Codex Gastropoda: A Visual Meditation

You know the old adage, “Time passes quickly when you’re having fun” ? Well, this sentiment truly described the years between 2007 and the present when I began thinking about snails. Now, why on earth would anyone care about snails except as a purportedly (I say ‘purportedly’ because these creatures are among those forbidden to me by religious doctrine) tasty dish served with garlic butter?  Because I actually find them fascinating since I am able to look at them objectively for their natural beauty and metaphoric value without planning how to cook them.

These musings slowly inspired a series of eighteen drawings on several species of snail (a.k.a mollusca/gastropoda). Some of them appeared along with my thoughts/poems about them over those years in several blog posts here.* Later, during this project’s development, a friend loaned me an eye-opening book that proved very inspiring and that I now recommend to you: The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elizabeth Tova Bailey (2010). http://amzn.to/2w18Zpc

My drawings are not strictly scientific but an amalgam of fact and fancy. Each tells its own story, inviting questions and second glances. At first, not knowing whether these drawings should become a book or simply a portfolio collection, I put out a query on social media.  Though enthusiastic early feedback suggested a book, I still liked the idea of a portfolio collection and decided to publish a ‘bookfolio’ (a portfolio in book form) as a sort of compromise.

In this light, I considered writing more thought/poems like those in earlier posts. However, I soon determined that haiku (seventeen-syllable non-rhyming Japanese poems), with their economy of language would better complement the nature of my drawings.  

Now, I am happy to announce the release of Codex Gastropoda: A Visual Meditation. This 44-page ‘bookfolio‘ includes an introduction and has just been released from Imaginarius Editions in an initial small press run.

You can preview and purchase it (US$30) at my online gallery: http://bit.ly/2vzsSTM

Codex Gastropoda will soon be available at Amazon but for now you can also find it at my Etsy Shop: etsy.com/shop/Imaginarius

Given the experiences that inspired it, my goal for Codex Gastropoda: A Visual Meditation became to raise awareness of the wondrous details that inform Creation and their consequences for our world. I hope this visual journey and spare prose will also inspire you to appreciate our complex existence and perhaps add your own words and ideas to the continuum of human creativity.  

**********************************************************************************

* https://wordpress.com/post/imaginarius13.wordpress.com/754 https://imaginarius13.wordpress.com/2011/03/17/the-snail-queens-soliloquy/  

*https://imaginarius13.wordpress.com/2010/12/30/postscript-for-the-new-year-a-divination-of-snails/ 

*https://imaginarius13.wordpress.com/2010/12/26/codex-gastropoda-4athe-time-snails/ 

*https://imaginarius13.wordpress.com/2010/10/21/codex-gastropoda-2-the-snails-song/ 

Bestiary: An Imaginary Menagerie

In an essay entitled ‘On The Shoulders Of Giants’, posted on May 5th of this year, I offered a glimpse of my new alphabetical book project in progress. Today, I am pleased to let you know that it is now complete! It includes alliterative text and illustrations for each of twenty-six letters, a preface and artist’s notes. On Wednesday of this week, my book proof arrived looking exactly as I’d intended, so I turned around and ordered  my first small edition of twelve, scheduled for delivery early next week. I am accepting advance orders now at The Magic Eye Gallery: http://magiceyegallery.com/BookPage.aspx?id=8 

Here are some thoughts on my process and a bit of backstory:

Ideas are mercurial; they may appear to our imaginations in glorious finished form, awaiting physical birth or, more likely, just float by our consciousness, merely hinting at their potential. The idea for Bestiary: An Imaginary Menagerie simmered slowly on one of my back burners for several years as sketches and project notes in one of my journals. It had begun as a casual suggestion for an illustrated alphabet book from my former agent. Projects like this one can be very greedy with one’s time and generally do not pay the bills! So although I had done a few concept drawings at the time, other less speculative projects continued to demand my attention.

 

Then, late in 2015, following publication of two other titles (An Illumination Of Blessings and Notes From London: Above & Below), I decided to revisit the alphabet book idea. Paging through that old journal, I paused at some drawings of a unicorn and an armadillo which led me to imagine an alphabet book built around the real and imaginary creatures that have been portrayed in illuminated manuscripts for centuries. These colorful hybrids of letterforms and fanciful illustrations first appeared in the 2nd century Greek Physiologus, a compilation of the ancient wisdom and symbolism of animals mentioned in the writings of naturalists such as Aristotle, Herodotus and Pliny The Elder. Later adaptations from the 11th-13th centuries elaborated on these bestiaries and were flavored with Biblical stories, mysticism and religious doctrine. Bestiaries reached their zenith during the medieval era, when artists were commissioned by nobility and wealthy merchants to interpret their naïve descriptions of strange creatures seen on their voyages to exotic lands. Wikipedia offers a fine, detailed history of bestiaries here:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bestiary

Eventually, my journal sketches became the basis of the finished illustrations below:

Yet, despite our greatly evolved knowledge of zoology since then, why does this timeless literary art form remain popular among the offerings of contemporary publishers? I propose that it does so because we have yet to fully understand the synthesis of our own evolving animal natures with the gifts of speech, writing and acumen.

