These weren’t there yesterday. They literally (and magically) popped up overnight!

May the fey of the Otherworld  bless you as well.

I’m using a decoupage technique for the paper background. They are pages from the initial test printing of our forthcoming novel Rowan of the Wood. I then “age” the pages with wood stain and let dry. On top of that I use acrylics to coax the image of the Green Man out of the pages… so far, I really love the result.

The top one got quite a lot of attention at ArmadilloCon (the bottom wasn’t finished yet), so I’m going to be making prints of these to sell at our events. I might end up keeping the originals!

We’re in the Statesman! Even though it’s just a brief mention — it’s great publicity. And it’s all because of Ia’s awesome artwork.

I spoke with the reporter and ensured that he had her name spelled right and everything — and they he didn’t even acknowledge her as the artist… but I ACKNOWLEDGE HER — you rock, Ia!

Article: http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/08/17/0817armadillocon.html

That’s Ia, the amazing artist who did the character designs, the illustrations for our “Silly” trailer, and our gorgeous book cover! AMAZING… I can’t say it enough. And she painted this for us to bring to these conventions…

Our ArmadilloCon table… NO BOOKS! Since there were no books to sell, due to the pushback, I decided to bring my Green Man art. It at least gets people to stop and look…

Ethan has to wook all weekend, so it’s just me…

Here are some of my latest pieces:

I cut this out using my scroll saw and then spent HOURS shaping and sanding… and then shaping and sanding some more! Not too bad for my first one. (Actually second one, since I split my first one)

I’m rather pleased with it.

I think this Green Man is my favorite yet… well, except for maybe the one with plaster (below) — actually, they’re all pretty cool! Ethan thinks I should ask $300 for them since they’re handpainted originals, but I’m going to keep the prices below $200.

Here are all three so far:

I’m working on another one right now. I hope to have it finished by the time I leave for ArmadilloCon today.

On the art front, after a very stressful week … I’m taking a break with an “Art Day.” With so many things on my plate at any given time, I find that it’s best to concentrate on one thing at a time. So today is primarily an “Art Day.” The last two days were PR days. And then Sunday & Monday I worked on the Book Trailer(s). They will be posted on YouTube shortly.

I’m finding more and more how much I enjoy creating my little Green Men and Celtic art. Although we didn’t get TRF, we will be doing many smaller Renfaires and Celtic Festivals. It’s actually much better this way, as we’ll reach a broader market.

Here is my latest creation:

I started by using a decoupage technique with pages from our first test printed of Rowan of the Wood. I aged them with diluted woodstain. Then, I used acrylic paints to create the image of the “Tree Man.” I haven’t painted in years, so this was fun. I really like the finished look. I’m working on a few more today.

I’m also going to use my new scroll saw and take another stab at a celtic wood carving.  Hopefully I’ll have more pictures to share after my relaxing “Art Day.”

So now the Summer Session is over, and I have three weeks until my Fall class begins. Now it’s time for promotional scheduling, business stuff, and ART. Here’s what’s completed:

I’ve been doing some new finishes. Here you see mostly washes or a mixture of washes and metallic paints to give it an aged look. We also have one stone one, top center. I particularly like the silvery ones. It’s a black wash with silver highlights. It’s a nice effect that looks like tarnished pewter.

Next are examples of my Green Man #2 - original design. You saw the original clay & latex mold in an earier blog. Here are some similar finishes. These are great because you can hang them from the curved stem. I also put magnets on the back to make a beautiful refrigerator magnet.

The above are casts I’ve made from manufactured molds (not my original design). The outdoor ones are cast in concrete (all available aren’t pictured) and mostly finished with an outdoor sealant paint wash. I think they’re quite nice. They’re made to either hang or use as a garden accent. Above those are some more indoor plaster casts with the various finishes.

These are my Green Man wood carvings. I think they’re coming out quite nicely. I’ve also got a scroll saw to do some intricate celtic cutout carvings, but I split my first attempt. I hope to try for another one later today.

