The studio is dead, long live the studio (and other news)

It’s been almost a month since my last update. As you can imagine, it’s been an intense time between closing up the old studio (*sob*) and setting up the new one (yay!). Above and below are first looks at my new space. Above is my writing corner adorned by my Queen of Arrows painting from The Lover’s Path Tarot and a beautiful print of the Lady of Shalott (given to me by my friend Lunaea Weatherstone). Below is my new chalkboard wall which replaces the chalkboard wall of my previous studio. The peacock feathers are for inspiration.

Best of all, I have a studio view for the first time in over a decade. I can see several blocks all around. Cats in backyards, people walking, trees galore, squirrels and birds. Northern exposure, so no harsh sunlight on computer screens. It’s going to feel like a tree house of green once spring arrives.

It’s been a lot of work closing out the old for the new. (You may recall that besides moving my studio I also moved my home. Changes upon changes upon changes.) On top of all this, I’ve had some personal stuff going on that necessitated my attention and an unexpected trip to the West Coast. These interruptions are simply the realities of life when one has an elderly mother and a young daughter. All of this has pushed me behind on my January 31st deadline for THE LILY MAID, my novel-in-progress set in Victorian England. But what can one do except “make it work” (to quote St. Tim of Project Runway fame)?

However, a break awaits: I’m off to England for two weeks for a writer’s retreat. During this time, I plan to tie up the remaining plot threads for THE LILY MAID as well as finish researching the last details. For example, an entire section of my novel is set in the Cotswolds, a part of England where I’ve hardly spent any time. I’m also planning to revisit the Tate Gallery for a dose of inspiration from the Pre-Raphaelites and their cohort.Waterhouse’s Lady of Shalott painting is back on display there.

As for my intentions for the book, It would be lovely to come back with a ready-to-send-to-agent manuscript, but I’ll setting for the rest of the book being drafted after all these interruptions. Right now, I have about 95,000 words revised and polished to a high sheen. But I fear that the remaining 20K will be the hardest; they’re going to require the most amount of revising and reworking.

So here’s to the muses cooperating and nearly-completed manuscripts!

• Filed under The Novel, art and words, studio and gallery, travels | 4 Responses

Creativity Friday: a retreat to write

While others are stuffing themselves with pumpkin pie here in the States, I’m off for a week-long writer’s retreat. My destination this time: Washington DC. My goal: to untangle the final third of THE LILY MAID for public consumption.

As you can read in my last blog post, it’s no secret that the past month of my life has been devoted to all things domestic. So I’m eager to reacquaint myself with the twists and turns of my novel. Most importantly, I want to finish roughing out for revision what remains of the book—I have just over two months before my agent is expecting to see the next draft . I know how everything ends (and, trust me, it’s a great ending), but I’m still fuzzy on how I’ll get there from everything I’ve so carefully set up with my first 80,000 words.

As I’ve learned too well while writing THE LILY MAID, writing fiction is a much more mysterious process than writing nonfiction. The above pictures give you a sense of the scope of what I’m dealing with: the notes, the research, the just plain muddling through-it-ness of it all. I know it’s a cliche, but characters really do take on a life of their own, determining plot, theme, and story arc. Often the only way to figure it all out is to go someplace quiet enough to listen to them.

So I’m listening. And I’m writing.

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Upon my return to Brooklyn next week, another major transition awaits me: Setting up my new work studio. Though it’s only four blocks away from my current Brooklyn studio location, the new Art and Words will be situated on the top floor of my new home—a more private location for musing and making art. Fortunately, I have a month of overlap because I have my current storefront-studio until the end of the year. But I’m not deluding myself—it’s still going to be a major amount of work.

(Yes, all this on top of finishing a novel and setting up a new household as well as being a mom to the most adorable six-year-old ever and other Life Stuff.)

Despite everything going on, we’ll be having a last public salon before I close the storefront on Sunday, December 18th. If you’ve never visited the studio, this is your last chance to do so before I move to my new space. I hope to see you there!

• Filed under The Novel, art and words, creativity, events, studio and gallery, the world around me | No Comments

A gentle reminder: Today is the last chance to…

… To register for author Tisha Morris’s Feng Shui Workshop at the reduced rate! The exclusive workshop takes place September 17th at the gallery. Learn more or register here.

…To purchase the Goddess Tarot Android app at half price for $1.99 (regular price $3.99). The app has been designed to work on phone and tablets—a two-for-one app! Download now.

And in other news, Thea went back to school yesterday. Though the end of summer is bittersweet, I must admit that I’m eager to get back to a regular work schedule. The muses definitely concur!

• Filed under events, iPhone apps, studio and gallery, tarot and oracles | 4 Responses

Live in NYC? What are you doing September 17th?

There’s three great events going on in Brooklyn on September 17th. One is at the gallery—our first workshop of the new season. The second features a very talented neighbor of mine. And more!

