#if youre thinking of commissioning an artist please consider chris!

[thexfridax]

Translated interview

Adèle Haenel: Figurehead of the new French Film

by Daniel Kalt, in: Die Presse, 13th of December 2019

Additions or clarifications for translating purposes are denoted as [T: …]

Adèle Haenel talks about her new film, gender roles and a new cinema by women, which oddly doesn’t give much space to men. [T: 😊]

Adèle Haenel came to Vienna for the Viennale [T: annual Film Festival, here: 24th of October to 6th of November 2019], playing the lead role in the opening film ‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’. It’s one of those hot almost summer-like autumn days, prior to the photo shoot Haenel is sitting in the scorching heat on the terrace in front of the studio and greets a purring cat, which is passing by, in German. Haenel is the daughter of an Austrian translator, and grew up in [T: Montreuil, in the Métropole du Grand] Paris. According to her, she spoke the [T: German] language as a child, but forgot about it later on, ‘as is often the case’. Only for her role in Chris Kraus’ film ‘The Bloom of Yesterday’, where she plays alongside Lars Eidinger, did she relearn German. [T: Now] in Vienna, the actress, who is one of the most celebrated in contemporary French cinema, is a bit tired after a long promotional tour for her film, which [T: all] began in Cannes. The uproar, which Adèle Haenel will cause a couple of weeks later, when she accuses the French director Christophe Ruggia of sexual harassment that took place during the shoot of her first Film ‘Les Diables – she was still half a child then [T: !?] – preceded Vienna and is therefore not mentioned here. Because of her film projects and her statements as a prominent creative artist it seems obvious to ask whether she considers herself a feminist, to which Haenel responds in a heartbeat: ‘Yes, absolutely. And in capital letters, go ahead and write down FEMINIST.’

Adèle Haenel plays young Héloïse in her new film, which is now shown in cinemas across Austria, and is directed by Céline Sciamma (the two women were a couple for some time, it is their second joint production). After the death of her sister, [T: Héloïse] was brought back from the convent to her family’s home on an island in Brittany. The story takes place in the late 18th century, Héloïse is supposed to be married off to Milan. But first, it’s necessary to send a portrait to her future husband, which should please him. Héloïse refuses the gaze of the painter – the ‘male gaze’ –, who was commissioned to paint her. So, her mother resorts to a trick and hires another artist [T: called] Marianne: She should spend a couple of days with Héloïse as her companion, without revealing her [T: secret] mission. Through gazing at her furtively and catching glimpses of details – lips, an ear, the position of hands –, will she piece together a portrait of Héloïse. But tension builds between the two young women, which leads to a short-lived and passionate affair.

Interviewer: Your new film takes place in the late 18th century – how did you prepare for the role?

Adèle Haenel: This wasn’t my first period film, ‘L’Apollinide’ [T: House of Tolerance, 2011] for example is also from the same era, just before the French Revolution. Besides, I have mainly tried to create the character of Héloïse around a certain concept, a certain image. The historic perspective wasn’t key for me to prepare for the role. Playing in costume was mostly to place this [T: film] in a certain time. But it wasn’t my top priority to lend credence to my character by putting it in a historical context.

I: What is the main theme for you: love, art, liberty, the liberty of art?

AH: The film is mainly about love and particularly about what love can be. It is about desire, the pleasure of intellectual exchange and a blossoming friendship. And then there is also the aspect of art and artistic expression, which leads to an extraordinary relationship between the two main characters. Another important point was also to show love that’s different to what you usually see in films: It is not love at first sight, no ‘coup de foudre’ [T: repeats the same phrase in French], but emotions that are developing slowly and in which you immerse yourself, because they are connected with deep admiration. The film also explores in-depth the central theme of the ‘female gaze’ as counterpoint to the dominating male gaze, which has been prevalent in cultural products for a long time.

I: Does it make a difference for you to be ‘directed’ by a female director, as the term ‘director’ implies in English?

AH: I’d like to state here that I’m an extremely political person. That is why it is important to me to describe the relationship between the actress and director [T: the female form of director is used here] accordingly: It is not a vertical relationship for me, where I’m directed by an opposite, but an equal exchange. We developed this film together, conceptualising love in a way where one character does not dominate the other. I also have a responsibility to carry as an actress, especially in a film like this, which is constructed around the gaze and the person who is looking [T: both genders are included here]. My character is not a passive muse, we tried to break this idea. In fact, it is not the story of an artist [T: male form is used here], who enters a room and sees a woman who inspires him, but something completely different.

I: Would you say that Héloïse is at first motivated by anger about the situation?

AH: You could talk about anger, but this means to break down the bigger issue of resistance to an individual level. It’s not mainly about the anger of this character, but it’s about how she as a woman reacts to her specific situation. Society often denies women the right to live as we want to or our own projects. That’s why I think it’s better to talk about resistance against the entirety of the patriarchal system.

I: How did you express this in the way you acted?

AH: In the beginning Héloïse’s gestures and facial expressions are quite restricted, very much contained. The love story then takes up more space over time, likewise my acting is becoming more generous. That also makes sense from a political point of view:  At first there’s the question how to resist the ruling order: Either you sacrifice yourself, because you’re caught up in the system. Or alternatively, as I chose to do for Héloïse, through absence and withdrawal. This means, I negate my existence and I’m only present as detached figure – as object, so that no one comes close to me as subject. My absence is therefore a way to resist.

I: Was this the first time you’ve structured a role like this?

AH: Yes, although I always ask myself profound questions when preparing for a role. That’s the main theme for me, how to create feelings and emotions that leave behind the screen.

I: Do you have a desired impact in mind with your craft?

AH: I would like to spark off something like a mimetic reaction among the audience, which goes beyond the feelings and emotions in the film. [T: 🔥] Let’s call it a vibration, which resonates in real life and which I would like to set off. That’s all the more important, because it allows for new storytelling. In ‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’ we make fun of the patriarchy. A conscious decision was made to almost entirely exclude men from the picture. We don’t convey a political message openly, but instead are very concrete by not showing something.

I: Do you consider yourself a feminist?

AH: Yes, absolutely. And in capital letters, go ahead and write down FEMINIST. And you, are you a feminist? I see the reluctance to openly support feminism among men rather than women. There are of course women who are sometimes reluctant to support feminist demands. But this is the result of a specific system, in which women are oppressed. There was and still is an expectation for us to subordinate ourselves, or even become extinct. The time for women to speak is always less than for men, irrespective of the context. And this is despite the stereotype of women talking more in general: Gloria Steinem quite rightly says that it’s not about the actual time that women are speaking, but about the silence that is expected of them.

All pictures by Elsa Okazaki

[soniartem]

          Ethics and art - How considerate does an artist have to be?

Contemporary art seeks to challenge traditional boundaries, almost seeing how far it can go before it crosses the line. It can at times be confusing, confrontational and controversial and can shock or thrill the audience depending on the subject matter. Contemporary art can be anything from an installation to a painting, a performance to a sculptural piece, it can even be a random object that is claimed to be art. As there is no uniformity or formula, the artist can use any medium and can exhibit anything he/she wishes to.

Controversy in the art world has always existed. Even in Caravaggio’s religious works in the 15th century which depicted religious figures in a very realistic manner. One of his most controversial paintings at the time was ‘The Death Of The Virgin’ which depicted The Virgin Mary on her death bed. The controversy was not of the subject matter but more about the way that this biblical scene was painted. The Virgin Mary can be seen with her hand over her slightly bloated stomach and bared ankles which the audience found very upsetting. For these reasons it was rejected by the Chapel of Santa Maria della Scala for which it was commissioned by in Rome. It was also said that the woman that modelled The Virgin Mary for this painting was a common prostitute working in Rome. This brought further distaste to the artwork. Nowadays, it is a revered masterpiece however when painted, it was disputed over. A controversial modern day representation of The Virgin Mary is ‘The Holy Virgin Mary’ by Chris Ofili’. This painting depicts The Virgin Mary surrounded by the backsides of Women from adult magazines, balancing the canvas on two pieces of elephant dung. Ofili stated that it is a ‘hip-hop version (of the figure)’. The painting stands out with its vibrant use of colour, the yellow and purple starkly contrast with each other making the painting quite jarring and bright. Many would not find the artwork offensive at all however at the same this portrayal offended many religious people. It is difficult to please every individual audience member although I think that there is an unspoken responsibility to have mutual respect for the audience and be considerate of groups of the audience that may see your work.

When it comes to exhibiting artwork, ethics are important to consider. This form of ‘moral accountability’ encourages the respect of the audience. However, everyone will have a different opinion and take on the artwork and our life experiences will cause us to interpret art in various ways. At the end of the day, it is up to the artist to decide what to include in their work but some may argue that this doesn’t mean that the artist shouldn’t be held accountable for any content they exhibit. On the other hand, some artworks are intended to be controversial and aim to shock. The series of work 'Plum Grove' by Peter Howson (1994) does just that. This series of paintings, influenced by the break-up of Yugoslavia and the creation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, aims to portray these events in a graphic manner and the effect of the war on the civilians. Howson was the official War Artist for the British contingent of the UN Peace Keeping Force to Bosnia in 1993. As a result, his paintings included rape scenes, violence, and other graphic scenes which he witnessed himself or from eye-witness accounts. His paintings depict people in contorted positions with green and blue skin tones giving a sense of distress and pain. The paintings are quite expressive and have a sense of movement alongside a sense of exaggeration, exaggerating various features of the figures giving a further sense of suffering. The paintings undoubtedly leave the audience feeling uncomfortable. Although this series of work is in a way raising awareness of the events, some may say that censorship is necessary. Audience members who were not victims of the Yugoslavian conflicts or who have never experienced war of any kind can’t relate to the imagery as much as war survivors or people who have witnessed similar events. Although the subject matter is distressing and upsetting, the audience members are all effected in different ways based on their life experiences. The artist can choose whether or not to censor their work or to take ethics into consideration depending on the emotions they wish to stir up.

