Our previous Kick-About celebrated the blending of customs old and new, with the textiles of Melissa Cody, whose work combines traditional techniques with computer gaming. I suppose Advent calendars are a form of gamification in their way—each day a hidden reward revealed, a small but tangible thrill that keeps us moving forward. Enjoy this latest selection of ‘new works made in a short time’ and browse all previous editions of The Kick-About here.
Graeme Daly
“I wanted to paint a detailed vintage-feeling illustration seen in many advent calendars, with the numbers scattered around the little doors and buildings. It was an enjoyable scene to illustrate and I particularly liked the windows!”
@graemedalyart / vimeo.com/graemedaly / linkedin.com/in/graeme-daly / twitter.com/Graeme_Daly / gentlegiant.blog
Gary Thorne
“Up-cycled last years cards into tree and house/apt block shapes, added a hinged base, and placed inside a laser-cut wood letter. The boxed gift instructions are: Lay out the 2-D red wreath; arrange the 24 forms as you wish yet, not upon the red wreath surround. On 1st December select one, open its base flap, and place the letter upon the red wreath surround. Position the tree or house back where you found it. You need remember those you’ve opened (they’re not numbered), between 1st-24th Dec as you have only 24 chances to collect all wood letters. On the 24th day, arrange the letters to spell out the seasonal message. What message? You’ll figure it out!!! If you don’t succeed collecting all 24 letters, better luck next year. Good luck this time and Happy Holidays.”
Kerfe Roig
“I had an idea, but not the time to really complete it. I wanted to do a haiku calendar, so gathered up as many cosmic-themed haiku from my archives as I could find and narrowed it down to a sequence of 25. Then I decorated some tiny envelopes with cosmic dots, printed out the haiku, and put them in their respective envelopes. But I got stuck with how to present them. In the end I was going to try to hang them from an embroidery hoop, but it was Saturday and the light was fading and I hadn’t even begun to hang them, so I quickly assembled them into a sort of imperfectly spaced Christmas tree and photographed it. Perhaps I can really finish by next December 1.”
Advent Calendar Haiku
1
Do your wings silver
the stars? Showers of lightning
follow thundered paths.
2
Life turns inward now–
sleep opening like the wings
of migrating birds
3
Dreams choose to wander
conjuring vessels of air
sailing without time
4
Stars sailing closer–
cloud wings reflecting a path
through glimmered moonlight
5
pulled into orbits
forever revisiting
other gravities
6
filling the margins,
spirits clinging to shadows–
the witching hour
7
black branches
pattern across clouds
wintering
8
moon shines through bare sky
dreaming diamonds as seas sing
wearing skins of light
9
The stillness of grace,
carried by stars on the wings
of birds. We listen.
10
inside a held breath
surrounded by the cosmos
a vast sacred space
11
trembling suspended,
the light falls into silence–
neither night nor day
12
Moon rises, calling–
my blood travels on its tides
mingling old and new
13
on the horizon
top melts into bottom and
becomes something else
14
nature intertwines
with light and darkness, creates
mystery, surprise
15
words woven around
radiating lines—like light
on a spider’s web
16
trees bare against
grey skies of autumn—heavy
and filled with deep sleep
17
buried deep
in winter’s vast night
stars abide
18
Shapeshifting moonlight
uncoloring the landscape–
the world seen anew
19
Crystal corona,
a circle of refraction–
possibility
20
to be strange like stars–
complete, inexplicable,
symbolic, complex
21
The moments repeat
pushed and pulled by distant orbs
always on the move
22
at the center: light
reflecting backward into
expanding silence
23
as the moon changes
cloud garments sing, glittering
on the edge of time
24
snowfall finds winter–
trees transparent, sparkling white
like the trails of stars
25
we are led not by
lines, but by circles—fullness
returning, renewed
kblog.blog / methodtwomadness.wordpress.com
James Randall
“‘Oh no what can I do with an advent calendar!’ Well I went a bit literal to begin with – they were not a part of any of my life. So in the course of chucking stuff in I built my mechanical theory of existence mixed in with a bit of building scaffold, bushes and cogs and took the colour scheme from an ancient photo I took of a dragonfly which had a beautiful coppery sheen. Looking forward to seeing what others made of this intriguing prompt.“
Tom Beg
“I went with the basic concept of taking 25 squares and then just applying various effects and randomisation to them until something interesting started to happen. The final result being quite possibly the most abstract and impractical representation of an advent calendar you’ll ever see.”
Phil Gomm
“So this is just the opening to my KA offering this week; there is a lot more written (and a small section unwritten), but the simple truth is I ran out of time to finish and edit (and then edit again). This short story is written with a reverse structure, so the next bit takes place on December 23rd, then the 22nd and so on: it’s a reverse Advent calendar in this sense (with an actual advent calendar at the heart of the plot). We first meet Meryl Blythe as she reaches breaking point and then as the story ‘rewinds’ we find out what has led-up to her dramatic choice. This made things a bit trickier and more twisty and I’m not quite there yet, which is why I’m not sharing the completed story. The Kick-About deadline is very good at spurring you on when things get sticky, and I’m very happy that this new story is 90% over-the-line as, without the deadline, I might have chucked in the towel by now. As soon as its complete and I’m happy it’s not beset by grammatical howlers, I’ll share it on here—by Christmas Eve at the latest!”
You can read a PDF version here
Lewis Punton
“My favourite time of year is well and truly upon us, and to celebrate this most festive of Kick-About prompts I decided to revisit a particularly apt cartoon I thought up this time last year; based on a real gem of a late November sentence I overheard in Asda…”
“… and I found myself hit with a wave of characterful inspiration; resulting in a quick story sketch and accompanying turnaround. Say hello to ‘Crispin’!”
lewismakesthings.wordpress.com
And as the seasonal countdown continues, here’s another special day for your creative diaries…
Red's Kingdom 
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