That said, I’ve always loved to draw animals and have featured them in many original works of art. However, most of my animals are not portrayed realistically; I prefer to imbue them with qualities that reflect our human fortes and foibles. Those bestiary illustrations in which the animals display such attributes were important inspirations for this book. Their titles along with illustrated excerpts were discussed in my previous essay (http://bit.ly/2fjVcpi).

In designing Bestiary: An Imaginary Menagerie, I’ve framed each illustration with an alphabetical alliteration both for organizational purposes and simply because it was great fun to do! My hope is that my efforts will complement the voluminous body of bestiaries throughout history that are tributes to the wonders of creation and to our human imagination…

 

Thoughts On Week 2: Notes From London: Above & Below @KICKSTARTER!

One week has passed since my Kickstarter book project launched. It’s been quite exciting, first, being chosen as a Kickstarter Staff Pick and of course receiving encouragement and many kind words from friends around the world. To date, Notes From London: Above & Below is now at 16% of its $3,000 goal, with 23 days until the campaign ends on May 10 at 3:20PM.

For the duration of the campaign, I’ll post illustrations from this unique book here and at my Kickstarter page which you can reach from this link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1330347473/notes-from-london-above-and-below

You are invited to comment and /or post your questions and of course Pledge Your $upport to help bring this creative endeavor to life!

I look forward to hearing from you and thank you in advance for your contributions!

Notes From London: Above & Below is a very special book for me. It not only distills many of the strange and wonderful experiences of my travels to London from 2002-2009 but also marks important milestones in both my creative development and family dynamics that are reflected on my dedication page.

So, without further ado, here is the illustration called Lillith@Shoreditch. Spotted at Apostrophé, a tasty, inviting café in East London’s media district, this unusual person and her ‘pets’ was a drawing just waiting to happen. The annotation that appears next to her explains it all…

Project Update #1: An Illumination Of Blessings

Today marks the 17 days remaining (until midnight of July 6, 2013) to bring An Illumination Of Blessings to life via Kickstarter. I’ve received much warm encouragement thus far and although the project is only 42% funded to date, I am moving ahead with my work in anticipation of eventual success. Accordingly, I’ve just completed a new blessing from the 36 that will comprise the book.

Shown above is the ‘Netilas Yadai’im’, the blessing recited when washing your hands.
My image, however is more than a literal accompaniment to the text of the blessing. In the borders you can see an alchemical icon for the element of water suspended above and below between two ‘mems’ the Hebrew letters whose shape represents the waves of water and which begin and end the word ‘mayim’ for water. This is to emphasize the importance of water not just as a medium for cleanliness, but as a metaphor of the wisdom of Torah within the process of Creation and in our daily lives.

During the days remaining in this campaign, please take a moment to forward the links to this page to anyone you know who would like to be part of this unique effort. Just copy and paste this link into your emails: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1330347473/an-illumination-of-blessings With your help, I look forward to completing An Illumination Of Blessings and sharing the fruit of my labor with you. Until then, I welcome your questions and comments!

News From Imaginarius: A New Kickstarter Project!

Dear Readers:

For the past three + years, I’ve been enjoying your visits and comments to my posts here at Imaginarius. And today I have some exciting news for you!

I’m pleased to announce the launch @Kickstarter of my new book project!

My book is called An Illumination Of Blessings and is now in progress as a unique visualization of 36 universal blessings. A chapter of commentary will be included to provide perspective on the evolution of my images. In the spirit of my recent book, Between Heaven & Earth: An Illuminated Torah Commentary which interprets the Five Books of Moses in a new light, An Illumination Of Blessings will be like no other book of blessings you’ve ever seen.

You can see why at this link to my Kickstarter page where a little video will tell you about my creative and funding goals for this project. You can also select from my gifts to you in exchange for your help in supporting my efforts:

http://kck.st/17F0To0

I’ll be posting updates to the progress of this project at Kickstarter, at Facebook, and here at Imaginarius. Your questions and comments are invited and welcome!

I look forward to hearing from you and working together to make An Illumination Of Blessings my artistic legacy for your family and friends for generations to come.

With Warm Wishes for Peace And Blessings,
Ilene Winn-Lederer/Imaginarius