Archives
Saturday Special from the Vaults: Andy Warhol: Everyone Will Be Famous for 15 Minutes
For this week's Saturday Special, another opening to another biography written for Enslow Publishers, this one about artist Andy Warhol. Like my biographies of Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix, it was for the series American Rebels. I actually studied a bit of art history and minored in art at university, and we make a point of visiting art galleries wherever we go, so this one was fun. Even more so since a Warhol exhibit passed through Regina while I was in the early stages of working on it. Herewith, the introduction and first chapter to Andy Warhol: Everyone Will Be Famous for 15 Minutes. But first: a link where ...Saturday Special from the Vaults: A 1997 interview with Tolkien artist John Howe
John Howe is an artist particularly well known for his illustrations based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. He and Alan Lee served as the chief conceptual designers for The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, so you have well have seen his work without even knowing his name. But when I interviewed him for InQuest Magazine back in 1997, all that lay in the future. You can read all about his current work on his website, but 15 years ago, this was what he had to say... (Photo: John Howe, 2003, by Stefan Servos) *** Vital Stats Name: John Howe Birth: August 21, 1957, in Vancouver, B.C. Occupation: Illustrator Base of Operations: Switzerland Family: Howe's wife, Fataneh, ...Atomic-oxygen art restoration
[podcast]http://edwardwillett.com/wp-content/upLoads//2011/02/Atomic-Oxygen-Art-Restoration.mp3[/podcast] Whenever you visit an art museum that houses really old paintings, you may find yourself underwhelmed by their appearance. Case in point: the Mona Lisa. Although I haven’t seen it recently, when I did see it, back in the 1980s...well. It was small, dark, and hard to see inside its climate-controlled compartment. That darkness dimming the famous smile dims many other old paintings. Over five centuries, the Mona Lisa has been plastered with layer upon layer of resin, lacquer and varnish that have darkened with age. Removing them has always been tricky, because each substance requires a different solvent, which in turn must not damage the paint that ...My poster for Regina Lyric Musical Theatre’s fall show
I've been designing posters for Regina Lyric Musical Theatre (previously Regina Lyric Light Opera) for years now. I enjoy it. It's pretty much the only visually artistic thing I do these days, despite being an art minor in university. Here's my poster for this fall's production of The Times, They Are A-Changin', a 1960s folk revue created and directed by Ryan Hicks, a music teacher here in the city with whom I used to sing in the University of Regina Chamber Singers. Oh, and tickets are on sale now, if you'd like to go see the show. You should!My short story in Space and Time
My short story "Waterlilies" has finally appeared in Space and Time Magazine, which bought it months and months ago (as is obvious by the bio, which refers to my seven-year-old daughter--that would be the one who just turned nine). Anyway, it's nice to see it in print, my name up in lights--well, on the cover, at least. "Waterlilies" is a humorous apocalyptic nanotech art story. Just so you know. The cover art at left is by Patrick Thomas. My story is illustrated by Alan Beck.Terra Insegura cover art minus the text
In his New Works gallery on his website, Hugo Award-winning artist Stephan Martiniere has included the cover of my DAW SF novel Terra Insegura, minus the text (title, my name, DAW logo) that clutters up the actual book. It's a stunner! And I literally got a chill looking at it when I realized for the very first time that, down at the very bottom, there are human skulls littering the spaceport pavement...SF Signal book cover smackdown includes Terra Insegura
John DeNardo over at SF Signal is running a Book Cover Smackdown--and the Stephan Martiniere cover for Terra Insegura is one of them.So which do you like best of these three? Terra Insegura by...me! (Cover Artist: Stephan Martiniere)...My poster for Follies
I've just sent this poster of Lyric Musical Theatre of Regina's upcoming production of Stephen Sondheim's Follies (in which I'll be playing Buddy) off to be printed. Designing these things is the closest I come to doing art any more. I always enjoy it!Oh, and let this be first notice of the production, if you're in the area. Tickets (just $25!) will go on sale within a week or so at Bach & Beyond in the Golden Mile Centre here in Regina, or online at reginalyric.com.Dare to doodle!
[podcast]http://edwardwillett.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/doodling.mp3[/podcast] Hi! My name is Ed, and I am a doodler. I have doodled my way through countless classes, mounds of monotonous meetings, scads of sonorous sermons. My teachers and others have looked at me askance over the years. But no more! I, and all who doodle with me, have at last been vindicated by psychologist Jackie Andrade of England’s University of Plymouth. “What Does Doodling Do?” asks her latest study, the results of which were just published in Applied Cognitive Psychology. The answer? Doodling, far from distracting people from the monotony du jour, actually helps focus their minds: doodlers remember what they just heard better than non-doodlers. For her study, Andrade asked 40 participants, ranging in age from 18 to 55, to listen to ...The Destruction of K’ormal
A girl (well, she's not a girl any more, obviously) I knew in high school just sent me a photo of something I haven't seen in 30 years or so: a painting I created when I was about 17 to illustrate the climactic scene of the last book I wrote in high school, The Slavers of Thok. It's called "The Destruction of K'ormal."Whaddya think? Should I have pursued art instead of writing?
Edward Willett is a Subscribe to my weekly science column for free!
