Susan Lee: Artist, Filmmaker, All-Around Awesome

Susan Lee is a busy, creative person wears a lot of hats. (That's probably why we get along.) As a playwright, a filmmaker, a screenwriter, a teacher, and a painter, Susan has made her mark in many different fields. I know she's made her mark on me as a director and as a friend.

I recently interviewed her at length about her new graphic novel and webseries - both based on Mastermind by Michael Patrick Sullivan - as well as other projects she has lined up.

I thought readergirlz would like what she had to say about strong characters:

"What motivates me is when a piece speaks to me. As a director, it's always the language first. If something isn't well-written, I won't do it. [...] So I always want something that's smart and intelligent. Something that has characters who are complicated and rich. Characters you want to spend not just two hours with but want to take them home and make them dinner and dig even deeper into them. It has to make me want to explore why the characters are the way they are."

- and why she finds being a teacher so delightful:

"What I love about working with kids is how open and vulnerable they are. They're not afraid to tell you what they think. And when they grab on to something, they hold on for dear life. My favorite part is when they have a breakthrough and they achieve something they never thought they could. And to have them step back from their drawing or their painting and have them gasp in wonder at what they've created, there is not enough money in the world to compete with that. They astound me with their ability to create and with their openness and access to their emotions. They make very single day at work a pleasure and so very worthwhile."

Read our full-length interview at Bildungsroman! Share the link and help get the word about Susan's works so she can get an awesome publishing deal for the Mastermind graphic novel!

Important links...

Life On Its Side Productions: Website | Facebook | Twitter

Mastermind: Website | Webseries on YouTube | Facebook | Twitter

Susan's Blog: Diary of a Mid-Life Crisis

Realm Lovejoy Reminder

Click here for larger view.

Last month, author and artist Realm Lovejoy created this very special Art Saves piece inspired by Colby Curtin. Shortly after she started working on this painting, Realm's grandmother was diagnosed with cancer. Realm then decided to make this piece available to others, but instead of asking for payment, she's sending out signed prints in exchange for floral donations for her grandmother, who is missing gardening.

Realm is accepting requests and donations through Monday, August 10th. To learn more, visit Realm's blog or view my earlier post about it, or email her directly: rtlovejoy (at) yahoo (dot) com

Art Saves Gallery

All of the Art Saves contributions have been added to the July 2009 issue of readergirlz.

For additional text and commentary, please check out the individual Art Saves posts at the readergirlz blog or here at Bildungsroman.

Many thanks to all of the participants!

Art Saves: Cecil Castellucci

There's no better way to wrap up our Art Saves project for July than with a contribution from that month's featured author, Cecil Castellucci. She says:

I like it when I see street art on my walks. It makes my heart sing.

These are two things that I saw on my journey recently.


Click the thumbnail to see the full-sized image.

Art Saves: Little Willow

Now it's my turn...


Click the thumbnail to see the full-sized image.

I am an actress, a singer, and a dancer.
I am a writer, a director, and a playwright.
I am a passionate supporter of the performing arts.

I chose to spell out "Art Saves" using pictures from some of my performances. :)

- Little Willow

Art Saves: Melissa Walker

Melissa Walker, readergirlz diva, snapped these pictures of chalk drawings made by kids in Brooklyn:


Click the thumbnail to see the full-sized image.

Art Saves: Lauren

One of our adorable readergirlz-in-training, Lauren:


Click the thumbnail to see the full-sized image.

Art Saves: Kiba Rika

Today's Art Saves creation and guest blog comes from my creative and crafty friend Kimberly Hirsh, aka Kiba Rika:


Click the thumbnail to view the full-sized image.

Here's a picture of a hat I crocheted. I wanted to take a moment to encourage people to participate in fiber art. It saves in many ways:

- It makes a statement in the form of guerilla yarn art
http://crochetme.com/blog/spied-guerrilla-yarn-art-nyc

- It makes people feel better when they're sick
http://www.headhuggers.org/

- It makes people aware of their consumption habits
http://www.counterfeitcrochet.org/

- It makes people think about the amazing environment in which we live
http://www.theiff.org/reef/index.html

I think The Plain Janes would be on board, especially with the guerilla yarn art.

Check out your local craft store or do a search online for "crochet" or "knitting" to learn one of these excellent arts!

- Kimberly Hirsh

Art Saves: Sarah Stevenson

Sarah Stevenson, aka aquafortis, created this to save us:


Click the thumbnail to view the full-sized image.

Art Saves: Tanita S. Davis

Click the thumbnail to view the full-sized image.

This maybe isn't art... Maybe it's a Craft Saves Sampler. Or something. But then, who gets to decide what's art? This is just a random sampling of some of my artsy junk. A painted pillowcase (it got a stain, so the pair got a makeover), a gourd I grew and made into a birdhouse (the gourd tried to take over the yard. And REEKED. It was definitely a learning experience...that I would do again. Further from any plants I don't want strangled), some recycled jars that became gifts, some earrings I made out of shells I scavenged, some clay Kokopellis I sculpted, then painted and framed.

I didn't include my knitting, because...it's way too far from "art." As is most of my doodling/collaging/drawing. But these are the things that save my sanity, let my hands work and my mind go free to think up...other things. Thanks for asking me to play.

- Tanita S. Davis

Art Saves: Holly Cupala

Click the thumbnail to view the full-sized image.

Before I could write, I made stories with pictures. There have been times in my life when words were just not enough – through joy, sadness, and love – and my art has been there to convey what speaking could not. I made this painting years ago during a difficult period and kept it to remind me that there is a window of hope even through the darkest despair. We are beings meant to create, meant to express. Art is a gift to humankind.

