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Feb

Wordplay and Watercolor: Edward Lear in Gozo

by Joyce McGreevy on February 8, 2016

Edward Lear's watercolor painting of Gozo, Malta, a place he visited with a traveler's wanderlust and one that inspired his wordplay. (Image by Edward Lear, public domain via Wikimedia Commons)

A tireless traveler, Edward Lear expressed the magnificence of Gozo, Malta,
through delicate watercolor paintings and colorful wordplay.
Edward Lear [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Wanderlust on My Lear-ical Visit to Malta

It’s winter in Malta, 1862. Edward Lear, lover of wordplay and watercolor, is writing a letter. His phrasing echoes the rhythm of Mediterranean tides against this tiny archipelago:

“I draw constantly on the Barracca point; meaning to paint a picture thereof one day; and I wander up and down the beautiful streets of Valletta and Senglea; and rejoice in the delightful heat and the blue sky; and watch the thousand little boats skimming across the harbor at sunset.” Read more...

Joyce McGreevy 8 Comments

Literary World/Malta/The World's Art & Design/Wordplay

Apr

Creativity’s Corner: Where Art Meets Wordplay

by Sheron Long on April 17, 2014

Creative painting and word play by John Langdon showing the word "ME" set against the sky and the word "YOU" formed by the spaces inside the letters M and E. (Image © John Langdon)

“US”
© John Langdon

Look . . . and Look Again at John Langdon’s Illusions and Ambigrams

In life (and at OIC), you often get the invitation to consider new perspectives, to see things from different points of view. Today’s invitation is to a place where the visual and the verbal play together in the work of John Langdon. And the souvenir you take home is a hidden, often deeper meaning.

Let the games begin: How does the painting above fit its title, “US”? Read more...

Sheron Long Comments

The World's Art & Design/Wordplay

Apr

Wordplay: The Power of One Little Letter

by Sheron Long on April 3, 2014

Reinvented book cover for Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code with new cover art showing a codfish and the title shortened to The Da Vinci Code, illustrating an example of wordplay for word lovers. (Image with thanks to @darth)

Dropping a letter changes a best-seller with a sophisticated “code”
into a new plot starring a slimy “cod.”
(image thanks to @darth)

Clever Words for Clever Word Lovers

What’s so attractive about words such that some people become logophiles (yep, that’s the official term for “word lovers”)? Read more...

Perhaps it’s the puzzle of wordplay games like Scrabble where an aha moment lights up the brain when you figure out how to use all seven letters.

Maybe it’s the social aspect of games like Words with Friends, when folks who choose a random opponent meet through the chat feature. Some even marry, putting two important words together: I do.