The Gryphon's Feather Studio

riffing and stitching

Riff

as a noun: 

• an ostinato phrase (as in jazz) typically supporting a solo improvisation; also :  a piece based on such a phrase
• a distinct variation  

as an intransitive verb:

• to perform, deliver, or make use of a riff

First known use of riff- 1935

(from Merriam-Webster)

 

getting ready to riff

(clockwise from left: my heavily annotated copy of Exposed Spine Sewings by Keith Smith, my big binder of personal notes & stitch samplers, (the green page is fun foam- easy to sew through when working out a group of sewing ideas), wood glue for constructing stitch samplers & practice cards, piercing template, stitch sampler & practice card.)

As a bookbinder, I love learning new sewings, but I also love riffing on sewings I already know. The process is like solving a puzzle.  First, I have to examine the way the stitches from a particular sewing duck and weave to look the way it does yet maintain the tension that holds the whole book together, and then, I set to work on figuring out how to alter the original sewing and still end up with a book.  Sometimes, I combine parts from two different sewings to make a new-to-me interpretation.  I'm a pretty geeky person bookbinder.

But, for all my geekiness, I'm also a pretty irreverent bookbinder. I've read those rules in those formal books on bookbinding, and, mostly, I chuck them out. Thinking of having to be so careful, of having to "follow the rules" made me anxious, so I stopped following the rules. I wanted to see what would happen.

Would my books fall apart? Would they be grotesque? Does it really matter if I am not measuring down to 1/64"? Can't I just use Elmer's? What if all I have is a soup spoon and a thumbtack, and not a bone folder and an awl? (the answers- nope, nope, nope, yep, and yep, you can make a book just fine.)

I once entertained a class by making a book without using a ruler. With so many bookbinders worshiping the God of Precision at the Altar of Expensive Tools, how did I get to be such a heretic? 

Way back when, hmm, eighteen years ago or so, I took my first bookbinding class and fell hard for the idea I could make a book.  Given that I loved books with my whole bookwormy heart, and had serious crushes on the feel of nice paper and the smell of paste, I was destined to be hooked! I took more bookbinding classes over the next couple of years, progressively learning more complicated sewings. 

In one particular class, about fifteen years ago, I was really lost.  Somewhere in the beginning, I missed some incredibly important bit, and just couldn't figure out what was I was doing wrong. I was so lost I cried! And, I wasn't the only one reduced to tears that day. The teacher, widely admired and kinda famous, was stern, rigid, and intimidating.  My fellow students and I were paying big money to take a class where we were scolded, patronized, belittled, not allowed to talk to the people sitting next to us, not allowed to ask questions or for help, and either kept up with the pace of the instruction or failed. The instructor actually used the phrase, "sink or swim" to describe the class during the introduction.

Luckily, at lunch, some friends helped me figure out what I was doing wrong, and I made it through the class.

The class structure wasn't that uncommon; I had taken similar bookbinding classes from other instructors. This "boot camp" mentality was an accepted norm. There was, and still is, a whole faction of people teaching bookbinding this way- heavy on the rules and low on encouragement.  

After that experience, I taught myself by working through the bindings in various books. Instead of looking at some of those complex diagrams for sewing bindings and feeling my eyes glaze over (oh, all those little numbers and arrows, and aaaaaarghhhh...), I'd sit down with needle and thread, and work my way through those squirrelly diagrams, one little number at a time. Those complicated diagrams began to make a lot more sense, and I made a lot of books. I also learned a lot about the "rules."  

I learned which "rules" were actually structurally important, which "rules" were icing-on-the-cake rules (ones that improve the appearance of your finished book), which "rules" were really meant for rebinding rare texts to preserve them for all eternity, and which "rules" were just added by anal-retentive, and occasionally sadistic, instructors. (Just kidding! Well, about the sadism, not kidding about the anal-retentiveness.) I learned that I could alter the instructions for a sewing and still have a book at the end. 

Maybe more importantly, I found a way of approaching bookbinding that has continued to keep the joy and pleasure in the process of making books. The process of learning and experimenting became play. While a finished book is indeed a lovely thing, enjoying the process of making that lovely thing is good for my soul!

