Dynamic Dreamer ~ Art Weaver

The Fairy Tale Tarot project is finally winding down! I received my first few batches of edits and just completed a series of drawings that will adorn the interior pages of the companion book. The edits are not as bad as I thought they might be–no dreaded major overhauls. Just some “nip and tucking” here and there. I would like to think this is an indication that I had submitted a strong manuscript, meticulously researched and carefully composed. As I was writing the stories, every single word was a syncopated dance through narrative. With a designated 800 word count per story, I had to be crisp and elegant without the luxury of endless writing room. It was an exercise in literary discipline that wielded, I think, some nice results.

Here is a picture of some of the notes I had accumulated over many months of intense research. Each folder represents a different story, bibliographical material as well as historical background of a particular tale. Notebooks were filled with snippets of scholastic brilliance gleaned from luminaries such as Marina Warner, Maria Tatar, Marie Von Franz, Jack Zipes and many, many more. All the research was filed into my brain and eventually distilled into words, meanings, and ideas–all coming together in what is going to be a lovely, comprehensive companion book. No matter how overwhelming a project may seem at its inception (and believe me, the prospect of doing a Fairy Tale deck was intimidating), somehow it all does come together.

Arthur Rackham, Beatrix Potter, A.A. Milne

The book illustrations went through a metamorphosis of sorts. The initial drafts were OKAY, but did not meet my standards nor did I feel they best reflected the style and feel of the package. So I perused illustrations of some my heroes, allowed their influences to help loosen up my brain and procured a fresh bristol pad from the art store–like a clean slate needing to be punctuated with fresh drawings.

I then sat down, sketched my kitty Timmy and spontaneously came up with the following drawings–more delicate and perhaps humorous and intimate than my initial attempts. I also decided to add a mouse companion, reflecting my own cat’s penchant to make friends with everybody. Here are the results of those drawings, having taken me approximately 5 days to complete. Drawing Timmy as Puss in Boots was so much fun, that I was almost sad when I finished the series. Though, the reality of edits are reminding me that the bristol pad must go back in the drawer for now, well, at least until tomorrow.

 

~ Lisa

Tags: cat, drawing, edit, Fairy Tale, Lisa Hunt, puss in boots, sketch, The Fairy Tale Tarot, Timmy, work

This entry was posted by lisahuntart on Saturday, April 25th, 2009 at 5:21 PM and is filed under The Fairy Tale Tarot. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.