autumn 2003

~ Thursday, December 18, 2003

 
Nothing much going on. I’m working on the box design, which has a lot of pieces to it. It’s fun. I was experimenting yesterday with wax seals and other three dimensional elements, which I might include within the design.

Since I’m still waiting on the final art scans, some elements have to be designed as fpo (for position only). But I can easily replace them when the final scans come in.

Also have been cleaning my studio. It’s in the usual state of post-deadline disorganization: piles of books, papers and more everywhere.

posted by kris at 12:24 PM

~ Friday, December 12, 2003

 
I had an amazing day yesterday: I finally got up to US Game’s offices in Stamford to go over the Lover’s Path Tarot materials. I also got to see the mock-up dummy box and contents, which the printer put together. It looks great. Even without any printed designs on it (the printer made it out of white paper, but it’s the same stock as they’ll be using), it’s incredible to actually “see” how everything will look as a package. It’ll also be a help as I finalize the design — though I have the basic design laid out, there’s lots of details to wrap up on the box.

As a book designer, I’m not experienced in dealing with package/box designs. I mean, I can do basic stuff, but nothing nearly this elaborate! There’s a tray card with inserts, and much more — looks incredibly cool, but I’d have no idea where to start on the mechanical. So the art director and I went over each and every surface of the box (and there were a lot of them), labeling each to identify them. I’m going to design each surface separately as a flat panel, which one of the designers will then put together. It’s going to be really lovely, I think/hope.

I have one of the box dummies here next to me right now. Every now and then I look over at it and feel very pleased with it. It makes the project seem so tangible.

So the plan right now is for me to finish up the box designs next week. Then I’ll turn back to finetuning the rest of the book text after the holidays. It’s good for me to have a little space from it, I think.

posted by kris at 10:35 PM

~ Thursday, December 04, 2003

 
I’ve just added an entire new freebies section to this site — hope you’ll check it out! Right now, there’s free desktop themes, free e-books, and a free e-letter, all devoted to the Lover’s Path. In time, I’ll be posting free book chapters, tarot spread instructions, and more.

I’m still recovering from this last big push. I guess updating this site is a good way to decompress. . . .

posted by kris at 11:13 PM

~ Tuesday, December 02, 2003

 
More news: I’ve posted all of the card art. Also updated is the online oracle — you can now enjoy text excerpts from the Lover’s Path book, accompanied by the cards which inspired them. Enjoy!

On the production front, I heard from my publisher regarding all of the files I sent them. They’re really pleased with everything, which, as you can imagine, pleases me tremendously. I’m supposed to meet with my art director some time next week to go over everything. Elizabeth has the mock up dummy from the publisher to show me — can’t wait to see it!

posted by kris at 11:05 PM

~ Sunday, November 30, 2003

 
It feels like I left off in the midst here. Yes, I did tie all the loose ends up on the book, deck, and so on. Yes, I did send everything off to my publisher. I also was out of town for the holiday. So I ran out of time for updating this blog. Only just got back.

There’s still a few last bits to do on the book: a few card entries, two section intros. But all the art, text and design files are out and about. I even heard from the prepress separation bureau that the art arrived safely. I have a palpable sense of relief knowing this.

I’m pretty tired. Will write more later. I also hope to update the site with the rest of the art. Also the online oracle (now that I have text to include!).

posted by kris at 2:05 AM

~ Sunday, November 23, 2003

 
It’s been about two weeks since I posted — actually, I started writing an entry, then my computer crashed, and so on…. From my lack of posting, I’m sure you can imagine how busy it’s been here.

The final push is on!!!! On Monday, all of the art will be fedexed to prepress to be separated. As well, I’ll be sending all of the digital files for the Lover’s Path deck and book set to my publisher. They’ll include all of the components for the set, comps for the deck, set, and book cover, and anything else you can think of.

The book, ah the book. . . . Well, I’m just about done with it. I have been actually, for the past week. There’s eight missing entries, but out of 78 — I’m not sweating it. But there’s always those last edits, the typos missed the first time around, the word which is repeated more than I’d like. It’s amazing how many details are involved, like some giant tapestry filled with many threads and colors. But finished or not, I’m sending what I have. If there’s any last details to be addressed, I’ll take care of them after everything comes back from the publisher. It might be good to have a little breathing room — it’s easier to edit text when I’m not so close to it.

