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

——————————-

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

Out and about in Brooklyn (and a giveaway)

Here is the first iris of the season. I spotted it during my walk to the studio yesterday morning, nested within a small brick-bound pocket garden. Isn’t it glorious! It reminds me of my wonderful mother-in-law, Joyce Iris Miller, now that she’s been gone these past few months.

I offer this beautiful flower in lieu of a proper post this week. I’ve been backed up in the studio — all good, just  bottlenecked with an unending to-do list — as well as waylaid by the particulars of kindergarten registration. Anyone familiar with school-age children in New York City will understand the time and stresses involved, but the final outcome has been well worth it. I’m pleased with the school Thea will attend, an arts-based magnet school within walking distance from our home. An added plus is that she’ll be attending it with a number of friends, some she’s known since she was a baby.

(As a side note, can you believe that Thea is old enough for kindergarten?)

In blog-related news, I have a special treat planned for tomorrow’s Creativity Friday. I’ll be interviewing author Mary Sharratt about her luminous new novel DAUGHTERS OF THE WITCHING HILL. Mary incorporates history, myth, magic, and folklore into her writing — all the things I love — as well as offers writing advice. Those of you might remember that she stopped by the gallery last month to give a reading, a real treat.

Oh, and there’s a book giveaway involved too! So I hope you’ll stop by. The fun commences at 9 am EST.

PS: We have author Stephanie Cowell’s wonderful reading livestreamed here for her Monet-inspired novel CLAUDE & CAMILLE.

• Filed under be-mused, friends and colleagues, giveaways and raffles, interviews, studio and gallery, the world around me | 4 Responses

Authors at the gallery: Stephanie Cowell

Here in Art and Words land, I’m getting back up to speed in the studio. Thea was off from school last week, which reduced my hours here. There’s so much going on these days: iPad apps, e-books, The Novel (which now has a title), book videos (working on a new one for C. W. Gortner, author of the upcoming THE CONFESSIONS OF CATHERINE DE MEDICI) and another delectable piece of news which is too early to reveal.

Let’s just say that I’m impersonating Elastigirl again.

On the gallery front, I’m delighted that author Stephanie Cowell will be visiting us this Friday to give a reading from her highly acclaimed new novel CLAUDE AND CAMILLE. I’m in the midst of reading it right now –  it’s wonderful! The good news is that whether you live in NYC or in places far flung, you can join us. We’ll be livestreaming this event again, just as we did for Mary Sharratt’s reading last month.

Hope to see you here or there! Here are the details:

Friday, April 16, 7 pm
AUTHORS AT THE GALLERY: STEPHANIE COWELL
Book Event and Author Q&A
Free admission. Refreshments provided.

WATCH IT: We’ll be livestreaming this event on April 16 starting at 7: 15 pm. Watch it here.

EXCLUSIVE: Meet bestselling author Stephanie Cowell (MARRYING MOZART) as she presents and signs her new novel CLAUDE & CAMILLE. Monet is one the world’s most esteemed painters, known as one of the founders of the Impressionist movement. But what is known of Monet before he was “Monet,” when he was simply “Claude”—a handsome, obscure, twenty-five-year-old painter, loyal to his friends and in love with an enigmatic upper-class girl? In Stephanie Cowell’s CLAUDE & CAMILLE: A Novel of Monet, she tells the tragic love story of the young, unknown painter and his great muse, Camille Doncieux.

This is the second of a series of book events at Kris Waldherr Art and Words gallery. Our first one was for Mary Sharratt’s DAUGHTERS OF THE WITCHING HILL. Watch the livestream here.

Advance Praise for CLAUDE & CAMILLE:

“To be swept up by this novel which reveals the man and woman behind–no, in, the waterlily paintings, the seascapes and landscapes, is a heartbreak. The story is lovely, touching, delicately written, and extraordinarily compelling. Read it with a book of Monet’s paintings by your side, and be prepared to marvel, and to weep.”
— SUSAN VREELAND, author of Girl in Hyacinth Blue and Luncheon of the Boating Party

“A convincing narrative about how masterpieces are created and a detailed portrait of a complex couple, Cowell’s novel suggests that a fabulous, if flawed, love is the source of both the beauty and sadness of Monet’s art.”
— Publisher’s Weekly

This event takes place at:
KRIS WALDHERR ART AND WORDS studio-gallery
1501 Newkirk Avenue (entrance on Marlborough Road)
Brooklyn, NY 11226
347-406-5811
B or Q to Newkirk Avenue Station; street parking is available.

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Reminder: Creative Women’s Networking Salon tomorrow!

And now for something distinctly low tech, compared to the wonders of the iPad….

It’s that time again! Last month, the salon went until 11 pm. I talked so much that I lost my voice, but a great time was had by all.

Friday, April 9, 7-9:30 pm
CREATIVE WOMEN’S NETWORKING SALON
Suggested admission $5. Refreshments provided.

Our third salon! Are you an artist, writer, or creative entrepreneur and practioner? Come out and meet other like-minded women for conversation, inspiration, and wine. At our previous gatherings, we were joined by photographers, crafters, editors, designers, artists, writers, and illustrators.

This event takes place at:

Kris Waldherr Art and Words studio-gallery
1501 Newkirk Avenue (entrance on Marlborough Road, across from the Rite Aid)
347-406-5811
additional directions and info here

• Filed under events, studio and gallery, the world around me | No Comments