Advertisement
Donate
Magebane
“Spectacular” – Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Evil wizards, multi-level conspiracies, hidden kingdoms…Lee Arthur Chane…has done a marvelous job…Magebane is a very entertaining book and well worth the time.” – A.M. Donovan, Night Owl Reviews
I happily recommend Magebane and I’ll certainly give Chane’s next novel a try based on this one.” —Bill Capossere, Fantasy Literature
“…an original and delightful tale of epic fantasy and magic, steampunk science, adventure, tragedy, and love…” – Errant Dreams Reviews
Eight centuries ago, the world changed. A devastating war swept the lands, and the MageLords, who had long ruled by virtue of their spell powers, were driven to a distant place, separated from those they had ruled by a magical Barrier. With magic banished from the rest of the world, the MageLords became mere legend and people turned to science to improve their lives. But if one man has his way, all that is about to change….
Written as Lee Arthur Chane (the middle names of my older brothers, Jimmy Lee and Dwight Arthur, and myself, Edward Chane Willett).
Marseguro
Winner of the 2009 Prix Aurora Award for Best Long-Form Work in English
Water world Marseguro is home to the Selkies, a water-dwelling race created from human DNA. When an unmodified human seeks revenge on a Selkie by activating a distress beacon taken from the remains of the original colony ship, a strikeforce is sent from Earth to eradicate the genetic abomination. Yet Marseguro will not prove as easy to conquer as the Earth force anticipates…
Terra Insegura
Finalist for the 2010 Prix Aurora Award for Best Novel in English
Marseguro, a water world far from Earth, is home to a colony of humans and the Selkies, a water-dwelling race created from modified human DNA. For seventy years the colony has lived in peace. Then Earth discovers Marseguro, and a strike force is sent to eradicate this “abomination.” But Marseguro has created a genetically tailored plague to use against Earth’s Holy Warriors. With the enemy defeated, the people of Marseguro feel they are safe. But Chris Keating, the traitor who signaled Marseguro’s location to the Holy Warriors, has fled to Earth, unknowingly carrying the deadly plague within him. The people of Marseguro feel they must send a ship to Earth with a life-saving vaccine. Only time will tell what awaits them when they reach their destination.
Lost in Translation
Kathryn was a human empath whose world and life had been destroyed when the alien S’sinn slaughtered her parents before her very eyes. Jarrikk was a young S’sinn, an unproven warrior who’d seen his flight mates slaughtered by the humans who’d sought to colonize his world.
As humans and S’sinn found themselves on the brink of war, these two Translators had to work together to find a common ground and avert catastrophe. But whether their Translators’ oath and training could overcome the enemies leagued against them was very much in doubt…
Archives
Song of the Sword
My new YA fantasy novel from Lobster Press
Before the Lady called her, Ariane’s life was a mess. Two years ago, her mother disappeared. She bounced around different foster homes until her aunt finally took her in. The meanest clique at her new high school has decided to make Ariane their prime target. And to top it all off, she is having frightening premonitions, and they are becoming more intense. The moment water touches her skin, she sees visions of a lake, a lady, and a sword. When a staircase opens up in the middle of Wascana Lake and the water begins singing to her, she has no choice but to answer the call….
Historic Walks of Regina and Moose Jaw
Ten walks to points of historic and architectural interest in the cities of Regina and Moose Jaw (eight walks for Regina, two for Moose Jaw).
Johnny Cash: The Man in Black
When country music legend Johnny Cash took the stage at Folsom State Prison in 1968, he solidified the public’s perception of him as a rebel who followed his own path. Born in Arkansas during the Great Depression, Cash endured poverty, the death of his older brother, and a difficult relationship with his father. He turned to gospel and country music to express the pain, and after many years of struggling, his songs of hardship and hope would finally reach the ears of those waiting for an artist who represented them, ordinary people fighting to survive.
Andy Warhol: Everyone Will Be Famous for 15 Minutes
“Paintings are too hard. Machines have less problems…” In the 1960s, Andy Warhol became the most famous creator of a new style of art called pop art, which transformed mass-produced items of popular culture into fine works of art. From Campbell’s Soup cans to photographs of Marilyn Monroe, Warhol’s willingness to use anything and everything from the mass media in his work expanded the range of subject matter available to artists. His avant-garde films, artistic usage of American icons, and unconventional social life made him a controversial figure, both greatly admired and deeply reviled. A trendsetter rather than a trend-follower, a dispassionate observer of both the seamy and celebrity sides of life, Warhol was a true American rebel.
Disease-Hunting Scientist
The true stories of six real disease hunters. Epidemiologists travel the world trying to keep us safe from deadly diseases—from high-tech labs in Canada to remote villages in Africa. Learn how these “disease detectives” are coming up with new ways to fight disease, and find out if you have what it takes to become an epidemiologist, too!
The Bounty Mutiny
The Bounty was a British ship visiting Tahiti in 1789 when some of the crew overthrew the captain, William Bligh, and set him adrift in a tiny boat with sailors loyal to him. The mutiny resulted in a number of trials–both of the men who mutinied and of Bligh for losing command of his ship. These fascinating events have been the source for numerous Hollywood movies, most recently The Bounty. The Bounty Mutiny: From the Court Case to the Movie explores the famous case and the movies it inspired.
Facebook
Flickr
GoodReads
RSS
Twitter
Email
