IT’S IN THE CARDS:
TAROT FOR OBAMA
fundraising event
Friday, October 17, 6-9 pm

On the art end, I’ve six more full page drawings to go, out of fifteen. Most of the spot drawings are finished or can be filled out with old drawings and woodcuts. (Did I mention that I’ve included period art in Doomed Queens? These pieces range from medieval manuscript paintings to Victorian etchings. I think they give the book a rich playfulness.) Of these last six drawings, five of them are started (ie: sketched and transferred onto watercolor paper); one awaits a last piece of photo reference before I can start on it.

On the text end, my editor just sent me second page proofs. These mainly consist of moving a comma here, a sentence break there. In other words, we’re very close to the end and are just burnishing the manuscript to a sheen.

And what of the open studio for Kris Waldherr Art and Words, my little storefront studio-gallery? Well, it’s apparently engendered a lot of buzz in the ‘hood. Those who attended the open studio seemed stunned by what they discovered here and lingered a while to drink in the atmosphere. I guess Arts and Crafts-style ataliers aren’t run of the mill, even here in hipster Brooklyn. A typical comment: “I would have never expected to find this here. But then I would have never expected to find this anywhere. It’s so beautiful.” Based on others’ recommendations, people have been knocking on my door to view art, to buy books, ask questions about my work, solicit advice about publishing, and more.

This has forced me to consider what I intend for my studio-gallery. Do I want to be in retail? Not in the traditional sense — I don’t want to be a storekeeper or gallerina. But I do love the idea of creating an environment to share my work with the public, where the art and books on display just happen to be for sale. I also love the idea of hosting events where I can create experiences that offer beauty, wit and wisdom, especially if they inspire others to go forth and do good in the world.

In a much smaller, rudimentary way, Kris Waldherr Art and Words (the storefront) is my Red House. I intended it as a physical place where I could explore ideas about beauty and environment. The reason I chose to rent a storefront, instead of a private studio, was because it offered more opportunities for sharing with the community.

So toward that end, Kris Waldherr Art and Words will be officially open to the public Saturdays 12 to 4pm. In the autumn, we’ll start presenting events such as readings, a film series, even a tarot night or two. Click here for more information and a small preview of what we’re planning.

Right now, I’m about halfway through the art for Doomed Queens — and I’ve just over six weeks to go until my final deadline. As an amuse bouche, here is my drawing of Catherine of Aragon, which was gamely posed for by my friend Diane Saarinen. Yes, I’m designing each drawing as sort of a royal danse macabre through queenly history.

Quick trivia question: Can you name the other wives of Henry VIII surrounding her? To jog your memory, here’s that old rhyme:

Divorced, beheaded, died;
Divorced, beheaded, survived.

Though I’ve posted this over on my “events” page, I thought I should mention this here.

I’m opening my new studio/gallery to the public for the first time in June, as part of the Flatbush Artists Studio Tour! Autographed books, art, prints, cards and decks will be available for purchase. 27 artists will be participating in this self-guided studio tour located in historic Victorian Brooklyn.

Here’s the pertinent info:

June 7 - 8, 2008, noon to 5pm:

Kris Waldherr Art and Words
1501 Newkirk Avenue (entrance on Marlborough Road)
Brooklyn, NY 11226

Directions: Q train to Newkirk Avenue. Studio is around the corner from subway.
Street parking is available.
Map and driving directions.
for further info: e-comment at artandwords dot com.

I hope to see some of you then!

Some of you might be wondering what is going on with Doomed Queens, the book I’ve been working on for the past year. Short answer: Lots. Long answer: Aside from (1) copyediting the manuscript, (2) designing the Doomed Queens website, and (3) trying up lots of loose threads, I’ve been working on the art.

Part of that process is working with models, as you can probably tell from the above photo. Right now, I’ve had about half a dozen models come and pose over the past week. This week, another four will generously spend some time in front of my camera.

Yes, camera. I take reference photos for a number of reasons. The primary one is that I can’t bear to have people hold poses for hours as I draw — it’s too much to ask. From a practical standpoint, it’s also much easier to capture a moment from a quick photo than it is from a sustained drawing. What if I wanted to draw someone twirling? Or jumping? (That written, I might feel differently if I was a more skilled draftsperson….)

The process of working with models is somewhat alchemical — meaning that each of us bring something to the table. The end result is sometimes unpredictable, though I generally have a clear vision before we begin. I know I’ve mentioned before that my models are usually people I know, rather than hired professionals. That’s because it’s easier for me to feel a sense of connection with the character I’m illustrating if the model is someone I know. It also reflects my belief that these stories are something universal, that we carry them within ourselves in some mythic way.

For the most part, I’ve chosen my models well. Occasionally, I’ll ask someone to pose who might be more uncomfortable than expected with the process; this discomfort is passed down to me and shows in the art. Fortunately, this is a very rare occurence. Generally speaking, any discomfort has fled by the time I’ve dressed up my model. (Yes, dress — I have a variety of costumes and props that can propel someone from the twenty-first century back to ye olde medieval times and beyond.)

But the photos aren’t the end result, as inspiring as they may be. After that, I still need to work out the composition before I even begin to draw. Plus photographs need to be adjusted, their perspective corrected and so on.

Nonetheless, these model photographs are the first step in my creating an illustration - and perhaps the most important step. They offer me a place from which inspiration can flow.

Sounds bizarre, doesn’t it? I mean, what would someone “get” from impersonating a known illustrator on a board? The thrill of attention? Someone clearly has too much time on their hands — time which would be better spent doing something worthwhile.

While Lisa’s story may seem an isolated event, it’s not. This has happened before. I hope it won’t happen again, though.

