Cats and Jammers Studio

Before Miley, there was Evelyn...

Let me first admit to this:

I was one of the old fart parents who was so saddened to see the provocative photo of Miley Cyrus in Vanity Fair recently. To me, the picture was clearly sensuous in a way that it should not have been for a 15 year old. It's especially bothersome since I think that she is a quite talented and charismatic little performer, who has great comic timing and the chance to mature in into a comedienne of the first order in films and TV shows. As far as I am concerned she does not need to sell herself as sexy. Funny is sexy in a better way.

So, with that in mind, I found it ironic (or was it some sort of cosmos putting me in my place?) that my pre-ordered copy this book by Paula Uruburu arrived:

AMERCIAN EVE
EVELYN NESBIT, STANFORD WHITE
The Birth of the "It" Girl"
and the
CRIME OF THE CENTURY

For those of you unfamiliar with the story of Evelyn Nesbit, she was the first real American superstar and the first "media created" celebrity. The very abbreviated story goes like this:

The mother--Evelyn Florence Mackenzie Nesbit-- found herself impoverished in Pennsylvania when her lawyer husband died very suddenly, leaving his family penniless. During the next several years the mother and her two children shuffled around the state from relative to boarding house and back again until Florence Evelyn, the younger, who was always a strikingly beautiful little girl , is "discovered" by an elderly female artist in Philadelphia. Before very long, she is posing for painters in the area and is the sole support of her family.

They move to New York City, where she continues to pose for well respected artists such as Beckwith and Church and for those studying in such places as The Art Students' League. In addition, she is photographed. And that face becomes "the face" of the turn of the century on everything you can think of: magazines, newspapers, postcards, chocolates, calendars, soaps, and so forth. She is the inspiration behind the "Gibson girl." To say she epitomized a look of the times, is an understatement. She WAS the look and the face of the times.

Enter Stanford White, 48, renowned architect and lover of all things beautiful, including very young girls. He is also a New York celebrity in his own right and the creator of many buildings, including Madison Square Garden with its famous roof top theater and apartment.

Evelyn is seduced by Mr. White, at the age of 16 and they become lovers, while the undercurrent of the righteous right moralists do battle with what they perceive to be the debauchery of the era, which is really the pending end of the Victorian age. One member of this so-called group is millionaire playboy (it is assumed the term was actually coined for him) Harry. K. Thaw of Pittsburgh who is fascinated by Evelyn and sets out to win her affections, as much as he also sets out to destroy the likes of White, whom he perceives as his opponent in more ways than the mere vying for the attentions of Evelyn. After all, they don’t call him "Mad Harry" for nothing.

The rest of the story is that Evelyn does become Mrs. Thaw, and not too long afterward in 1906, Harry murders White in a very public setting because " he ruined my wife and my life." Thaw is eventually acquitted by reason of insanity. This affair preoccupied the public for several years, since the first trial ended in a hung jury. This entire affair was riveting for the public and was even more a part of the collective consciousness than the OJ trial.

The book and the story of Evelyn captivated me. I love that turn of the last century era. It also reminded me that girls are not really turned into sex objects any younger nowadays than they were more than a hundred years ago. Miley was 15 when that photo was shot for Vanity Fair by Annie Leibowitz. Evelyn’s pictures in very provocative poses (even more because of the times?) emerged at 14, 15, and 16. I’ve posted some here.

The book was a great read. I think it would be a very good older YA non-fiction read. The narrative of Uruburu marches the story along in a way that makes it feel so very relevant to present times and issues. I loved the way the author incorporated some of the slang of the era; it effectively put me in the 1900 mindset to hear certain phrases--many of which we still use today. She also successfully tells the tale in a manner that had me, the reader, standing right there, viewing the sad plot up close as it unfolds.

I guess I’ve come to realize that no matter how much in 2008 we think of ourselves as progressive, things are not really so different than they were a century ago. What I can’t decide, however, is if that thought makes me resigned, saddened, or relieved. Or none of those things. But it does fascinate me, that’s for sure.