Judging Books By Their Covers

Before I begin my latest rant, before the tittering starts and is drowned out by full on sniggering, I want to remind the hecklers in the crowd that the Twilight series and The Hunger Games trilogy are young adult (YA) fiction.   

 (No need for to be embarrassed, sweeties; even my huntin'-fishin'-tobacco-chewin' husband has read all of these.)

I read a great deal of YA fiction, particularly fantasy/paranormal/horror/SF titles, and believe some of the best new writing is being published under this designation. My reading pile for the month of March has, among other titles, included (in no particular order):

• Anna Dressed in Blood
• Girl of Nightmares
• Daughter of Smoke and Bone  (re-read)
• Days of Blood and Fire
• Dead Beautiful    
• Life Eternal
• The Awakening: Ghost Huntress #1
• The Guidance: Ghost Huntress #2
• The Demon Trapper's Daughter
• Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore- the only adult novel on the list
• Beautiful Creatures
• Carnival of Souls
• Lips Touch: Three Times

You know those stories who yank you under the current and keep you there until you reach the end, where you resurface, soaking wet and out of breath, feeling quite put out the book is over? That was reading Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke & Bone  and Days of Blood & Starlight.  

 I just knew my son, Gryphon, would enjoy them, but when I showed the books to him, he rolled his eyes. Smitten with these books, I pressed on, and Gryphon informed me he would not be caught dead reading either book in public.  Why? Because of their covers.  Removing the dust jackets solved that issue, but that doesn't work for paperbacks, or library books. (Librarians frown on that sort of thing.) 

Too many wonderful YA novels are hidden behind a covers that are unappealing to boys. The front of well-written books, page-turning, thrilling adventures with life or death consequences, whose characters are monsters, zombies or demons, will, strangely, be illustrated with a romance-novel type of image of a girl.  (Even more puzzling, books with male protagonists will sometimes have this kind of cover.)

Chatting with some of my son's female friends about books I've been reading, I learned that they, too, find the covers of many books too embarrassing to choose. These smart, funny girls, who read avidly, and aspire to be writers, pass on reading fabulous stories because the covers make them feel uncomfortable.

Many YA fantasy covers are astonishingly reminiscent of bodice-rippers, often replete with the image of a sweet young thing in the strong arms of a sexy guy.  I've taken books off the shelf, and put them right back, without reading so much as the front flap, because of the cover.   

More than once, I have defended a YA book I've been reading, saying with reddened cheeks, "Oh, the story doesn't really isn't anything like what you see on the cover."  The look I receive in return is of the "yeah, right" variety. 

Yes, people could opt for the electronic versions, and then their choice of book would be a safe secret. But, you see, because of the cover, people aren't even bothering to find out what the book is about, much less consider downloading it onto their e-reader.  Everyone gets that covers sell books. I'm perplexed; what is the deal with these YA covers?  

The YA market has emerged as an area of the publishing market that is growing in popularity with adult readers:

"According to a new study, fully 55% of buyers of works that publishers designate for kids aged 12 to 17 -- known as YA books -- are 18 or older, with the largest segment aged 30 to 44, a group that alone accounted for 28% of YAsales. And adults aren’t just purchasing for others -- when asked about the intended recipient, they report that 78% of the time they are purchasing books for their own reading. The insights are courtesy of Understanding the Children’s Book Consumer in the Digital Age,an ongoing biannual study from Bowker Market Research that explores the changing nature of publishing for kids." (Publisher's Weekly article)

Publishers, want to sell even more YA fantasy novels? Make more of the covers less cringeworthy.  Hoping consumers will follow the adage, "Don't judge a book by its cover," is not an effective marketing strategy. 

Broaden your cover art to appeal to both boys and girls. Remain aware of your adult market when you brainstorm concepts for cover designs. You'll sell more books.

Pinky-swear.

 

Spring Cleaning....