Appropriation, borrowing or recycling aspects of someone else’s work, plays a big role in contemporary artwork too. For example, in Banksy’s piece, ‘Show me the Monet’ (2005) a framed image of Monet’s painting is visible with orange shopping trolleys and traffic cones in his famous lily pond. I think that it shows the over-commercialisation of Monet’s work and art in general. Nowadays it is easy to see images of artwork online and it’s also common to buy merchandise with various pieces of art printed on. The imperative ‘Show me’ in the title of the piece further emphasises our consumerist society and ever growing demand for instant gratification. All of this has contributed to the devaluation of the artwork. Although the physical painting still costs a fortune, it is accessible on many platforms and is over-marketed so its purpose and meaning have been lost in the process.

I think that when it comes to handling delicate subject matters, it is important to somewhat take the audience into consideration. Some artwork is made for the audience to question and to be shocked by and will affect everyone in a different way but I think that there can be some occasions where a piece of controversial artwork can become disrespectful. Overall, I think that it is the role of the artist to push the boundaries of modern-day society and to adapt when necessary; a sense of mutual respect for all opinions and all views is important. Despite the fact that nowadays, art is created to challenge the audience and express emotion, I think that it’s the role of every artist to know what is appropriate and what isn’t depending on the subject matter they wish to portray.

 References

https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/howson-plum-grove-t06961

https://artswithanna.com/2018/09/28/ethics-and-arts/

https://www.dazeddigital.com/art-photography/article/39894/1/that-time-this-chris-ofili-the-holy-virgin-mary-hip-hop-pissed-off-the-art-world

[fan-fangirl-world]

Chris x Leon fan art winners

I know I should have uploaded this earlier but I had to “work” last sunday and stay at the convention from 12:30 p.m until 7:50 p.m. I ended up exhausted but here it is!!

The winners were option 1 (Chris and Leon in the amusement park, eating snacks and hugging + Leon wearing the “Made in Heaven” jacket) and option 5 (wedding photo). Only a few of you vote but I considered everyone who messaged me or reblog the “vote post”.

Please read all the description

I had kind of a “situation” with option 1 because as I told you if there were a lot of people at the convention asking for fan arts, the commissions would be black and white. Option 1 was kind of complex to do it on time so I was only able to ask for Chris hugging Leon with the plush lion BUT I’m working on getting this commission as you asked. (sorry for this, it was my fault not the artist. She was super kind and she gave me the fan art on time)

On the other hand I think option 4 is what you asked. The artist was so kind and it was funny to ask for this commission because the artist told me that Chris and Leon were so ripped when I showed her the characters I wanted.

The third fan art (Leon wearing Chris's hoodie) was my idea. I told you I had one so there it is. The artist totally approved the idea of the character wearing a big hoodie and showing his legs.

I will contact the winners via message in order to give them the artist pages and confirm that the winners follow them.

IMPORTANT

If you are a Chris x Leon fan, you participated in this “ask/vote for your commission” or you like the fan arts, please follow the artists via Instagram, Deviantart, Facebook or Twitter.Their pages are below.

If you want me to contact the artist because you are shy or something like that, I can do it. Send me a private message.

You can reblog this post or share the post link wherever you want BUT you can’t repost the fan art. If someone repost the fan art, I will erase this post from my page and I will not make another giveaway like this so please don’t do it.

Thank everyone who participated in this “ask/vote”

If I have time, I will try to contact some artists and make a similar activity (maybe sooner than later) so if you were not able to ask for a commission or your idea didn't win, don’t feel sad because you could have a new chance.

Artist: Alison-Lynn

If you want to contact the artist please do it using spanish or english language

Deviantart: https://www.deviantart.com/alison-lynn

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alisonlynn_art

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlisonLynnArt

Hugging Lions

Artist: Lisabims

If you want to contact the artist please do it using spanish or english language 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisabims/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lisabims

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisabims/

Wedding photo

Artist: Aomineko

If you want to contact the artist please do it using spanish language

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coo1moon/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jesiareli/

Chris’s hoodie = boyfriend hoodie (now it belongs to Leon)

Reminder:

You can reblog this post or share the post link wherever you want BUT you can’t repost the fan art. If someone repost the fan art, I will erase this post from my page and I will not make another giveaway like this so please don’t do it.

Short note:

Thank you for being part of the Chreon fandom and don’t forget to follow the artists who took the time to make these awesome fan arts.

[synapseevents]

New Works 2021

Synapse Arts - New Works

call for Choreographers/Directors

ABOUT THE PROGRAM Synapse Arts invites proposals from choreographers/directors who wish to take part in “New Works”, a program that supports independent dance-based artists in making an original performance piece. This program reflects the founding principles of Chicago-based Synapse Arts, connecting artists with one another to share resources and develop their voices through the creation of unique performance works. New Works takes place every other year and has commissioned 17 choreographers/directors so far. 

This program typically takes place in person, however the 2021 cycle will largely center around virtual programming, in the form of a remote residency. This means that applicants for this cycle do not necessarily need to be based in Chicago.

THE APPLICATION PROCESS

Two choreographer/director positions are available by application. Applicants should be independent artists who are developing their body of work and are interested in learning about how to self-produce. We emphasize process over product, and this remote residency is intended to help artists learn about themselves and their working style as they create. Proposed pieces may be created for any number of performers, including solos, and can be part of ongoing projects. Applicants who have not worked within the New Works program previously will take priority.

Applications will be reviewed by a panel that includes Synapse Arts staff, ensemble, board members, and previous New Works artists. A minimum of 50% of the panel will be individuals who identify as LGBTQIA+ and a minimum of 25% BIPOC. Please consider how your work intersects or aligns with the Synapse values of supporting LGBTQIA+ and womxn/women before applying. 

A recorded information session from a panel of former New Works artists, including Maria Blanco (of LOUD BODIES), Chris Knowlton, Amanda Ramirez, Megan Rhyme, and Nora Sharp is viewable here: https://vimeo.com/424177182. Please email info@synapsearts.com to request a transcript of the closed captioning.

WHAT ARTISTS RECEIVE The selected choreographers/directors will receive: -A stipend which can be used as pay for oneself and/or to pay for rehearsal space, collaborator fees, etc.

-Support from the staff and collaborators of Synapse, including coordination of a work-in-progress showing, virtual rehearsal visits (if desired), marketing and public relations

-A dedicated mentor (chosen in collaboration with the artist) who receives a stipend

-Experience in performance production, including planning, marketing, fundraising, and presentation. Primarily this experience occurs in support of the artist’s own New Works piece; we also offer coaching sessions for topics the artist wishes to learn about

-A place in a final showing, the structure of which will be determined by the artists and Synapse staff, in response to pandemic considerations. This showing could be a performance via Zoom, a dance for the camera, a site-specific outdoor performance, or other format

-Professional photos and video of their final work

-Additionally, we are working on partnerships for reduced cost rehearsal space in Chicago while our studios are closed due to COVID-19

This minimal and flexible structure is intended to organize a process that provides balance and direction without restricting creativity. New Works can be a step in your artistic evolution; we are interested in helping move focused artistry forward.

We are attempting to be as transparent as possible in explaining this program and what we are asking for in your proposal. If you have any questions please feel free to reach out via email or social media messaging. Since our staff does not work full time (we are 3 part time workers) we do not have an office number and prioritize written communication that can be answered during our work hours. Transparency is a way of debundling the power we acknowledge exists within the relationship between an organization and an applicant, please know that we are artists ourselves and have experienced all the parts of application processes. All respectful questions are welcome.

HOW TO APPLY

To apply, send PDFs of the following to rachel@synapsearts.com BY MIDNIGHT on TUESDAY JANUARY 5, 2021. Label and title each document with your full chosen name. Please note that incomplete or late applications cannot be reviewed as it overextends our small staff. 

Narrative - Two pages maximum with 12 point font, 1” margins, and single spaced (Margins and spacing help us read your text more easily) A description of the concept or idea you would like to develop, how your personal style of performance-making will approach this idea, and a brief description of what the final work might look like. Describe any envisioned plans for sound, staging/spacing, apparel/costumes, etc. and how you will coordinate or make these elements. Proposed pieces should be no longer than 20 minutes in length. 

Address how making this piece fits into your hxstory/history and future as a choreographer and/or director. What aspects of producing your work are most interesting to you, and what do you want to learn more about? Prior experience in professional presenting is not necessary, however if you have no prior professional experience please include an additional paragraph describing how you are prepared to manage the resources available through the Synapse Arts - New Works program. 

You might also recognize assets or positive things that you can bring to this project and the New Works program now and in the future. Many New Works artists continue to work with us in a variety of ways. 

Please outline an anticipated rehearsal schedule, taking into account these important dates:

January, 2021 – notification of chosen choreographers/directors

Early April, 2021 – shared showing and feedback session 

Late May, 2021 – final showing

Background - One page maximum A resume, CV, or listing of relevant experience in performance, production, teaching, marketing, and/or presentation. 

Please also include your complete contact information and the contact information for two references (professional references if available). Work sample A link to a full-length video of an original work created within the last three years. Vimeo, YouTube, and online storage links such as Dropbox (with password provided as necessary) are preferred. 

The selected work should be a minimum of 5 minutes long. Please specify the time frame you would like reviewers to watch, if the sample piece is longer than 15 minutes. Feel free to direct us to what you think of as the strongest part. Panelists will have agency to watch more of any works they are interested in viewing, so it is best if you can send between 5 and 15 minutes of footage. 

Work samples should be reflective of your creative approach, and also show reviewers that you can develop a piece that is at least 5 minutes long. If you are proposing a project that requires context of more than one work sample, you may submit up to two samples (as separate links or as one video), while staying within the 5 to 15 minute range.