Precious stolen moments with "The Book Thief"

I've been busy working.

Right now, besides my continuing kid work, my work is mostly about drawing. I've created the first round of sketches for the next Bones book by David A. Adler. And I am creating the art for a dummy book that goes with a brand new story, soon-to-be shopped around by my agent. Oh, I've not completely abandoned my writing. I ‘ve also started writing a brand new story called "Most Fickle" based on a true story about my husband and I that took place when we were in the ninth grade. And I have been doing revisions on my latest picture book manuscripts.

Still, mostly I have been drawing. And because I have been drawing I get to use the part of me that exists and draws from somewhere between my conscious and my subconscious brain. It's that same place that many of you go to when you drive to work every day, but you can’t remember how you got there-- you just drive by instinct. That is the place I draw and paint from. I think it's located nearer to my heart and farther away from my head. In this place my mind wanders, while my gut makes art.

But to go there to that place, I need to space out. The way I space out is to think about something else while I draw. Not while I create the initial layout, mind you. For that stage I have to “be there.” At that stage I need to think about the text and I need awareness and focus for that. But once I decide what goes where, where the page breaks are, and once I rough out the art--very roughly-- I space out. That is the time I take those very, very rough quick sketches and refine them, bringing them to a better level. My instinctive subconscious does that for me. My conscious head would get in the way.

How do I get to my Zen state? I think about other stuff. Sometimes it is a phone call with a friend, and sometimes it is TV. But lately, it is audio books. And I am now thoroughly addicted. Bless you, Audible.com.

Not long ago I finished listening to Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin. That was very good. I got lost in that world and found the reader, Daniel Passer to be a very effective voice in putting me into the action.

I just now finished listening to The book Thief by Marcus Zusak. Literally, JUST NOW. The tears are barely dry in my eyes. The words of the story narrator, DEATH, will stay with me forever, as will the story itself and the characters and the setting that now is very real in my mind's eye. This book is the kind of poetic, literary substance that does not come along very often for me. The images and story took me away and rattled in my head, even after the drawing was done for the day and I was back to chauffeur mom and homework taskmaster. I found myself thinking about Liesel and Rudy and Papa and Rosa. I found myself calling people "auslach" (please pardon my spelling if I am off) which is German for "asshole."

This book went so far as to make me think about why I have come to enjoy writing as much as I haved always enjoyed drawing. It is THAT good.

I have to say, that after listening to the American accented Daniel Passer read “Rules” so nicely, I experienced some minor difficulty transitioning to the British accented Allan Corduner as he read The Book Thief. But once I got on board, I was carried away completely, and his ability to adopt German accents for the main characters and inhabit their voices and their world was just superb. Listening to him read this book has been a most enjoyable 13 hours and 56 minutes. And the time spent has not only been enjoyable from a literary point of view and a soul feeding point of view. It has been wonderful as a tool for de-stressing, as well as the key to unlocking the door to “that place.” . I have created a great deal of art while I listened, and the sketches I’ve done? Well, I think they are some of my best.

Can’t wait to download another and return to my private outer space….

Tagged for a fun game...

Author/Illustrator Janie Bynum over at her "Sketchy Words" blog tagged me for a fun game that I am happy to play. Here is what I was told to do:

1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123.*
3. Find the fifth sentence.**
4. Post the next three sentences, so if my math is correct that’d be sentences six, seven and eight.
5. Tag five people and post a comment to the blogger who tagged you.

Now, Janie, being an author and an illustrator of picture books also gave us the PB version, which is to go to page 23 and just put down the text.

