The Interstitial Arts Foundation Salon

The Interstitial Arts Foundation held its monthly NYC salon last week, organized and curated by K. Tempest Bradford, and hosted by The Vagabond Cafe in the Village.  Lobster & Canary has happily participated in the salon on other occasions, and was sorry that conflicting commitments kept me from attending this time.  But we had a scout there-- my wife, the artist Deborah Mills, who sends us this report:

"Fabulous conversations with fascinating people, with friends and newcomers alike...truly multifaceted and interdisciplinary (interstitial!) across the board...I spoke with playwrights, lyricists, writers of all sorts, publishers, artists and designers working in many media, and musicians...the venue (The Vagabond Cafe) was warm and welcoming, a perfect place to catch up on all things interstitial while enjoying lovely and affordable food and beverages...this happens every month...I am already looking forward to the next one!"

Hear, hear!   If you are in or around NYC on the third Thursday of every month, please stop by to join the conversation at the IAF salon.   To get the exact date and time, check out the IAF at http://www.interstitialarts.org/wordpress/  (or click here).

For more on The Vagabond Cafe, click here.  

For more about the IAF salon's curator, K. Tempest Bradford, click here.

Wendy Ellertson at the Javits in NYC

[All images and artwork here are copyrighted to Wendy Ellertson.]

Yesterday, we enjoyed catching up in person with one of our favorite artists, Wendy Ellertson, who is showing this weekend in NYC (Javits Center) at The American Craft Show.

Wendy has brought many new creations to the show.  If you are in NYC today, Lobster & Canary recommends you head to the Javits and find Wendy's booth (# 233, on a corner!).

Each of her pieces comes with a story waiting for its new owner to continue.  Her creatures are shamanic, connecting us with cloud and stars above, and root and rock below.  When I look at  Wendy's people, I am reminded of the Prydain novels, of Earthsea, of Patricia McKillip's tales, of Moominvalley, of Brian Froud paintings and the puppets in Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth.

Best of all are the textures: the rawhide and worked leather, the feathers and fur, the bits of glass and glimmer.  Wendy's beings live and breathe, they have been caught in mid-stride, on the tip of launching into flight.  They are the visions of a seer, made real.

For more on Wendy, click here for her website and here for her blog.  

The Indigo Pheasant blog tour continues

My blog tour to help launch The Indigo Pheasant continues.   You can read my guest posts here:

September 11:  Small Beer Press/ Not a Journal:  "A Raffle of Laughter on Solemn Occasions."  Click here.    

September 14:  Civilian Reader:  "The Fantastical 18th and 19th Centuries, or, Dragons Dancing at Almack's."  Click here

September 17:  Fantasy Book Critic:  "Go Ahead: Judge These Books By Their Covers."  Click here.

September 18:  Bibliophile Stalker:  "Seeking the Distant Hills Within."  Click here.

September 23:  Layers of Thought:  "A Picture-Show in the Night-Kitchen."  Click here.

[September 24:  That Artsy Reader Girl:  "A History of Wonder: Illustrating Yount."  Click here.   Written and illustrated by my wife and artistic collaborator, Deborah A. Mills].

September 27:  Dark Wolf's Fantasy Reviews:  "Illustrating Yount."  Click here.

September 28:  So Many Precious Books, So Little Time:  [A Give-Away Raffle for The Indigo Pheasant]   Click here.

October 3:  The World in the Satin Bag:  "The Palest of Copies: History, Culture, Empire and Fiction."  Click here.

October 3:  Bull Spec Blog:  "The Hardest Part."  Click here.

October 4:  Charlotte's Library:  "On Writing Historical Fantasy."  Click here

October 5:  The Cozy Reader:  "On Titles."  Click here..

Deborah & I have several more guest-posts to go.  Stay tuned.