NOTES

A note on language in your application: we are aware of and have been complicit in the “professionalization” of proposal language which centers whiteness and prioritizes education that has not been accessible to everyone. In an effort to better support artists who may not have written proposals before, we ask that you focus on communicating your ideas in the best way that reflects your style. If we are unclear on essential elements, we will reach out to you.

Also, we ask for references because accountability is important in this program. New Works creators who can respond to deadlines and lead their own projects lessen the workload for our small staff. 

Eligibility ­

Applicants must be available for all important dates that are outlined in the application.

Applications must be complete and be received by the deadline. 

­Preference is given to professional artists, not currently enrolled in a degree program. ­

Applicants who have taken part in the New Works program before will receive lower priority.

Find out more about Synapse Arts at www.synapsearts.com. 

Questions? Email rachel@synapsearts.com. 

___

[wallpaperpainter]

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[aplaceforrtprompts]

Warm Me Up

A/N: This was a commission by the lovely @chefgeofframsay. Please, please go read her stuff. It is amazing. Also, thank you to her for being my first commission. If you’d like to commission me there is now a page here!

Pairing: Aaron x Reader

Word Count: 3,476

Prompt: "I opened up my own bakery because I love baking and I’m hiring you to do the frosting because I don’t have an artistic bone in my body.” AU (bonus if Reader thinks Aaron is full of shit and is proved wrong)

“So what’s this all about?” you asked your favorite baker as placed the ‘now hiring’ sign you snagged from the window onto the counter.

“Where did you-” Aaron’s eyes flickered from the window back down to the sign, “Never mind. Put that back.”

“So are you going to hire me as your official cake tester or what?” you teased.

“Why would I hire you to do something you already do for free?” Aaron replied tersely. You knew he wasn’t being short with you though. His voice was still friendly but it was in the way he was answering you.

You reached out over the counter and grabbed his arm, stopping him before he could pace in front of you for the fifth time. When he stopped and looked at you, you let go and asked softly, “Is everything alright?”

Aaron gave a deep sigh, “Yeah. My decorator up and quit though. Hence the sign. As popular as this place is I just manage to scrape together enough to keep this place open.”

“Seriously?” you interrupted. “I thought you were rolling in it with the how packed this place always is.” Aaron shot you a look. “Right. Not the point. Go on.”

Aaron shook his head, “That’s the point. Unless I get a decorator than I can’t go on. This isn’t a one man job.”

You picked up the sign off the counter and started to make your way back towards the front but you took a sharp right at the end of the counter and ended up behind it with Aaron. You placed the sign on one of the counters out of the public view and pulled one of the spare aprons off the hook on the wall.

“So, what first?” you asked as you finished tying yourself up, placing your hands on your hips.

Aaron laughed and walked over to you and spun you around before pushing you towards the exit, “Oh, no. This is not a chance for you to get free dessert. This is my livelihood.”

You spun back around to face Aaron and placed a hand on his, “Aaron.”

He stopped pushing and looked up at you curiously.

You continued, “As much as I do love free dessert if you hire me I expect a decent

salary. One you can afford but still decent. Just give me the day. An audition if you will.”

“Why?” Aaron looked you over skeptically. “Why help me? We’ve never spoken outside of here. We can’t even consider each other more than friendly acquaintances.

“Because you need someone. Listen, I don’t even know your last name but I know passion when I see it plus you’re talented as fuck so we’re not letting this place go to waste. Annnd I’m in-between jobs right now so a steady income would be nice,” you admitted.

“Ah, there it is,” Aaron chuckled.

“Listen, give me the day. Don’t like my work then I will go out and find you a decorator personally,” you offered.

Aaron still was waiting for you to tell him it was all a prank but finally, he gave a short nod, “You got the day. And it’s Marquis.”

“Excuse me,” your brows knit together in confusion.

“My last name. It’s Marquis,” the blue eyed boy explained before waving you over to follow him to the other side of the kitchen.

You had never realized how busy this place actually was. Sure, you knew it was busy since you stopped by every day since you found the place for a treat as you people watched through the window. You never knew it was like this from pretty much start to finish.

You struggled to keep up.

Aaron finally shut the doors, closing for the day. You sighed, dropping the icing bag and placing your hands on the counter, feeling relieved and slightly defeated.

“Aaron, I’m so sorry,” you blurted, turning around to face the young baker.

His bright smile fell into a face of confusion, “Why?” He let out a chuckle, “You did amazing.”

“I couldn’t keep up. People left with unfinished desserts. Some just left. I’ll keep my end of the bargain though and find you a decorator,” you admitted defeat.

“What are you talking about? There’s we come in early before we open. It’s to get ready for the day. Actually for someone who started right before the rush, on a Saturday you did insanely well,” Aaron explained.

“Really?” you questioned, not quite believing him.

“Really and hell you’re actually really good. That flower shit you managed to do on some of the cupcakes was awesome and that birthday cake you managed to whip together was amazing. Where did you learn to do all that?” Aaron questioned, leaning back against the counter across from you.

You smiled and snickered slightly, “I was a bored college kid with youtube, too much time, an easy bake oven, and some cans of frosting. I will say your stuff is much better than anything I made in the easy bake. I also went to school for art. Not exactly the same but let me actually decorate sometime and you’ll get more than just that ‘flower shit’.”

“Well, the job is yours if you want it,” Aaron offered.

“Seriously?” you raised your eyebrows and Aaron nodded. “Yes! Thank you!” You jumped up and hugged your new boss tightly.

He laughed with you and hugged back softly, “Okay. Okay. Settle down.” As you stepped back he got a little more serious but the smile never left his face. “Let me give you a run down of everything.”

You stood up at attention and saluted Aaron, “Aye! Aye! Lead the way Captain!”

“You are way too excited for this,” he chuckled chasing his head before starting to explain what your actual day would be consisting on from now on.

It took less than a week to get a constant routine with Aaron and only a few more weeks before you were practically best friends.

Currently, it was slow and the two of you were actually ahead for the day.

“So what actually, got you into opening a bakery? Like I know you’ve been cooking since you were a kid but like actually opening up a place of your own?” you questioned, setting aside a bag of icing for a minute.

You looked over at Aaron who was focused on making sure all the desserts on display were perfectly lined up. His eyes were narrowed, eyebrows knit as he was making sure all your rose decorations were all facing the same direction. You were unsure if he heard you and were about to repeat yourself when he stood giving you one of his perfect smiles. He brushed some hair from his face after he pulled off his gloves and it nearly made you weak in the knees. Nearly.

“Funny story actually. You know those games you get as a kid from the dollar bin at toy stores with a marble in it and you have to navigate it through a maze?” he began.

“Yeah?” you answered, tilting your head unsure where this was going.

“Well, I had this old boss who was totally insane. He would rent out a whole restaurant for interviews and read you your horoscope before hiring you and left his keys in his car just to see if anyone would steal it and just of a bunch of insane shit like that. So he would challenge us with stupid stuff and one time he bet me he could beat me at the maze marble thing. A thousand dollars. I told him I didn’t have the money. He said if I lost I didn’t have to pay so I said okay. I beat him. He challenged me again. Ten thousand this time. I won again. He said a hundred grand and I won again.”

You were now leaned towards Aaron, invested in his story, “And he paid?”

“Yeah,” Aaron chuckled with a nod.

“No way. You’re not serious?!” you shouted in amazement.

Aaron laughed once more, “I’m not but how awesome would that be if I was?”

You punched his shoulder, “You ass!”

He chuckled, “I saved up everything I could. I had some decent jobs but once I had enough I quit and bought this place. Sorry, that’s not too exciting.”

“I’ll forgive you for the price of a cupcake,” you teased and snatched one of the unfrosted cupcakes off the counter.

“I thought we agreed! No free desserts!” Aaron shouted, trying to take back the treat.

You hid it behind your back and he tried to reach around for it but you managed to keep it out of his grasp. You kept him from just getting it until you had the perfect chance to shove the whole thing in your mouth.

Aaron gave an exasperated sigh as you tried not to choke as you laughed with a full mouth.

“Hey! I didn’t get free dessert when I help you out!” A voice shouted from behind you.

“And neither does she. That’s coming out of your pay,” Aaron told you sternly but you could see from the gleam in his eye that he was once again full of it.

You swallowed the cupcake as you turned around to see a young looking guy at the counter. You had met a few of Aaron’s friends but you don’t believe this is one of them.

“Hi, I’m Y/N,” you extended your hand, removing one of the gloves as you did so.

“Chris,” he gave you a lopsided grin. He was cute but not handsome, not like- You shook the thought from your head as he spoke up again, “Oh, Y/N! You’re the one Aaron talks about! He said he-” He paused and looked over your shoulder. His eyebrows knit together and he bit his lip as he focused on whatever Aaron was doing behind you. “…hired to mix things.”

“I think he’s signaling that he hired me to decorate,” you replied confidently.

“Oh! That’s what that was. Guess he’s not good at fake decorating either,” Chris shrugged and you smiled as you caught Aaron put his forehead in the palm of his hand and shake his head.

“So he’s fed you that line about not being able to frost either? What do you think it is? He just is lazy? Doesn’t seem like him but who knows. It’s a girl’s job? Aaron doesn’t seem that dense. He may look like Gaston but seems smarter than Gaston,” you rambled.

Chris shook his head and looked serious, “No. He’s just really bad at it. He hasn’t shown you? He must really like you.”

You froze at that comment. Stomach flipping even though you knew Chris couldn’t mean it like you were hoping.

Aaron didn’t comment on what Chris had said he just tried to move the conversation along, “What do you need, Chris?”

“Uh, I wanted to get some cupcakes,” Chris began.

“What kind?” Aaron asked.

Chris looked at the display then back to Aaron than back to the display, “Uh…”

Aaron sighed and gave you a look, “This may take awhile.”

