Creativity Friday: School’s out….

… and Thea is now officially a kindergartener. The above photo was taken right after her preschool graduation celebration — look how pleased she looks! And now she is home until she begins summer camp in about two weeks. As for myself, my hours in the studio have been limited in the meantime. I’ve had to tie up a number of projects now that summer is upon me.

Here’s a quick overview of what’s what at this moment:

~ The first draft of The Novel (aka THE LILY MAID) is officially set aside for the next few weeks until my schedule frees up. The first draft is complete at 105,000 words — whew! That written, I still have a number of plot points and character arcs that require refining. I’m hoping that the time away will help me clarify my thinking as well as better judge what I have so far. Right now, I am careening between enthrallment and despair over all I’ve written. C’est normale, so I’ve been told. This is the longest manscript I’ve ever worked on — and fiction to boot! — so THE LILY MAID is brave new world territory for me.

~ I’m excited about e-books for the iPad. Toward that end, I’m moving forward on designing and producing THE BOOK OF GODDESSES e-book as well a a number of others: PERSEPHONE AND THE POMEGRANATE, SACRED ANIMALS, and more. So far, I’ve set up my publishing imprint with Apple’s iBooks, purchased my isbns, and am slowly mastering the finer points of the ePub digital format. (Apple’s iBooks only distributes ePubs, unlike Amazon’s Kindle which uses a proprietary format.) I’m finding ePub design to be a strange, slippery amalgam between website programming and book design. Much of what I’m learning as an e-book designer feels counterintuitive to me. But then again, it’s all new.

~ Related to above: I have a blog post on my experiences incubating about my discoveries and challenges designing for the ePub format so far. I hope to have that up once I have a chance to catch up in the studio, in a week or so. The short version is that my intention is to create the most beautiful, inspiring, and user-friendly e-books available despite the constraints of the medium. Here’s a peek at my e-book imprint logo, which will go within the front matter for each digital publication.

~ I’m considering making some of my more text-heavy books available for Kindle, such as THE BOOK OF GODDESSES. It seems as though people are wedded to one format or the other, based on what e-book device they own. For example, I’m amazed at how many people downloaded DOOMED QUEENS on their Kindles. However, I’m wondering if this is worth my effort, since the Kindle only handles black and white books at this time. I’d include all the art from my books, but obviously they’d be reproduced in black and white. Opinions? Thoughts?

~ We also have a new exhibit planned for next month at the gallery. I’m very excited about it since it will be curated by my husband, anthropologist Thomas Ross Miller. ON THE ROAD OF BONES will feature native Siberian and American photographers documenting Russia’s Old Kolyma Highway, built by prisoners of Stalin’s infamous gulag.

~ Next Friday (June 25) is our monthly tarot salon. Live in the NYC area? I hope you’ll stop by for a glass of wine, some chocolate and a reading. More information here.

And how is your summer shaping up so far?

• Filed under The Novel, be-mused, creativity, goddesses, new projects, publishing, the world around me | 2 Responses

The Book of Goddesses: the music composition!

Tomorrow evening marks the world premiere of composer Robert Paterson’s new music composition The Book of Goddesses. It will be performed by by the MAYA trio in a free concert that includes live video by Mark Alan Johnson incorporating images from my book of the same name. (The composition is based on my book of the same name.) There is a free wine reception after the concert — it should be a great evening!

Here’s information about the concert:

Date: Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Time: 8:00pm – 9:30pm
Where: Judson Memorial Church
55 Washington Square South (West 4th St bet. Sullivan and Thompson Sts.), New York, NY

MAYA, the trio of John Hadfield, percussion; Jacqueline Kerrod, harp; Sato Moughalian flute, will be presented by JudsonArts, at 55 Washington Square South, New York, in a program of new works, featuring four world-premiere performances on Tuesday, June 8 at 8 PM. Admission is free.

The concert is a co-presentation of JudsonArts, Michael Conley, Director, and Perspectives Ensemble. Generous support for these commissions came from The New York State Council on the Arts, the Jerome Foundation, the American Composers Forum, and the Spanish Ministry of Culture. Additional support for the performance comes from the Jarvis and Constance Doctorow Family Foundation and The Foundation for Iberian Music.

PROGRAM

different voices together (2010) • Premiere • Yotam Haber
(commissioned for MAYA by the Jerome Foundation) (b. 1977)

The Book of Goddesses (2010) • Premiere • Robert Paterson
(commissioned for MAYA by the NYS Council on the Arts) (b. 1970)
I. Sarasvati
II. Xi Wang Mu
III. Aphrodite
IV. Brigit
V. Estanatlehi
VI. Xochiquetzal
VII. Oya
VIII. Yemayá
IX. The Muses

Theoretical Wall (2010) • Premiere • John Hadfield
Sisters (b. 1976)

ASKLEPIOS (2010) • Premiere • Gabriel Erkoreka
(commissioned for MAYA by the Spanish Ministry of Culture) (b. 1969)
Bolgar Gypsy Horo trad. Hungarian Romani/
Kalman Balogh
Arr. Gregg August/MAYA

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If you live in the NYC area, I hope you can make it! I plan to attend with my family — exciting!

• Filed under be-mused, events, friends and colleagues, goddesses, the world around me | One Response

Authors at the Gallery: Sharon Lerner reading on June 4, 7pm

Reminder: Tomorrow night is journalist Sharon Lerner’s reading for her new book, THE WAR ON MOMS: On Life in a Family-Unfriendly Nation. Sharon is a fellow mom in my neighborhood, so I can testify from personal experience that she walks the walk as well as talks the talk. Her book has been garnering much attention — this is a hot button issue for many. I’m so pleased to be having Sharon at the gallery!

More about Sharon’s book: THE WAR ON MOMS is battlefield reporting on the widespread, brutal realities facing most American women today: the lack of paid maternity leave, the dearth of decent part-time work options, and the shortage of good, affordable childcare options. While there are many recent books about high-earning professionals mothers, this book focuses instead on the vast majority of women who can’t buy their way out of these dilemmas. It tells the truth that overworked, stressed-out American moms need to hear: that they’re not alone — and they’re not to blame.

Praise for THE WAR ON MOMS:

“A stinging account of how public policy and private businesses have failed to adapt to working mothers. Read it and weep at European family-friendly policies, like Sweden’s guarantee that parents can work reduced hours until their child is 8. Or read it and be grateful, perhaps, that you have it a lot easier than many others.”
— Jennifer Ludden, National Correspondent, NPR

“Sharon Lerner has turned her guns on the futility of the swanky “Mommy Wars” to reveal that the real war on mommies has little to do with wealthy women who opt-out or the quest for the perfect au pair…. Every mom who worries about managing a workload, a home, and a family needs to read this book. The laundry can wait.”
— Dahlia Lithwick, Senior Editor, Slate

Live in the NYC area? Here’s the info to attend the reading:

Friday, June 4, 2010, 7 pm
AUTHORS AT THE GALLERY: Sharon Lerner
Book Event and Author Q&A
Free admission. Refreshments provided.

Kris Waldherr Art and Words studio-gallery
1501 Newkirk Avenue (entrance on Marlborough Road)
Brooklyn, NY 11226
347-406-5811
subway to Newkirk Avenue: Q 0r B train
street parking is available.

If you don’t live in NYC, we’ll be livestreaming this event starting at 7:15 pm EST at this link. We’ll be able to take your comments and questions for Sharon on this important and sometimes polarizing subject.

As a mother of a small child who struggles to balance everything myself, I’m excited that my gallery will be providing a forum for Sharon’s book.

• Filed under events, friends and colleagues, studio and gallery | No Comments