Sea of Dreams

Earlier this week a magical boat, maybe the very one used by those famous navigators the Owl and the Pussycat, came sailing into Castle in the Air. It's the final piece to be prepared for "Prints, Charming," and it's a special vessel, as the hull of the boat used to be a whiskey barrel from St. George Spirits! Who knows how many reveries that cask has inspired in its day?

Everything is coming together to make Thursday night's reception and book signing a truly fantastic time. If you can't make it out then, you can come see the dressed prints and other art any time before the exhibit's final day of March 19.

One World - One Heart 2010

I'm happy to announce that Castle in the Air is participating in this year's One World - One Heart event. One World - One Heart is the creation of Lisa "Oceandreamer" Swifka. Lisa began the event in 2007 as a way for more people in the blog world to say hello to one another and share their art.

Everyone who takes part announces their participation on their blog, then posts about an item they are giving away. Visitors to each blog involved leave a comment, and at the end of the event each participant randomly selects a visitor to win their prize.

Lisa describes One World - One Heart as not so much a contest but a virtual "open homes" tour with a chance to win a door prize at each stop. It really does feel that way as you click through to all the participating blogs and get to know so many people.

Last year was our first time to participate in the event. For our prize, we gave away a signed copy of Castle in the Air, the first book from Dromedary Press. Dromedary's newest book, Commonplace Mouse, was published recently, so it's a natural pick for this year's prize. Click here to see our many posts about this tale of perseverance and high adventure. One lucky winner will be sent an autographed copy.

If you'd like to enter to win the prize, all you have to do is leave a (non-anonymous) comment on this post. One World - One Heart ends on Monday, February 15, and that's the day we will draw the winner's name from a hat and announce it here.

To learn more about this event, visit the One World - One Heart blog.

"Prints, Charming" is here!

Once upon a time...well, late last night, to be honest...we put the finishing touches on Prints, Charming, the new exhibit at the Castle in the Air gallery. Because this is our second show, we had the luxury of being used to the gallery space and how to put up the art. We do have some rather unique pieces this time, however, including a ten-foot long framed print, several portraits only a few inches wide, and books (glorious books!) from the Dromedary Press line.

I've been living with some of the original images from the show for many years, some for just a number of months. Now that they are all dressed and gathered together, they all seem fresh and new and as though they are all part of the same family, which of course they are--princesses, magical animals, and my hero, Commonplace Mouse, who has been immortalized in time for the show not only in print through Dromedary but also in doll form by Caron Dunn!

Dromedary Dreams

One of my greatest joys of the past year has been to devote more time than ever to my book projects. For years, Dromedary Press has been a dream that I've been able to bring more and more into the waking world to share with everyone else. The gallery show is shaping up to be a grand celebration of my books and illustrations.

I hope many of you will be able to come to the book signing at Castle in the Air on February 11. But even if you can't join us, you can be a part of the adventure by getting your own copy of Commonplace Mouse through our Online Shoppe!

Prints, Charming

We've been a bit quieter than usual on the blog for the past few weeks, as we're giving all our spare moments to the preparation of the next Castle in the Air Gallery show, an exhibit of three dozen prints of my watercolor illustrations and portraits.

For this show, I've taken several of my favorite illustrations and embellished them in the "dressed prints" style popular in India. Countless hours in my home studio have been spent adding silk, feathers, jewels, lace, sand, and other elements to turn the flat prints into sculptural wonders. You'll have to come to the exhibit (or the reception and book signing on February 11) to take in the full effect.

Prints, Charming
Portraits from the Studio for the Imagination
February 1 through March 19, 2010

Gallery open 12 - 6 Monday through Saturday, closed Sunday

Reception and book signing with light refreshments Thursday, February 11, 6 - 8 p.m.

Castle in the Air
1805 Fourth Street
Berkeley, Calif. 94710
(510) 204-9801

Read the full invitation and press release.

Commonplace Mouse is Here!

Callooh! Callay! After many adventures, Commonplace Mouse has arrived at Castle in the Air! Today a large truck pulled up alongside the store and a couple of nice fellows helped us unload box after box of the brand new book, the latest publication from our publishing company, Dromedary Press. We're still getting our little hero situated, but soon you'll be able to take this heroic story of a brave little mouse home with you. Hooray!

Step Back

Any painter can tell you that part of the work is stepping back once in a while to look at the picture as a whole. If you stay too close to the canvas, all you see are details.

Amidst all the other projects at the store, we're preparing the relaunch of the Dromedary Press website. Collecting images of the various books and cards, along with concise descriptions of each, reminded me of the importance of stepping back and taking stock of one's work as an artist. What is the picture saying as a whole? Some projects come together quickly, others are chipped away at over the years as time and inspiration present themselves. An occasional step back to take in the bigger picture shows us what we're really working on, whether we knew it or not, and gives us a sense of the worlds we're creating as artists.

Setting off...

Castle in the Air's smallest hero sets off on the first leg of his adventures today -- Commonplace Mouse has gone to press! Only a month or so before the books are here! Stay tuned for news about the festivities we have planned to celebrate the publication of the second title from Dromedary Press.

At the Back of the North Wall

Will wonders never cease? We've all been so intrigued (and occasionally frightened) by all the banging and clanging inside the north wall at Castle in the Air that today I decided to investigate what could be causing such a racket. A tiny bit of plaster had fallen away from a space lower on the wall, about knee-high from the floor. I crouched down and peeped in, when what did I see but all the resident gnomes hard at work on the other side! Apparently someone's told them about our (until now) secret plans to stretch out and expand all of the marvelous things we do here in our store, studio, and study!

When the gnomes -- along with a few of their human counterparts -- have finished their work, things will be very different here at Castle in the Air. The most noticeable change for our everyday visitors will be the addition of an upstairs art gallery to showcase some of the more spectacular works of our artists. The gallery, which will be built in what is now the shop office, will also serve as an expansion of our classroom. One of our Hoopoe messenger-birds has been flitting through the town and across the countryside, delivering invitations to renowned teachers who will be able to come and lead some special super-sized classes in our Studio for the Imagination. During the winter months, we plan to use the extra space to offer even more holiday marvels.

On the other side of the wall, the behind-the-scenes work at Castle in the Air will continue in a spacious new setting. Our Online Shoppe has grown since its launch last fall, and we are using measuring tape and sketch-pads to dream up a space where it can continue to thrive and serve more and more friends who live too far away to visit Castle in the Air in person. We will also have a new workshop for the creation of one-of-a-kind items, as well as our beloved ephemera packs.

Finally, the expansion is helping me further realize a dream I've had since the days before I first opened the doors at Castle in the Air. The relocation of the shop offices will afford us the space to grow Dromedary Press. My own publishing company, Dromedary makes many of the greeting cards we sell at the store, as well as the limited-edition book, Castle in the Air. Our next title is on its way later this year, and the extra space will help us to keep going with more books and projects that reflect the artistry and ideals we've all built up at Castle in the Air.

So if you come by the shop in the next few weeks and see a bit of plaster on the floor or hear a knock in the wall, don't be surprised if you find a dusty little fellow adjusting his pointy hat and picking up his hammer or pick-axe. He's just one of the many helpers who are bringing about a new era at Castle in the Air.

Her "X" Mark

While I was researching the history of letter-writing today, I found an interesting article on "X-mark" signatures. These are sometimes found on old contracts and other documents, and mean that the person who made the "X" was unable to sign his or her own name because of illness or illiteracy. The clerk would then write "Her" (in the case of the signer being female) above the "X" and "Mark" below, then the first and last name of the signer on either side of the mark. There are a number of variations on the "X" -- the mark could look just like the upper-case letter, a cross, or even an upright line with three short marks across it.

Interestingly enough, a forthcoming project from Dromedary Press features an "X-mark" signature in its climactic chapter!

Introducing...

...Commonplace Mouse! I've made a new friend, and I want you all to meet him. Commonplace Mouse has been sharing his story with me for a while now, and just last night I put the final touches on a book of watercolors illustrating them. The book is dedicated to my younger daughter, as she and Mr. Mouse have a lot in common.

In the not-too-distant future, Commonplace Mouse will be the second title from the Castle in the Air publishing imprint, Dromedary Press.

One World - One Heart

Before I started this blog, I was convinced that it was the perfectly wrong thing to do. Here I was, running a bricks-and-mortar store where I get to have face-to-face conversations with all of the wonderful artists who visit Castle in the Air. What sort of online experience could hope to match that?

While there isn't anything that can truly compete with real world friendships, it didn't take long for me to see that the store's blog was putting me in touch with all sorts of people whom I would never get to meet otherwise. Alongside our Online Shoppe, the blog lets people from around the world get a taste of what we do at Castle in the Air, and we can get to know each other through email or through visiting each other's blogs.

Someone who understands this power of the Internet to bring artists together is Lisa "Oceandreamer" Swifka. For three years now, Lisa has organized One World-One Heart, an annual festival that takes place across any number of blogs. Participants simply list an item they'd like to give to a lucky reader, then go and enter similar drawings for prizes at other participants' blogs.

For our entry, we're giving away a signed and numbered copy of Castle in the Air, the first book from my publishing company, Dromedary Press. The story in the book was a surprise gift from my husband on our first wedding anniversary (the paper anniversary). It tells the tale of a queen who has countless suitors, but pledges to give her heart only to the one who can build her "a castle in the air." While Duncan was secretly writing the story, I was furtively painting a picture for him, a picture of a queen waiting to meet the one who would sweep her off her feet.















When we exchanged gifts and saw how well they went together, Duncan and I decided to celebrate by combining the story and the painting into the most romantic little book. We engaged letterpress printer Richard Seibert and bookbinder Victoria Heifner to create it in limited hardcover and pamphlet editions. The forty-page book includes the full-color image of the queen and five line illustrations of the marvelous castles proposed to her.

Do you want your very own copy? We sell them at Castle in the Air as well as through our Online Shoppe, of course, but we're giving away one copy of the Castle in the Air hardcover to a lucky reader -- it could be you!

All you have to do to enter the drawing is to leave a (non-anonymous) comment on this blog post. You don't have to be a fellow participant in One World-One Heart, you don't even need to have your own blog -- the festival is just about getting people to say hello and get to know each other in this brave new online world. We'll draw a winner's name at random on Thursday, February 12 and announce it here!

To learn more about One World-One Heart and see who else is participating, please visit Lisa's blog.

Castle in the Air -- A Love Story

Dromedary Press, the in-house publishing imprint of Castle in the Air, is very happy to announce the publication of its first title. Castle in the Air is a love story beautifully written by Duncan Brown and lyrically illustrated by Karima Cammell. The book tells the tale of an itinerant traveler who attempts to win the heart of a young queen. Awash in suitors, she has declared that she will only marry a man who can build for her a castle in the air.

Castle in the Air is letterpress printed by Richard Seibert and hand-bound by Victoria Heifner. Forty pages, 5 1/4" by 7 1/8". Includes one full-color and five one-color illustrations. Produced in two limited editions: 100 numbered copies case-bound with red Japanese mohair cloth over archival boards, and 200 numbered copies pamphlet-bound in paper cover with red button-twill silk thread.