Letters of gratitude to my broadside artist and writer

Dear Olivia,

I am grateful to you for providing me with two wonderful art pieces to choose from for my broadside and introducing me to the two-step process of producing a print along the way. It was fascinating to get a look at the sketch behind the final print, and I continue to contemplate how a broadside with the sketch would convey a different message or tone from the broadside I made that features the print.

The sketch, with its soft edges and the shadow of the windowpane reflected on the dog’s body, evokes a feeling of complete serenity. You’ve produced a stunning impression of light as it makes its way through the window and onto the dog. I can also pick up on the texture in the dog’s fur and the shadow of the window itself. This feels like a scene I want to crawl into; had I used the sketch for the broadside, I probably would have picked a pastel or white background and let the sketch stand on its own.

The print, on the other hand, makes the light from the window feel as though it is glowing and radiating off the page. I thought that the thick white margins and the sharp color contrast between light and shadow would make the print stand out against a more complex background, and I am very happy with the way the sky picture in the background complements it. I also enjoyed the opportunity to mimic the color contrast of the print in the text by adding white accents at the beginning of each stanza. The print gave me a significant amount of creative freedom while still capturing the simple joy of the little dog lying in the window. While it is only in black and white, it has a depth and clarity to it that draws the eye.

Thank you, again, for these outstanding art pieces that bring the “little dog” to life. Your art is in a beautiful conversation with the prose piece we chose.

Dear Violet,

I would like to thank you for giving me permission to use your prose piece, “Little Dogs,” in my broadside. My artist and I knew right away that this was the piece we wanted to respond to; it has a wonderful simplicity to it, but it emulates a great deal of emotion at the same time.

The aspect of the piece that first drew me in was the repetition at the beginning of each stanza. Because the narrator starts with a comment about the “little dog” on each beginning line, the reader feels comforted and charmed while being guided through the piece. I opted to highlight the beginning line of each stanza in white to draw this comforting repetition out into the open. With this being said, I was also quite taken by the care, love, and understanding that the narrator shows toward the little dog, even though their tone is matter-of-fact. When the narrator talks about people ascribing emotions to the little dog as he “rolls off the couch” or “refuses to take a pill,” I am reminded of my own dog, and I crack a smile. I also love that the narrator delves into a long chain of people who like their dogs; it reminds readers that the comfort we draw from four-legged friends has persisted for centuries. You capture the joy of having a pet (however simple-minded the pet is) on both an individual level and a collective level.

The ending lines, which describe the little dog lying in a ray of sunlight, were what struck my artist and I the most. My artist ultimately chose to respond to this specific scene in a sketch and a print. The little dog reminds us to make the most of what we have and to focus on enjoying simple pleasures, and it is very refreshing to hear this reminder.

As you might remember, I was on the editorial staff of Laurel Moon when we selected “Little Dogs” for publication in Fall 2018. I’ve always considered this to be one of the most touching and relatable pieces I’ve ever read, both as a dog owner and as a student who tends to forget the value of slowing down and living simply. Thank you, again, for giving me the opportunity to work creatively with this!