~ rgz diva Holly Cupala

Art Saves: Shelf Elf

Shelf Elf, one of our postergirlz, sent in these beautiful photographs:


Click the thumbnail to view the full-sized image.

Art Saves, every day, in a million different ways. Download the template, decorate it with your photographs or artwork, and post a comment below with a scan or a picture of your creation!

Art Saves: Beth Kephart

Beth Kephart sent in this photograph, along with the special story behind it:


Click the image to see the full size.

Want to help save the world with your art and your words? Know that you can. YOU CAN.

Learn more about Art Saves and The Plain Janes in this month's issue of readergirlz!

Art Saves: Piper

You're never too young to create and appreciate art! Piper's proud mama sent this in:


Click the picture above to see Piper's full-sized art.

If you're a kid or a teen and you have younger siblings or baby-sitting clients, or if you're an adult and you have children or work with kids, you should download the Art Saves template, print out copies (use recycled paper or scratch paper), and encourage the kids to sketch, paste, or stamp something on their sheets. Let them have fun with this project - and feel free to post links to pictures of their completed artwork in the comments below!

Art Saves: Ellen

Here's a contribution sent in by Ellen:


Click the thumbnail above to see Ellen's artwork in real size.

Why and how do you think Art Saves? Download the Art Saves template from this month's issue of readergirlz and decorate it to your heart's content!

Art Saves: Lorie Ann Grover

Lorie Ann Grover created this beautiful image for Art Saves!


Click the image to see the full size.

Download the Art Saves template, decorate it, and post it in the comments below.
Learn more about Art Saves and The Plain Janes in this month's issue of readergirlz!

Art Saves: Realm Lovejoy

This contribution and guest blog comes from Realm Lovejoy, author of the forthcoming illustrated novel Clan. She created this Art Saves piece for a very special reason - and then received some news about a loved one. The rest of this post is in her own words.


Click here for larger view.

This Art Saves piece was inspired by the news story about Colby Curtin, whose dying wish was to see the movie UP by Pixar before she passed away. It's an example of how much artistic creations can mean to us. During hard times, sometimes we just hold onto the simple and happy things in life.

Shortly after I started this painting, I received news that my grandmother has cancer and may only have a few months left to live. It would mean a lot to me if I could dedicate this painting towards collecting what she loves most.

I am offering to send a signed print of this piece. Instead of paying me for the print plus shipping, all you have to do to get a print is to buy a ten stem bouquet or a Pinky Tree on-line and have it sent to my grandmother. (She misses gardening very much.) One can never have too many flowers!

If you are interested or have questions, just give me an email at rtlovejoy (at) yahoo (dot) com

I'll accept requests up until August 10th of this year. Thank you!

- Realm Lovejoy

Visit Realm's website and blog.

Art Saves: Tom Sniegoski

What inspires author Tom Sniegoski? Take a peek:


Click the image above to view it full-size in a new window.

Visit Tom's website.

I (Little Willow) talk to or about Tom so much at my blog that he has his own tag there!

Learn more about Art Saves in this month's issue of readergirlz.

Art Saves: Lisa Ann Sandell

Today's Art Saves contribution and guest blog comes from Lisa Ann Sandell, author of A Map of the Known World, one of this month's recommended reads.


Click image above to view full size in a new window.

"...[A]ll beauty in animals and plants is a quiet enduring form of love..." Rainer Maria Rilke wrote this line in a letter to a young poet (you can find the whole collection of his letters in Letters to a Young Poet), as he tried to let his correspondent, a young and aspiring writer, know that he could look to nature - plant and animal life - for inspiration and fodder. There is great beauty to be found in the world all around us. And for as long as art and artists have existed, they have tried to capture that beauty and to reflect it in their artwork. It serves as a reminder to all people that there is joy to be found in the world, that even the smallest things, from the tiniest hummingbird to the wispiest blade of grass, are important and enrich our life experience.

My father's father was a wonderful artist. He painted and took photographs, he drew and he sculpted. I feel incredibly lucky to have some of his work in my apartment now. He always took inspiration from the world that lay out of doors. A black and white photograph of a wooden fence post is so simple as to be terse. But it speaks volumes about the boundaries that we draw for ourselves, the way we carve up the earth and our lives, as well as the bleakness and the simplicity of life in the country. A sculpture of two polar bears, a mother and her baby depicts a stark iciness, but there is a warmth in the white marble figures, as a protectiveness and watchfulness of the mother is captured in the depth of her eye and the twist of her body.

When I look at these polar bears or at the photograph of the fence post, or any of his and may others' pieces of art, I remember that I should step outside and walk in the park, take time to be alone and think and treasure the great outdoors. For it was the intoxicating scent of a jasmine blossom that stirred me to write my first book, The Weight of the Sky, and the warbling song of a sparrow that brought me to my second, Song of the Sparrow. Thinking about land and animals and the spicy scents of exotic herbs took me to my most recent novel, A Map of the Known World.

Art and the world outdoors go together, and it's up to us to explore - and find joy in - both.

- Lisa Ann Sandell

Visit Lisa Ann Sandell's website and journal.
Read Little Willow's interview with Lisa Ann Sandell.

Art Saves: Crissa-Jean Chappell

View the image in a new window.

Crissa-Jean Chappell, author of Total Constant Order, contributed this new piece to our Art Saves project. She calls it Levitation.

Thanks, Crissa, for your special contribution!

Visit Crissa-Jean Chappell's website and journal.
Read Little Willow's interview with Crissa.
Read Little Willow's review of Total Constant Order.