My opinion, after looking over everything (which right now is lying in piles of printouts, cd-roms, and more, ready to ship): What a sh*tload of work! I can’t believe all this came out of my little studio, and over such a short period of time. Truth be told, if I was to look at this amount of work as coming from someone else, I’d think, “How did one person do all this?” No wonder I’m pooped!!!!

But, more importantly, from an editorial standpoint, I think everything looks okay. Of course, I can’t really see it with a clear eye, but I don’t feel embarrassed by the work right now.

I hope that feeling stays with me, after I get some space from it, and hear my publisher’s comments. They haven’t seen the completed project, only what I had when I was about halfway through.

Now that the end is in sight, I’m looking forward to having a life again — a life outside the studio, that is. I want to organize my closets. I want to paint my bathroom. I want to go back to ballet class at nights, have time to practice my cello. To have dinner with a friend. It feels like it’s been ages since I kicked back, or took a weekend off, or even an evening, without thinking, “I should be working.”

posted by kris at 3:14 AM

~ Thursday, November 06, 2003

 
And it’s done! Well, the art for the Lover’s Path Tarot is, which is a very big deal. I would have posted earlier, but I was out of town for a friend’s wedding (which was fantastic, btw. I had an amazing time with my friend and feel very relaxed.) I’m still finishing up the accompanying book, which should be about another week or so. It’s all mapped out, just need to finetune everything.

I can’t quite believe that every painting is finally finished. It’s a strange feeling, as if a heavy weight has dropped off me — one that I was used to carrying. My load feels positively light by comparison now. Yet I don’t feel all that different. It’s a strange matter-of-fact sort of feeling that I can’t quite explain.

I will post the rest of the art on this site most likely after I finish the book. I’m so close to the end that it’s hard to shift gears from what’s immediately before me.

posted by kris at 10:17 AM

~ Tuesday, October 28, 2003

 
Painting the final touches on the final four paintings. I expect to finish tomorrow, if all goes as planned. Just in time for my getaway!

After this, all I have left is to finish up the book — about one to two weeks’ worth of writing/editing, since the book is otherwise entirely designed and roughed out. The paintings will dry while I’m away, so I’ll scan them when I get back.

I can’t believe it. Hopefully only one more day before this huge labor is completed!

posted by kris at 2:57 AM

~ Saturday, October 25, 2003

 
Am now working on the oil glazes of the final seven paintings. I apply them over the watercolor underpainting, which has been sealed with crystal clear and acrylic gel medium.

It won’t be long now before I finish all the art — just a matter of days — since the oil glazes usually go very quickly for me. They’re the most fun too. I love the texture, the manipulatability (is that even a word?) of oil paint. There’s a lot of play in them. It’s also satisfying to touch up the last details on the paintings — the spark of white in an eye, the glitter of gold on a sleeve.

Now I really am almost there!

posted by kris at 1:56 PM

~ Tuesday, October 21, 2003

 
Still still painting. (I feel like I’m being redundant with this journal, but that’s all I do these days.) I’m just about done with the last watercolor underpainting (see below for a detailed description of my painting technique), which is of Cleopatra and Caesar. After this, I have only to glaze the remaining paintings with oil paint.

And that’s that!!!!

Next week, I’ll be going out of town for a close friend’s wedding/quick getaway, so my goal is to finish up before I leave. I’ll really be able to relax, knowing all is done. It’ll also be great to come home to a finished project. After this, I only need to finish up the book. Most of it is designed, with the text roughed out. I don’t think it will take long to finetune and edit it. It helped to work on the book as I painted, since now it doesn’t feel like an overwhelming amount of work to do.

I’ve got a bunch of paintings here which I’ve yet to post on the site. They’ll be posted as soon as I finish up. It’s hard to shift gears to do anything else when I’m this close to the end.

I almost forgot: to help me as I work, I printed out all of the cards to size on 4×6″ photo paper, then taped them upon my wall in a giant grid. It’s good to see all of the art together — they looks like a giant tarot collage, a work of art onto itself. I should definitely take a picture of it before I take them down. It’s amazing to see so much work — about a year’s worth — condensed onto one wall. As I look at each painting, I can remember when I worked on it, what I was doing, what I was thinking. It’s a flashflood of time and memory, if you know what I mean.

posted by kris at 12:59 AM

~ Friday, October 10, 2003

 
I reached a milestone last night: I finished the final preliminary sketch for the final painting for The Lover’s Path Tarot! I can’t quite believe it. I keep thinking I should doublecheck my traffic chart to make certain I haven’t missed anything — but I did, and that’s it for all 80 cards.

