Call Me a Dreamer

We have a gorgeous etching up for sale on eBay. Even if you don't want to buy, please take a look and share this with your friends. Thank you!

Axel Haig signed etching The Castle of Vitre 1903
Axel Haig signed etching The Castle of Vitre 1903 - eBay (item 180443010272 end time Dec-10-09 20:30:37 PST)




UPDATE: Sadly, our etching didn't sell. It will be going back up and, knowing my husband, probably at a lower starting bid. This etching is truly beautiful and I wish we could keep it, but selling antiques and beautiful, rare items online is how my husband is currently keeping our family fed.

Via sidhe_etain, I was introduced to this lovely fae lady:

The work of Australian artist, Lorell Lehman, the Dark Faerie intrigued me enough that I followed the link to her blog, Not all Faeries are Beautiful. I loved what I found there, so I wanted to share it with all of you.

Also, by following the links on Lorell's Links page, I was introduced to several other artists, many of whom also do figurative work featuring the fae folk, and also found the online homes of a few artists I'd encountered in other contexts.

Some of my favorites are:

• E.J. Taylor
• Kat Soto—I love this figure of a Medieval Plague Doctor (There's a contemporary image of a plague doctor in this Wikipedia article.)
• Lisa Lichtenfels—I think her cloth sculptures are truly amazing; probably the finest work of this kind that I've ever seen.

I was also gratified to find Dan Reeder's Gourmet Paper Mache page. I've got a copy of his book, Simple Screamer: A Guide to the Art of Papier and Cloth Mache, which he says is now out of print. I loved using his papier mâché techniques (he prefers to call them "paper mache") on a couple of projects with my boys, so it was wonderful to learn that he's got video footage and additional books, including one coming out soon.

I attended the last of The Fantastic in Word and Image workshops this afternoon. The guest panelists were "comic writers and artists:" Adam Beechen, Paul Fini, and Benjamin Ilka. Although my original decision to attend was based primarily on a desire to support library programs such as this one, I'm really glad I went as I enjoyed the program and found it very informative.

Adam Beechen, who was visiting from Los Angeles, writes for comics, animated cartoons, live-action films, and other media. Some of the comics and animated series he has worked with include Justice League, Robin, and Teen Titans (plus lots more), and his current writing projects include the Batgirl series and other projects for DC comics. Since I don't know much about writing for comics, and only slightly more about animation, I found his comments very interesting. But, then, I found the comments of all the participants interesting.

Paul Fini writes and draws comics, and publishes his work through IndieOnly Comics, a small press he founded; so far, this includes issues of Bliss, an autobiographical comic, and Plant Guy, a superhero comic. He enjoys being able to work on two completely different art styles in his work, since for Bliss he uses a realistic style and for Plant Guy a more comic-y style. IndieOnly Comics has also published Sequentially Tucson which showcases collaborative works by the Sequentially Tucson comic sketch group. Paul also works as a graphic designer and musician.

Benjamin Ilka created the comic book Ventriloquists Pay Double and the graphic novel A Boy and His Shadow. He has illustrated the coloring books, Navajo Code Talker and Caves!, for Rio Nuevo Publishers. He publishes a number of "Ash Can" comics through his small press, MadSeaDog and he's also a printmaker. Benjamin once traveled to Nepal with the Peace Corps and will be leaving for Ethiopia in a few weeks with his wife and their one-year-old child (a boy, I think) in association with his wife's work. Their Tucson home is on the market, so please wish them luck for being able to sell it quickly.

The three discussed a wide range of topics about comic art and writing. All of them fell in love with comics at an early age and it was their love for the art and the storytelling in comics that drew them to make it the focus of their careers. There's so much I could write about, but since my focus is primarily writing, I'd like to pick up on a comment Paul made, that the storytelling for movies and comics is very similar, as each is composed of a number of shots or panels which work visually to tell one event or aspect of the story. Adam elaborated on this topic, explaining a few of the differences he sees in writing for different visual media. When writing a script for a live action film, the writer typically gives a minimum of direction on the page, allowing the actors [and director] scope for their addition to the collaborative work. When writing for animated films and comic books, however; the writer may give a little more information about visuals, perhaps suggesting that a scene or image be drawn as a high or low shot (a technique which contributes the mood being established), although it's still a collaborative process in which the artists interpret the script. One very important aspect of a comic writer's work is also to be very aware of page breaks: each page must draw the reader through the page and end in such a way as to make the reader want to turn the page.

I know that many writers find that techniques that apply to writing for live-action films can be useful to writers working on short stories and novels, so my question to ponder at this moment is whether writing techniques that apply to writing for comics may also prove useful to those of us working in less visual mediums.

I came across this lovely, evocative photograph when I chanced upon faeriemaiden's LJ Community banui_graphics and followed a link to her photographs on deviantART:



The Pool of Sight by ~ senza-fiato on deviantART

I half expect a frog with a ball in its mouth to appear in a moment, although the caption/title is more suggestive of a seer. Either way, it's a beautiful photo.

Yesterday, Karl gave me some pink Asiatic lilies. This morning, I added a sketch to my journal.