On the Tenth Day of Christmas, my True Love Gave to Me…

January 3, 2021

On the tenth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Ten Lords a-Leaping
Nine Ladies Dancing
Eight Maids a-Milking
Seven Swans a-swimming
Six Geese a-Laying
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

They’re either Irish or drunk. Or Irish and drunk. Of they’re cangaroos. Our favorite artists have covered pretty much all variants of the situation.

1. Toni Pilling

Lords a-leaping? We need no lords a-leaping. For the artist behind Tee Pee Creations, we’re in sore need of Festive Fords a-beeping. Fair enough.

If you’re still convinced you don’t need lords but you’re not that much into cars and their noises, Laura Fisk of Fisk and Fern might have what you’re looking for. She did all the 12 days of Christmas with pugs and her pugs are definitely a-leaping.

3. Hester Durkan

I was about to say “it’s not that kind of lords, Hester”, but what do I know? And these lords are definitely a-leaping.

I’ve decided to continue showing you beautiful stuff (or at least stuff I think it’s beautiful) even after Christmas, but instead of having monographic articles featuring single illustrators I’ll be grouping them with themes. As a theme I’m picking the Twelve Days of Christmas, a British carol I adore. If you never heard it (you’re clearly not Britsh) I suggest you take a look at this incredible performance.

art and fashion

Metafisica / Metafisiche

What a splendid exhibition! I was expecting your regular, run-of-the-mill show at Palazzo Reale, which is usually good enough, but I was surprised at the depth and width of this new endeavour, that spans across the city with multiple initiatives and, even within the show

March 15, 2026 9:00 am

books and literature

Isaac Asimov’s “Fantasy” collection

I take issue with this volume, and not because they’re short stories and you’re bound to like some more than the others: they’re all delightful, with very few and negligible exceptions. No, my problem is curatorial: I take issue that instead of grouping all the

March 14, 2026 9:00 am

note to self

Comunicazione 101

Cara Trenitalia, Quando ero ragazza, ogni tanto mi capitava di prendere il treno da Milano a Tirano, per raggiungere i miei genitori in vacanza sul lago. È un viaggio verso nord, attraverso la Brianza Felix, che molto presto trasforma la campagna in una collina boscosa

March 13, 2026 12:27 pm