Bookmark Abbey- and some surrealism in orange

Last year around this time, I noticed that Ringo Starr was playing a concert nearby. It was a Wednesday night in September, and my sister and I considered going but ultimately passed, since midweek plans are always a little tricky. I remember thinking, “Well, there goes my chance to ever see a Beatle live" 😑

Then this year, something better came along: a Friday night show, just 2 weeks after my birthday. When I asked my sister if going together could be my birthday present, she said yes:) So later tonight, we’re going!

The Beatles have had a long presence in our lives. When the Get Back documentary came out in 2021, my sister made a spreadsheet of all their albums so that we could rank each song and each album as a whole. We truly geeked out on it 🤓 I suppose we’ve inherited our fandom from our mom, who was 10 when The Beatles stepped onto the Ed Sullivan stage in February 1964. But over time, we’ve made that fandom our own through critique, curiosity, and the shared joy of their music.

Here are two Beatles-inspired pieces I made with paper, markers, and glue. 




The first is a surreal piece inspired by the Abbey Road album cover. I don’t remember exactly when I made it, but I do remember getting frustrated while trying to draw the top halves of the Beatles properly. The sketches weren’t working, so I leaned into something weirder: I left out their forms from the waist up and just focused on the iconic crossing legs. Those unmistakable silhouettes walking across that famous street. Was it a cop-out? Maybe, but the more I looked at it, the more I thought: why replicate something exactly the way it looks? That version already exists. Why not put your own spin on it? Your own weird, personal stamp? So, I left it that way- strange, half-bodied, and completely consumed by my favorite color 🧡




The second piece is a bookmark I made for my dad’s best friend, Ray. His favorite Beatles albums are The White Album and Abbey Road, so I merged the two: a white background with my design of the Abbey Road one. On the other side I added the lyric, “You know it’s gonna be, alright” from “Revolution”- a line from The White Album, and drew in some of Ray’s favorite flowers (I can’t remember their name now). And I always like to add a quote to the bookmarks I make. 


This week, we lost two music legends from the same era- Sly Stone and Brian Wilson, both at the age of 82. Currently only two Beatles remain: Paul and Ringo. And while Paul often takes the spotlight (whom I’d love to see one day as well!), there’s something enduring and powerful about Ringo. Though he was never the flashy or tortured one, he was steady, funny, groovy- and still is. 

His love of country music has never really been our thing, but my sister and I both recognize the genius of his drumming. There's an intuitive brilliance to the way he holds a song together.

He doesn’t try to dazzle with speed or flash. Instead, he listens. Supports. His playing is intuitive and always in service of the music. 

It’s also fascinating that Ringo is left-handed but played on a right-handed drum kit. That physical mismatch could have been a limitation but instead, it helped create his distinctive sound. The awkwardness led to unique phrasing, slightly delayed fills, and offbeat transitions that gave Beatles songs their unmistakable groove. It’s a beautiful reminder that what looks like a hindrance on the surface can actually shape something entirely original.

Tonight, when we see him live, we’ll carry our mom’s spirit with us. I like to think she would’ve gone to see The Beatles if she’d ever gotten the chance. 


If you have a Beatles story of your own, I’d love to hear it. A favorite song? A memory tied to one of their albums? Drop it in the comments or shoot me a message. Thanks for reading and tuning in:)

Peace and Love ✌🏼☮️🧡


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