Steampunk!

I saw this girl and had to ask to take her photograph. She made her outfit herself. She’s beautiful.

I can’t do anything as grand, but one goal for this year (and I set this goal back in October when got to see several brilliant steampunk outfits in one day) is to make my own steampunk ensemble, and wear it to Comic Con 2013.

Years ago, I started noticing a certain style in a few films that made me say, “Oh, that’s cool. I like that.” But I didn’t have a name for it. Ten years ago, maybe? I’m not sure.

I’ve always liked a bit of Victorian. Not all of it, mind you. Then somewhere I came across an image of steam industry crossed with something Victorian. I don’t remember what it was, but it stayed in my consciousness, until finally my brain started connecting one image to another.

As a kid I loved gears and clockworks and wire. I wanted to keep little bits of machinery and metal. In the 8th grade I made a book cover for a textbook that was made of wire mesh. I liked carrying my silver, shiny, slightly dangerous (it gave my arm many tiny cuts and snagged a few threads in my clothes) and wear a dress with high heeled boots. Boots were ridiculous in Florida because the weather was almost never right for them, but I wore them anyway. Just like I didn’t care that other kids thought I was weird for my homemade metal book cover.

Anyway, the first time I came across the term steampunk, my mind went, a-ha! That’s it. That’s what I’ve been seeing.

What sort of style do you especially love or feel drawn to?

So, this year I’m putting together my own steampunk outfit. Suggestions welcome–though I have a limited budget. I’ve got so many writing and art projects, a different kind of project is necessary.

I’ll post photos of pieces as I go! Here’s hoping I don’t look too ridiculous.

Make the New Year

The beginning of a new year seems to demand the saying of something profound. If I were really smart I could say something that would get pasted into a cool pic and memed around facebook. (Well, my first problem is that meme isn’t even a verb. Should be at this point though, don’t you think?)

Neil Gaiman Addresses the University of the Arts Class of 2012 from The University of the Arts (Phl) on Vimeo.

I assume (yes, that’s right, I dare to assume) that if you’re reading this blog at all then you’re also a writer or artist. So, what else is there to say but go make something? Go. We should all spend more time making things. I don’t really understand people who don’t want to make anything.

Make a picture, make a cake, make something with yarn and sticks, make someone happy.

So, the year begins and what will it bring? Any predictions? What will you make?

And this and this and this…

an effort to draw a horse

A person is supposed to try new things, right? Like a year and a half ago I began speed quad skating. I thought it was a crazy thing to do, but now I love it.

In art, I’ve drawn a few things I didn’t think I could. Like a whale and a tiger. (Not together, mind you.) But I’m taking a break from art shows. I need something different to justify another show.

I want to try a comic. Or graphic novel. Whatever you prefer to call it. I have these two characters–Ink and Mirabelle–who are bunnies. Maybe I loved Watership Down too much as a kid. The story lines wouldn’t be about action, just their relationship. Maybe that’s boring? But Ink loves Mirabelle but Mirabelle being up on the moon more than she loves being on the earth with Ink. He tries so hard to persuade her to come back to him.

Ink and Mirabelle

And I want to write a series, but I’m not sure about that. Mostly I like the idea of being able to follow a character for more than one book. Creating a world and being able to go back there time and time again. The manuscripts I have written do take place in the same town (mostly), and some of the characters overlap. A main character in one story is a secondary character in another, and then has a tiny walk-on part in yet another. Maybe that can get too twee, but if I feel the character belongs there, I love doing that.

And I would love to try animation. Unfortunately, I don’t have the equipment for that. I’ve tried a few things, and they’ve been okay as far as experiments go, but they aren’t what I want to do really.

I’ve made a few handmade books. I definitely want to make more, but I can’t manage to sell them and they cost money to make. So they aren’t practical.

Wait. Is any of this practical?

I thought not.

Oh well. There’s too much to do, and I’ve got a book to edit for publication first.

What projects would you like to tackle? Anything you dream of doing?

Resistance isn’t always futile. Sometimes it stops progress for years.

Carl Sagan + my art!

I’ve been ignoring my blog. Maybe I mean neglecting. I’m supposed to be figuring a website for my art and all that. People ask me, “Do you have a website?” I feel most failure-esque to say, “I have a blog.” I mean, you can’t sell art on this thing. Sure, someone could leave me a comment about the art and we could go from there, but I don’t have a pretty page with all my images and stuff.

