Monday, October 31, 2011


I realized today that I am getting ever closer to being caught up in terms of our publication schedule (well at least I am midway into the books I am supposed to release in October anyway, which is closer than usual.) At some point I am actually looking forward to being on schedule and staying there. Right now, I am looking forward to November (okay, if not looking forward to it, perhaps holding onto it as the last vestige of fall before the bleak winter.) I really don't like Mary Oliver (the blandest of the bland), but she has a poem that I always think of this time of year with these lines:

now is the season
of iron rivers,
bloody crossings,
flaring winds,
birds frozen
in their tents of weeds,

--"Wolf Moon"

Mostly I am vascillating between content and discontent and unsure, as always, which is which sometimes. This weekend was filled with some Halloween festivity drunkeness, a horror movie marathon, and a ridiculous number of snack-sized candy bars. I'd initially planned to stock up on groceries and make all sorts of soup (wild rice & mushroom, Greek lemon, baked potato) and other things (chicken & dumplings, ghoulash, chicken fried rice) and freeze them for easy meals during the week, but it didn't quite happen. I do have all (or most) of the ingredients, though, so maybe this week. I am trying to eat less of pricier takeout and pre-frozen dinnercicles to free up some money for utterly frivolous things like more sweater dresses and a new bag. We'll see how that works out. plus I have all sorts of yumminess saved at Pinterest that I am determined to try out.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011



I will not be just a tourist in the world of images, just watching images passing by which I cannot live in, make love to, possess as permanent sources of joy and ecstasy.
~Anais Nin



Monday, October 24, 2011


In what is fast becoming a yearly tradition, we headed to Detroit over the weekend for the annual Theatre Bizarre Festivities, this year housed in Masonic Temple (which is apparenly the largest one in the US.) Built in the 20's it's a pretty amazing building and the events spanned seven floors, all of them dark, red lit, and labyrinthian, with all sorts of interesting things tucked in rooms and corridors--suspension performers, burlesque dancers, bands, and various carvival acts. The building itself was lovely, and you have to admit, all secret-society style creepy.

Since we got back, I've been marveling over the entire thing as John Dunivant's project, the creation of it's own little world with it's many characters, and themes, and plot lines. I am also reminded of this artist, who creates these little worlds (a perhaps, darker twistier version of Cornell's work). Not so much the creation of a piece of art, or even several pieces, but the creation of an entire world of their own.

Thursday, October 20, 2011



This week has been filled with much fun cover design endeavors for the next few books, incorporating all sorts of cool things like collages, illustrations, and vintage maps. It has also been full of cold windy, blustery weather--the kind where the wind howls all night long outside my windows, making it much harder to crawl out from under that cozy down comforter. I've been bribing myself with hazelnut hot chocolate and new creative projects of my own, one the spectacle series (see below) and a series of new, quasi-humorous prose poems/snippets I am having fun with (more on those later if they pan out) Otherwise, I am just enduring my long, long week without a break and putting the finishing touches on my Halloween costume for Theatre Bizarre this weekend.

There are also preparations for havoc, which I am just starting to work on the layout now that I am caught up mostly on other chaps. This is just a mock-up of the cover, I'm thinking the final type may be slightly different, but look for it in the shop around the beginning of November.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

new: spectacle series



I've been thinking of doing a set of collages like this for awhile, so today while I was doomed to the circ desk I played around a little with an idea that had been shaking around in my head as a possible book cover. There will be more, no doubt since it turned out rather nicely. I was so excited I had to take it right over to the studio to scan it after I left the library (along with another collage I did for an upcoming dgp book to be unveiled shortly.)


update: I've started posting new ones in this series in my flickr account if you want to follow along....

Monday, October 10, 2011

view from the bus stop



Yes indeed, it does appear I have a cold. Today, though, was a beautiful sunny day with lots of color in the trees and I just had to snap some pics on my phone while on the way to the bus stop. I'm excited for my trip to Detroit via train in a couple weeks since we saw some beautiful shading along the route last year (rivaling Wisconsin's). Otherwise, I am just coordinating some new releases, printing and assembling copies of last week's, and getting some stuff in order for Black Lawrence (blurbs, marketing info, etc.) The book's publication is two years away, but the way things go, it will be here before we know it.

Sunday, October 09, 2011

oh, indian summer


We've lucked out on some beautiful mild summerish weather this weekend, which happened to coincide with a planned cookout out at the beach rather nicely, so there was that yesterday, then work today, and I'm about to start one of those endless weeks that has me in the library the next 12 days. (I'm hoping to bank some comp time for around Thanksgiving). I'm already sort of exhausted so we'll see how it goes. I plan to take an easy this week and sleep in a couple days instead of hitting the studio so early, especially since I seem to be coming down with a cold to boot. I did manage to lay out 5 new books this weekend, so those will be on their way shortly, which almost puts me right on schedule for the November books, and hopefully completely caught up by the end of the year (considering I haven't been able to say that since, oh, 2008, it makes me very happy). There are also some new things in the shop I've been holding all summer and seemed to never get them photographed and listed, including rabbit notecards, new flasks, and some wallpaper journals...

And though I am a little tired, I am buoyed by much good poetry stuff, including the acceptance of a manuscript by Black Lawrence Press (who does amazing things), my own little havoc chap project that I will be releasing next month, and the novel in verse thing, that is going swimmingly still and that I've started submitting various bits of around and about.

Thursday, October 06, 2011


I have a new set of collages (Botanica Automata) on exhibit as part of the Art of the Library series. There are a couple more at home, but this is the bulk of them and they incorporate all my very favorite things. One they come off the walls, I am plotting some prints and maybe some postcards.

Sunday, October 02, 2011



This weekend I was at my parents house, and it was a weekend filled with thrifting, shiny glass alumni awards, meatloaf, autumn birthday celebrations, and weird fall slants of light. I managed to get some more artwork for my apartment, several shadowboxes and wood plaques for future art projects, as well as a collection of old family tin types, photos, & cabinet cards from my aunt I'm excited to start working with. Tomorrow it is back to the city and work. I have three new chaps set to release this week and some publication news of my own to come (actually a couple different things as soon as the details are ironed out.) Also autumn barbecues, preparations for an open studio on the 14th, new art up at the library, and some new plans for the next issue of wicked alice.