Emma Burke Newman (in memoriam)

And what do you do when it makes no sense? For us, it is remembering, commemorating, dedicating. Here's more private, heartfelt moments from our trip to Scotland in early October —in addition to the more public events we posted about previously in Making Sense (of it all) .  Marker at Binning Wood. We visited Emma’s grave at Binning Wood to see, for the first time, the marker installed on Sept. 26. The plaque incorporates a rendering of Emma’s first tattoo—the polka-dotted woman. Interestingly, the design originates from a Dadaistic sketch of a dancer by French artist Francis Picabia (1879-1953). For the typography, we settled on a font resembling her unique handwriting, Dreaming Outloud Pro (bold)--very Emmaistic! Thank you to those who gave us comments about the marker, an aged bronze plaque like all in the wood, mounted on a locally sourced stone. To find Emma’s grave, try https://what3words.com/lordship.elevates.fidgeted The white ghost bike and Emma’s black bike. We visit...

Artist Ruby Harrop, Emma’s roommate in Glasgow, has been exploring the theme of grief this year as a master’s student at Glasgow School of Art. Her work was on exhibit at GSA through Sept. 10 but can also still be seen online here: https://gsapostgradshowcase.net/ruby-harrop/ .  The paintings and prints, which explore informal networks of care and love, will likely resonate for those who knew Emma or have known grief. For that reason, Ruby was happy to share them on Emma’s website.  I asked Ruby if Emma is truly a subject in many of the works, or whether I was just seeing her there. Ruby’s response:  “You are indeed right that Emma is in a lot of the works, I used many personal photographs from my own albums,” for instance, “so they're all steeped in memories I suppose.” “On the note of that Lino print of the hills, it was actually inspired by the photos I have of Arran on the day we found out … and so I was imagining Emma there, after all.” Ruby also produced a lovely A5...