SO--I mozied over to my studio book shelf, and quite "randomly" chose one of my favorite PB books--which just happens to have one of my favorite PB texts---"Raising Sweetness" by Diane Stanley and illustrated by G. Brian Karas, which is the sequel to "Saving Sweetness" by the same duo. Page 23 read like this:

"Ma!" cried the young 'uns, and they fell on her like a duck on a June bug.
"I got myself a family since you been gone," I explained.
"So I see," said Miss Lucy, pattin' their little heads. "But let me finish. I will move back to Possum Trot and be your wife on one condition. I plan to go on working at my chosen profession."
"What's that?" cried the little tykes.
"Im a teacher," says she.

I LOVE the Sweetness books, and if you haven't read them, make sure to.

So now I tag a few others. Feel free to play the PB version or the regular version:

Liz Goulet DuBois
Mother Reader
Hip Writer Mama
Monica Lee
Elizabeth O. Dulemba
Mary Beth Cryan

EDITED TO ADD: Thanks to all of my "taggees" for taking the time in busy schedules to play along!! Readers--make sure to check out their responses. Also --Vivian over at HipWriterMama put a special twist on hers.......

What's wrong with this picture?

This evening I was enjoying my weekly indulgence: the Sunday New York Times Book Review, the Sunday Magazine, Arts and Leisure, and the Sunday Styles section. I would be lying if I said I read the Sunday Times cover to cover every week. Sometimes I will read a little something in almost every section, but more often than not, I only glance while I manage to read the Book Review, Arts and Leisure, Sunday Styles, and the magazine (in that order).

So tonight I got to the paper late.

It was a good thing. Had I read the Styles section earlier my whole day would have been ruined.

On page 14 was a full page advertisement by the NY Times Store: "Introducing Callaway Classics. Fine Art prints from your favorite children's books." The page had art by Jeffry Fulvimari and Loren Long from the first two children's book of "she who will not be named," (hereto referred to as "The M Word") It also had some art by David Kirk for two of his books, including Miss Spider's Tea Party: Miss Spider's Web of Friends. At the bottom of the page was art by art by Fred Marcellino for two Puss in Boots books by Charles Perrault. Here is a link to the store section to learn more. It seems I cannot link to an actual page in the paper if it is just an ad.

(BTW, the art pictured here is a piece by Loren Long for that book by the M Word. I like to think that the man and boy are looking into the wind which is blowing away all the money Loren Long SHOULD have made on that book.)

First of all: I CHALLENGE YOU TO FIND ME ONE PERSON ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH, ASIDE FROM HER OWN KIDS, HER HUSBAND, AND HERSELF, WHOSE FAVORITE CHILDREN'S BOOK IS ONE BY THE "M WORD".

Second: selling high quality prints of original art is certainly not a bad thing. And it is especially nice to sell prints from children's books. I sell prints myself from Tex and Sugar. But why is it that only Fred Marcellino seems to own the copyright to his own art? And why is there a head shot of ONLY of the M Word, and not the artists, and why is "M" written on the prints, as though she had a single, damn thing to do with the talent that went into creating the art!?! And who does the money go to , anyway? Are Loren Long or Jeffrey Fulvimari seeing a good portion of the proceeds from their own artwork made into prints? I want to know the answer to this. Or is this going into the coffers of the M Word again and her so-called charity?

One reason for the artists NOT owning their own art copyrights is clear on the celebrity books side: When it comes to celebrity books, it is often the case that artists get stuck with a "WORK FOR HIRE" contract. WFH means that they will do the illustration for a one time fee, relinquish all rights, and never receive another penny, ever again. Furthermore, their art can be used for anything on the face of the earth, i.e. lunch boxes, pocketbooks, boxer shorts and sippy cups, and they will not profit from that. Period.

Every single illustrator I know has, at some point in his or her career, done work for hire for one client or another. We all frown upon it, and many of us have reached a point where we say "NO MAS" (myself included), but some of us still have to do it because it is one of the evils of being an illustrator and making a living at it. To those who decry the practice altogether, mock the artists who do work this way, and adopt a "holier than thou" attitude, I say, "A POX ON YOU!" Because sometimes rent does have to be paid and food has to be bought.

