Strawberryluna

Sweet new Sisters Red news & fun stuff!

Are you afraid?

We’re not. With the impending release date of the new Jackson Pearce novel Sisters Red creeping slowly closer (the official release date is June 7th, 2010), we’re getting pretty excited around here. The buzz about Pearce’s 2nd Young Adult novel is really good, and moreover, the cover art illustration and jacket design that we did for Jackson Pearce and her publisher Little, Brown & Co. has also been getting attention as well.

That’s just rad. I won’t lie. It’s not just gratifying as a lowly, often practically anonymous book jacket illustrator and designer, (I mean, I know that I look to see who designed covers I like, but really, I know that’s also an art nerd thing too).

Here’s the thing: The main challenge we were given when first approached for this book jacket design by Little, Brown & Co. was to create a cover illustration and design that would fully pull people across a crowded book store just to find out more about Sisters Red, based purely on the cover art. Awesome! That’s the sort of challenge every designer and illustrator wants, and, it’s also the kind of challenge is, well, frankly a heck of a challenge. However, working on this project was not only that, but super fun and one of the most rewarding creative experiences strawberryluna, as a firm, has had to date. It’s not surprising really, as Little Brown, & Co. is also the publisher for the Twilight Series as well, also with a stunningly notable cover art. We’re so thankful and excited about the whole shebang we wanted to share a little more with you.

Coupled with the coolness and a well-written upcoming new book like Sisters Red, you can imagine it’s been a dream project already. And the publication date is just over a month away!

To that end, there’s a bunch of fun goodies over at the Sisters Red website here. Like what? Alright, hold on a sec, I’ll ya. Dang!

There are beautiful Wallpapers for your Mobile Phones (the iPhone sized one is below as an example) and for your Computer Desktops here, all perfectly sized and ready to go for you.

Click to view all Wallpapers, sized & ready to download.

And, there are some neat E-Cards, as shown below. Send them and spook your friends into Believing.

Click to view & send all E-Cards.

Click to view & send all E-Cards.

Also, the lovely Jackson Pearce is not only an author, but a really great video-blogger. She’s always up to new and fun posts at her Live Journal site, and via her YouTube site as well. She posts about what she’s writing, the creative process, and speaks directly with her fans as well as other authors weekly. In a word? She’s rad!

If you are more interested in what Sisters Red is about, (and of course you are), you can click here to read an excerpt and definitely check out this promo video Pearce posted recently about Sisters Red here:

And finally, (wowzers!) a review of Sisters Red’s cover art from Barnes & Noble.com by Melissa-Walker, with Pearce’s perspective as well. We’re just tickled! Click here to read it.

Thanks so much again Jackson & Little, Brown, xo.

New art print released! “The Lady and The Wolf”

My new 2 color, all hand screenprinted art print "The Lady & The Wolf" (Click for more info or to purchase.)

Been  busy busy busy printing like crazy lately! This is my newest art print and new release “The Lady & The Wolf”, a 2 color hand screenprinted re-telling of Little Red Riding Hood. But you know, for grown ups. Little Red Riding Hood here, is all grown up, but in no less danger.

This is the first print in an ongoing series of my interpretations of the folk & fairy tales I grew up reading, but for grown ups working with themes of sex, death, & the supernatural.

I’ve been fascinated and in love with folk & fairy tales my entire life. These days, many people know them best as tales for children, however many of our most loved fairy tales have much more brutal original tellings than you might imagine something fit for little kids. I read folk & fairy tales obsessively, the darker the roots of the tale, the more I love it. It’s super interesting how the same stories appear in similar versions and places for both children and (especially originally) for adults as well.

“The Lady & The Wolf” is my 2-color, all hand screen printed art print with scarlet blood red and semi-transparent midnight black hand mixed and non-toxic water based inks. Black over prints red in parts, blending the where the Lady ends and the Wolf begins. Edition of 75. Size: 16 x22 inches (39.4 cm x 55.9 cm.) Paper: acid free & archival Cougar, White 100lb cover weight.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask. This limited edition screenprint is now available on my website HERE.

And, if you like process photographs, check out my Flickr account page here (or click the images below) with photos of the print being made! A few selections are below for you.

1st color (red) screen and films for registering for my screenprint "The Lady & The Wolf". (Click for more info or to see more photos.)

1st color printed for my new screenprint "The Lady & The Wolf". (Click for more info and to see more photos.)

2nd color ink (black) in the screen and ready to print. (Click to see more photos or for more info.)

All done! The screen has ink for the next print, ready to rock. (Click to see more photos or for more info.)

I hope that you dig. If you wish to purchase this limited edition print click here, or have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them or ask them.

Cool Fairy Tale & Folk Tale links for you:

Sur La Lune – An ever growing collection of Fairy & Folk tales from around the world, complete with classic illustrations.

Professor D.L. Ashliman’s fantastic Folklore  & Mythology Electronic Texts page –  I took as many of his classes as I could as an undergraduate at the Univ. of Pgh. He’s super.

A brief history of the Fairy Tale, including their not-neccessarily-for-children origins.