First up:

I was hacked.  seriously hacked.  I'm still trying to sort out how, but it has necessitated a number of changes, including the deletion of my gmail account and my Facebook account.  I am still working on making all the necessary transitions, password and account changes, and looking for a better way to create a group site for my classes to use.

For now, I won't be friending people on FB I don't know, but will be creating a separate FB Page instead for folks interested in my news, links, my work, books, and classes. It isn't out of snobbery, but out of a need to prevent this from recurring and thereby preserving my sanity. 

I'm not sure the situation arose out of Facebook, but it was the first thing to develop issues. (Strangely, I never played games via FB, clicked on any of those links, and was rather careful, I thought, with my privacy settings.) 

My new email address is listed in the sidebar. 

 

Next:

I am not going to be doing a fifth book for Quarry, as I could not make their schedule work, and the book could not be rescheduled.

My understanding is someone will be writing this book in their own way and with their own content, but I have not heard who that will be. 

So, as such, it is important that you know that I am not  authoring this book:

I know these are my images, my artwork, and my name.  Given that this decision was finalized in February, I'm a bit perplexed and somewhat dismayed that my name and images are still being shown and pre-orders are being accepted.

If you have pre-ordered this book, you should know that it will be written, with the content, techniques, and images created by someone other than me.

 

 

 

 

responding, listening

I've been working on a new book design.  I wanted to have a covered spine, but use a sewn-over-supports sewing. I wanted the book to use something other than the traditional sewn-over-tapes binding you find often in a case-bound book.  And, I wanted it to have the flexibility of a paperback, but the sturdiness of a hardback. (more stiffness, but still flexible, and without the tearing and dog-eared corners paperbacks can get.) Oh, and maybe pockets on the insides of the front and back covers that won't come unglued or tear.

Yeah, I wanted it all. 

So, I've been spending way too much time lately in pediatric specialists offices with the smallest little. This has meant providing various forms of sedentary, inside-voices only, interesting entertainment.  Don't laugh.  Okay, laugh; I do. Luckily, the nurses and receptionists do, too.  These are, of course, pediatric offices and they are quite used to bored children. And, Sunny is so damned, well, sunny, and charming.  (clearly, not inherited from me.)

I have learned to pack a totebag with children's picture books, tiny pocket dolls, a blank sketchbook & markers (not for me), the Leapster Explorer, my iPad (mostly not for me) juice boxes, diet coke (for me!) & snacks.  When my wild child was engrossed in something not requiring me to assume a wide variety of dinosaur voices that fit their species' personalities, or sing a book opera-style in order to keep someone's attention (oh, btw, I cannot sing), my brain wandered to the aforementioned bookbinding puzzle.  And, in the midst of, "Sunny, you have had plenty of hand sanitizer as you have just  bathed yourself head-to-toe with it and are undoubtedly completely germ free." and "Oh, hey, maybe licking the glass on the fish tank where the past five hundred children have also rested their hands, palms flat & pressed their noses isn't such a good idea.", I remembered some supplies I had seen in my stash and I had a coherent thought.  Astonishing, no? 

I have this tendency, this bad book-binding habit, to do all the sewing to the book block and then procrastinate putting on the cover boards.  So, I had a book block handy for experimenting using my idea without needing to find the time to tear down paper and sew a book block.  I could paint and assemble in a few spare bits of time (having Sunny work the spray bottle as my "Spray-a-saurus", and do a little painting of her own helped extend that time), until I had what I needed.

So, here you have my latest prototype:

I found the perfect flexible cover idea, with pockets, and a way to easily use a sewing I love, by using canvas backed with something quite sturdy (what the sturdy something is won't be revealed as yet, because I am planning on working out a class around this idea. Yes, I am awful. )

I had painted the piece as one large sheet thinking I could create more than one prototype. While painting, I also removed some of the many layers of paint from several areas.  I did so thinking that I was creating space to add and work on some photos, add some text, do some drawing. 

While the book was drying under a stack of old atlases, I started on the next prototype. I sat with the leftover piece of canvas (18" x 19.5"), looking over the textures and colors in the painted layers, trying to decide which direction I wanted to fold the canvas for the cover. 