But to those celebrities who work with illustrators on a work for hire fee basis, and then take that art and their millions in sales and royalties sharing nothing at all with the lowly artists, I say, "A PLAGUE ON YOU!" because, really, it is a crying shame.

Take the M Word, for example. She even had the gall to ONLY PUT HER FREAKIN' NAME ON THE COVERS of her books. That has to be the biggest example of total celebrity arrogance that I have ever seen. And do you think this once working class chick would have the decency to spread the wealth a little? Noooooo.

I would like to hear from John Lithgow, Katie Couric, Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld, and Joy Behar, just to name a small few. Do any of you share the royalties to your book sales, or are you taking advantage of the illustrators by making them do "work for hire?" Aren't the millions you make enough to put some extra dough into the bank accounts of hard working, underpaid illustrators? And if you happen to think that being associated with you is reward enough, think again. It ain't.

Please feel free, if you are a celebrity author to respond with the shameful or not so shameful truth in my comments section. Tell me I am wrong. Tell me you actually gave a share of the royalties to the illustrator who brought life to your stab at creating a children's book. Prove me wrong.

As for M word, with only your own single, pretentious name on your books' covers.....well, you need not respond.

Fr more about celebrity authors please go over to MotherReader and read all her posts about BACA--Bloggers Against Celebrity Authors.

Amusement Park Passion!

I am currently at work illustrating the next Jeffrey Bones mystery book, written by David A. Adler.

I like doing these books. Davd Adler has a wonderful, dry sense of humor that still comes through very nicely even though these are simpler texts for younger readers. This humor is especially enjoyable when the story has Jeffrey and his grandfather together.

Right now I am working on Bones book number 7 which takes the pair to an amusement park with a very scary rollercoaster.

SO what am I doing? I am looking at every picture of old roller coasters that I can find so I can to get myself into the amusement park mood and so I can create my own version of a traditional wild ride.

This is pure pleasure for me. I am finding great images online that really bring me back. My happiest memories as a child are those that I have from days spent at amusement parks of yesteryear, many of which are no longer in existence.

Like Olympic Park in New Jersey. I can still see that park and those rides in my mind's eye as though it were yesterday. That was my first roller coaster ride, my first Caterpillar, Wild Mouse, penny arcade, and so on. I also went to Asbury Park, Seaside Heights, Coney Island (though I NEVER, EVER got to go into Steeplechase Park before it closed!), Point Pleasant and several others.

But there is even more fun I am having. I am safely riding coasters again! Here is a great site I came upon, where you can actually take a ride on a roller coaster, courtesy of the magic of video and one brave soul who sat in the front and held a camera. Here is the wild ride I "took" this morning:

After I rode on few more coasters, I looked for nice Merry Go Round videos. This is the prettiest one I found, that also had the wonderful old band organ music:

Then, you can actually ride it:

Of course, I HAD to go on the WHIP (the Whip was right near the roller coaster at Olympic Park). Here is a nice video that starts out with a few historical shots, then turns in to a modern ride on an old attraction:

Then a ride on the Cyclone! There were lots of Cyclone videos, but this one most made me feel like I was really riding on it:

If you continue a search on You Tube there are wonderful amusement park videos to be seen. I saw a few from the 1940's of Coney Island that I will have to go back and watch again another day. This one in particular looked wonderful as well as this one.

Now, back to to work...after I am less dizzy from all that make believe coaster riding!

We interrupt this message....

I have to admit: this whole Eliot Spitzer affair has been riveting.

And there have been some hysterical comedy bits on various programs, like this one, and this one and this one.

In honor of what has become great fodder for humor--even if in bad taste-- may I offer up my own inspiration:

THE ELIOT WINE SPITZER

Recipe:

4 oz of sparkling water
4 oz of the MOST EXPENSIVE WHITE WINE YOU CAN FIND, preferrably at least $1000 an ounce.