You giggled and watched as Chris looked over the deserts. You got a new set of gloves and slowly began to decorate the fresh batch of cupcakes as you watched the scene unfold before you.

Aaron wasn’t lying when he said it would take awhile. You helped three other customer’s and finished icing before Chris even decided on half his cupcakes. Aaron finally gave up and stuffed the rest of the box with random choices and closed it.

Once Chris paid for it and left Aaron gave an exasperated sigh and leaned against the counter.

You smiled, “You know what. I like him.”

Aaron’s eyebrows raised up a little and you could swear he was trying to act casual as he stood up straight, “You like him?”

You chewed at the inside of your cheek as you debated pushing a little further to see how Aaron would react. You finally gave in against your better judgment and gave a noncommittal answer, “Yeah, he’s pretty cute.”

You could see the wheels turning in Aaron’s head. He looked like he was fighting with himself. “He’s single,” he finally blurted.

“Cool,” you nodded and had to turn as you tried to hold back laughter as Aaron seemed to get more frustrated with the unclear answer.

“Cool? Cool?! What does that mean? Do you like him?” Aaron was asking more frantically.

“Why? Trying to set me up? Or is this about what he said?” you decided to push your luck even more.

Aaron stuttered and for the first time since you met him, he seemed speechless. You didn’t say anything else and since Aaron didn’t seem to be either you just shook your head and went back to finishing the cake you had been working on.

The rest of the night was pretty quiet. Aaron didn’t say much to you after that, that wasn’t work related. You turned the music up and cleaned as it got closer to closing. You felt guilty for ruining the mood.

“Why don’t you leave early?” Aaron offered, “I can lock up for the night. It’s been dead today so not much to clean.”

Your heart sunk, “Aaron, if this is about earlier, I’m really sorry. That was out of line and-”

He held up a hand cutting you off, “It’s okay. Really. It’s just dead so I figured you’d like to leave fifteen minutes early. I’ll catch you in the morning.”

You figured it was no use arguing so you took off your apron and set it aside on its hook and grabbed your things. You gave Aaron a quick goodbye.

Walking to your car alone felt empty. Normally this is when you and that brown haired baker would make comments about the customers you had for the day. Talk about work you had to do the next day. Just talk in general. Once the two of you stayed an hour in that parking lot just talking about nothing but tonight it was just empty. Your little beat up car and Aaron’s motorcycle parked next to it.

Except, it wasn’t empty. There was someone leaned up against your car. You looked back to the bakery, unfortunately, it was faced away from the parking lot. You were grabbing for your phone and debating about going back when you recognized the mess of hair.

You smiled and shook your head, “Chris?”

He perked up at his name, like a puppy, smiling at you, “Hey, Y/N.”

“What are you doing here?” your eyebrows scrunched together.

“Aaron texted me,” you sighed but Chris didn’t notice and went on, “He said I should ask you out. Which I thought was weird but you are cute and the stuff Aaron says about you makes you seem really nice and great and so I thought I’d give it a shot.”

He looked so hopeful. You could barely muster the courage to turn him down but you knew you had to, “Chris, look, you seem really sweet and all but-”

You paused to sigh and Chris interrupted, “But I’m not Gaston.”

You got even more confused until you remembered the comment earlier. You looked Chris over carefully. He seemed so innocent and not the brightest but you were beginning to wonder how much of that was an act.

“You know. Don’t you?” you crossed your arms.

“Know what?” Chris asked seeming genuinely confused.

“I- You know what? Never mind. No to the date but we should hang out sometime. I think we’d make really good friends. I’ll even sneak you a cupcake or brownie sometimes,” you offered with a smile.

“I’d really like that,” Chris agreed.

The two of you exchanged numbers before he went running off. Since he didn’t seem to have a car you offered a ride but he declined. You shook your head as you watched him disappear around the corner.

You climbed into your car finally and turned the key. The car gave a sad sputter and failed to turn on.

“Come on,” you begged before trying again. It made another sad attempt at turning on but wasn’t quite getting there. You knew it was the battery, there was no doubt.

You sighed heavily and placed your head on the steering wheel, “Can today get any worse?”

There was a knock at the window as if answering your question.

You jump and looked up to see Aaron trying to hold back laughter. To make matters worse he was in his leather jacket and riding gloves. paired with his red shirt and dark jeans he looked like a damn celebrity.

You opened the door and gave him a pathetic look.

“Car trouble?” he asked.

“Battery’s dead,” you explained.

“I can grab one on the way to work tomorrow and we can switch them out in no time,” he offered, “I can grab one now but I figure it’s been a long day and you probably want to get home. I can switch the battery before we even open. I can even give you a ride both ways if you want.”

You stared up at Aaron. Of course, on top of everything else he had to be your knight in shining armor too. He reached back and turned back around, offering you a helmet.

You got out of your car and took the helmet, “What about you?”

He turned around again and produced another helmet from one of his side bags, “Got a spare.”

“In case you’re giving random girls rides?” you questioned.

He chuckled, “Actually, I was hoping in case I got to give one girl a ride.” Your heart thumped at the comment but before you could ask him more about it he lifted the flap to the side bag he got the spare helmet from, “I’d suggest tucking your bag away.”

You nodded and made sure your car was locked before putting your purse in the bag. You took a deep breath and slid the helmet on. For all the teasing you gave Aaron you never actually expected to ride his bike.

“So just hold on and lean into the turns. You okay with this?” he checked one last time.

You nodded, “Yeah. Let’s do it.”

You slid the face protector down as Aaron put on his own helmet. He got on first straddling the bike before padding the spot behind him. You climbed on and wrapped your arms around his waist. He felt warm. He started the bike and you were off.

Surprisingly, Aaron was actually a really good driver. Your mom would faint if she knew you were on the back of a motorcycle, zipping down the highway but it was actually really soothing. You could see why Aaron liked it so much.

You got lost in your own thoughts, riding like this. Aaron seemed so much happier after Chris left. You could only imagine he texted him to say you turned him down. You weren’t sure if he said why though. Aaron also had been weird since you had flirted with him earlier. You couldn’t help but hope that he had been a little jealous.

You were broken from your thoughts as you pulled up to your apartment complex. Aaron parked in your normal spot and he turned off the motorcycle as you climbed off. You traded your helmet for your purse. Aaron removed his own helmet.

“So I’ll see you in the morning?” he questioned.

“I hope so. I don’t really have a lot of other modes of transportation right now,” you teased.

Aaron flashed his smile again and once again you felt weak in your knees. Aaron climbed off the bike, wanting to walk you to your door and make sure you got in safely.

You stepped closer, “Thanks for everything.” And before you realized what you were doing you stood on your toes and pressed a quick kiss to his lips.

As you pulled back your eyes widened, realizing what you did. You opened your mouth to spew an apology but Aaron surprised you by pulling you back against him and leaning in for another kiss. His hands held the small of your back and yours wrapped around his neck, playing with the ends of his hair. He tasted like citrus, not quite as sweet as you expected but a nice surprise all together.

As you pulled apart you were both grinning. You weren’t sure who was going to talk first. At the risk of making out in the parking lot, you quickly got out, “Want to go inside?”

“You sure that’s a good idea?” Aaron raised an eyebrow but the smile never left his face.

“No, but I don’t really care,” with that you slipped your hand into his and lead him towards your apartment.

[hmel78]

In conversation with John Hackett ...

Whilst John Hackett is probably best known for his work with his brother Steve Hackett (former Genesis guitarist), there is no shortage of other high profile artists with whom John has worked, and in addition he has also enjoyed a relatively successful solo career as a Flautist, guitarist, singer and composer.

John collaborated with Steve on his early albums, “Voyage of the Acolyte” and “Please Don’t Touch” , which led to further recordings and tours of the UK, USA and Europe playing flute, guitar and bass pedals in Steve’s live band ; also extensive tours of Japan and the USA as part of the Steve Hackett Acoustic Trio. Inbetween touring, back home in the UK, you will find a variety of incredible projects which John has been involved in ; as a composer of flute music for relaxation, he has recorded a number of solo and duo albums, plus several albums with Clive Williamson and the ambient group “Symbiosis” which has led to commissions for the BBC. John has performed concerts with international organist Marco Lo Muscio and performs regularly in a duo with classical guitar virtuoso Nick Fletcher with whom he has recorded two albums: “Overnight Snow” and “Hills of Andalucia”. 2005 saw a change of direction with John releasing, to critical acclaim, a rock album of his own songs called “Checking Out of London”, the lyrics for which were written by Nick Clabburn ; An experimental flute/dance album - “Red Planet Rhythm”- with Moodi Drury followed, and then another album of John’s compositions for flute and guitar - “Prelude to Summer”- which featured brother Steve, and Chris Glassfield. It was 10 years before John released his next solo album “Another Life”, in 2015 - which was essentially the rock follow up to “Checking Out ...” with Nick Clabburn once again providing the lyrics.   Thankfully we haven’t had to wait just as long for something else new! It’s September 2017 as I write, and I have just been handed the very first John Hackett Band album in which we see another avenue open up, on the musical map of John Hackett! For this album, John has gone beyond his usual boundary and written the lyrics, as well as the music - and it’s really very good! John is joined by Nick Fletcher on guitar,  drummer Duncan Parsons, and bass player Jeremy Richardson - who contribute their own compositions to the album, which presents us with a deluxe 2 CD album containing the new collaborative studio recording - “We Are Not Alone” -   and a live recording - “Another Live” -  of their 2016 Classic Rock Society gig. We were incredibly lucky to grab a rare chance to catch up with John about the latest release, and find out a little bit about how he arrived at this current stop on his musical journey ...

HR : I read an interview that you did some time ago, in which you describe your creative self as a bit like “Jekyll and Hyde” - in the sense that despite your focus on the classical side of music, you’ve always hung on to your inner rocker - is that still the case? “We Are Not Alone” sounds to me like you’ve found the balance...