I was just randomly looking at the shapes in the paint and the way that the scraped away layers created forms and lines. Sometimes without trying, I find "things" in texture- you know, what I mean- faces in a knothole in a plank, or finding the shape of an elephant in the cracks on a ceiling.

First, I saw the eyes.  And then, the left side of the face, and her arms.  I made a deliberate choice not to second guess myself.  I picked up a soft charcoal pencil, figuring, I could always wipe away whatever I did. I responded to the shapes and lines in the clear areas, beginning with her face, and bit by bit, she arrived. I let those shapes and lines, the areas of dark and light, left by the remaining layers of paint determine what she looked like, working with those lines to reveal what was hiding there. I didn't have a plan, or an idea of where I was going until after her hair and skirt blew backwards across the left edge as she flew.  I thought when I laid her aside the first time, she would be a banshee.  But, no, after my next visit, I noticed she wasn't keening. Then, her arms had evolved as plump and warm, not bony, and her reach was giving, not menacing or grieving.   There was no rending of her gown, no tatters.  The night surrounding her, whomever she was going to be, seemed to speak of beginnings, of the births of mysteries, stars, or stories enclosed in globes of light. 

Last night, Joe pointed out to me that this is clearly my niece's face.  He is right.  The moment he said it, I could see her - her long dark hair and huge brown eyes, her nose and heart-shaped face. 

Being pressed for time is working on my side.  I have been walking by her resting on my worktable in the kitchen, as I go to wash the dishes, get Sunny a drink from the fridge, let out the dogs... I look at her, waiting for her to tell me what to do next.  Sometimes, I pick up the charcoal, a pastel, a pencil, a crayon, or the paint and work for a moment or two.  Other times, I just look, and continue on with what I need to get done, enjoying the wait for discovering the what-next.

I am enjoying the process of painting based on the shapes and texture, and not on a pre-conceived idea.  There isn't any pressure to match what is in my head, because I'm responding to what is existing there on the canvas.  I'm enjoying just listening.  I don't think I've painted this way in years. 

So, I'm taking a huge bit of a risk- but, here she is.  She's not finished. I'll let you know when she tells me who she is...  I have heard her whispering, but I can't quite tell what she is saying. I'm not worried.  Those whispers will get loud enough, and I'll know.

 

Next Step In My Book Process

Typically, once I have an idea for a book, the next step is to see what my editor thinks of the idea- is it viable? marketable? has someone else already beat me to the punch? what does she think? From there, if the response is favorable, I write a book proposal.  A book proposal discusses:

• topic-what the book is about,
• the purpose of the book,
• the content and approach you will use
• who is the target audience
• market analysis- competition
• what sets this book apart

A book proposal also includes a table of contents, and sometimes, but not always, a sample chapter.  Sample chapters may be needed to show how the book might hang together or to demonstrate your written voice and/or writing skills.  Your editor might need a sample chapter with images to sell your book to the Acquisitions Committee.  (Acquisitions decides what books will be published- they work according to a publishing schedule based on seasons/sales numbers.) My editor compiles all this  and some book sales statistics into a book brief.

If I didn't already have an editor, I would talk with my agent.  An agent can sell your proposal to a publisher.  I found my agent by word of mouth- someone I knew writing a book had used that agent.   Then, another friend used that same agent, so I sent an inquiry (which listed my books, and the books and magazines to which I have been a contributor) about whether they'd be interested in representing my work. My agent said yes!, and we began a series of conversations culminating in my signing an agreement with their agency for the book I am currently writing.

Why did I obtain an agent?  After writing a couple books and knowing my editor, I felt very comfortable that I was doing okay with the relationship with my editor, and the advance (the money one receives for writng the book before the book is published) portion of the contract.  But I had no way of knowing whether I was doing okay with the rest of the terms in a book contract.  And, I lacked the language and information to ask the right questions.

Important advice:

An agent should never ask for money from you before they will represent you.  They earn their money by selling your work to a publisher and taking a percentage of your earnings.  