1. Saturday, September 17, 2-4 pm: FENG SHUI YOUR LIFE WORKSHOP
With author Tisha Morris

Last chance to register at discounted rate! Bring balance to your mind, body, and home! Please join us for a special hands-on workshop with Tisha Morris, author of the new book FENG SHUI YOUR LIFE. She’ll be visiting the gallery all the way from Nashville to teach us how to put the “om” back into home with simple and practical feng shui techniques:

-Discover feng shui techniques that can quickly transform the energy in your home without spending a dime.
-Identify how areas in your home correlate with areas in your life.
-Discover energy portals in your home that you can use to bring about change in your life.
-Leave with a specific Action List to transform at least one room or area of your home.

Autographed books will be available for purchase. Please bring a notebook and writing materials. Registration required.

early registration discount:
$25 before September 9; $30 afterward

2. Saturday, September 17, 1-6 pm: MADE IN BROOKLYN ART RETROSPECTIVE – ARTIST RECEPTION
With artist Zane Treimanis

My friend and neighbor Zane Treimanis‘ art is created primarily with wood, assembling pieces that have been chopped, sawn, nailed and glued. After acquiring a band saw and other tools, Zane began to cut her own shapes and started to develop a personal vocabulary of abstract contours suggested by the human form, as well as forms in nature. “Made in Brooklyn” weaves together several decades of Treimanis’ work. Her most recent work explores the “bare bones” of wood, taking advantage of its natural color and texture.

This exhibit takes place at the BWAC Gallery located at 499 Van Brunt Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231. The artist will be at the exhibit every weekend 1-6 PM to greet you and offer a personal tour. Can’t make the opening reception? The exhibit is up September 17 through October 16, 2011. Gallery is open weekends 1-6 PM.

For more information, visit Zane’s website at ZaneTreimanis.com.

3. Saturday, September 17, 6-9 pm: FLATBUSH ARTIST STUDIO TOUR AT WHISK
Opening reception and grand opening

The Flatbush Artists Studio Tour, or FAST, will have an opening reception for a collective exhibit at the Whisk Bakery Cafe located at 1119 Newkirk Avenue on the corner of Westminster Road.  The FAST exhibit will be on view through October 11. This reception will coincide with the Whisk Bakery Cafe’s Grand Opening scheduled for that weekend.  FAST is a group of local artists interested in showcasing the work of Visual Artists living and working in the Victorian Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn. It should be a fun time!

• Filed under art and words, events, friends and colleagues, studio and gallery, the art world, the world around me | No Comments

Creativity Friday: HNS conference, new projects, and graduations

I’m back from the Historical Novel Society conference in San Diego—a whirlwind of an experience. The short version: I flew out Thursday, spent four exhilarating days with 300 historical fiction authors, agents, editors, and readers, and then flew out on the red eye to make it back to Brooklyn in time for my daughter Thea’s kindergarten graduation Tuesday morning.

Yup, that kind of weekend.

I have a long post brewing about the HNS conference for my next Publishing Monday feature. There was a lot to take in that I’m still processing. The sessions were thought-provoking and entertaining. Unlike most of the authors there, I wasn’t pitching or promoting a book (though I did participate in the group book signing for DOOMED QUEENS). My main goal was to build community so I’d feel less isolated as I continue with my Victorian-set novel, THE LILY MAID.

On that note, I was extremely fortunate to have the opening pages of THE LILY MAID critiqued by the esteemed and established authors Laurel Corona (THE FOUR SEASONS, FINDING EMILIE), Christy English (TO BE QUEEN), and Michelle Cameron (THE FRUIT OF HER HANDS). All three were extremely encouraging and helpful. They also surprised me by telling me how literary my writing was. Strange as it may sound, in some ways I’m so new to this fiction writing thing that I have no idea where my novel fits. Is it upmarket commercial? Women’s fiction? Historical fiction? Or some combination of genres? I’ve been describing THE LILY MAID as GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING meets the early tightly-plotted novels of Sarah Waters with a soupçon of JANE EYRE. (If you can figure what genre this is, let me know.)

Frankly, I’m usually a loner when it comes to groups and organizations. What creatively-inclined introvert isn’t? However, by the time I left San Diego, I felt very much part of a vital, passionate publishing community. I can’t even begin to name all of the wonderful people I met who inspired me with their love of the historical fiction genre who I now consider friends. I’m also much clearer about the place my novel will have within the market and as literature. This alone seems a graduation as tangible in some ways as Thea’s little Pomp and Circumstance march in her classroom.

And now, I’m back at work. As usual, there are a gazillion projects underway as well as the usual household and childcare responsibilities. Foremost on my project list: finalizing the graphics for the Goddess Tarot android app and finishing up the Sacred World Oracle for U. S. Games Systems. On top of that, I’m workshopping fifty pages of THE LILY MAID at the Sackett Street Writers Workshop—a wonderful experience. The six other writers in my group are all so talented and insightful. Sackett Street specializes in small intensives with gifted writers, many who have MFAs or go on to get MFAs. (I was astonished my application was accepted since I don’t consider myself a dyed-in-the-wool literary writer. But after my critiques at HNS and at Backspace, I’m definitely rethinking this.) My first two chapters were workshopped last week, another graduation of sorts.

On a semi-related note, we’ve moved onto summer hours at the gallery through September. This is to allow me time to focus on my publishing deadlines. For more information, visit our events page.

• Filed under The Novel, art and words, creativity, studio and gallery, travels | 2 Responses