the magic of place names

When I was a child, I loved to study maps. And I still do. Tom, my anthropologist husband, shares this fascination and has collected a wide variety of them. For years, we had a map of the moon and a map of the Vienna metro thrown in the back of our car, just in case. I mean, what if you needed to locate the Sea of Tranquility? Or wanted to navigate your way around the Ringstrausse?

Growing up in (to my mind) boring, suburban New Jersey, maps offered a glimpse of an alternate world that I might visit one day, if I got lucky. Whenever I looked at a map, I would imagine what each place might be like, what their names signified. Even local place names held magic within them: Would Spring Valley be filled with flowers? What about Bellemar — how beautiful would the ocean look there?

In particular interest to me were places that shared the same names. Vienna, Virginia and Vienna, Austria. Paris, France and Paris, Texas. Jamaica, New York and . . . well, you get the idea. My favorite fantasy was that there was a sympathetic field between each of these same-named places. Words are magic, after all. If you located this power field, you would be instantly swept in a vortex of energy from one place to the next. You’d close your eyes in Venice, California and next find yourself chasing pigeons in the Piazza San Marco.

Name travel instead of time travel, as it were.

All of this is a long preamble to describe my visit last week to Chadd’s Ford, Pennsylvania.

Chadd’s Ford, as some of you might know, was home to the noted book illustrator N. C. Wyeth. N. C. Wyeth may now be eclipsed in fame by his son, Andrew Wyeth, but during the early part of the twentieth century, he was quite the celebrity among artists.

N. C. Wyeth was the student of Howard Pyle and inspired generations of illustrators, including myself. He was also well-paid: N. C. Wyeth used the payment he received for Treasure Island — the modern-day equivalent of $200,000 — to purchase land at Chadd’s Ford, where he built his home and studio. When you consider that most children’s book illustrators make under $10,000 for a picture book, this is an astonishing symbol of the power Wyeth’s art wielded in the marketplace.

N. C. Wyeth’s studio (above) is only available for visits during warm weather. Though I’ve visited the Brandywine River Museum previously, it was in the winter. This time, I got lucky.

This is the view from his studio. Imagine gazing upon this as you paint, and how inspiring it must have been for the great illustrator. His commute to work was a bucolic garden path leading up from his home, about 100 yards or so.

In my twenties, I lived for a year in a village in England named Chagford. Chagford was home to several well-known book illustrators. (I do not include myself in their illustrious company, though I hope to one day!) These artists included Alan Lee and Brian Froud. Terri Windling of the Endicott Studio for the Mythic Arts has a cottage there. In other words, Chagford is a nexus attracting book artists of all sorts — illustrators, writers, and so on. Including myself.

When I left Chagford to return to the United States after my visa expired, I felt like Eve expelled from the garden. I still dream about Chagford regularly, walking its winding streets toward the moors beyond.

Chagford, England and Chadd’s Ford, Pennsylvania. Both homes to noted illustrators. Both attracting artists and writers.

Coincidence? Or a bit of sympathetic place name magic?

• Filed under be-mused, mythic living, publishing, the art world, the world around me, travels | 2 Responses

Q & A catch up

Right now, I’m posed gracefully between the end of one work cycle and the beginning of the next. I suppose that’s why I haven’t been blogging very much the last few weeks — have been regrouping myself. To be honest, it’s been good to have a break from everything before I head back into the fray of new projects and new deadlines. It’s as if I’ve filled my lungs with air before I dive back into deep water.

To bring you up to date, here’s a little Q & A catch up at Art and Words:

What’s going on in Omaha with the exhibition?

Short answer: I don’t fully know.

Long answer: The exhibition was taken down temporarily by the insurance company, since the humidity level was high after the roof collapse and resultant flooding. I trust that the art is safe — the insurance company doesn’t want to be liable for damaged art and is very experienced with these sort of things. I’m assuming the exhibition will be remounted once the new roof has been approved by zoning and all that. In the meantime, limbo.

What’s going on with the new book?

Lots.

I’ve already received a deal memo from my agent, which states the terms for the book acquisition: advance, royalty percentages, publishing rights and territories, work deadlines, and so on. This makes it feel very “official”, since it may be some time before I actually sign the book contract — typically it takes anywhere from six weeks to three months to get a finalized contract from a publisher, then another month to receive the first advance payout. But I’ll be working on the book before then.

My manuscript deadline is January 15, 2008; the deadline for the final book with art, design and so on is July 15th. So just over a year from book acquisition to completion, which is typical. My new editor at Broadway Doubleday has been wonderful so far — lots of supportive excitement on her end. I’m looking forward to meeting her in person next month for an editorial lunch.

What’s the new book about?

I know I’ve been a bit mysterious about the new book’s subject matter. But that’s just how I am — while I’m working on a book, I don’t like to talk too much about it. It’s a way of protecting my creative process, I think. I’m superstitious that if I spill too much, there’s less energy to go into the work itself.

I once read (was it in Writing Down the Bones?) that if you talk about a creative work too much, you trick your brain into thinking that you’ve actually already completed it, in some strange way. Maybe that’s it. Or maybe it’s not wanting to tempt the fates. All I know that I need to keep my focus without distractions, without feeling vulnerable to outside influences, or diffusing my excitement about the new book with other’s reactions.

FWIW, the new book is a bit of a departure for me, though it’s definitely related in theme to my past publications. When people ask me about it, I’ve been describing it in general terms as an exploration into the shadow side of feminine empowerment.

The new book is a little dark, it’s humorous — and I’m having a blast creating it. I feel strangely freed by embracing this part of myself.

