My hands haven’t touched clay in weeks. And then this morning, I felt the urge to make something. My Mum sends me images of ceramics quite often, and these blue and white tiles reminded me how much I miss playing with this simple palette. I then happened upon this striking sculpture (below) by British artist, Gordon Baldwin and these matte white vases embossed with sea creatures by Swedish artist, Anna Lisa Thompson. Who knows how all this will translate when I throw some clay around later. Very often, it’s the feeling an image conjures, that’s what comes out in the clay.

Bill Traylor was born into slavery, and spent most of his life working on a plantation in Lowndes County, Alabama. In his later years, Trayor moved to Montgomery and it was there that he started to draw. He produced nearly 1,500 pieces of art –– many sketched on scraps of cardboard –– all depicting rural and urban life. In this moving film, Cara Zimmerman, a Christie’s specialist in outsider art, talks about a Bill Traylor painting ––  Man on White, Woman on Red –– that director, Steven Spielberg gave actress, Alice Walker when they completed The Colour Purple. When Zimmerman took the painting out of its frame, she discovered another painting of a man and a dog on the reverse. “The work is unique in this respect,” she says, “and presents us with another intriguing story.” The name of the painting is now, Man on White, Woman on Red/Man with Black Dog. Traylor’s work offers a perspective into life in the South in the early 1900s, no longer the perspective of an outsider, but rather a glimpse into the mind and life of a self taught, modern artist. “We’re at a point in time, art historically and otherwise, where we’re really starting to evaluate what the dominant narratives should be in our society, and in our history,” says Zimmerman.

Under the stewardship of Edward Enninful, August Vogue is featuring 14 covers that celebrate nature, created by British artists from Nick Knight to Nadine Ijewere to Lubaina Himid. The theme is “reset”, poignant and timely, as we reflect on the world around us, and the experiences of the last four months. “The familiar patterns of our lives have been broken, the future is unknowable, and all of us are searching for signs and wonders, for reassurance, for hope, for things that make sense to us when everything seems desolate,” writes British writer and naturalist Helen Macdonald. “We are beginning to view nature through new eyes.” David Hockney’s painting, with its green meadows and honey coloured wheat fields, is a beautiful expression of the British country side. “It is a place rich with myth and reflection, and has long been seen as a repository of national identity.” Craig McDean’s image from the Lake District is so warm and mellow, and Mert Alas’ majestic red sunset speaks of hope and possibility. “Its maintenance enjoyed renewed focus as human activity slowed down in late spring, from the indelible images of clear canals in Venice to an absence of smog over Los Angeles,” said Enninful. “As the world rushes to find its feet again, we all need to be more mindful of the toll our previous pace of living took on nature.”

One of the things that I love about Louise Nevelson, are the outfits, not to mention the lashes, that the artist wore to work. Nevelson was well into her forties before she sold a sculpture to anyone other than another artist, and today, her huge, monolithic wooden structures are central to America’s art history. She was ballsy, fastidious and eccentric. She smoked Tiparillo cigars. And yes, she wore lashes made of mink. “I have never liked the middle ground –– the most boring place in the world.”