Colleen Burner
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colleenburner.bsky.social
Colleen Burner
@colleenburner.bsky.social
220 followers 240 following 89 posts
Editor at @surelymag.bsky.social
writer, painter, quilter, dust mote in space just like you
SISTER GOLDEN CALF (Split/Lip Press)
they/them
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colleenburner.bsky.social
flames….flames on the side of my face
A screenshot of an incredibly ridiculous and offensive email for a “writer editor - part time - AI trainer” position with Outlier Ai that pays FIFTEEN DOLLARS PER HOUR for a person with a brain and editing and writing experience to train some sort of LLM bullshit bot to help AI replace the very person training the program.
November 17, 2025 at 1:38 AM
colleenburner.bsky.social
A “no smoking” sign that has been amended to say “no kings”
October 25, 2025 at 4:52 AM
colleenburner.bsky.social
Ominous portents this evening
A torn paperback copy of a book titled 20/20 Thinking on the sidewalk under a power pole that’s been seeping creosote so it looks like black ooze is snaking out from underneath the book Two red hatchback cars parallel parked on a street; they aren’t the same model but very close, like siblings but not quite twins & there’s something striking about their likeness and proximity and how bright their red is—the shade of red is the same
September 30, 2025 at 4:30 AM
colleenburner.bsky.social
Kitchen disco, 8 a.m.
September 27, 2025 at 3:03 PM
colleenburner.bsky.social
my 1st book, Sister Golden Calf, was released 2 years ago today by @splitlippress.com. I don't think anyone can predict how a book launch will go, but I got real lucky with the Split/Lip team & the events I got to do in Portland w/ David Naimon, Alissa Hattman, Thea Prieto, & Bishop & Wilde Books
the cover of Sister Golden Calf: a peach-colored rectangle hovers in front of a landscape of red rock formations and blue sky. On the peach rectangle are the title of the book and my name, in front of a pile of 7 cow legs; 1 cow leg hovers mid-air. Designed by David Wojciechowski. David Naimon and I in front of the audience at Powell's City of Books Me reading in front of a wall of books at The Stacks Coffeehouse Promo graphic for my reading at Bishop & Wilde on 10/4/2023. Five people showed up for this reading, but now I'm actually friends with all of them, and the oddly intimate reading situation should not be dismissed!
September 19, 2025 at 6:00 PM
colleenburner.bsky.social
how the emails are finding me this morning:
Three pictures of sun bears, which look dazed and goofy as hell standing on hind legs, the wonderful ape-dog creatures everyone knows them to be. They’ve never been sent emails and I envy them that.
September 15, 2025 at 4:21 PM
colleenburner.bsky.social
& speaking of review outlets, a boon for my Monday just came in the mail
The latest issue of The Anarchist Review of Books “In this year of war, fear, and rage, we have found ourselves returning again and again to W. S. Merwin’s poem The River of Bees. “We are the echo of the future,” Merwin writes, “On the door it says what to do to survive/ But we were not born to survive/ Only to live” ALL POWER TO THE IMAGINATION ALL POWER TO LIFE The Editorial Collective August 15, 2025”
September 8, 2025 at 9:30 PM
colleenburner.bsky.social
It’s too hot to think about quilting. And yet.
A six-pointed star made of fabric with a pattern of orange and blue polka dots floating over a white background (the dots are about dime-sized and have gradation so they almost look spherical), with a solid light orange hexagon at the center of the star A six-pointed star made of fabric with a pattern of orange and dark teal dotted lines arcing over a light sagey green background (the lines are crossed by coordinating orange and green dots here and there, they look like olives or beads), with a solid orange hexagon at the center of the star A six-pointed star made of fabric with a pattern of white, light blue, and dark blue flower shapes and angular shapes (very kiki and bouba), with a solid blue hexagon at the center of the star A six-pointed star made of fabric with a pattern of leaves in stems curving around a white background (the colors are Mardi Gras shades of yellow, green, and purple), with a solid purple hexagon at the center of the star
August 13, 2025 at 1:09 AM
colleenburner.bsky.social
It’s a heatwave in Portland so I’m looking back ever so longingly at quilting progress from a couple weeks ago
A six-pointed quilted star made of fabric with dark brown polka dots (smaller than a dime) on off-white, with a light brown hexagon at the center of the star A six-pointed quilted star made of fabric that looks like a very small scale Yayoi Kusama net painting in coral over white, with a solid pink hexagon at the center of the star A six-pointed quilted star made of fabric with a stylized daisy print in dark blue with overlapping grid and checkered patterns, with a blue hexagon at the center of the star A six-pointed quilted star made of fabric with a print that’s really hard to describe—light brown background with a pattern of dark brown, yellow, and green on top, in sort of crisscrossing and diamond shaped routes but made of u-shaped marks—it’s very late ‘60s I think, with a light brown hexagon at the center of the star