(Why 80 cards, you might ask? After all, don’t tarot decks usually have only 78 cards? The answer to this is that I also have to include two “title” cards with the deck. Hence, 78 + 2 = 80 cards in total. It’s rather astonishing to think of all that art passing through my studio in the past year!)

Right now, that last sketch has already been transferred onto watercolor paper. It’s waiting to be stretched onto a board, once one gets freed. I hope to be able to do that tonight. I have about six oil paintings which I hope to finish up today and cut off the boards to dry.

Now the end is really in sight! I’d say I have about a week’s worth of labor in total on these last paintings, maybe a little more. Once I finish all the art, I’m considering hosting an open studio for my friends, both to share my labors and to celebrate. I’ve been such a hermit since I began this project. Plus it would be fun since many of my friends posed for them. And it would be an amazing thing to see all 80 paintings displayed — that is, if I can find enough wall space in my typically cramped NYC apartment ;-).

Other news: I’ll be sending four paintings to prepress on Monday. They’re going to scan them, so we can compare their scans versus mine. I’m having a difficult time pulling scans from my art that I’m happy with, no matter how much I fuss with calibrating my computer or the scanner software. This is a new scanner which was very well reviewed, so I suspect the problem is that I’m scanning oil paint. For whatever reason, oils are harder to reproduce than watercolors. They look fuzzy, almost broken up, if this makes sense. After all this work, it would be upsetting to see everything poorly reproduced. Fortunately, the samples from the printer who will be producing the Lover’s Path Tarot are gorgeous! Now we just have to make certain that the art scans are worthy.

BTW, I think I have enough volunteers for the free book readings — thanks to all who answered my request! I’ll probably be conducting the readings later this month. Once I get to this point, I will e-mail everyone who volunteered.

posted by kris at 4:40 PM

~ Sunday, October 05, 2003

 
I’m still painting and painting. No surprise there, but the end is in sight — though it does still feel far away.

I’ve also been finetuning the design for the Lover’s Path Tarot’s accompanying book. As I mentioned earlier, it’s going to be in fabulous four color. Click here to see a sample spread.

For whatever reason, artandword.com still hasn’t migrated over to my new server. I’m not sure why, but I’m going to wait to investigate it. There’s just too much going on in the studio right now. Besides, the main thing is that the site is still up and functioning as it should. E-mail is getting through as well, so feel free to contact me with your comments at e-comment@artandwords.com.

Less than four weeks to go until deadline!

posted by kris at 2:45 PM

~ Friday, September 26, 2003

 
Right now, artandwords.com (my main website, of which The Lover’s Path is but one part of) is in the process of migrating to a new server hosted by the Author’s Guild. For the next few days, parts and/or the whole of this website may be inaccessible. Also, any e-mail sent via this website will not be forwarded until the migration process is completed.

So if you send an e-mail during this time, and hear nothing in return, please try again later. I’ll update here when everything is functional again!

posted by kris at 7:08 PM

~ Tuesday, September 23, 2003

 
Six more paintings are posted in the art section: Romeo and Juliet, Danae and Zeus, two Cups, and two Coins. Another five paintings are almost done, which I’ll probably scan and post in about a week. The rest of what art remains for the Lover’s Path Tarot is underway, thanks to my models who posed so patiently for me.

It’s a good feeling to know what the deck will look like (or what I hope it will look like once I get it done!). I’m torn between thinking, “What an incredible amount of work — wow, it looks great!” and “Looks like [insert your favorite derogatory phrase here].” I guess this is normal, though it’s a strange experience to swing between such extremes of opinion. But, as I recently wrote to a good friend, maybe this is just part of the impetus to create. After all, where would the motivation be if we felt totally (yikes!) mediocre?

There’s a line in Dostoevsky’s The Idiot which sums this up for me. I’m paraphrasing here, but he describes a character in that novel as having the unfortunate fate of knowing that he’s completely mediocre — in other words, he had no hope that he would ever be able to create or do anything extraordinary. Now that’s a sad fate.

As you can see, I’m up late again. Can’t sleep from thinking of what needs to be done next. Just over five weeks to go until deadline!

Quick note regarding readings: I do have a few volunteers, but could use a few more. I’ll be conducting them probably in early October.

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