Lisa has asked me to post this message on her behalf:

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“Recently, a moderator for an art forum advised me that the infamous “Stacy English” has been ripping off my name and artwork. This is not the first time someone has attempted to pose as myself. I’m trying to understand why anyone would want to steal my creative identity in this manner to begin with–what is there to be gained from it? Thankfully, members, with an astute eye for fraud, brought the impostor to the attention of the moderator and the individual was prevented from posting

“Unless an art group is listed on my links page and/or appears in a legitimate gallery with obvious copyright permission granted (and I am selective about where and how my art should appear on the web), assume it is an impostor. To everyone: I would greatly appreciate you helping me to stop this kind of unwelcome behavior by those who have seemingly nothing better to do than to pretend that they are me. Please e-mail me if you think someone is ripping my artwork off. Thank you for your kindness and support–and for other artists, beware of imposters! No one is immune from falling victim to art/identity theft. But by spreading the word and keeping informed, we can help prevent the proliferation of such perfidious behavior and protect our artistic integrity.”

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It’s sad that it’s necessary in this day and age that a hardworking artist such as Lisa has to remind people of the rights she is owed. I suspect that, with the abundance of riches on the web and in print, people assume that if something is posted or published it’s fair game to be used as they decide. One example: a music video producer informed me that since they had purchased my tarot cards they had purchased the right to reproduce them on television.

Not so. Just because artists choose to share their work with their world doesn’t mean that their right to control how it is reproduced comes to an end. It’s like saying that once your child goes out into the world, anyone can take charge and do as they see fit.

As for people like Stacey English, that’s a whole other story. From what I’ve heard, this is not the first time she has attempted to impersonate well known illustrators on the internet. The compassionate response would be to state that Stacey clearly has some identity issues that she needs to work out. Then, instead of putting her energies toward taking credit for others’ work, she could then work on making her own art for a change. Hopefully no one will steal it from her.

The studio/gallery is coming together. Now that the edits for Doomed Queens have been turned in, I’ve been able to focus more fully on getting the studio ready for the world (though I’ve been working there for the past month or so).

Next up, a friend who does exhibition design will be installing my window design. This logo is just one small element within it, which rests inside an art nouveau/Macintosh-inspired (the designer, not the computer) flowering tree that wraps around the front of my store window. I’ve also to hang some art up, though I’m not planning my first “official” exhibition until later this spring. So far, I have three exhibitions planned for the year, including one to commemorate the October publication for my book.

It’s a slow process — I now understand how setting up a retail space can take over one’s entire life. But when I consider how the storefront looked when I first saw it, I know I’m making progress.

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View of the entrance. Nice big storefront window! Note half pint assistant on chair awaiting instructions (or inspiration).
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View of my work area — drawing board and tables. Still need to bring my desktop computer set up and file cabinets over.
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What will be the gallery area. Already I’m planning three exhibitions for the year, the first of which will probably go up this spring. (The recycling is not an art installation.)
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Another view.
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To get to this stage of semi-completion took a lot of work — all done while finishing up the queens book and working on a new oracle project. (No wonder I’m so tired these days!) But there’s much more to be done, stuff to be moved and so on. But all of this will be done over the next few weeks. The important thing is that I can now paint and work in the space without tripping over boxes and cans of paint.

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The manuscript went off to Doubleday last week. No word from my editor yet save a “we received it and how many bound galleys would you like” e-mail. So I assume all is well! I sent the manuscript as a design dummy — have about twenty pieces of black and white art to do, but that’s not due until July. For now, the heavy lifting is over (knock wood!).
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Predictably, I woke up the morning after sending the final book off with a sore throat which rapidly ripened into a nasty cold. Within twenty-four hours, I was coughing up a storm worthy of Violetta in the last act of La Traviata. As of today, I’m still under the weather, but am functional.
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Though I’ve met my book deadline, there’s lots of other projects on the horizon. Work on my storefront-studio-gallery is moving forward. Wood flooring has been installed and the space is currently being painted. Shelving will be delivered Friday. After that, I plan to start moving in and setting everything up this weekend!
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On the work front, I’m illustrating (actually adapting existing illustrations for) a new oracle deck with Nicki Skully and Linda Starwolf, authors of Shamanic Mysteries of Egypt. Some have you may have noticed that some areas of this site aren’t functioning as they should, primarily the newsletter sign up and e-cards. That’s because my website got hacked into over the holidays by a spammer; I’m currently looking for a new mailing list host, so if anyone has any recommendations, send ‘em my way. I’ll be fixing up the nasty mess the spammer left over time, since I plan to relaunch Art and Words in a month or so. In the meantime, things are what they are.
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Even with all of this, after the intensely focused labor of writing Doomed Queens, I feel like I have breathing room again — even with the croup. \

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In my next post, I’ll bring you up to date on what’s going on with my storefront, complete with photos! I hope everyone’s new year is off to great start.

I’ve rented a commercial space for Kris Waldherr Art and Words. It’s a large, light-filled storefront located here in beautiful Brooklyn, NY. The space will double as my studio as well as a gallery to eventually display my art, books and products. My intention (besides having more space to paint and write) is to create a sort of updated Kelmscott Press-inspired atalier, where artists and writers will find inspiration and beauty.

I just signed the lease today. I’ll be having it painted and spruced up over the next month, while I finish up my manuscript here. The space should be ready for me to move in just after the new year — just in time for me to start working on the art for the queens.

That’s the news! I’m excited but nervous. But after working in an 6 x 8 foot hallway since Thea’s birth, I’m more than ready to expand my workspace.