I mentioned meeting the amazing sculptor Margot MacMahon at a Chicago Literary Hall of Fame event earlier this year. She impressed me with her insight into raising children and making time for Art. I have to admit that I didn’t know how incredibly talented she was, and the extent of her work that is collected internationally. I believe that as artists we encourage and challenge one another: our peers, our contemporaries, and those who come after us. Margot McMahon has definitely inspired me.
The first person to be featured is sculptor Margot McMahon, and it’s well worth your time to check out the blog and learn about this Chicago artist. I sincerely believe that McMahon is one of the artistic giants upon which the future will build their own inspired creations.
Here’s a taste:
My first impression of Margot McMahon’s sculptures was life. Like all great art, her three-dimensional representations give more than illusion—they allow the viewer to enter into the world of the subject,
suspending the knowledge that this is plaster or clay or bronze and seeing not only what’s there but what’s not. Her sculptures suggest motion.
Boy Gardener, by Margot McMahon
There’s hardly an artist better suited to creating our statue, and the fact that Margot has taken on this project will help make that moment special.
“I’m treating this award as a sculpture,” says Margot. “I want this to have a contemporary look, an active look. The gesture of the hand captured in the sculpture is in a thoughtful pause, the most active part of writing that gets us to the idea. The idea is what the writer is about, and the idea is what the reader is about.”
Tomorrow is my first official novel reading and book signing for The Silence of Trees.
It’s wonderful to be able to write those words, The Silence of Trees has been so long in the making. I began it while still in the MFA in Writing program at the School of the Art Institute, and it has gone through several radical revisions since I first completed it in 1999. It’s been in the hands of three literary agents, and across more than a few editors’ desks. And now it’s here, in my hands, on my bookshelf, and on the nightstands of the folks who have already purchased it from Amazon.
So tomorrow I will bring boxes of books to the Book Cellar in Chicago, and a two-layered cake adorned with the beautiful cover that was illustrated by the talented Madeline Carol Matz.
To date, the facebook event page lists 69 yes’s and 108 maybe’s. I’m not nervous, but I am humbled and touched at the thought of people coming out to show support for this little book of Ukrainian magic realism.
It’s a labor of love, and the one thing I had always hoped was that it would be published while my grandparents are still alive. And they are, which is remarkable. The Silence of Trees is fiction, but inspired by my grandmothers and grandfathers, who made the journey to America from the Displaced Persons camps after WWII.
Feedback so far has been wonderful, and I’m excited about the other cities and bookstores that I’ll visit as part of my tour, but right now, I’m looking forward to tomorrow–where I’ll be surrounded by dear friends and family.
*pinch me*
All I have ever wanted to do is tell stories. I hope to do it in many different ways over my lifetime, taking my inspiration from folks like Neil Gaiman who do not limit themselves by genre or medium. I believe that the story will dictate the form. One novel is finished and in the revision stage, another two started, some short stories barking for my attention, and maybe a play! (Oh, I have *so* many ideas!) So there will be more parties in the future, to celebrate new stories, and I’m excited to share them with you.
For those of you in Chicago this weekend, you are invited to join us at the Book Cellar, a wonderful bookstore in Lincoln Square where we’ve had the release parties for Conclave: A Journal of Character. We’ll have varenyky/pierogies for you to taste, cake to share, and I hear there may be fabulous cookies. Support the Book Cellar by buying some coffee or wine. I’ll do a little reading, and I’ll sign books. If you purchase a book, you can wait to have your cards read by our very own vorozhka.
If you can’t make it, The Silence of Trees is available on Amazon (paperback and hardcover versions), as well as at WolfswordPress.org, and you should soon be able to order it from an independent bookstore near you.
Thank you for reading and being a part of the magic.
(P.S. Author photo was taken by the amazing Kyle Cassidy.)
It’s a quiet, rainy Fall morning at Casa del Lobos.
I love this weather, this time of year. Life is busy but good–full of people I love, activities I enjoy, events I believe in. My only concern is that it’s a bit too full, too hectic. I feel like I’m missing moments and instead am being pulled along by the strong current. Soon I will need to stop, to have a series of quiet, rainy days full of small moments of kids and husband and writing, to enjoy meals and play and watching the leaves fall.
In the meantime, there are books and writers and artists and fashion and varenyky/pierogis and coffee. Always coffee.
In a few minutes, I need to make phone calls and figure out details for the book signing on Saturday, October 23. I haven’t mentioned it yet, but there will be free pierogis and a fabulous vorozhka/fortuneteller doing complimentary tarot readings. If you’re in the Chicago area, come to Lincoln Square and stop by the Book Cellar, 7-9pm. There will be quite a party if the facebook responses can be trusted.
We’re starting to put other cities on the tour schedule, finalizing details with book stores. It’s all rather surreal, this business of sharing my book, The Silence of Trees, with the world.
I had dinner with some friends last night (or rather some fiends *wink*), and the conversation turned to The Silence of Trees. I felt shy.
I rarely feel shy, but finally sharing this book has made me feel vulnerable. Maybe it will be like that with every book? Maybe not. I guess I’ll just have to keep writing and publishing to find out. (I’ll keep you posted.)
It’s interesting because I made my peace with being a “public” person when I began actively engaging people and communities online, back around the time of the Amazon ABNA contest. I grew up with a father in the Illinois Senate, a very public personality, so this is not new to me. I know this blog is online and available to people. However none of that has made me feel as exposed as the reality of my book published and out in the world.
There’s thunder now, and lightning. At 8:42 am! I missed Chicago thunderstorms when we lived in Germany. I always feel like they help to clear my head.
Much of my time over the last few weeks has been filled with literary business: the book launch and also the Induction Ceremony for the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame. I need to write more about that; it deserves its own post. In the meantime, mark the date: Saturday, November 20, 2010. I invite you to join me at Northeastern Illinois University. Drinks, hors d’œuvre, and desserts are included in the $45 ticket price ($35 for students).
I’ll follow up with a more detailed post. It’s going to be a fantastic event, and I hope that you can come out and celebrate Chicago’s literary history with me! (I’m going to be wearing a fabulous new hat!)
That’s a good beginning to the update. There so much more to write: Cabaret, wine with writers, cocktails & conversations with the cast, Amanda Palmer, and Neil Gaiman, creative collaboration…
