2008 holiday gift guide

In preparation for my new book about queens, I will be completely relaunching my website next year. In the meantime, with the holiday season upon us I thought it would be fun to feature some currently available products*, most of which cost less than $20. Want a bigger selection? You can also browse through over a hundred additional gift choices here:
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\ To inspire a creative friend . . . \ Like The Artist’s Way? Seeking creative inspiration? The Goddess Inspiration Oracle was especially created by Kris to get your artistry flowing. It’s great for creative work as well as personal queries. Includes 120 page book, 80 full color cards and gift storage box and bag. Learn more or purchase for $14.93 \ \ other gift suggestions: \ The Goddess Tarot deck \ Goddess blank journal

For those who adore romance . . . \ Some have called The Lover’s Path the most beautifully romantic book ever published. Like the bestselling Griffin and Sabine, The Lover’s Path includes tucked away love letters, hidden maps and tarot cards, all incorporated within a mysteriously illustrated love story. Full color cover and interior, with gold gilt binding. Learn more or purchase for $19.57 \ \ \ other gift suggestions: \ The Lover’s Path Tarot gift set \ Tristan and Isolde art poster

For a cold winter night. . . \ Hot cocoa or coffee? Maybe some earl grey instead? Whatever your decision, your beverage will be beautifully presented in this Muses oversized mug. Learn more or purchase for $14.99 \   \ \ other gift suggestions: \ Inanna throw pillow \ Cat Goddess sweatshirt

For a goddess-in-training . . . \ This baby onesie gets right to the point: This girl is a goddess, so treat her right! Also available as a tee shirt for toddler and older kids. Learn more or purchase for $12.99 \ \ other gift suggestions: \ Creeping Turtle framed print \ Bless the Beasts cocoa mug

\ To invite beauty . . . \ “Persephone in the Moonlight” is one of my most popular images. This oil painting was originally reproduced in Persephone and the Pomegranate. 16 x 20″ poster on heavy weight semi-gloss paper. Learn more or purchase for $20.00 \ \ other gift suggestions: \ The Book of Goddesses anniversary edition \ A Celebration of the Divine Feminine book

For anyone . . . \ The 2008 Goddess Inspiration Calendar is available in two formats, oversized deluxe and regular. Both editions feature twelve goddesses from around the world printed in glorious full color on high quality heavy stock. \ \ 11 x 17″ Deluxe Edition - $23.95 \ 8.5 x 11″ Regular Edition - $19.95

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*Because of my book deadline, I won’t be producing gicl\uc0\u8730 \’a9e prints or any limited editions this holiday season. However, I’m happy to send you an autographed bookplate for any book, calendar or deck set purchased from this site. Simply e-mail me your inscription and mailing address to e-comment at artandwords dot com.

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2008 goddess calendar survey results!

Yes, the survey results are in! I will be producing a 2008 Goddess Calendar — thanks to all who took a moment to share their opinions!

The feedback was split almost exactly 50/50 between the 8.5 x 11″ regular edition and the 17 x 11″ deluxe edition of the calendar. Fortunately, since there were so much interest, I’ll be able to offer both versions for purchase.

A few other people suggested a Goddess Datebook. Though I did produce a black and white one a few years ago, I think most people prefer full color datebooks. Unfortunately, production costs would be too high to make a full color datebook financially feasible at this stage. If I can figure out a way to print a datebook more cheaply without sacrificing quality, this is definitely something that will be revisited in the future — maybe next year.

The calendars will go on sale a week from now. If you’d like to be notified when they’re available, please send an e-mail to e-comment at artandwords dot com.

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retail therapy: of goddesses and queens

I haven’t done a Retail Therapy post in a while. Now that autumn is edging in, I thought it might be fun to write one. As well, I think that Lisa, Karen and Elizabeth’s recent guest blogs have inspired me anew to feature the artistry of other women here.

I’ve been reading a lot these days, mainly because of the New Book. So far, this book is far more research-intensive than some of my other books — the focus here is on my writing rather than my art. One benefit is that I’m rediscovering how much I love to immerse myself in research. Generally speaking, most of my time in the studio is spent writing, painting and designing. (Well, that is how you make a book.) Though I often read for work-related reasons, it’s rare for me to believe that hours of time spent with a book are equally as important as making the book itself. Which is silly — after all, research provides the backbone of what I write about — but it’s easy to discount this when choruses of “I must meet my deadline” are dancing through my brain.

That written, while I was on vacation I was able to indulge in some recreational reading semi-related to my work at hand. Here are a few books that I think you, Dear Reader, might find of interest.

Charlene Proctor, PhD is the creatrix behind The Goddess Network, an online community dedicated to educating women about the Divine Feminine. She’s also the author of Let Your Goddess Grow! and The Women’s Book of Empowerment.

