The Glass House - Space and Time Magazine #141

 

 
Today the bones of Milner Mansion lay in ruins. The great house, built by Titus Salt, Jr. in Bingley, UK around the Victorian Era, has it's own tragic tales and mysteries.  Those living in the area inherit, if they choose, the lore of the mansion, access to the field where it stood, and may explore the rubble of brick, mosaic floor and what remains of its once great glasshouse floor.

Author Alyson Faye has planted her Gothic horror story "The Glass House" (published in Issue #141 of Space and Time Magazine) at Milner Mansion, back when the walls and the greenhouse stood strong. This is not Faye's first literary venture into the setting (see Night of the Rider by Demain Publishing.)

The Glass House is a story of maddening inheritance and monstrous responsibilities. It's slightly unsettling to read and a delightful indulgence.

For the magazine publication, I was fortunate to provide the illustration. In the few years I've been working with Space & Time, I've been secretly dying to illustrate horror. Still, I was apprehensive that I would find it too difficult to capture the tone of a dark tale within the limitations of my cartoonish style. Having completed the projected, I  feel more confident, or at least hopeful, that those fears were unnecessary.

I spent some time referencing pulp horror illustrations, leafing trough digital volumes of Weird Tales and exploring techniques used by illustrators during the Victorian Era. All the while pulling from these works elements I hoped would incorporate well with my own style.

I collected reference photos for costume, props, and even planters appropriate for the period. As usual, there were four times as many unused references as there were included. But that is always part of the fun, discovering which pieces in the pile actually fit this particular puzzle. I also found a handful of visual references for the mansion and imagined the perspective one would take looking upon the house from inside the greenhouse. 

Within the illustration there is a fetus-bean, a horned rider with hounds, reference to the rare Cypripedium Calceolus "lady's slipper" orchid of the Yorkshire Dales, a juvenile potted triffid (of the Penguin Books "hairy pineapple" variety,) --which I suspect the botanist father in the story might have been using in his experiments (big gasp.) Also, included is a nod and a bow to both the great Milner Field house as it once stood and how one would find it today.

May the mansion's legacy live on, fueled by the fascination and imagination of ones such as the talented Alyson Faye.

The Hum of the Wheel, the Clack of the Loom - Space & Time Magazine #140

 

As I write this Fagradalsfjall is erupting not too far from the airport near Rekjavik, Iceland. Don't worry, they're fairly used to it.

At the same time the Spring issue of Space and Time Magazine is being released featuring the story The Hum of the Wheel, the Clack of the Loom, for which I was fortunate to provide an illustration. The story is high fantasy, written by an author who lives near the Scandinavian fishing community of Seattle and who's last name happens to be Anderson. 

Therefore, before even reading two paragraphs into the story, I knew I'd be adding some Nordic elements to the illustration.

In The Hum of the Wheel, the Clack of the Loom, K. G. Anderson has created an insightful, beautifully written, interpersonal fantasy. The themes layered into the story of a man who's fallen into a relationship with a fairy are both timely and timeless. A cautionary tale for those readers still brave enough to open themselves to finding love in times of social strife.

The story is very effective in it's intent, resonating with a specific frequency for those of us just coming out of the political atmosphere of 2020, but still universally human enough to be heard by generations to come.

Sofhars sketch with their alternating shearing schedule

For the illustration I tried something different, playing with greasy grays and watercolor effects. I spent a good amount of time admiring the works of Swedish illustrator John Bauer and learning about the historic deforestation of Iceland.

In the illustration are stone cairns, a fantasy version of the turf house, Faldbúningur and Þjóðbúningur karla, vegetation that includes rowan trees, Icelandic birch, and the invasive lupine (but also elephant ears and donkey tails.) There are three ne'er-do-wells lurking at the bridge, one of which an insurrectionist shaman (which I only hope in years to come will be a lost reference.)

I'm curious to see how the new techniques print. What works and what does not.

Meanwhile, there's fresh lava on the island. I dream of Iceland often. It didn't feel like home while visiting but, years later, I wish that one day it could be.

Arthritis Update

 

It's been a little while since I've written about my arthritis. While the progression and the loss are (thankfully) slow, I'm noticeably worse off with each new year than I was in the previous.

In regards to my art, most of the accommodations I have made (and blogged about here) have minimized the discomfort and allowed me to focus on the creativity rather than managing the pain.

Outside of that, I get aches in my hips, shoulders, knees, and neck now. Deep aches that are easy to be distracted from during the business of the day but hound me at night.  There are hot Florida nights where I sleep with a heating pad loosely wrapped around some body part. There are moments when I get up for a drink and hobble like an old man into the kitchen.

Even when playing video games (a hobby I realize I will also, regrettably, someday have to give up), I must adapt to the limitations of my hands and the strength left in my fingers. For example, I find now in many games where a selection of weapons are available I  only use automatic weapons where I can just hold down the trigger to fire or high powered weapons like sniper rifles, where one shot does the trick.

I tell myself, "Celebrate. These are still the good years."