Fuzzy picture, but these are our hand carved wizards, made by both me and Ethan. We plan to either give these away for free at RenFaires (if we have enough) or at least free with purchase. Ethan doesn’t amazing work, as he has years of experience whittling. I should put up some of Ethan’s hand carved magic wands. They’re gorgeous!!

This is my latest creation. I rather like it! It’s decoupaged pages from our book in the background and an aged, mosscovered, Green Man cast on top. I might be making more of these! I’m working on another one that will hopefully look like it’s on top of a stone with moss growing around and through it. Hope to show you soon!

I also start work on the Book Trailer this weekend! Look for it on You Tube shortly under my new channel “TheTuberRose,” which I created exclusively for Rowan related videos.

The bad news is the release date for Rowan of the Wood has been pushed back until October 18th.

The good news is …. well, there is a lot of good news!

The main reason for the pushed back release date is because the distributor wanted more time to pitch the book because they think it’s going to be a “big hit.” Yippeeee!!

It’s also really cool that it’s October, since the book takes place around Halloween (Samhain). The new release party at BookPeople will be on October 18th. Time TBA.

Serindipitously, a few days after the release date was officially changed, the publisher got a call from Austin Monthly Magazine who was looking for a book being released in October to feature that “has something to do with Halloween and the supernatural.” …. I mean…. really?!?!?!?

Twenty minutes later, I received word that Austin Monthly Magazine chose Rowan of the Wood as their featured book for the October issue. YIPPEEEEEE again! Ethan and I have an interview with Austin Monthly scheduled this week. Our first interview for the book!

Furthermore, we’ll still be appearing at ArmadilloCon in August, and we will have books available to buy before the official release. We’ll also still be doing MiddleFaire in Hillsboro toward the end of Sept/beginning of October — and, with any luck, the Texas Renaissance Festival. We should get word from them in another two weeks or so.

Oh… and the final cover was accepted by our publisher today. Thanks Ia for your extra work in making this cover work for everyone! It’s an AWESOME cover!

Talk about a whirlwind of memories. My sister and I would visit Ohio every summer growing up. There are moments in Rowan of the Wood taken directly from our experience in Parma, like chasing the fireflies barefoot on a perfect lawn. When Max remembers listening to the rain in the open garage with her father — is also straight out of my past. I still think of my dad every time it rains. The loss of someone dear coupled with the reemergence of long forgotten, almost-surreal memories puts my current life into a bizarre new perspective. Talk about middle age!

While running the spyware and defrag programs on my dad’s computer (as I’m the family’s resident computer guru because I know something about computers), I checked my email. I don’t know what I’d do without my iPhone for daily checking and internet fix, but nothing replaces a good desktop… anyways, waiting there was a message from our publisher.

The national release of Rowan of the Wood has been pushed back until October, which is surprisingly fine with me! The original release was supposed to be LAST October (2007), but we’re glad we held out for a publisher… and I think it will be worth the wait. Since the book takes place at the end of October, I think it’s a perfect time. The reason for the delay is our publisher’s new national distributor Midpoint Trade Books. They want time to pitch it to the libraries and chains because “they think it’s going to be a big hit.” !!! Great news! … and hope for the future.

Life is a strange thing.

We’ll still have a regional (Austin area) release beginning with the BookPeople Release Party on August 2nd @ 3pm. JOIN US!

I decided to revise my Green Man woodcut. I just didn’t like him so FLAT, so I gave him more texture. I know I like it better… but it’s still not as good as it could be. His face is too flat, but I can’t do anything about that now as all the wood has been carved away. I’ll know better next time. Pictured: before revision & after revision green.

My second Green Man Sculpture in clay with its latex mold followed by the first cast finished with Copper Leaf. Things went quite smoothly this time! This is much smaller, and will mostly be used for refrigerator magnets and smaller wall plaques.

Also, here are more pendants! Tree of Life, Runes, “Grá” (”Love” in Irish Gaelic) written in the Ogham text, and a little Green Man: