Sandy Ang's Victorian/Steampunk Art Challenge #2

Quite by accident while viewing images of paper arts on the Graphic 45 Ring, I found Sandy Ang's Challenge #2. It's a very cool and lively  Victorian/Steampunk Challenge.  And since this era is my millieu I couldn't resist. I'm heavily involved in steampunk with the Upstate Steampunk Group in Greenville, SC (having hosted a panel on creating art, selling my handmade books, collages and paper arts as a vendor and facilitating a panel for authors who I featured in Steampunk Fissure, a magazine I publish with my small press, Shadow Archer Press.)
Wow, you need to check out Sandy's work.  She is so talented. 
So this is one of the pieces I'm entering to Sandy's challenge.  Twist of Soul and Heart- it's a mixed media beeswax collage using Graphic 45 sand other papers, a vintage Victorian photograph, metal embellishments from my stash of things I pick up from the side of the road when walking  (my eyes are just drawn to anything metallic on the ground) and one of my statements devised to make viewers think of the Victorians as more than a bunch of stodgy folks in stiff clothes.  I also added some gold leaf, Perfect Pearls, Golden Interference metallic paint and chalky blue oil pastels for that dash of glamor.

Book Making Again - Bird mini album

I've mostly been writing lately, but did have some time to make a mini photo album with a bird, butterfly, magnolia theme for my friend Mark for Christmas. Her house is called Magnolia Cottage so that's why this particular southern flower is predominant.  I'm still working on taking photos - the first set came out blurry because I had to shoot inside during the snow storm, but I'll add more later.  I used a lot of new techniques on this one, including the Perfect Pearls from Ranger inks and beeswax collage.  It was a lot of fun!  She and I both love birds, both in the wild and in art so it was a fun theme to try. 

Like my other books, I made my pages from cereal boxes etc and the front and back cover from the hard cardboard found on the backs of paper packs.  I used a lot of Botanicabella papers from Graphic 45, one of my absolute favorite paper companies. K & Company, Tim Holtz, 7 Gypsies are also featured throughout as their styles fit right in with the kind of vintage look I want in my books.  This book is a bit more whimsical than most of my books but birds are like that, aren't they.  I've filtered in some of my own sketches as well as photos of my garden to give it a more natural feel and I've already started putting photos in of Mark and her husband Mike, who is a Harley rider, so there's even a page with a Harley theme in here!  Quirky I know but Mark and Mike are a very unique couple. There are also some ocean themed pages because Mark and I spent time together on Folly Island, off the coast of Charleston, SC.

Brian K. Ladd - Their Dark Masters

If you're into intelligent horror, if you like to be scared, if you want a different take on the vampire mythos,  head over to Amazon and check out the new horror anthology, Their Dark Masters, from Red Skies Press.  This one features Durham, North Carolina (formerly Greenville, South Carolina author) and a previous contributor to Fissure magazine, Brian K. Ladd, wit his short story, "Leandros and the Raki.".
In addition, editor Mark Crittendon, has nominated one of Brian's short stories to Ellen Datlow for Year's Best Horror 2010.  Brian has had short stories published in previous anthologies edited my Mark as well.
Brian's story is intelligent, terrifying, highly unusual and well researched. On this story which takes place in a monastery in Constantinople, during the 1821 Greek Revolution, Brian utilizes his amazing ability to create complex, unpredictable characters, miss, them up in his cache of plot twists while touching upon his fascination with philosophy, ethics, history and philoogy. Take it from me - this is a most unusual story. I had the luck to read it during one of our writers meetings and found it most delightfully disturbing.

Description of the contents from Red skies Press: When vampires have outlasted eternity, their dark masters will rise from their ancient slumber. What evil games will they play? Find out in these fourteen tales of dread by Lee Hughes, Brian K. Ladd, Lily Childs, Erik Boman, Paul Anderson, Erin Cole, Gregory Miller, Marissa Farrar, Henry Brasater, Tyree Campbell, Rebecca L. Brown, Barry J. Northern, and Mark Anthony Crittenden, and featuring the art of Marie-Claire Graham. Warning: horror content is extreme.