August 10, 2025 at 10:01 PM
colleenburner.bsky.social
@robertlong4man.bsky.social what have you done?? Weird Pig can steal my car anytime; he’s one in a million (I would’ve read it sooner but needed to save it as a reprieve for an especially dark season & it really came through)
A picture of Robert Long Foreman’s novel WEIRD PIG
July 24, 2025 at 5:03 AM
colleenburner.bsky.social
A six-pointed quilted star made of fabric with a stylized, zoomed-in floral print (maybe poppies?) in shades of blue with mostly white petals, with a muted, medium-blue hexagon at the center of the star A six-pointed quilted star made of fabric with a stylized floral print (think daisies or sunflowers for shape) in black on white, with a solid red hexagon at the center of the star A six-pointed quilted star made of fabric with a green-on-white check print overlaid with scattered flowers with white petals, yolky orange centers, and green leaves, with a solid green hexagon at the center of the star A six-pointed quilted star made of fabric with a background of tiny blue dots over white with curvy flourishes in white negative space overlaid with stylized floral print (think tulips and lotuses blended together somehow; the flowers are yellow, pink, and dark blue), with a solid blue hexagon at the center of the star (this is one of my favorites prints in the quilt so far)
July 24, 2025 at 1:48 AM
colleenburner.bsky.social
A six-pointed quilted star made of fabric in a possibly floral or leafy yellow, orange, black, and white pattern, with a solid yellow hexagon in the center of the star A six-pointed quilted star made of fabric in a grid and plaid pattern in white, dark pink, and magenta with small white and green squares here and there, with a solid pink hexagon in the center of the star A six-pointed quilted star made of fabric in a dark blue, light blue, orange, and white abstract pattern with white and orange dots, with a solid blue hexagon in the center of the star A six-pointed quilted star made of fabric in a white over green and green over white grid pattern where the white over green parts form large dots contras tied against the white over green grid, with a solid green hexagon in the center of the star
July 10, 2025 at 4:57 AM
colleenburner.bsky.social
a moment with the beautiful goth duck at Laurelhurst Pond this morning
July 8, 2025 at 5:38 PM
colleenburner.bsky.social
a six-pointed quilted star made of fabric with a medium-dark blue background overlaid with a grid of pinhead-sized white polka dots with a few larger all-white leaf shapes scattered on top; a muted solid blue hexagon is at the center of the star a six-pointed quilted star made of fabric with a white background overlaid with a swirling grid of small purple polka dots with larger white and purple flower and stem shapes crowded on top; a muted solid purple hexagon is at the center of the star a six-pointed quilted star made of fabric with a medium-dark blue background overlaid with tiny white polka dots behind floating stylized flowers in white, yellow, pink, and red; a muted solid blue hexagon is at the center of the star a six-pointed quilted star made of fabric with a seafoam-green background overlaid with a scattered flowers and leaves in white, darker green, and light and darker orange; a solid bright orange hexagon is at the center of the star
July 8, 2025 at 1:07 AM
colleenburner.bsky.social
A six-pointed star made of blue-green fabric with small, neatly lined-up white dots overlaid with larger, scattered white, orange, and yellow dots (the orange and yellow ones have a white border), with a solid light orange hexagon in the center A six-pointed star made of white and orange fabric where the orange parts are overlapping shapes in the same shade of orange, they might be clouds, with a solid light orange hexagon in the center A six-pointed star made of white fabric with small dotted outlines of flowers overlaid with solid, scattered bunches of flowers in pinks with blue centers, with a solid light pink hexagon in the center of the star A six-pointed star made of white fabric with scattered, abstract, star-shaped flowers in red and orange shades with a few green leaves here and there, with a solid light orange hexagon in the center of the star
July 6, 2025 at 11:20 PM
colleenburner.bsky.social
up to my elbows in quilt, perfect way to spend a summer
A six-pointed quilted star made of fabric with a very small-scale blue grid over a white background, overlaid with white and blue vines with maybe berries? and a solid blue hexagon in the center A six-pointed quilted star made of fabric with a very small-scale purple grid over a white background, overlaid with sparse white, pink, and light and dark purple polka dots of various sizes with a solid purple hexagon in the center A six-pointed quilted star made of fabric with a bold red and white checkerboard print with a solid red hexagon in the center A six-pointed quilted star made of fabric with a medium blue background, overlaid with overlapping orbs or maybe balloons in white, light orange, and light yellow with contrasting blue lines on one end of each, with a solid blue hexagon in the center
June 30, 2025 at 1:56 AM
colleenburner.bsky.social
Did you know that instead of cleaning your gouache palette you can just make really soft muddy colors and it’s so nice?