It shows a distinct lack of entrepreneurial spirit. But I did make all that art that is hanging in my show. I did make the art, frame it or come up with a way to display it, get a show date, and hang the stuff. And I’m editing my novel that my publisher is going to put out into the world in February. I’m participating in NaNoWriMo again too by the way. I’m teaching 20 hours a week. I’m going to speed skate practice. I’m illustrating a children’s book for my publisher. I’m spending time with my kid and doing most of the housework.

I’m neurotic, insecure, and obsessive. I’m not lazy.

But I cannot get myself to organize this into a proper website. I resist. I put it off. I think about and don’t understand it.

I don’t really know where this resistance comes from, but I will try to do better.

What is it in your life that you should be doing but you’re not? My list is certainly longer than just get a proper website. That’s what’s bothering me today.

A Plum Heart

my art

Today a new friend in my life puts her heart out into the world. Her heart should be lifted up and celebrated.

Well, perhaps every heart should be.

Forgive the potential sappiness. But sometimes sappiness is okay. We don’t have to be all edges and armor every day of the week.

(Anyway, I don’t know why black holes exist in space any more than I know why black holes exist in some human hearts, but those lost souls–the ones that suck in and destroy everything that comes too close are a problem for another day.)

As I was saying, the determined and caring Niamh Clune, author and founder of Plum Tree Books, is putting out a very heart-filled project today. Niamh has a great deal of personal experience with the drought and troubles in the Sahel in Africa.

You can find out more about events here and even more about the work Niamh is doing on The Plum Tree Blog.

Art is part of the solution too. Plum Tree is hosting an art auction–and one piece of mine is included along with several other beautiful pieces (I’d buy the Geisha right now if I could). The auction is the 16th.

And then there is music. A live radio show by the talented Claudio Fiore will be (is) in progress to support the auction and the book. Music is available to buy as well.

Oh. And the book. The book!! A book of poetry, stories, essays, and art is for sale. Song of Sahel. My art is in the book and a poem. Well, a sort of poem. A few tiny words to go with the art.

The proceeds go to help the people of the Sahel. Niamh has written more movingly (and knowledgeably) than I can, so if you go to the blog or the Plum Tree site, you can read the history and about the organizations that are helping in the region. Or if you have any questions, please ask.

Niamh has put heart and effort into this project. It’s an important cause and maybe you could do something to help. At the very least, share the word. The more people that know, the better.

Wow. I hope I covered everything.

Thank you!

Plum Friday: Self-Sabotage and Support Systems

from Plum Tree Books

My publisher has a passion. You see that passion in what Plum Tree supports. Soon, Plum Tree will put out a book and hold an art auction to raise money to help people in Sahel. Where is the Sahel? Here.

A piece of my art is part of the auction, too.

I know that many places in the world need, but we’ve got to start somewhere. Like the parable of the starfish, Sahel is another starfish.

An old man had a habit of early morning walks on the beach. One day, after a storm, he saw a human figure in the distance moving like a dancer. As he came closer he saw that it was a young woman and she was not dancing but was reaching down to the sand, picking up a starfish and very gently throwing them into the ocean.

“Young lady,” he asked, “Why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?”

“The sun is up, and the tide is going out, and if I do not throw them in they will die.”

“But young lady, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it? You cannot possibly make a difference.”

The young woman listened politely, paused and then bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves,saying, “It made a difference for that one.”

The old man looked at the young woman inquisitively and thought about what she had done. Inspired, he joined her in throwing starfish back into the sea. Soon others joined, and all the starfish were saved. –Wikipedia

Why not begin by helping save this starfish? Every starfish matters.

Plum Tree is my publisher, and I want Plum Tree to succeed, and I want what the Plum Tree supports to succeed. That includes good causes and that includes me.

This is where the self-sabotage comes in. I want to do enough to support others and support myself. Fear of bothering others, of getting it wrong, of failing, helps me procrastinate on what I need to do.

Fear. Procrastination’s best friend.

That nagging feeling that I’m not doing enough manages to keep me from doing anything except to make excuses. Why is there always time to make excuses and no time to do anything constructive?

Now, I’ve got a novel to edit and an art show to prepare for.

You can follow these endeavors on my facebook page.

What helps you procrastinate?

The Case of the You-Shoulds

My art is almost always black and white. Some people tell me to do more in color. Some people make it clear they would like my if it were in color.

I like color, but I don’t like what I do with color. Not when it comes to real paper and ink. But I’ve been playing around with my work and Photoshop Elements. Part of me feels that this is cheating, that somehow it’s not real art. But the original image is mine and the choices I make for changing the work are mine. Does that count?