Add ice.

Enjoy.

Then apologize for betraying your husband's trust that you wouldn't dip into the kids' college funds.

BITTY: I adore her, but I guess she's an animal after all...

We have a French bull dog that I adore. How we came to have her was like this: my son had a friend who's family had her. The family had four kids and two dogs. She was one creature too many. Of course it didn't help her case that she is quite neurotic, was not getting house trained, and was hyperactive. Just suffice it to say, she had come to occupy the bottom rung on that family ladder.

Enter: The Newmans.

My husband and I had had a dog and cat for 17 and 16 years respectively. When they both died the same year we had our second son, we knew it would be a while before we had more animals in the house. And eventually with three boys and a host of other responsibilities, including actively participating in the sandwich generation thing, with all its pros and woes, the idea of responsibility for even one more living thing, including a houseplant, was not too appealing.

But as the kids got older and life was settling down somewhat, I began to think about getting a dog from the animal shelter. The Newman boys had seriously been asking for pets for a while. And now that I was thinking about it again (just I, not my husband), I knew two things: the dog would have to be a non-shedder (our former beagle mutt shed copious amounts 12 months a year) and we couldn't get a cat because of allergies.

Enter: Bitty, our adopted French Bull Dog

Previously mentioned family had decided that “Bitty” had to go. I happened to learn this one night when I asked about “that bull dog, with the cutest face I have ever seen."

"She's at the kennel for the weekend and we are getting rid of her," they said.

Light bulbs went off. Fireworks exploded. Stars glittered brightly in the sky. And my husband stood in their kitchen and said, "NO DOG!"

Two days later she was ours. And that was about 5 years ago. She is a genuine member of the family. I have written a picture book about her. I paint her into my illustrations. She even graces the logo of one of my blogs.

Sometimes she is persona non grata with my husband. Well, actually, most of the time, because he thinks she is dumber than dirt. I say, “She is, but she is smarter than Paris Hilton."

One night he said to me, "Why can't we have a normal dog like other people have?" My answer was, "Well we have challenging kids, and we have challenging pets. It's our destiny."

So Bitty is here to stay. The boys love her and she is my constant companion. I guess I did not realize just how much I missed having a dog around the house until she arrived. She is extremely attached to me, and I to her, and SHE NEVER TALKS BACK OR USES SWEAR WORDS!

Except for last night. No, she didn't swear or talk back. But--my sweetie pie, attached-at-the-hip doggie came to the back door....with a baby rabbit in her mouth! I think she caught it in my yard. That rabbit was deader than Jimmy Hoffa. Oh,yuck! My baby is a hunter of wild animals! My sleep-at-the-foot-of-my-bed, cuddle up pooch now has icky rabbit germs. All sorts of awful things came to mind. I confess: I made her sleep in her crate.

And I thought I was icked out reading about HipWriterMama's deer ticks......

Still, I love that dog.

EDITED TO ADD: BUNNY UPDATE! I discovered where the den of rabbits was located, and also discovered three live baby rabbits nearby. They were "relocated" to a wooded area not far from my house, where they may have a better chance of survival than here in my yard, where my ferocious French Bull Dog will think of them as prey.

I do have to add that my ever witty husband said: Well, what do you expect? Of course, she likes to eat Rabbit. She is French!!!!!

My Transformation into Digital Geekdom-inatrix.....

If I were to own a retail business, there is only one kind I would opt for: art supplies.

To say I LOVE art supplies and art supply stores is like saying I love to breathe. Whenever I go into town for paints I m always full of wonder and dying to try just about anything they carry. And sometimes I actually convince myself that I WILL find time to give new methods and materials a try, so I actually buy them.

I am STILL waiting to try my hand at crackling my painted illustrations.Got that crackle stuff. And gessos--I have a ton of different gessos with all kinds of textures, from sandy to gravel. Plus papers-can never have too many kinds of Hot Press laying around. Don't even get me started about my gazillion dollars worth of scrap booking crapola...

