K.E. Skedgell

QUILTBAG. What does that mean? Here's the definition according to the Queer Dictionary : QUILTBAG is an acronym. It stands for Queer/Questioning, Undecided, Intersex, Lesbian, Transgender/Transsexual, Bisexual, Allied/Asexual, Gay/Genderqueer. It is meant to be a more inclusive term than GLBT/LGBT and to be more pronounceable (and memorable) than some of the other variations or extensions on the GLBT/LGBT abbreviation. When I first came across this acronym, I thought, what the hell does QUILTBAG mean? It can't mean a bag made out of a quilt, because, you know, silly me, that's the first thing that popped into my mind. So I looked it up and it all made sense to me. The acronym itself is befitting, like a quilt it represents patches of the different aspects of queer life, all wrapped up into one acronym like a bag. The representation of queer folks in entertainment has grown in the last several years as the world becomes more accepting: from books to TV and mo...

H is portrait, that is. For the past eight days I had been working on my latest art project, a graphite portrait of Oscar Wilde. My writing was put on the back burner for the entire time I worked on this, the reason because I was just too caught up into drawing this picture, and I was anguishing over the current scene. Nothing was coming out like I wanted, so a little time away was in order, and what better way to take a break from writing than to draw something, especially if that something is Wilde. So, without further ado, I will take you on a photo by photo progression of my work. Also, the photo quality is pretty crappy, not professional in any way, just so you know. Days 1-2: Outline of Oscar complete. I started the outline by doing some minor tracing (yeah, I cheated a little) with my light box just to get the major lines down, then I drew in the finer details of which even those changed as I progressed with the drawing. I started that on Dec. 1st, but couldn't fini...

D raw draw draw! No! Write write write! Draw! Write! It's a rather nice predicament to have, since so rarely do either of the muses come around at the same time. In my teen years the writing and drawing muses were close pals of mine. Nowadays, not so much. And I miss that. The writing muse has been coming around a lot the last few years, which is really nice. The art muse is like that friend who lives far away that you rarely get to see, and when she does stop by, you make the most of it while she's there, because she ain't a stayin' for long. Right now the two muses are vying for my attention, and it's great, especially since I'm not working I have the time to share part of the day with both. Currently I'm working on a graphite drawing of a ruined medieval Hungarian church, it's remains the only thing left of a village that had once surrounded it. After that I really want to start on a portrait of Oscar Wilde  because I think he is just...