I have a friend who is militantly against Photoshop.

I don’t think she’s seen what I’ve done.

But they’re fun to do, and I hope that some of them might become cards for sale by Plum Tree Books. It’s a hope. We’ll see.

Writing is similar in a way. You write a particular way. Your stories might be dark or light. They might make people cry or make people shout. And so some people might say, “You should write a story with a happy ending.” “You should write about serious topics.” And maybe the real question they’re asking is, “Why aren’t you writing for me?”

I’m reminded of when I overheard a lady say to an artist, “You should do paintings of dogs.” He nodded politely and said, “Yes, ma’am.”

I wonder if the people so filled with “you-shoulds” that they have let them spill onto other people aren’t really talking about themselves. They aren’t doing what they wish to do, so you need to do it for them.

What do people tell you to write or to draw? Does it bother you? Do you ever follow their suggestions? Or are you the person who tells others what they should do?

Plum Monday: Perspective

The troubles in the world overwhelm some days. My own troubles take enough energy, don’t you think?

Well, not really. I mean, they take lots of energy, but I don’t have to worry about if I will eat. Perspective. Perspective may be one of the most commonly lost things.

It’s late. Do you know where your perspective is?

Well, someone I know who seems to have a great perspective on important things is Niamh Clune. She is organizing a book for a cause–Songs of Sahel. Here is a cause. Yes, causes flood the world and where to begin? Well, begin here.

Sahel. You could submit a piece (story,poem, art, photography) or maybe later buy the book. Share the title when the book is released. It wouldn’t take much to matter to someone. How important it is is a matter of perspective.

Anyway, once I get my laptop back (from an unfortunate fall), I’ll submit something too.

What’s your cause?

The Butterfly Effect and Dreams

At 17 I put away my dream to be an artist. Art turned from dream to hobby. Sometimes people mistook me for an artist–usually because I wore a scarf or long earrings or too many bracelets. I don’t know. What do people mean when they say, “You look like an artist.”

rabbit on the moon

I figured they meant, “You look weird,” but “artist” was more polite.

But I also wanted to be a writer and was happy enough to pursue that dream instead.

When I was 39, the barista in charge of scheduling art for my favorite coffee shop asked me if I wanted to hang my art on their walls. She was scheduling a year out and she had a spot. She’d only once seen a few sketches I’d done, and an art show…? Since when I had ever thought of having an art show?

But she and a friend talked me into it.

The idea was crazy. I’d never had a show. I wasn’t an artist. Although I was terrified. Well, I reasoned, have the show and move on with life.

But someone came to the show asked me to apply to the fine art festival. I couldn’t do that! I wasn’t a real artist. I let my husband talk me into it.

Art City Austin

Someone from the festival introduced me to a shop owner. The shop owner asked if she could sell my art. Well…okay.

A musician saw my art online and asked me to design his CD cover.

Someone else commissioned me to do art for an anniversary gift.

I sold quite a lot of art–and much of it not to friends and family, but people who’d never met me.

And now I’ve met Niamh Clune, the founder of Plum Tree Books. Plum Tree is her vision, her dream, and she’s invited me to be part of that. I would never have met her if it hadn’t been for that barista. She was my butterfly.

That barista moved on to another city a while ago. She doesn’t know how she changed my life. I doubt a butterfly knows it wings are rumored to cause hurricanes. What a butterfly that would be if it knew.

Maybe you’ve changed someone’s life, and you don’t even know.

So, Niamh and The Plum Tree have published an anthology–The Butterfly Effect. Who knows what might happen if you took a look?

The Butterfly Effect

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Other participants in The Butterfly Effect are C.C.Cole

De Ann Townes

Niamh Clune, and

Nicole Smith. More to come.

Plum Art

A few years ago when I was asked to have my first art show in a coffee shop, I thought I’d go along with that crazy idea, and that would be that. I’d be able to say I’d had a show.

From Plum Tree Books

A few years later and I’m Head of Art for Youth Tube at Plum Tree Books! This is a new role for me and I’m figuring it out as I go.

Today, I want to announce that Plum Tree is now open for submissions of children’s art. If you have a young one 12 or under, and they’d love to share their work with a broader audience, let me know.

We are looking for art by children to post to our site. We’ll be adding links and stories and other things for the 12 and under set. Send me a message if you’d like the details for submissions.

marta (at) youth-tube (dot) co (dot) uk

Remember, art is cool.

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P.S. Please note the Plum Tree has several other projects in the works–poetry, fiction, music, and photography. Go see for yourself.