I found these lanterns near the Middlebury Falls, behind the Marbleworks. Their shape reminds me of a story Lynda Barry once told about "Family Circus," that circular shaped comic that's been in the top corner of the newspaper forever.
When she was little, before she could even read, Lynda loved to lay on top of the newspaper and "read" the comics. She would look at the pictures and imagine what was going on, and her favorite comic of all was "Family Circus." It was soothing and complete in its shape, and the family seemed whole and happy. Her own family was troubled and broken, and in gazing at the circle she would feel herself stepping through, away from the chaos and safe with this peaceful and ideal family.
Her favorites were the ones that showed the black dotted trail of Jeffy, who was her age at the time, as he wandered through his neighborhood. She wanted to see all that he saw and loved to pretend she was wandering with him.
Her favorites were the ones that showed the black dotted trail of Jeffy, who was her age at the time, as he wandered through his neighborhood. She wanted to see all that he saw and loved to pretend she was wandering with him.
As she grew older, feeling lost and like a misfit, she was drawn to doing drawings of her own. Though her own work is dark and real, making you both laugh and cry at once, she continued to secretly love "Family Circus," even when it was no longer cool to do so. At Evergreen State College, her best friend, Matt Groenig, published one of her comics in the school newspaper while she was away on vacation. From there, her comics ran in alternative newspapers for almost thirty years.
As an adult, she was invited to a convention for cartoonists. She was surprised to think of herself as a cartoonist, but she went. She loved meeting all the artists she'd heard of for years, but when she was introduced to Jeff Keane, who has been drawing "Family Circus" since his father Bil, its creator, died, she burst into tears. She described it as snot spouting everywhere, shaking, gutteral sobbing tears. Embarrassed, she stepped away to pull herself together. When she returned though, and tried to shake his hand, it happened again.
She couldn't understand it, it felt like a deep rumbling from within. She went to the restroom to pull herself together. "Why on earth am I crying?" she asked when she looked in the mirror. What she saw looking back was the tearful face of the little girl who, years ago, unsafe in her own home, felt safe in a drawing.
Jeff Keane was Jeffy, and when she met him, all those years of survival, all that she'd held inside came pouring out, because she realized she really did step through the circle. And the way she got there was by doing a drawing of her own.
As an adult, she was invited to a convention for cartoonists. She was surprised to think of herself as a cartoonist, but she went. She loved meeting all the artists she'd heard of for years, but when she was introduced to Jeff Keane, who has been drawing "Family Circus" since his father Bil, its creator, died, she burst into tears. She described it as snot spouting everywhere, shaking, gutteral sobbing tears. Embarrassed, she stepped away to pull herself together. When she returned though, and tried to shake his hand, it happened again.
She couldn't understand it, it felt like a deep rumbling from within. She went to the restroom to pull herself together. "Why on earth am I crying?" she asked when she looked in the mirror. What she saw looking back was the tearful face of the little girl who, years ago, unsafe in her own home, felt safe in a drawing.
Jeff Keane was Jeffy, and when she met him, all those years of survival, all that she'd held inside came pouring out, because she realized she really did step through the circle. And the way she got there was by doing a drawing of her own.
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