In my grandmother's day it was different

Hello lovelies! Here is the last illustration (for the first story) in my newly published book Wounds: New Openings Into Old Stories.  

Even though this is the first story,  I wanted to save the creation of the illustration for last as I wanted to incorporate as many fabric that had been previously used as background fabric in other pieces of artwork as part of the mattresses.

This is really the story that got this collection started. I asked myself as I read The Princess and the Pea:

What kind of husband chooses a wife by how easily she bruises? 

I titled my story It Felt Like A Kiss. I named if after the song "He Hit Me (And It Felt Like a Kiss)."  The song was written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King for girl group The Crystals under the guidance of Phil Spector in 1962.

Wikipedia has this to say.
 Goffin and King wrote the song after discovering that their babysitter and singer Little Eva (who made the song The Locomotion famous) was being regularly beaten by her boyfriend. When they inquired why she tolerated such treatment, Eva replied, with complete sincerity, that her boyfriend's actions were motivated by his love for her. 

I wanted to tell a story where our female character thought her abuse was a love story, even if we as the reader could see that it was not. 

That's the last of the illustrations! Next up, the book launch! 

Once upon a mattress

Hello lovelies!  It's been a few weeks since I posted about the illustrations that will be on display at my book launch.

We went on a much needed holiday to London, but now it is a week to go before the launch and I need to finish the very last illustration. Hoorah!

This is the last illustration to make but ironically it is for the first story in the book. It involves lots of different fabric to make it and if you look closely you may recognize several pieces that have appeared in other illustrations.

This tale has many layers and if you look at the title of this post you might be able to guess!

Stay tuned for the reveal in the next day of so and then it will be time for the book launch.

Please come if you can:

Saturday 9th November
Goldstone Books
12 to 2.30

Instead, I got warts

Hello lovelies! With all the excitement of the books arriving I had to temporarily stop sewing on the artwork that will be on display at the book launch for my upcoming book Wounds: New Openings Into Old Stories but the next piece is finally finished.

Well done for those people who guess The Frog Prince. This tale is the story of a difficult marriage (sadly, based on a true story) and is a complex combination of fairy tale references.  There are nineteen references to fairy tales and one a reference to the poem The Highwayman. When you read the book see if you can spot them all!

I chose to illustrate the Frog Prince here as he is the centre of the tale. He is the one who she hopes will turn into a Prince...but as you will see he did not. She says, "Instead I got warts."

There are only 2 illustrations to finish now before the book launch. I hope you can join me on Saturday November the 9th from 12 to 2.30 so you can see the art in person.

How to buy my book

Hello lovelies! I am here with the greatest news ever--my long awaited book Wounds: New Openings Into Old Stories is officially published. Hoorah and lashings of ginger beer! *does a Snoopy dance*

Thank you so much for such a positive response about the book. Many of you have asked where you can get a copy. Here is a short list of all the ways you can get one. 

1. If you sponsored the book through the Kickstarter campaign then a copy (or copies) will be posted to you ASAP. If you are one of the Kickstarter sponsors, make sure you have replied to the email that asks for your address. We cannot post it to you if we do not know where you live! 

2. If you live close to me in Wales you can buy it in the lovely independent bookshop where I work Goldstone Books. They will be on sale in the shop starting Thursday the 17th of October. Please also come to the Book Launch which will be November the 9th from 12 to 2:30 at the bookshop where you can eat vegan nibbles, chat with me about fairy tales, view the artwork and buy the book and get it signed. 

3. If you do not live near me then go to your local independent bookshop and ask if they deal with Print On Demand. If it is like our computers at work, it may *appear* out of stock (because it is print on demand--duh!) but if they know the codes for POD (print on demand) it should be doable. It might also say Lightning Source which is a clue that it is Print on Demand. 

4. If you do not have a local independent bookshop then you can buy the book through Amazon.  You can buy it from Amazon UK, US and AUS. The UK one says "may take 1-2 months to arrive" which we think is rubbish. Print on demand only takes about a week...but just be warned it is there and wait as patiently as you can.  Links below:

AMAZON UK

AMAZON US

AMAZON AUS

4. It is also available from Barnes and Noble US, Blackwell's UK and other online booksellers. 

5. If you cannot get to Carmarthen and buy a copy from Goldstone Books and prefer not to deal with big corporations or want a signed copy then look no further than my online shop!
WILD MOUNTAIN THYME PUBLICATIONS

Thank you so much for coming along in this journey with me. Enjoy the book! 

Pond slime

Hello lovelies! Here is the next clue for the illustration that will be displayed at the book launch of my new book Wounds: New Openings Into Old Stories. 

The fairy  tale should be obvious if you zoom in on the background fabric and look at the lily pads. This story is not exclusively about what the picture will be but it is certainly a large part of the story.

I have already made a start today.  It involves lots of layering and dealing with slippery fabric. I am employing iron on interfacing to help with some of the layers.  But I've had to stop as I need embroidery floss and can't go until Tuesday.  But after this there are only two more! 

Now who's the fairest of them all?

Hello lovelies! The next illustration for my  upcoming book Wounds: New Openings Into Old Stories which will be on display at my book launch is finished. 

This is a Snow White story as you may have guessed from the clue. The poem it represents is entitled Life's Rich Pageant.  I have always been curious as to why the stepmother was so jealous of her stepdaughter's beauty in Snow White, but as a woman who is nearly 50 years old I am beginning to understand. 

Men are allowed to age but women are not. We see this in Hollywood. An older man is a "silver fox" but a middle aged woman is too old to play the love interest of the leading man once she gets to a certain age. Case in point-- the actress Maggie Gyllenhaal was told that at age 37 she was too old to play the love interest of a 55 year old man in a film!

This poem deals with the fact that many women are told all of their lives that their only value is their looks. That at age 33 a husband might be considering trading his wife in for a younger model because her looks are fading.  In the poem the woman tries to punish her blond and sun kissed stepdaughter by giving her a makeover and forcing her into bulimia and beauty pageants.

In the traditional fairy tale her stepmother tries to kill her through lacing her corset too tight with coloured ribbons,  a poisoned comb and the poisoned apple. Here she gives her a makeover to look like the description of Snow White of the story -- as black as ebony, as red as blood and as white as snow. Black hair dye is more likely to give you bladder cancer and red lipstick contains lead. These are her poisons.

This ends up backfiring for both of them. 

Just a few more and then the illustrations will be done. I should be announcing the book launch date as soon as they are all done so stay tuned!

Mirror mirror on the wall

Hello lovelies! Here is the next clue for my companion artwork to accompany my upcoming book Wounds : New Openings Into Old Stories.  

This one is my take on a traditional fairy tale.  It has to do with aging and beauty and jealousy. Can you guess what it is?

 I am actually about half way done with this one as I forgot to post the clue. Oops! I have procrastinated on this one as it was such a tricky one to create an image that reflected the poem. I think when I finally decided what to do I just got stuck in and forgot the clue!

This one I hope will be finished on Sunday and then there are only three more plus the cover to make. Then I need to back them all and finish them around tbd edges with bias tape. Phew!