What I like about these books is their message of hope for women who feel trapped by patterns of low self worth, or victimized by cultural messages. For myself, I know that since I became a mother, it’s too easy to feel less than adequate — you haven’t lived until you’ve had some stranger on the street snap at you because your child isn’t wearing a wool hat on a sunny spring day. So these books came to me at a moment when I needed to be reminded that I am more than the sum of others’ criticisms.

These books aren’t specifically about goddesses — rather, they are about how to embrace your native divinity. They would make a welcome gift for someone you know who is on the fence about the Divine Feminine, but needs to be eased into reading about Athena, Isis, Sarasvati and the rest of the pantheon. While many of the tools Dr. Proctor offers in these books may feel somewhat familiar to anyone into self help, she presents them in a gently subversive package that I applaud; these ideas could extend beyond transforming the self into transforming society itself, if enough women embraced them. In Let Your Goddess Grow!, Dr. Proctor’s chapter on the Divine Feminine is nothing short of a rallying cry for women to reclaim their sacred past.

The Women’s Book of Empowerment presents 323 affirmations that are specific to women’s lives. They’re logically organized according to subject matter. This is the book designer in me coming through here, but the packaging of the books is very appealing, especially for The Women’s Book of Empowerment. The interior of TWBoE is printed in an ethereal midnight blue as soothing as its subject matter, with lovely halftone art backgrounds. The small trim size makes it handy to tuck into a bag or on a nightstand for when you need a quick dose of inspiration.

Margaret George’s The Memoirs of Cleopatra recently came to my attention because of the New Book. (Yup, I’m writing about Cleopatra and her family these days.) Though a novel can hardly be counted as research, it did list many helpful primary and secondary sources for me to peruse. </rationalization>

Now here is a woman who had no doubt she was divine — Cleopatra’s Egyptian subjects considered the queen to be the living embodiment of Isis, though she had not a drop of Egyptian blood in her veins. (Fun fact: her Ptolemaic dynasty hailed from Macedonia and took over Egypt after Alexander the Great’s demise.) She also used this mythic awareness to manipulate her enemies and allies in a surprisingly modern public relations war. It also helped that her lovers, Caesar and Marc Antony, considered themselves to be of sacred origin; for example, Antony traced his family lineage all the way back to Hercules.

This massive 900 page-plus novel is a fun, voluptuous read presenting the queen’s life in first person narrative form. Though some of the language veers dangerously close to romance novel euphoric — I could have done without some of the sexual encounters between Cleopatra and Caesar, which were a bit too Heathcliff-the-brute for my taste — the last chapters are very moving. The descriptions of Cleopatra’s preparations for her demise are especially haunting. By this point, you sense that she has transcended her Greek origins in life to become genuinely Egyptian in death.

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now shipping!

I’m pleased to report that the Goddess Inspiration Oracle is shipping five weeks ahead of schedule from Amazon.com. I just received my first copy of the GIO a few days ago — I must say that Llewellyn has done a beautiful job printing it! It’s, well, inspiring to finally hold it in my hands. I have the deck and book set displayed next to my work area, where I can easily browse through the GIO’s eighty goddess cards.

Here’s the official description from the publisher:

“Draw strength from Diana, the beloved Roman huntress. Channel your anger wisely with help from the Hawaiian fire goddess Pele. Consult Anuket for prosperity. The Goddess Inspiration Oracle makes it easy for women to tap into the sacred wisdom of these powerful deities.

“Renowned for her superb goddess-themed artwork, Kris Waldherr has created a simple, visually stunning oracle deck for accessing the divine feminine. From Abeona to Zhinu, eighty goddesses from across the globe are represented in this classically ornate deck. Each card features a striking watercolor portrait of a deity, her attributes, and a message inspired by her unique story. It’s an ideal instrument for creating affirmations, sparking creativity, gaining fresh perspectives, and uncovering insights related to health, love, creativity, motherhood, and other issues specific to women. The enclosed guide offers in-depth descriptions of each goddess, keywords associated with her, and practical suggestions for working with the cards.”

To learn more about the Goddess Inspiration Oracle, click here. It also can be purchased discounted from Amazon.com.

ETA: Between the time when I wrote this post and now — a scant 2 hours — all the copies Amazon had in stock appear to be sold out. That was fast! Though the Goddess Inspiration Oracle is now listed as a pre-order, I suspect they will be shipping it again soon.
EETA: It’s now available again for immediate shipping on Amazon! Also, someone asked how many goddesses paintings are featured in the Goddess Inspiration Oracle, and if there’s an overlap with the Goddess Tarot. There are 80 goddesses in the GIO — one per card, with one painting per card. Of these 80 paintings, 17 were featured previously in the Goddess Tarot. Also the GIO has just received its first review — but that is subject for a separate post.

Okay, that’s enough for one day!

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Read Me a Story

Four of my paintings will be on display for this exhibition — two from Sacred Animals, one from The Book of Goddesses and one from The Wolfhound. In addition, autographed copies of my books will be available for purchase.

I hope to meet some of you there!

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