Johh Hackett : I think you have gone straight to the heart of what I used to consider a problem … I started out from the age of 12 playing blues guitar, listening to all those amazing guitarists like Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimi Hendrix. Then after hearing Ian McDonald play flute with King Crimson I started flute lessons and learned the classical repertoire. I used to think that one day I would have to choose between the two worlds but actually I now see that they can feed off each other.  It is like light and shade. If you have played electric guitar you know how powerful a sound it can be. So that influences my flute playing - I don’t like it to sound weak.

On the new album there is a track called “Blue skies of Marazion” which features guitar and alto flute. It has quite an impressionistic vibe. It is then followed by “Summer Lightning” which starts as a ballad but then Nick’s electric guitar takes it to a much heavier place. It is quite a contrast, and good of you to say that I have found a balance. I have Nick to thank for pushing me to include more flute on this rock album than my previous two.

HR : I’m glad he pushed you to, because it does work! Do you have a preference when writing and performing? Are you more comfortable with classical or rock ; with vocal tracks or instrumentals?

JH : There is no question that having spent most of my life whizzing up and down scales and doing all the daily technical exercises you have to do if you want to play the difficult classical repertoire, I have in the past been more comfortable with the flute. But there is nothing as exciting as being on stage with a rock band. I have never forgotten the buzz I got from my first ever rock gig with my brother’s band in Oslo in 1978. I took a conscious decision some years back to devote much more time to rock, improving my keyboard playing and learning to sing - I say learning to sing as it has been a painful process (both for me and my poor family who have had to put up with all the shrieking and wailing, not just when I am looking at my bank statements …). In all honesty I enjoy all of it, though at 62 it seems ridiculously late in life to be finding your feet. But having spent a good 90 per cent of my working life playing flute, it is frankly liberating and great fun to be starting a second career as a singer/songwriter with my own band.

HR : Well age is just a number, and I think if you’re creative you strive eternally to cover new ground ... which of course for you just now, is The John Hackett band. You’re essentially a quartet and all 4 of you write your own material; correct me if I’m wrong but none of the songs appear to have been written together for the recording - so who decided what was going to be included? Were any of the pieces written specifically for the album?

JH : The strength of the album is that, with only a couple of exceptions, we had performed all the pieces live before recording them. The way it worked is that we would bring suggestions to the rehearsal room and the band would try them out.  As everyone in the band has considerable experience writing and recording this inevitably meant bringing fairly complete compositions. It was soon obvious if a new piece could slot into our current live set or if best kept for a solo project.  With “Never Gonna Make A Dime” for example I had written this as a fairly slow song. I didn’t think it was particularly good. I played it to the guys in a simple piano and vocal arrangement and within a few minutes, like in some cheesy movie, they were rocking it up. It soon became a no-brainer for inclusion in our shows and the album.

“Castles” was a song I had written some time ago and similarly didn’t think it was anything special. I imagined it as a blues number with the kind of energy of that John Mayall’s “Bluesbreakers” album with the young fiery Eric Clapton reading the Beano on the front cover. I had recorded a demo with me playing the guitar solo on a Les Paul I had borrowed from my brother Steve. But when we tried it as a band with Nick playing a blistering guitar solo it was exactly as I had wanted it to sound. So unfortunately there is a sad end to the story –I didn’t get to play the solo, and Steve asked for his Les Paul back!

Similarly Duncan’s piece “Queenie and Elmo’s Perfect Day” was a flute melody I had always liked and wanted to record.  So when we got the band together it fitted in perfectly, especially as it gave the band free reign for improvisation.

“Take Control”, the opening track, I wrote specifically for the band and the album. I wanted something that would go through a number of changes . It is really in two parts the lyric being the link so there is plenty of scope for time signature changes, guitar solos and changes of texture ...

HR : It does have that, in fact the whole album is quite eclectic, which is what I love about it. It crosses genres and has a good balance of vocal and instrumental tracks. 2 out of 3 of the instrumental numbers were written by guitarist Nick Fletcher ; the 3rd in collaboration with yourself - how did you two meet and subsequently begin performing and writing together? He’s quite phenomenal ...

JH : I first heard Nick playing solo classical guitar without the aid of a microphone or Marshall stack in the fantastic acoustics of Sheffield Cathedral . I thought his playing was absolutely wonderful and wondered that day, as you do, if we might ever work together. Like myself, Nick started out in rock, then studied classical guitar so maybe I heard a kindred spirit. We did some concerts together as a guitar and flute duo, but it wasn’t until the release of my previous album “Another Life” that I found out what a fabulous electric player he is. I had decided to play some of the songs solo at the album launch with just me singing and playing  piano but as it got closer to the time I wasn’t so sure if I could make it work.  Anthony Phillips had played on one track of the album called “Satellite”.  I knew he was going to be there that night so I felt a little nervous ... Nick was round at my house, I played him a few songs, he picked up a Stratocaster and suddenly it was so much easier. Duncan joined us on percussion, so we performed as a trio for the launch. And then it was simply, “Well, where’s the bass player? We could form a band!” Duncan immediately suggested his old school friend Jeremy.  So that’s how we all got together - quite by accident really.

HR : The song “Jericho”, which was written by Jeremy Richardson, changes the vibe of the album a little - given that you sing lead vocal on the other 4 tracks, why didn’t you sing this one too?

JH : Yes “Jericho” was written by Jeremy and sung by him, with Duncan, as part of our live set.  It really suits his voice so there was never any question who would sing the lead vocal on the album. On stage Jeremy and I take a fairly equal share of the vocals which comes over particularly on the second CD (it is a double album package) “Another Live” recorded live at the Classic Rock Society in Maltby in 2016. He is a terrific singer with a harder edge to his voice when he needs it, which contrasts well with my sound.

HR : The second track on the album interested me too ; “Never Gonna Make A Dime” tells of your family’s move to Canada - you must only have been a baby at the time, but do you remember it at all? What prompted you to pen the song?

JH : The song is based on our short stay in Canada in 1957. I was only 2 years old so unfortunately I cannot remember it but Steve was 7 and has good memories of our time there. Our dad had gone on ahead to Vancouver to find work while mum, her sister Betty, Steve and I followed by ship. Our mother missed London so much that after just 4 months we came back to London. I have always admired them for taking the risk of going in the first place and then having the courage to return.

HR : Sure, it’s big life stuff! The track features Steve on Harmonica - which isn’t the first instrument that most people would associate with him  ... JH : Ah well , Steve used to disappear for long periods on board ship only to return with loads of cash. My mother asked him what on earth was going on - apparently he had been playing his harmonica to the crew and they had dug into their pockets for him. This must have given him an early taste for the music business. HR : Clearly! Haha. You’re both multi-instrumentalists - were your parents musical at all?  Who / what inspired you become musicians?

JH : It was our dad Peter Hackett who sparked our interest in music. We came back from Canada while dad stayed on for a while to work. He arrived back with an enormous black box which looked more like a coffin but actually contained a guitar. He had played bugle as a boy, then clarinet, and harmonica - though his main interest was painting. Mum didn’t play anything but always showed a great love of music. She is 87 now and still comes to our rock concerts. Steve and I have been blessed to have parents who have always supported us in our music careers.

HR : And your careers have seen you spend quite a great deal of time together over the years. It seems to be the way with brothers in bands together, that it inevitably results in some sort of falling out, and attracts an ensuing media circus! I thankfully don’t see much evidence of that with yourself and Steve - onstage, or offstage - is there a secret to getting on?

JH : Steve in his role as the older brother has always been kind enough to include me. I used to sit in on rehearsals with his first recording band ‘Quiet World’ ; I was there when he did his audition for Peter Gabriel and Tony Banks at our little flat in London - I even got to play a bit of flute for them that day.   I don’t think there has ever been any rivalry between us. I took the decision in my teens to concentrate on the flute, which has taken me in a different direction from him. So although we do work together from time to time, we are mostly involved in our own projects - But when we do get together inevitably we talk music, with all the enthusiasm as when we shared a bedroom as teenagers!

HR : You’re taking the JHB on the road with a handful of shows coming up - do you enjoy playing the more intimate venues?

JH : We currently have dates every few weeks for up until this time next year.  Certainly regarding venues it is always much nicer to play places where you can talk to the audience after.  Their enthusiasm is what it is all about.

HR : What’s your most memorable show to date?

The most memorable gig is perhaps the one for the Classic Rock Society captured on our live CD. It was only about the fourth gig we had done as a band and it felt great that we were being taken seriously by the Society who have always championed new progressive music. More importantly it was the last John Hackett Band gig our friend Steph Kennedy was able to come to - she travelled all over the country with the help of husband Dave and brother-in-law Glen in her final year. A humble reminder in this sometimes brutal world of how music can bring us together.

HR : Absolutely ... And if you could bring together anyone, living or deceased,  to perform with you on stage - a dream line-up - who would it be?

JH : If we were talking football I would probably start with Pavarotti in goal.

Of course, I would have to say my current band - But I wouldn’t mind having J.S. Bach on keyboards as long as he didn’t get any powder from his wig on my synths!

[the-icehouse-collective]

Interview with Python Blue Release of ASA: Alternate Soundtrack New WIP screenshots of Blue Moon! ...

Our Friend Python Blue is a music composer who created an alternate soundtrack to the scifi/Myst-like game ASA: A Space Adventure. You can listen to the soundtrack in free streaming on his bandcamp: https://python-blue.bandcamp.com/album/asaas-a-space-adventure-alternate-soundtrack

Chris, aka Python Blue, is currently working on the soundtrack of Blue Moon, a game currently in development by Juanjo Barcelo. We have asked several questions to Chris for the occasion:

1/ Hi Python Blue. Some time ago you became a Friend of The Icehouse collective. How did it happen and why did you accept to join us?

Hello. Let me start off by saying that I consider myself a musician with a strong interest in soundtrack work in particular. Fortunately, to answer your question, I never decided to join the Icehouse collective solely for possible monetary gain. I also consider myself a casual gamer who has a soft spot for adventure games, and when I discovered ASA: A Space Adventure, it really hit me close to home, in a good way, and I really want to be able to contribute to similar games in the future. My liking ASA: A Space Adventure so much led me to even make a rescore of the game, and my staying in touch with Simon ever since resulted in my finding out that the entire Icehouse collective makes similar games, so I figured why not join if it’s about developing the kind of games I love the most?

2/ You are a music composer with a very personal style. I would say that your music is very reminiscent of the 80s and 70s, with synthetizer and several effects in the genre. Is that right? Is there a reason for that? (your age, your tastes, a specific interest in an artist or group of this era?)

Well, while I do consider myself a composer nowadays, I used to also be a musician who tried to appeal to the charts of synthwave, which is all about having hints of 80s music in it, so I guess you could say the hints of my past are still there. To further develop on my answer, my second biggest interest in music would be classic rock and electronic music, especially that from the mid to late 80s, to the point that I’ve spent much of my time trying to research how many of the classic synthesizer sounds in particular were made.

3/ Can you tell us more about yourself, your life, your past work, the people you worked with? Is music composition a hobby for you, or a job, or both? How do you see your future cooperations with other creators?

In all honesty, while I have released several albums worth of music, both soundtracks and otherwise, I view music making as something in between a career and a hobby. I certainly love the arranging of instruments and sounds in particular, but I realize that even if I make enough to survive on music alone, it would likely be at the cost of my personal privacy due to becoming a celebrity. That’s one reason why I’ve felt it best to migrate to soundtrack work: from what I’ve seen, the chance of becoming a celebrity and a household name is still there, but even it it was as likely to happen, most of the people developing a game, movie, etc. are working as a team, as opposed to entirely on their own, and the recognition seems to work along those lines as well. That being said, I think soundtracks are my musical calling, and while the idea that I would end up needing to be surrounded by strangers who obsess over me at all times is still there in this niche, I myself am surprised how low the chance is despite how successful many other composers have become. I’d still prefer to take smaller projects when I can (several of my other projects, for instance, are just musical commissions for friends of mine), but it’s not to say I’m not open to the possibility of, for instance, the Icehouse becoming an AAA group of game developers.

4/ Recently you have finished your work on an important album of yours: ASA Alternate Soundtrack. It was born after you played the game of Simon Mesnard, ASA: A Space Adventure. How did it come to life? Were you more inspired by the Original Soundtrack of ASA composed by Karreo, or were you more touched by the world and visuals of the game?

For my rescore of ASAAS, I’d say my inspiration was a combination of listening to the original soundtrack and making my own interpretations based on the visuals. I did enjoy the original soundtrack, don’t get me wrong: I do find it very memorable for a soundtrack in this day and age. I guess with the rescore I just wanted to see how I could pull it off, preferably with a more synthesizer-heavy sound since ASA is a science fiction game in which most of the time is spent away from what the player’s character is familiar with. I did throw in some tributes to the original music though, particularly with my synth piano melody in the opening and closing pieces.

5/ It would seem that there will be other cooperations with The Icehouse and the Black Cube series: there is the game of Simon, ATOS, currently in development (note: the ASAAS soundtrack was used in the prototype during the BlackCube Jam 2016). But more important, there is an ambitious project in Full3D with Juanjo Barcelo, Blue Moon: The Lucium Project. Do you feel lat ease with the idea of working on a game made in realtime 3D (Unity engine)? Does it change anything to your workflow, and the perception that you have of a world, of a game?

Truth be told, I can’t imagine Blue Moon will be much more difficult for my workflow as someone contributing music to a game. On the contrary, I do have a fascination with 3D engines: I briefly experimented with both Unity and Unreal (though I never did get the time to make much decent out of either) and even contributed in small ways beyond music to some custom stories for Amnesia The Dark Descent (which is a 3D game with lots of C++ based scripting). The only major difference I can picture with Blue Moon over my rescore of ASA is that ASAAS was made on my own schedule due to it being a personal project in the end, whereas with Blue Moon, I’m obviously actively working with other people under what will likely be deadlines.

Here some new exclusive pictures of Blue Moon, kindly offered by the developer, Juanjo :) Learn more about Blue Moon: http://www.theblackcube.fr/bluemoon

6/ What are your plans for the future? Do you work on other projects with other people? Wishes? A last word?

Well, again, many of my other current projects are for friends. One of said friends is a fairly successful YouTuber by the name of Lightsen, and I’ve been doing music for her animations for a few years now. I’m honestly generally content with things staying that way right now while I try to balance music with my offline commitments, such as volunteering and looking for an additional dayjob. However, once things settle down for me, I am willing to consider trying to give more to the game development community, especially Icehouse. Final words I would give would be to any prospective musicians: while it’s generally wise to go outside of your comfort zone, especially in this industry, don’t get ahead of yourself, either. Try to venture out slowly and learn about everything you can about the business aspects especially before deciding whether you want to pursue it professionally, and if you do still feel music is for you, always remember that you decided that because you love making music for yourself: any casual listeners or label managers it pleases is merely a bonus.

Thanks Chris for your replies, and thanks everyone for reading! More music by Python Blue? https://python-blue.bandcamp.com/

[hencoplumbingservices]

Small schools face big challenges in Clark County

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It only hits Green Mountain School District Superintendent Tyson Vogeler when he hears other superintendents talk about their issues and what they’re doing to fix them.

“They’re going to Rotary meetings or city council meetings,” said Vogeler. “I just sit there thinking, ‘I was on the tractor for three hours the other day.’ It’s a different job.”

The landscape of education is changing around the state. A new state funding model for education led to teacher strikes and budget deficits, while rapid growth has schools bursting at the seams.

Teacher strikes and budget deficits have mostly skipped three greater Clark County area schools: Green Mountain School District, Mount Pleasant School District and Yale Elementary School.

Those schools, the three smallest in the region, are dealing with their own issues, however, including providing services with limited staffing and shrinking budgets — and whether they should even exist.

Staying flexible

No one wears just one hat at Clark County’s smallest schools.

In March 2018, Green Mountain staffers laughed when security camera footage caught Vogeler plowing off walkways after a snowstorm while school board President Rick Syring shoveled.

That camaraderie makes these small schools special, staffers say, and it’s why they willingly pitch in where they can. At Green Mountain, bus drivers also work in the cafeteria.

“When somebody is out sick, it doesn’t matter what someone’s job is,” Vogeler said. “I’ve got multiple staff members who will step in and do it.”

Besides staff flexibility, these smallest schools also work with outside agencies or even neighboring school districts. Green Mountain and Mount Pleasant both use Educational Service District 112 for a variety of services, including payroll processing, special education and school nursing.

“When you’re a small district, and your superintendent is wearing multiple hats, there’s where ESD can step in and provide some services,” said Lori Oberheide, assistant superintendent for communications and public engagement for ESD 112.

In November, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal stopped in Vancouver for a forum to talk about the future of education in the state, and said OSPI promotes professional staff development through those local educational service districts.

“They try to bring scale so the Green Mountains of the world can join the Vancouvers of the world and still get the same professional development,” he said at the forum. He also said that he can see a time when the basic education model might include minimum requirements for some of those services.

“Every school, at minimum, should have a counselor, should have access to a nurse, should have mental health services,” he said.

Yale has the benefit of being part of a larger school district, so Woodland Public Schools can provide some of those services not offered at the school. Yale doesn’t have a secretary on campus. Instead, the secretary at Woodland Primary School serves as the school’s secretary from downtown Woodland. Principal Malinda Huddleston is on campus one day a week.

“The people who work here run the show,” Huddleston said.

Yale has split classes, with a K-1 classroom, a 2-3 classroom and a fourth-grade classroom. The school used to include fifth grade, but those students were moved a few years back.

“It made more sense for our fifth-graders to be in middle school. They’re ready for a bigger pond,” said Asha Riley, assistant superintendent for Woodland. “By that point, they’ve been in the same school with the same 30 kids for a few years. They can have band and electives we can’t offer at a small school.”

One of the last years with fifth-graders at Yale, there was just one fifth-grade student in the school. The teacher still had to prepare lessons plans specifically for that student.

Funding

In 2017, the McCleary legislation pumped $7.3 billion into education through new state funding for schools spread over four years, followed by another $1 billion in 2018 for teacher salaries. This past summer, that meant negotiating new salary scales for teachers, and for seven districts in Clark County, strike-delayed starts to the school year. For Green Mountain and Mount Pleasant, the new education funding model didn’t mean much in terms of salary negotiations.

However, the new funding model had a big impact by capping the amount that school districts can ask for in local levies at $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value. The decision is one that harms smaller districts in more rural areas, Reykdal said at his Vancouver forum in November.

“Local communities are stunningly supportive of their schools,” he said. “There’s a connection that is just so different than some of our urban core.”

Vogeler said Green Mountain had to revise its four-year plan, but he’s pleased with the district’s outlook.

“Our local levy was cut significantly,” he said. “State funding barely offset that. We have increased expenditures for increased teacher salaries.”

He did say the district will have to dig into reserves for the next two years to make things work, probably about $122,000 this year and another $100,000 next school year. The district currently has about $690,000 in reserves.

Also helping is a $1.25 million capital levy voters approved in November to promote safety, improve the heating and cooling system, upgrade restrooms and flooring and completely renovate the school’s cottage. Green Mountain’s cottage currently houses some classes, but at one point it was the home for the district’s two teachers, a married couple.

Boyd Hemminger, Mount Pleasant’s deputy superintendent, said things will be a little tighter in the budget for the next two years with less levy money, but he said he doesn’t expect much to change.

“Our funding is less levy and state funding,” he said. “We get a little bit from federal grants and grants for professional development.”

Mount Pleasant has leveraged grant money from Whole Foods to bring a beehive onto campus, and it received grant money from the Washougal Schools Foundation to pay for plants for the school’s pollinators.

“So far, nobody has been stung,” Superintendent Vicki Prendergast said proudly.

Mount Pleasant’s bus maintenance is through Washougal School District. The school’s parent-teacher organization also sponsored an artist in residence for the school, and parents regularly buy lunches for the entire school, since Mount Pleasant doesn’t provide lunch services. All students have to bring lunch, although the school is working with Skamania School District to begin a breakfast and lunch program for next school year, where food would be prepared at Skamania and delivered to Mount Pleasant.

As the only smaller school part of a larger district, Yale could’ve seen more impact from the McCleary money, but Woodland was one of the few districts in the area to avoid a strike.

Thriftiness

The ability to stretch a dollar is a vital for those who run a small school. At Green Mountain, Vogeler looks for savings by scanning lists of items declared surplus at other districts. Recently, the school purchased a complete English language arts curriculum for $150. The school has furniture from schools in Woodland and Camas.

“It works in our advantage when other districts renovate,” he said.

Two years ago, Green Mountain bought a bus from the Waterville School District for $3,500, and Vogeler said it should run another six to 10 years.

“We don’t put the miles on that other districts do,” Vogeler said. “We’re not running athletic teams all over the place. Our mileage is pretty limited. We run buses for a long time. Our oldest bus was put in service in 1996. We’re about to get rid of it this year.”

Green Mountain has five modular buildings — four classroom buildings and one bathroom — but only one was purchased new.

“It’s a huge savings,” Vogeler said. “If they are surplusing it, we pay for moving and placement only.”

Given Green Mountain’s location at the end of a narrow road surrounded by trees, it was a bit difficult to get the modular buildings to campus. The cost of moving and placing the portable is typically between $175,000 and $200,000 including site preparation, Vogeler said.

“The Green Mountain School District probably saved about an equal amount by utilizing a used modular building for the latest expansion of the middle school classroom,” he said. “Much of the expense of that project was the site prep, foundation and required fire access road.”

The school’s location caused some other issues in the past before its internet service provider figured out how to get high-speed internet to the campus. Up until a few years ago, students did their state testing on computers in the library, and while they were taking tests, only one other person — usually the school’s secretary — could be online.

“Everyone else would shut down so we had sufficient bandwidth,” Vogeler said.

That has since been corrected, but it’s another reminder of the difficulties that come with locating schools in remote areas. Mount Pleasant sits at the entrance of the Columbia River Gorge. Prendergast said it takes a while for the campus to thaw out after winter weather storms. Visitors also have to deal with Gorge winds.

“If you get out of the car at the wrong time, you might open your door and it can keep going,” Hemminger said.

Consolidation

One topic that comes up surrounding small school districts is consolidation.

On Jan. 16, a bill was introduced in the state Senate to create a commission to develop and recommend a plan to reorganize school districts statewide. The commission would consider consolidating districts, consolidating administration between or among districts and developing and implementing ways for districts to share food services, transportation, administration, construction, technology and instruction, and increased use of technology.

Vogeler said he’s heard about consolidation efforts since he worked for the state in the early 2000s. A lot of people think smaller districts are more expensive, he said, but he said they actually operate with “more efficiencies because there are less layers of administration.” He doesn’t want to see the state look at consolidation.

“I would hate to see the small K-8 district be forced to consolidate,” he said. “I don’t think that’s something our residents would support.”

Prendergast had similar thoughts.

“I would really hate to see families lose the option of a small school experience for their children if that is what fits for their student,” she said. “I also wouldn’t like to see small, rural communities in Washington lose a sense of identity and a community center that a school provides.”

So far, the bill has only been introduced in the Senate. Rep. Monica Stonier, D-Vancouver, said the idea of consolidation has been circulating for a while, but there has not been a clear vision for how to implement such a policy. Stonier, a member of the House Education Committee, said she hasn’t heard of a similar bill coming to the House this year from any other committee members.

Stonier said she is intrigued by the idea but would want to talk to local district leaders before deciding whether she’d support consolidation efforts. She said one of her worries is whether the voices of those in a former small school community would be heard if their school was consolidated into a larger district.

Sen. Ann Rivers, R-La Center, said she’s heard people talk about consolidation before, and the idea was even discussed while state legislators were working on the McCleary deal. However, if it’s something state officials want to move forward with, Rivers said, they need to make sure the needs of rural schools are understood by everyone. She also said that since she’s not a member of the Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee, she hasn’t had a chance to look at the recently proposed bill yet.

“I don’t think it ever hurt to have a look and make sure things are running as efficiently as possible,” she said. “The culture of the school should be a strong consideration as we move forward. It can’t just be dollars and cents. That should be part of it, but we also need to look at the cultures of these schools.”

Small schools

Green Mountain School District: K-8 district with 164 students and 21 staff members, including nine teachers, in the hills east of Woodland.

Mount Pleasant School District: K-8 district at the entrance of the Columbia River Gorge near Washougal with 63 students and four full-time teachers.

Yale Elementary School: K-4 school in Woodland Public Schools with 45 students, two full-time teachers, one part-time teacher, three full-time paraeducators, one half-time paraeducator and one cook/custodian.

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[vileart]

Heroine Dramaturgy: Susan Worsfold @ Edfringe 2018

Scene Change Productions

heroine 

WORLD PREMIERE Part of the 2018 Made in Scotland Showcase

This poignant and darkly humorous solo performance, based on the remarkable true story of a US military sexual trauma survivor, explores courage, healing, forgiveness and what speaking your truth really means

Directed by Susan Worsfold (Eve, NTS) Written and performed by Mary Jane Wells

Rainy Hall, Assembly venues, 3 - 26 August 2018 (not 8, 21), 12.00 (13:05), 16+

Danna Davis (her nom de guerre), is the only female soldier within her company in the US army. As a lesbian serving in the midst of the ’Don't Ask, Don't Tell’ policy, she is sexually assaulted by three male soldiers. On a dangerous mission inside a combat zone, Sgt Davis is forced to rely on one of her attackers to get her squad home safely. Can finding peace ever be possible?

Embarking on her most daunting mission yet, Danna speaks out for the first time. This incredible human story about one soldier's experiences reflects on the human paradigm of revenge, what one must give up to forgive, and the black humour necessary when there has been no justice. heroine delves into the grit required to be the only woman in your company, the courage you must find to lead your squad into combat, when your as- sailant is within, and the heroism it takes to finally talk about it.

how would define the political content of your work? Its essential to me to be political rather than Political with heroine. My job as a writer and performer is to tell Danna's story it in all of its colours, so this piece is absolutely not affiliated with Agit Prop or pushing any political or legislative agenda in its content. I believe in letting art be art. In watching and participating in art this way, I have come to be more educated and outside the play I am an activist for the issues it raises, for zero tolerance and zero occurence. However, storytelling as an activity these days for me is Political. The central tenent on why I am doing heroine is my belief that "It is not the event that has the power to define our lives - but the story we choose to tell about it." Women are just as corruptible as men. But too often their stories are as patriachy has told them - and the way patriachy has told them, as this is what many women recognise as standard. heroine embodies what it is like when we move from a patriarchal storytelling model to the way a woman tells a story whilst she is making the transition into acknowledging her narrative. Stories like Danna's have value, that culturally we do not recognise enough yet. Stories like hers show what trying to birth them is like when patriarchy's hammy fists are all over everything. :) On a personal note, action for Danna held a transformative potential for self worth that words could not. She needed her story heard, felt, understood. Hannah Gadsby talks about the exhaustion she felt without a community to witness, understand and take on her story - "Please help me take care of my story." The implication is not just that she is too tired to carry it alone, or even that it is so lonely to carry it without human connection but also that we might not ultimately GET THE VALUE of it. True stories like Danna are powerful in what they tell us about power, and how to treat the vulnerable. To be powerless does not destroy our humanity. Resilience IS our humanity. Humanity has been destroyed in those who believe they have the right to render another human being powerless. 

But Gadsby says "to yield and not break - THAT is incredible strength".I agree. I also think diversity is strength, and giving up authorship is a strength. It's an actor's job is to embody each perspective and make an audience feel each perspective, so then the entire picture can be seen without one perspective getting stuck and favoured for so long we think its the right and only way of telling it. We invalidate these other perspectives in favour of the one we recognise - that of the white straight male - and that has been the one that we end up believing and investing in. #timesup for storytelling too. are there ways in which your work can engage the audience beyond the immediate emotional rush of the content, and move forward towards further action? Great question. I have a shoutout for a "Brown Envelope" after the show. Its a digital way to connect directly to Danna herself to say hello and pass on a message, and also to raise awareness of the non-profit I partner with called Protect Our Defenders who exist solely to advocate for service members who are Military Sexual Trauma survivors and fight to reform the training, investigation and adjudication systems related to sexual violence and harassment in the Military. 

It means a dialogue can begin, and other resources can be laid out and clearly introduced in a way that the audience member can direct. Taking care of the audience and why they might be motivated to reach out is also something I want to take care of, so for Edinburgh we are also partnering with Safe to Say, who are on hand to counsel anyone during our entire run in Edinburgh who comes forward with a disclosure or is affected by the play's themes and needs support. how far do the material conditions of the Fringe impact on the process by which you make theatre for it? Hugely. If we had not won a Made in Scotland Award I would not consider doing it. We are so privileged to be platformed in a sea of incredible international work and to be funded at the fringe is one of those wildest dreams that never seemed possible.

