A Calendar for 2011

Since late summer I've been working on an art calendar for 2011. Probably the most time-consuming part (and least creative as well) was setting the layout for the monthly pages and putting in the dates and holidays. Some decisions had to be made regarding which holidays to include. Many cultures were left out. It would have been just too much to include them, much as I want to be inclusive. In the end I chose the most traditional holidays of American culture, and what I hoped were the most important days of the three primary monotheistic religions. And I included the holidays most frequently celebrated in Waldorf schools and communities although some of these would be considered obscure by people unfamiliar with American and European Waldorf school traditions. I hope people will be pleased with my selections, and forgive my omissions.

There will now be some details to be added by hand to the monthly pages including (but not limited to) phases of the moon. With the completion of the monthly pages, the calendar will be half done. Meanwhile I have begun the truly creative work - the paintings.

I decided on paintings because I have the materials, and I feel more at ease with painting than with drawing. I have completed the first six paintings and begun the next six. I've been working on them in sets of six because the technique I'm using, a sort of modified veil painting technique, requires layers of color to dry before other layers are added.

In the first sitting I gave each painting a color mood. This was determined by the month each painting was to accompany, as well as the theme under consideration for that month. I was thinking of Waldorf grades as well - twelve  months, twelve grades - allowing my feelings for the grades to influence the initial color mood as well. For example, in this picture of the first stage of development of the paintings, you see the color mood for the months of July through December. You also see my first thoughts for monthly theme, as well as glimmers into my understanding of the nature of children in grades seven through twelve.

On the second pass, I let the foreground make its appearance. In this picture and the next you can see the first six months, January through June. Seasons and holidays become more evident in the figures. There is also a thought for the grades, the fairy tale quality of grade one, the folk and fable element of grade two, the nine-year change with its opposing pull towards earth and heaven, the fourth grader's interest in reaching out to the world, the place of balance and harmony found briefly in fifth grade, only to kindle the inner fires of the sixth grader approaching puberty.

During the third approach to the paintings, I brought out the forms and details even further. The central figures were brought to life. When they were finally dry and released from the board, I added just a few more details to some of the pictures, though not to all.

These first pictures now are finished. The second set is still in process. You may have some idea what July (seventh grade) will become, but until they receive their second and third coats, the remaining five paintings have their secret still well hidden. All twelve paintings will have a second life as greeting cards in addition to calendar illustrations. I hope you enjoy what you have seen so far.

First attempt at finding a publisher

It's been quite a few months since I finished the manuscript of For Veggie's Sake. I put it aside for a time while I was investigating leads for an illustrator. As I hit dead ends on that front, I decided that perhaps the most expedient thing to do would be to get the story published by a bona fide publisher. My first choice was AWSNA Publications.

In June I contacted David Mitchell to make inquiry. He encouraged me to send him some of my work, so I sent this story. There ensued a long silence. I knew David was attending the AWSNA conference in Atlanta, GA, so I waited patiently. In July I sent a follow-up letter. Still not response. In August I resubmitted my story. At last, as August was drawing to a close, I got a note from David: following the conference he had gone to visit family. He had also become quite ill, necessitating a visit to the hospital. This accounted for the long silence. He also said he'd both seen and enjoyed my two self-published books, Mother Earth's Bad day and The Wonderful World In Numbers. With that pleasant introduction, David went on to tell me that the line-up for this year was already determined. Still, he encouraged me to try again in the spring, and further recommended I also speak with Gerald Karnow at Mercury Press.

So my next step will be to follow David's advice and contact Gerald. Who knows - maybe I can get this story out to the public yet.