Here: http://greenteapublishing.com/

Check it out, buy my book, support the cause for comic book artists! And of course, spread the word on your twitters, facebooks, and tumblrs. I mighty appreciate it,

xoxo

The first magazine is called Coilhouse, a gorgeous mosaic of alternative culture’s art and creators.  This artistic journal features beautiful, full-color photography of dystopian worlds, old world humanoid curiosities and future technological body enchancements, and bodies of work of contemporary artists as well as witty articles and interviews with modern creators.  The magazine has a fantastic layout that is driven by subculture’s heroes, people whose brilliant work gets passed over by producers seeking more commercial and marketable features in a body of work. Check out some more layouts after the break:

I only just discovered the second magazine I want to talk about.  I’ve never truly seen a good children’s literature magazine until I saw Crow Toes Quarterly, which features a darker side to creative children’s writing.  Magazines for kids tend to have Kids Writing for Kids, and for some reason it’s been a strange concept to have short stories written by adults.  Crow Toes Quarterly was started in Canada by children’s author Christopher Millin (The King of Arugula) with the idea to inspire and scare.  It’s filled with lovely and imaginative artwork as well as clever writing and fun.  And it’s not that expensive for a magazine of that caliber, which is always a big plus for me!

Check these out to see what I mean. Not only is the content amazing in both periodicals, but the layout of the content is masterful and a pleasure to look at. Enjoy!

Something that I’ve been following lately: Madonna of the Pinks by Raphael

Madonna of the Pinks: attributed to Raphael, then re-attributed as a fake, then back again.  Is she or isn’t she?

Honestly, there are so many reasons for both sides, that I can’t completely tell you.  A colleague of mine did extensive study on the this particular work and even she came up with a vague answer, quite unfortunately.

The main problem with the painting is that it is Really Good.  (You read that right.)  This is why: Whoever did this painting (probably around the time of Raphael himself in the 1500′s), is at the very least a scholar and fan of Raphael.  He/She is capable in technique, mixing a great color palette, and beautiful lines.  Because of the year the painting was created (a long time ago), and the condition it’s in (fairly great)- the painting should be worth a lot of money.

However, it would be worth more if it was Raphael.

In the traditional, multi-million, fine arts world, it is rather difficult to promote a completely new artist with very few artworks (or just one, in this case) into the millions of dollars category.  It is much, much easier to just falsely attribute a famous name to a painting and sell it as that.  Who would want some newbie when they believe they can get a Raphael?

Regardless of whether this particular painting is by Raphael or by someone else, it is a fantastic work of art, and it’s rather sad to see it fall by the wayside whenever the controversy comes along.

Hope you like it and decide to contribute!

With delectable love,
Yours truly.

There’s a video about it here!

The City Concealed: Weeksville from Thirteen.org on Vimeo.

It’s kind of insane that when they teach us history in school, and we know that they leave out many important bits.  One of the bits they missed in social studies seventh grade (I am looking at you, Ms. Olmann) is an explanation of where the freed black people went after being freed from slavery but before acquiring any rights as Americans.  Apparently, one of these places was Weeksville, 3 houses bought by James Weeks in the outskirts of Brooklyn.  He created a community for freed men that gave them a safe haven from the draft laws, as well as protecting them from rioting angry whites that were still unhappy with the recent emancipation.  The community gave people a chance to grow together; learn to read and write, create jobs and grow their funds, give the womenfolk a chance to have jobs other than laundry and seamstress by building a school and orphanage, gain some political power so they can know what to vote for, and more.

Although the community is now a museum, it is a relevancy driven one.  It has a self-sustainable farm that allows the local community to have access to fresh fruit and vegetables.  It has classes that teach young students about their history and classes that encourage them to create art.  It also is a stage for touring performance and visual artists, allowing the community to have access to new art and exciting festivals.

I found it relevant and wonderful.  I enjoyed the fact that the exhibits were authentic and tangible, and especially that I was encouraged to “look into the icebox” and “go upstairs and check out the attic”.  It’s a wonderful learning opportunity, a point of pride for Americans, and a fun place to poke into.

Check it out here!

Yes, kids, reading Naruto may land you in prison someday.

*To be fair to Mr. Handley’s decision to not appeal, his other options were paying $250,000 and/or a maximum sentence of 15 years.  I get why he didn’t fight the 6 month sentence.  But, damn.  

Read the whole article here

This is definitely a blow to the comic world, manga world and modern literature in general.

This year, I get to start off with a stupidity.  Here’s a question: would you go to eBay to buy a painting by Pablo Picasso?  Apparently, there are people who do.  And for those special little sprinkles, a man named Michael Zabrin started a business selling alleged Picassos, Dalis and Chagalls – making over a million bucks off them.  Usually the confusion between real and fake paintings is a sore point with me, but this time I’m just too amused. 

Anyways, if you want to purchase a painting, treat it like a visit to the doctor.  Before you buy into what they say, always get a second and third opinion.  Check the provenance (ex. who had the work before you did, all the way down the line until you get to the artist).  If you can’t afford a Picasso and no one gave it to you this Christmas, there are a ton of contemporary artists whose awesome works will lighten up any hallway in your apartment.  Seriously, just look around.

It’s probably because I’m a cynic at heart, but it’s bothering me. It’s bothering me because while there are quite a few of profile drawings that look similar to Ms. Bella, there aren’t many profile paintings – if any. A fingerprint sounds like fantastic proof even without a provenance but – and you can throw a stick at me here – it’s also bothering me that Dan Brown’s Lost Symbol hasn’t been out for a month yet.

Personally, I’ll wait before I make my own decision. I would love to believe there’s another LdV found, but it’s more likely that some student emulated his work. What do you guys think?

You can see Selene’s face (girl with tiara in the left hand corner) if you squint!

Today I fell upon my teeny, tiny Book of Urizen by the poet and artist William Blake.  And the first thing that I thought as I opened the pages was, “Ohh!  It’s actually a graphic novel!”  How did I not make the connection before?  See for yourself:

This book was written in 1794.

It’s called the Shelley Jackson Skin Project.  Shelley Jackson invites participants to tattoo one word on themselves- one she chooses.  All those words together are a story.  Nobody knows the story except for the participants. 

I can see the art behind the concept.  What makes me uncomfortable with the idea is that she calls particpants “words”, as though the word on their skin is now their whole of identity.  A word they haven’t chosen themselves.  Her last three lines in her “Call for Participants” epitomizes that to me. 

“Only the death of words effaces them from the text. As words die the story will change; when the last word dies the story will also have died. The author will make every effort to attend the funerals of her words.”

I would not disvalue this project, I think it’s fascinating.  But I would not participate.  Would you?

Firstly, a painting of Bernie Madoff by Chinese artist Yan Pei-Ming was NOT sold when exhibited at the 11th annual Armory Show in NYC.  Surprised?  Really? 

Secondly, the United Nations building in NY apparently does not insure or register its art.  So when a bunch of it went missing, no one even has a clue where to start looking for them- or even what was lost.  Embarrassing.