Directions...

It's the week for another blog update. I just got back from my last work trip for the year to Mexico City, where I got to soak up some inspiration and meet some great people. Work in general has been crazy-busy with many long hours put in, plus family life and other things to do — but the book is always there, on the back burner of my brain.

Earlier this year, I had been telling friends that the book might be ready for release around this time, but obviously the book said "I'm not ready" and many important changes were needed. It's in a bit of a holding pattern at the moment, as I've cast a few nets out into the publishing world and waiting to see if anything catches. Once I know more about how this pans out, let's just say a release time for the book will become clearer.

In the meantime, I do have other projects I'm thinking about and playing with. Part of the process behind the Gnomes book was cutting out several poems that didn't fit into the thematic flow it's taken on, so these "cut-outs" are being formulated into a second volume. My working title, at this point, is There Would Be Owls Everywhere.

I also have ideas for some short stories and sketches which might come together into another book, currently in mind as a working title of The Ice Cream Truck at Midnight. This book concept is inspired in part by the insanely-brilliant work of Shaun Tan, particularly his masterpiece Tales from Outer Suburbia. This image of the water buffalo is from that book, which I bought a used copy from a friend who was having a moving sale, and it opened up a vista to me in terms of the style of storytelling and the kind of work I'd like to do.

On top of all this, I have a rough outline for a fantasy novel, based on a draft I wrote 16 years ago. Some of the characters in Gnomes of the Cheese Forest and Other Poems are actually from this story. Every now and then I jot down some ideas for fleshing this project out.

So this is what's on my mind, when I have moments to spare. It's like a water buffalo pointing the way to directions on an invisible map. I only know there is one direction he's pointing me to, but I won't know how to trace the rest of the journey until I've arrived.

Happy Toast

Here's a bonus poem which I revealed on Instagram: Enjoy some HAPPY TOAST!

Happy Toast! #poetry #illustration #books #happy #breakfast

A photo posted by Ken A. Priebe (@ken.a.priebe) on Sep 22, 2015 at 7:40am PDT

Progress on the actual book has slowed down a bit due to crazy-busy-ness at work which has included some travel of late, recently to Seattle and soon to Mexico City.  I am, however, participating in #Inktober for the first time, creating a new ink drawing everyday just for fun, and to keep me drawing & experimenting with new techniques. I'm hoping some new ideas for future poems or books may come out of it. Follow me on Instagram or Twitter to see what I'm posting.

Instagram Happenings

I've recently started posting some fun stuff for the book on Instagram, including some of my "poetry postcards" and behind-the-scenes drawings. Some of them are embedded here, and you can FOLLOW ME to see more, along with other random images of birds, children's books, and weird things.

Back at it. #books #illustration #childrensbooks #cheeseforest #drawing #art #kidlit

A video posted by Ken A. Priebe (@ken.a.priebe) on Sep 23, 2015 at 9:32pm PDT

Rooftops... #drawing #illustration #books #cheeseforest

A video posted by Ken A. Priebe (@ken.a.priebe) on Sep 26, 2015 at 10:03am PDT

Still at it... #illustration #drawing #cheeseforest #books

A photo posted by Ken A. Priebe (@ken.a.priebe) on Sep 26, 2015 at 7:35pm PDT 

The work you see me doing here are new illustrations for The Boy Who Looked Up, which I decided needed a re-vamp to the layout. At this point, it's the story that ties up the book near the end, hence the re-vamp. I've been thinking about these drawings for a long while and finally found time to work on them in the past week or so.

As far as the whole process for the book goes, it's still been going through a few more changes as of late, and I've also been thinking through my publishing options and making some plans around that. With school starting, there have also been several days of "leaving it alone" both for practical and sanity reasons.

Looking ahead, I now feel that I have enough material from the poems & drawings which I cut out to warrant a second volume after this one, so I'm starting to work on this too. So far I have a working title and an assemblage of which poems would be included, plus ideas for new ones. More soon...

The First Griffin

Production and other developments still moving along on the book, particularly on a few illustrations which are being re-done and the occasional re-shuffling of words. More on this later. For now, another free reveal for a recently revised poem.

The Stories Inside Me

This week I'm sharing a complete poem which, at this point anyway, has been placed on the cutting room floor for Gnomes of the Cheese Forest and Other Poems, not because I don't favor it, but simply because it doesn't fit into the flow of how the other poems are presently grouped together. So I think it's safe to reveal it here. Update: I put this poem back in the book. 

I share it because it fits into where my head and heart are at the moment, while thinking, planning and wrestling through practical matters related to the book's production.

Tiny Drawing Details

This week I'm posting a few tiny cropped details from a few more illustrations, just to tease you and generally annoy you. You'll just have to wait to see what the rest of these drawings look like. 

 

As far as where the book stands, it's gone through many changes. What started as a collection of 103 poems in total has been whittled down to about 62 that are intended to stay in this particular work. The others are going into storage, but I'm sure many of them will be resurrected into another book or some other form after this one. I may do another collection of poetry (a "sequel" if you will), or perhaps a combination of poems and short stories I'm brewing. I don't know yet. 

At this point, without going into too much detail, Gnomes of the Cheese Forest and Other Poems, as a work in itself, has greatly benefited from this drastic round of edits, and it's still constantly changing! Every few days I find something else that needs the juice squeezed out of it, but it's all part of the process. 

As for when it's all done? We shall see. It's not up to me. The book has a life of its own and I'm merely listening to it. 

(But soon....) 

Inspiration Monday: Maurice Sendak

I've given nods to Shel Silverstein and Dr. Seuss on the blog already, so it's long overdue for me to express my gratitude to the other "Big S" illustrator who has inspired much of the work that's going into this book.

Not much needs to be said here, as three years ago, upon hearing of Mr. Sendak's death, I wrote an extensive reflection on my website already.


I invite you to hop outside over there to read it: "Outside Over There: Reflections on Maurice Sendak" 

Hearing the news of his passing still haunts me to this day, and I look back upon it as a major turning point in my return to making books. Since then, I've only continued to expand my education on the life and career of this great artist who's been a bigger influence on me than I ever realized. Every now and then I stumble upon another book (in a used book store) that he illustrated, which I never even knew existed. 

It was around the same time he passed away away that I began writing poems again, which grew...and grew...and grew like the forest in Max's bedroom into where my book currently stands. I find much solace and purpose in his own words: 

"All my life I have been in the fortunate position of doing - creating - what came naturally to me. What could be more wonderful than a dream of childhood coming true?  As a small boy, I pasted and clipped my bits of books together and hoped only for a life that would allow me to earn my bread my making books. And here I am, all grown up - still staying home, pasting and clipping bits of books together."