Lauren Herda

I've never seen The West Wing, so I decided to watch a couple episodes. GODDAMN, this is the competency porn I need right now (with an extra shot of nostalgia for the way they used to make television). It's ironic that I'll be binging it on a streaming service during such an incredibly incompetent era as the one we live in now.

Over the past week I made this little tribute to one of my favorite YA novel series, "The Tripods" by John Christopher. Specifically, I was inspired by Tim Hildebrandt's cover art from the 1988 US edition of the first book of the series, "The White Mountains." The book was probably my earliest exposure to the concept of the "post apocalyptic" setting in fiction, and I was fascinated with the protagonists' descriptions of "ancient" technology we know today but which they have never seen before. Tim Hidebrandt's depiction of the menacing tripod was an early inspiration to me to pursue making art, and it will always be how I imagine these hulking monstrosities (although BBC's version looks pretty cool too)!