If I didn't have a relationship with an editor and I didn't have an agent, I would do what comes next, I would submit my book proposal to the publisher.  Quarry, F&W, and Lark all accept submissions and have information posted on their websites about how to proceed.

It seems like a good time to talk about money.  From talking with other teachers that write books for various publishers, I can tell you the publishers handle remuneration differently. People have mentioned numbers that range from $4000 to $10,000, and of course the rest of their contracts are unique to their book deal as well.

I don't feel comfortable giving a specific number, because well, somehow that seems unprofessional.  I do fall into the middle to upper range of the numbers I just mentioned.  I earn more in my advance now than I did with my first.  I have not earned any royalties from any books to date.  I'm certainly not getting wealthy writing books. 

Writing is one aspect of my business.  I travel to teach at venues (some of which bring in more income than my first book)  and I teach online classes.  I have other ideas that I may begin to pursue.  People have asked about how this art/writing/teaching life compares financially to what I earned when I left my university position; my gross income is about half of what it was in my old life. 

Happiness is worth a great deal, though.  And, for me, being home with my children is worth a great deal. 

Next, we'll talk about what happens after your proposal is accepted.

How it comes to be

Since I mentioned last week that I am writng a new book, I thought it might be interesting if I took all of you along with me as I do so.  While I can't really share the actual content of the book, I thought you might want to know about how the whole "write a book" process unfolds. 

I'm often asked how I came to write books for Quarry, how I approached them with my ideas, etc.  Truth be told, I didn't approach them- they approached me.  Now, a year or two before that happened, I did indeed have an idea for a book.  I had been emailing with Sharilyn Miller, who was then the editor for Somerset Studio, and she put me in contact with someone at another publisher.  At that time, that particular publisher had a very firm set of guidelines- their craft/art/hobby titles were made up of an introduction and then 25 how-to projects. This was not the book I had in mind, so I thanked them and let go of the idea. 

At this point I had been a contributor to a few books,  had some magazine articles published and had been the artist portfolio feature in Somerset Studio.  I taught each year at Artfest, but because I was still working fulltime and had two weeks of vacation annually, that was my only teaching engagement each year. 

I was teachIng at Artfest in 2006, and had run into Holly Harrison.  Holly had authored books to which I had contributed.  She and her editor, Mary Ann Hall, were attending and having a great time.  Mary Ann had been by my classroom over lunch, and then on vendor night, she approached me about doing a book.  Now, one thing I can tell you for sure about teaching at large venues is that people say all sorts of things about various and sundry opportunities.

  So, based on a number of experiences which I won't dish about, I assumed Mary Ann was being kind.  Then, once we were all home again from our Artfest adventure, she emailed me.  "Oh," I thought, "she meant it!" We had a couple of meetings over the phone to discuss what she had in mind for me and what it looked like to write a book for Quarry. 

Mary Ann had a firm concept for the book- it was based on the classes I taught that year at Artfest and became Mixed Media Nature Journals. Mary Ann wanted me to write a book drawing from the work  in my class samples, and from work in the pile of personal journals that I had out (for folks to look at) on my teaching table in the classroom.  She had perused my work and looked through my class handouts one day during lunch.   During those initial phone calls, since I was totally new to the process, we discussed what the book process entailed, and what was needed to put together a book proposal.  Each subsequent book was based on conversations I had with my editor about ideas I had, books they were looking to have and then a proposal I put forward for consideration.

I'm going to take you all through the process with me this time.  So, more soon!

Rainy days and Sundays

This weekend involved a bit more resting than I had hoped for... I picked up a stomach bug from my son's best friend. (so far, Gryphon is perfectly fine- fingers crossed)

 I've not been able to shake the fatigue from the pneumonia. If you know me even a little, then you know how weird it would be to find me unintentionally asleep in the daylight hours. I am frustrated by the effect this drained feeling is having on my life. I have things to DO!!!! 

This weekend, I had planned to do SO much.... it didn't happen. I did complete one project... I used the papers I created in my artfest classes as pages for a prototype of a book binding idea I had...

 

For those of you who have been inquiring, info on new online classes coming soon!