A painting of squares gradating in color from off-white to mauves to darker warm brown A painting in a checkerboard pattern of pinkish mauve and other soft warm brown tones
June 20, 2025 at 5:57 PM
colleenburner.bsky.social
pals spotted on the Small Press Featured Titles shelves at Powell’s—Film Elegy by @laura-n-paul.bsky.social, Leafskin by @mirandarschmidt.bsky.social, & Show Me Where the Hurt Is by @haydenmcasey13.bsky.social 👏👏👏
A section of the Small Press Featured Titles shelves at Powell’s bookstore, with 9 books shelved face-out
June 20, 2025 at 3:23 PM
colleenburner.bsky.social
A six-pointed quilted star made of white fabric with a flowery vine print in light and dark purple, with a solid medium purple hexagon at the center of the star A six-pointed quilted star made of white fabric with a green and yellow grid print with sparse green and yellow dots, with a solid medium green hexagon at the center of the star A six-pointed quilted star made of fabric with an abstract red, white, and blue print that almost looks like an illustration of tie dye, with a solid blue hexagon at the center of the star A six-pointed quilted star made of white fabric with a viney print in blue with hearts stemming out, with a solid blue hexagon at the center of the star
June 19, 2025 at 4:44 AM
colleenburner.bsky.social
A six-pointed quilted star made of fabric with a stylized yellow poppy print with a blue background peeking through and a solid yellow hexagon at the center of the star A six-pointed quilted star made of fabric with a red and white leaf print and a solid red hexagon at the center of the star A six-pointed quilted star made of fabric with a stylized floral print with blue flowers and leaves over a white background with black polka dots and a solid blue hexagon at the center of the star A six-pointed quilted star made of fabric with a stylized floral print with white flowers and green leaves with a pink background with white dots peeking through and a solid pink hexagon at the center of the star
June 17, 2025 at 6:25 PM
colleenburner.bsky.social
Somehow managed to get four more quilted last night
A six-pointed star made of fabric with a white and dark green print, with a small green grid in the background and larger abstract flowers in the foreground, with a solid yolk-yellow hexagon at the center of the star A six-pointed star made of fabric with a white, pink, dark coral, and black print in a sort of collaged graphic leaf pattern, with a solid dark pink hexagon at the center of the star A six-pointed star made of fabric with a pattern of large white leaves and small teal and light blue flowers over a black background, with a solid medium-light blue hexagon at the center of the star A six-pointed star made of fabric with a print of a dark teal background with white polka dots and larger shapes of white, black, and yellow that kind of look like single butterfly wings, with a solid orange-yellow hexagon at the center of the star
June 13, 2025 at 5:33 PM
colleenburner.bsky.social
A quilted 6-pointed star made of muted pink fabric with stylized flowers and stems in white with black outlines, and a solid peach hexagon at the center. A quilted 6-pointed star made of white fabric with a small orange/coral colored floral print with blue accents, and a solid pink hexagon at the center. A quilted 6-pointed star made of canary yellow fabric with stylized flowers and leaves in white with black geometric accents, and a solid yellow hexagon at the center. A quilted 6-pointed star made of pale purple fabric with small roses in darker purples and white, and a solid light purple hexagon at the center.
June 9, 2025 at 1:43 AM
colleenburner.bsky.social
it’s going to be a color theory summer, I think (which is just putting things next to each other to see what happens), by way of fabric and gouache
A grid of squares in shades of rust, mauve, tan, coral, painted in gouache on cream colored paper. The paper is on top of a sheet of blue-purple linen.
June 2, 2025 at 5:21 PM
colleenburner.bsky.social
A quilted 6-point star made of white and yellow fabric with tiny orange zigzags and multicolored polka dots with a solid orange hexagon in the center A quilted 6-point star made of fabric with white flowers with black centers over a thin black grid and large black circles, with a solid orange-red hexagon in the center A quilted 6-point star made of purple fabric with small and tiny white flowers and dots, with a solid purple hexagon in the center A quilted 6-point star made of white fabric with tiny blue triangles larger blue overlapping squares, with a solid blue hexagon in the center
June 1, 2025 at 10:30 PM
colleenburner.bsky.social
A quilted 6-pointed star made of white and red patterned fabric with yellow and black accents, with a solid red hexagon in the center A quilted 6-pointed star made of pink and white floral patterned fabric with green leaves, with a solid pink hexagon in the center A quilted 6-pointed star made of white and blue/teal/navy fabric in an abstract floral pattern, with a solid blue hexagon in the center A quilted 6-pointed star made of tan fabric with a white, yellow, and orange daisy print, with a solid tan hexagon in the center
June 1, 2025 at 4:42 PM