On the Worktable

Hello out there.  Sorry for the long delay in posting.  But, in all honesty I don't have much to show in physical form yet.  I am busy working on my big project that is consuming a great deal of research, writing and location scouting.  So, I thought I'd give you some idea of what is in store for me in the coming months.

Above is a picture of things that are on  my work table.  Believe it or not, these lovely pieces are awaiting there transformations into characters for my project.  I am using lots of pre-made doll bodies to transform into fantasy characters for my upcoming story debut.  I have put a call out to lots of my art and doll making friends to help me locate used Ken, GI Joe and Barbies to transform.  This isn't a new process but it is for me.  My intention is to use these dolls as a canvas to create the characters for a huge project.  I have been creating over the years small stories based on fantasy creatures and characters that live and interact with humans and each other here in my native city of Cincinnati.  So, I decided to just go ahead and start writing a series based on these ideas.

The working title for this series is called "Chronicles of a Queen" and the first installment is tentatively titled "Ordin's Quest".  The queen reference is in honor of my city.  Cincinnati has been called the Queen city for decades.  I though that it fit.  The whole concept will be created as a graphic novel.  I plan on using photographs instead of hand drawn artwork to convey the story.  I chose this format for a variety of reasons.  One, I am not a professional writer so, the graphic novel allows me to tell the story with less written dialogue.  Secondly, stop motion was a huge undertaking and I don't have ten years to devote to this as I have lots of story ideas.  Thirdly, puppet plays would be fine except it limits my audience a bit.  Perhaps as a supplement later on.  The graphic novel format can be used as part of a gallery exhibition if the opportunity presents itself to me in the future.  There is little learning curve as I am at least able to take photos and creating the sets and environments will be such fun.

It is a huge undertaking but, I have been wanting to do this for many years.  Tell stories using my fantasy characters.  This will give me one more level of creative things to do and offer my followers.  Thank you for your interest in my work and what I am up to these days.  I still plan on creating other works of art to offer at my Essex Studio art openings and elsewhere.  I will post initial updates here until I get enough of the project underway to create it's own home.  Until next time, I hope you have a great weekend.