So, in keeping with my love of new materials, and ways to create images, I have become enamored of my computer, since I also do some work digitally. I love digital cameras, printers, scanners and so on. And what better "material" to covet and get than the new CINTIQ by Wacom? I just bought the 20 inch wide screen and I am in digital heaven. This is about as close to feeling like I am working on real paper with real materials as I have ever felt on a computer.

If you are not aware of the Cintiq then check out the videos available. I am telling you--this thing is as good as it looks.

This is NOT me below, of course, but I do feel as cool as this Youtube Video sounds....

Retreat, retreat, retreat......

Today I retreat. I run away. I withdraw. That is to say I go off to the SCBWI Whispering Pines Writer's Retreat right here in New England.

I think I may have lost count how many times I have gone, but I know it is at least seven times.

That is seven escapes. Seven retreats from the front line of family life. Seven years of making sure every kid and routine is "covered" with an adult in charge, so I don't have to worry (even tho I still do). Seven times I have made my way down to the Alton Jones Campus in Rhode Island and driven through the quiet woods to find lodging, great food, inspiring speakers, and good friends.

This retreat is not as much of a "working retreat" as Rising River which is run by author Jackie Davies in New Hampshire, which I have also gone to, LOVED, and gotten serious work done on manuscripts (although WP might be if I carve the time out a little). No, Whispering Pines is more of a great listening and learning retreat, for it offers great "pep talk."

Just about an hour from Boston, it is set in a lovely wooded area, where deer and wild turkey roam, and where you can catch the glimmer of a winter sky on the partially frozen lake, or look for evidence of lingering ghosts in the partially haunted buildings on the property.

There are usually at least 2 editors, an author and an illustrator to share their thoughts and work. They all seek to inspire, educate, give inside information, and leave you feeling like you can take something home to chew on. And there is always great food and drink.

So, adios for a few days, while I regroup, head off with sketch pad and laptop, and try not to use my cell phone too much....

I'll Bite!

Ruth McNally Barshaw over at Ellie McDoodle has nicely tagged me for one of those "Five Things" blog chain letter memes. Liz Goulet DuBois and Elizabeth Dulemba also kindly tagged me with those "You Make My Day" stickers.

Thanks to Ruth, Liz and Elizabeth for making me feel OK and decent! I really appreicate it. Man, it is nice to think that I actually made someone's day. Why? Because one of my sons right now makes me feel like some kind of alien...

Here are my five things:

1. I play the banjo. Well, I am struggling to play the banjo. I love the banjo and always have, so here is the latest picture of me playin' my instrument. I love this outfit! This is the way I dress to go to my lesson, even:

2. I collect junk. Yeah, I know. You ALREADY know that about me. Well, here is my latest eBay thing, and it came upon me quite by accident when I was looking at tin toys, although I am sure that coveting Liz's collection didn't help:

3. I dig stuff. And I dig stuff up. Here I am, looking for stuff on a recent archeological dig:

Only joking! Of course, I was dead serious about the banjo outfit.

Here is the kind of place where I really go to dig stuff up:

And places like this:

4. I am VERY patriotic. I always have been, even when I was a hippie.... I have a whole powder room in my house that I call "The State Room" because it is filled with patriotic stuff and junk about presidents.

5. I like to write backwards. I actually like to write backwards and forwards at the same time with both hands. I have done this since I was a little girl. I have no idea what it means.

I think that most everyone I read has already done these memes, but if you would like to participate, please leave me a comment.

And so many of you make my day! I also love the kid lit blogs. So I 'll pass along the Make a Day award to Roger Sutton at Read Roger, Anne Boles Levy of Book Buds, Hip Writer Mama , Mother Reader, and Jules and Eisha over at Seven Things.

But it's only by mention here, so they do not feel a need to do a damn thing about it.

Happy Weekend!