Saying goodbye to North Light Books

I’ve met some of my favorite people through books: real, live people who wrote the books that introduced me to collage and mixed media art. So I’m a little sad to hear a specialty publishing empire is crumbling. F+W Media, which owns North Light Books and several other imprints, declared bankruptcy recently. North Light published many art technique books, including Destination Creativity: The Life-Altering Journey of the Art Retreat.

Ricë Freeman-Zachery and Earl Zachery in 2010, collecting material for the book Destination: Creativity

I was lucky enough to watch Earl Zachery collect photos while Ricë Freeman-Zachery collected the words. And then Ricë turned around and included a comment from me in the book. (I still get a little thrill out of seeing the pull quote.) I’ve also become friends with her editor Tonia Jenny, who edited two books by another artist/author pal, Michael de Meng.

Michael de Meng mugging for the camera during Artfest 2011

Fortunately, none of these people rely on F+W to pay their bills anymore. But I still have their books in my collection, and I still keep up with some of their authors on social media, including MaryBeth Shaw, Crystal Neubauer and Gina Rossi Armfield.

Making silly faces with Michael de Meng at Artfest 2011. Photo by Lana Guerra.

If these artists keep writing, I hope Quarry Books scoops them up. (Quarry published three of the five books in which my art and commentary appear). I want them to help my artist/author friends keep blowing people’s minds. In the meantime… g’night, North Light.

Rested and ready for 2019

Thanks to the generosity of my in-laws, we got out of Dodge for a few days.

The holiday madness wasn’t too bad this year, but I find it difficult to switch gears from family to career even when the opportunity’s there. Finally I took a hint, set aside the five-year-plan stress and refocused on the present. We celebrated my in-laws’ 25th wedding anniversary in a nice sunny spot on the beach.

And it helped: although we’re back to gray skies, I’m still fairly relaxed from the sun and art journaling. Now I’m looking forward to the next stop on the “Like Mother…” traveling exhibit, which opens at the end of this month. In the meantime, I’ll ask the art world experts I know to help me chart my course forward.

The month of gratitude: day 11

Day 11

I'm grateful for my recent island art retreat, and the artists with whom I shared it.

Related: I'm also grateful for the nutter who took care of the kiddos while I was away. Thanks, Husband.