So does this new book have a title?

Indeed it does. But for now, I’ll simply refer to it as the New Book (or the NB for short).

What’s next?

My immediate concern is lining up childcare for this summer, so I can work on the NB. Childcare is an ever-ongoing concern for me, and a reality for any working mother with children under school age.

I’m fortunate in that my schedule is somewhat fluid and that I work at home, so I can be around for Thea as well as be open to numerous childcare options. For example, I have a cooperative childcare playgroup that I host with several other mothers in my neighborhood. I also have several babysitters that I know and trust, and most importantly, that Thea likes. If I was a mother with a corporate job with set hours, my situation would be far less flexible.

That written, being a WAHM has its own challenges. It’s impossible to work and take care of a two-year-old simultaneously. You end up doing one or the other in a distracted manner, which is unsatisfying at best, impossible at worst.

Anyone who has a fantasy of “oh, it must be nice to paint as your child plays in your studio” has never had to wrestle a paint brush from a sobbing toddler who’s decided that mommy’s painting needs a special finishing touch involving copious quantities of magenta paint. Try doing with this while rushing to make a fedex pick up.

Yeah, but what’s really next in the studio?

Oh, you want my new-and-updated list? Okay, here goes:

1. Get started on the NB. Organize my research files, lay out the base book dummy, expand upon the book outline. Also start thinking about a publication plan for it — what will its website look like, what events should coincide to publicize it? These need to be planned at least six months before the book hits the stores.

2. Finalize my travel plans for this summer. This week, I’ll be in Philadelphia visiting friends and family, seeing the King Tut exhibition. In August, we’ll be in California and Vermont visiting family.

3. Plan a website overhaul for the upcoming publication of the Goddess Inspiration Oracle. Nothing major — just incorporate more information about it, design a new home page, update the online catalog and so on. I’m designing a new format for Art and Words Extra, my occasional bimonthly newsletter.

4. Follow up on other developing projects. For example, I have another two proposals (a book and a deck) out on submission to several publishing houses. Now that the NB is a go, I need to update the editors considering the proposals on my latest. It may or may not be a factor for them, but that’s for them to decide.

5. Plus there’s the usual studio reorganization and preparation that is part of a new cycle — photo reference to be filed, art supplies to be replenished, computers needing maintainance and so on.

———————————

In regards to this blog, I have more than a few posts started or drafted out. Now that I’m properly replenished, I’ll aim to be blogging regularly.

With everything going on with the NB, I have several publishing posts percolating, in particular one regarding the inside skinny about literary agents. I’ve also been thinking a lot about defining moments — what they are, ways we can identify them, how they define us.

On the goddess front, I have some new drawings I want to share with you as part of my ongoing Goddess Painting of the Day feature. These were created for Goddess Alive, which will be published by Llewellyn this fall. I also plan to share some excerpts from the Goddess Inspiration Oracle, as I wind up to its publication this September.

And that’s the latest for now!

• Filed under art and words, goddesses, new projects, publishing, the art world, the world around me, travels | No Comments

Women’s Spirituality Teleconference update

Right now, we’re in the midst of The Beltane Paper’s Women’s Spirituality Teleconference! I was the featured guest last night with moderator Diane Saarinen. We spent an hour discussing the creation of The Goddess Tarot, The Lover’s Path Tarot, my art, background and much more. I also gave three tarot readings to teleconference participants with The Lover’s Path Tarot on the subject of — what else? — love.

One very funny exchange has already been posted on the blog for The Beltane Papers. It concerns my experiences creating art while in a post-partum hormonal haze.

BTW, if you’re wondering what a teleconference is, they’re fairly straight forward. They’re just one way to listen to speakers give fascinating talks on useful information — without leaving the comfort of your home. To participate in a teleconference, all you do is call a telephone number, where you’re prompted to punch in an access code (provided when you register for the teleconference). Then you’re automatically connected to a conference call, where you can listen to the speaker, ask questions, and so on. Usually the speaker asks that you mute your phone during the main presentation, to minimize background noise.

I’ve participated in a few teleconferences in the past, mainly through Alyson B. Stanfield’s Art Biz Coach site. In my ever time-pressed life, they’re a great way to gain useful information without leaving my studio. It’s pretty amazing, when you think that otherwise you’d have to travel to a conference to listen to many of these speakers — and here they are, easily accessible by telephone!

Eventually recordings of the teleconference will be available for purchase to benefit The Beltane Papers on their site. Thanks to Diane Saarinen for organizing this event!

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the Goddess Inspiration Oracle . . .

. . . is now available for preorder at Amazon.com! As a further enticement, the GIO is discounted 32% to $14.93 from its regular price of $21.95.

Preorder the Goddess Inspiration Oracle now.

The Goddess Inspiration Oracle will be shipped in September 2007 from Amazon.com. Which, as this year progresses, doesn’t feel very far away. I heard from my art director at Llewellyn this week, who reported that the GIO is currently on press and looks great. I can’t wait to see the final printed version myself!

To learn more about the GIO, visit www.goddessinspiration.net. You can also receive a free excerpt of it by signing up for my informal bimonthly newsletter. This excerpt includes 12 of the goddess oracle cards with their descriptions — a wonderful way to enjoy an amusé bouche for my newest tool for mythic living.

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new posts coming soon

Really. I mean it.

I’m still catching my breath after tying up so many projects: Goddess Alive, my Omaha exhibition, selling my book to Doubleday, and so on. You get the idea.

I’ve got a bunch of posts perculating within me. So stay tuned! I hope to be back to my blogging schedule soon, hopefully by the beginning of next week.

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