE ART STUDIO
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Paprika Southern
T
his easy craft is fun for both adults and children! Using simple, non-toxic materials, you can create unique marbled paper in your own kitchen. Kids will love the magic of seeing patterns appear on the paper, and adults will love the variety of uses for the paper. Use it for greeting cards, journaling, paper flowers, making paper dolls, or any other paper craft you can think of. You can even frame your favorite pieces for one-of-a-kind wall art. With easy clean-up, it makes a great rainy-day activity for the whole family.
MATERIALS
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• • • •
food coloring vegetable oil water in a flat, shallow container white or colored paper in a semi-heavy weight (cardstock or Bristol) • painbrushes (one per color) • small containers with lids, such as baby food jars
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Issue 24 / July 2015
STEP ONE
Prepare your palette. Begin by assembling your jars. You’ll need one for each color. Combine vegetable oil and food coloring beginning with a ratio of around 3:1 (you can adjust later). To mix throroughly, cover the jar tightly with a lid and shake vigorously. Repeat until you have all the colors you want.
STEP TWO
Fill a flat, shallow container halfway with water. Using a separate paintbrush for each color, begin dripping the “paint” so it floats on the water. This part can be messy, so be sure to wear clothes you don’t mind getting dirty, and cover any surface you’re working on.
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Paprika Southern
STEP THREE
If necessary, cut a piece of paper to the size of your container. Gently float the paper on the surface of the water. You can press it down slightly, but do not submerge it. Once you start to see the water soaking through the paper, you can lift it out and see the pattern that appears.
STEP FOUR
Repeat step three as many times as you wish. You can add more “paint,� reusing the same water several times before changing it. Try experimenting with different color combinations, colored paper, and varying the ratio of oil to color for different results. Lay each paper flat to dry.
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Issue 24 / July 2015
page 61
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Paprika Southern
girl crush H ARPE R LE E
B
orn in Monroeville, AL in 1926, (Nelle) Harper Lee is the author of the iconic American novel To Kill a Mockingbird. The novel addressed issues of race and class in the American South in a time of segregation and racial tension. Since its 1960 publication To Kill a Mockingbird has won the Pulitzer Prize, been adapted into the Oscar-winning 1962 film starring Gregory Peck, translated into more than 40 languages, and sold more than 30 million copies worldwide. Aspects of the novel were based on Lee’s own life, herself being the tomboyish inspiration for Scout and her childhood friend Truman Capote the inspiration for Dill. Until this year To Kill a Mockingbird was Lee’s only publication.
I L LU S T R AT ED BY R OS I E TAY LOR www.paprikasouthern.com
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Issue 24 / July 2015
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F OLL O W A L O N G WITH PA P R IK A S O U T H E R N T HRO U G H O U T TH E MONTH : FA CE B O O K TW IT TE R PIN TE R E ST IN S TA G R AM
See you in print!