Writer and performer Mary Jane Wells states, “There are two separate justice systems – one for soldiers, an- other for the rest of us. Since the cultural sea change sparked by #metoo last November, #metoomilitary has seen little comparable movement: on both sides of the Atlantic, military justice systems are broken.

“The Pentagon estimates that sexual assaults increased from 19,000 in 2011 to 26,000 in 2012 and the figures are actually higher for 2013 - 2016. According to these figures, female soldiers in the US army are statistically more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than they are to be killed in com- bat. According to the most recent US Department of Defence report, there is a sexual assault in the US Mili- tary every 35 minutes.

“I wrote heroine from a sense of outrage at what one soldier endured, admiration for her character and be- cause I wanted to support her healing. Her truth needs to be out there and she was clearly ready to talk. I knew that in order to tell this story responsibly and truthfully, the dark humour we share was also essential. My bones said, ‘Write’.”

Mary Jane Wells trained as an actress at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS) and worked in Scottish theatre before dividing her acting career between the UK and the US. She played Josie Marks in HBO’s The Newsroom and her duet with Gerard Butler in How to Train Your Dragon 2 hit the Oscar list, whereupon she became a full-time voice actor, working at Starz and Dreamworks. She was nominated in 2016 for Outstand- ing Body of Voice Work by SOVAS (Warner Brothers), won an Earphones Award for excellence in narration in 2017 and was a 2018 Audies finalist. Upcoming work includes sci-fi neo-noir feature The Tangle. Mary Jane

For all press enquires please contact: Sharon - sharon@smpublicity.co.uk on 07970 178643 or the SM Publicity team - fringepress@smpublicity.co.uk on 07401 878154

was also lead artist on new writing site-specific show I Confess, supported by Arts Council England. She also works as a story coach, notably on Sundance Select / CNN documentary Holy Hell.

heroine was developed in Scotland with support from Aberdeen Performing Arts, Creative Scotland and Capi- tal Theatres before winning The Olwen Wymark Award with Nicola McCartney, and Made in Scotland support.

Susan Worsfold is an award-winning theatre director who has worked with the National Theatre of Scotland and been supported by Creative Scotland, Made in Scotland, British Council Brazil and British Council Scot- land. Susan is co-company director of Queen Jesus Plays, working with Jo Clifford to direct the internationally acclaimed The Gospel According to Jesus, Queen of Heaven, which toured to Brazil in 2016, won a Made in Scotland and Scottish Arts Award and continues to tour to South America, UK, Europe and the USA. She is Creative Development Director of the Nadine George Voice Centre and is Associate Teacher to the Centre for Voice at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, from which she graduated with a BA Hons in Directing in 1998. In 2017 she directed Eve by Jo Clifford & Chris Goode for The National Theatre of Scotland performing at the Traverse theatre, Edinburgh and Citizens Theatre, Glasgow, The Last Post (St Magnus International Festival commission, Made in Scotland 2017 Award performing within the Summerhall programme), Lysistrata, Three- penny Opera (Kings Theatre, Edinburgh), War in America (Old Royal High School, World Premiere) for The Attic Collective, The Gospel According to Jesus, Queen of Heaven (UK Tour), Heroine by Mary Jane Wells (Edinburgh Festival Theatre), and Cleopatra, at Sesc Palladium, Belo Horizonte, Brazil. heroine is her third show to receive a Made in Scotland award.

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work from home song lyrics video

I could relate to a few of the more performance-driven artists on this list, please read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

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Exclusive Jules Valera Interview

I had the chance to sit down with Jules Valera, autobiographical comic artist, caricaturist, illustrator, animation student, writer, event sketcher and all around good egg. I’d been itching for an interview for a while as I find their work deeply inspiring and admire the way that they’re able to work in a wide variety of styles using a plethora of different media.

Hold onto your hats, chaps, this’ll be a good read!

Rebecca

Hey, Jules! Thanks for taking the time to speak to me. So let’s do this. First question! As a comic artist, how do you feel that you are perceived by the people in your life, the general public and other artists?

Jules

People in my life have responded pretty positively to my work as a comic artist. Comics are pretty cool at the moment and most people have some kind of relationship with them in some form.

I think people generally seem to think it’s cool that you can ‘get away’ with doing comics. The downside seems to be that the prevailing perception of comics is still superhero-exclusive.

Other artists I know seem to have a deep respect and hunger for comics. It’s the perfect fusion of things that artists generally love— story and drawings. Most artists I know, even non-comic artists, seem to get a lot of satisfaction out of comics and respect them as a medium.

Rebecca

So how and why did you end up making comics rather than something else?

Jules

I was a big fan of manga when I was growing up, and I’ve always found comics a very natural way of expressing ideas. A friend who happened to be studying comics studies uncovered some of my comics diaries early in my first year of uni and encouraged me to see the merit in continuing. Through him, I developed an interest in comic studies and particularly in graphic medicine (the overlap of comics and the medical humanities) which had a significant influence on my work.

Rebecca

How did your family react when you told them that you were pursuing comics?

Jules

My parents have both always been interested in comics and graphic novels— my mum read Bretécher cartoons as a child, and my dad is a big fan of Joe Sacco (Palestine, Footnotes in Gaza.) They were both supportive and interested from the get-go and have been ever since.

Rebecca

As an artist, do you ever feel apprehensive about sharing your autobio comics with others?

Jules

No— it can be a powerful means of expressing things that are incredibly difficult to communicate otherwise. The spectacle of it- framing real-life events as a narrative with characters- gives both the artist and reader a degree of distance, while the format- using your own words and pictures- allows you to express yourself without restraint, and allows the reader to fully empathise without feeling the need to ‘say the right thing’ or respond appropriately. In creating and sharing an autobiographical comic, you’re saying, “I’m in control of this story, these events, and how I feel about them, and I’m letting you see into my world.”

Rebecca

Do you feel that you have to exaggerate or slightly twist the events in your autobio comics to draw an audience to your work?

Jules

When I make comics based on true events, I try to focus on my own perspective, feelings, and memories, rather than one hundred percent accuracy and objectivity. In the same way as when retelling a good anecdote, I think some things naturally get edited down so that the timing is a little better or a little more convenient. What you end up remembering and recounting is whatever was important at the time.

Rebecca 

Do you feel that comics have to be funny/happy for them to appeal to an audience?

Jules

There’s definitely a market for misery, but I think more than anything else what draws an audience to a comic is relatability. People want to be able to see themselves in comic situations— whether it’s inserting themselves into a superhero narrative, laughing at themselves in a cartoon, or seeing some of their own experiences reflected genuinely in autobio.

Rebecca 

Does the way that you feel about the events depicted in your comic before you draw differ from how you feel after you’ve made and shared the comic?

Jules

Often I find that the process of drawing a comic helps provide some objectivity and perspective on my own feelings. Transforming an event into a narrative problem to be solved has always let me see myself a little better— helps me to understand how I actually felt at the time, and how I feel now.

Rebecca

Do you find making autobio comics therapeutic in any way?

Jules

For me, most of my autobio happens very urgently. The immediacy of drawing a comic often replaces a more self-destructive compulsion, and the emotion that then goes into those drawings and words is often something that I wouldn’t be able to express any other way. I think therapeutic might be the wrong word. If I don’t do the work unravelling issues and coming to terms with them with the help of a therapist then I know I can’t produce anything much of worth (if anything at all)— but comics provide me with context and allow me to see my own feelings objectively, transforming events and emotions into narrative problems to be resolved and presented to an audience in some way.

Rebecca 

In making comics that people are able to relate to and engage with, do you feel as if you’re part of a community?

Jules

I think community can be a bit of a double edged sword. There’s the very immediate satisfaction and sense of validation that comes from people sharing your experiences and relating to your work, which I think is a very good and necessary thing. It comes with the burden of other people’s expectations, however, and I think the particular danger of your work being relatable to many people, especially when you do autobio, is that you become very available to them. I’ve been approached by strangers who felt like they knew me through my work and started very personal, overly familiar conversations with me because of it.

Rebecca 

Autobio comics have been criticised for being too self-indulgent and as being of less worth than a fictional story such as those depicted in graphic novels. What are your thoughts on this?

Jules

I feel strongly that good stories, factual or fictional, always thrive on authenticity, and I believe that authenticity comes from people’s ability to transform their own experiences into a narrative. You don’t need to look far into autobiographical comics to find this happening- for example, in the works of Lynda Barry, Alison Bechdel, Marjane Satrapi, where a life story becomes a deeply intriguing story in its own right.

Rebecca 

Do you think that autobio comics are important for not only a reader but also the artist creating them?

Jules

I think there’s great importance in letting people narrate their own experiences. It’s often the case that when someone is experiencing illness, trauma, grief, any number of life experiences, they’re forced to abdicate some control over to other people— in my case, writing about mental health, control of my life and experiences were often handed over to my family, my doctors, and anyone else with an opinion. Writing about it put me back in control over my own history and gave me an outlet to work out what I felt and experienced without having to put anyone else first.

Rebecca

Has reading a comic (be it autobio or not) ever helped you get through a difficult time?

Jules

Definitely. I had a friend who could provide a comic for almost any event or occasion, and he gave me Glyn Dillon’s The Nao of Brown, which was a big help to me when I was struggling with obsessive compulsive disorder (the comic is fictional but loosely based on Dillon’s wife’s experience with OCD.) Darryl Cunningham’s Psychiatric Tales, a frank, straightforward, and kindly graphic novel about experiences of working as a psychiatric nurse, was also a great comfort when I was unwell. Saki Hiwatari’s Please Save My Earth was incredibly formative in giving me a story to relate to as a teenager experiencing dysphoria, as the manga deals with themes of identity, gender, and sexuality through the story vector of reincarnation.

Rebecca

Do you feel that the impact left on its audience by a comic differs to that of a novel, film or other form of art?

Jules

Comics are still considered, to some degree, to be a ‘junk’ art form. I think this can be a very good thing for comics, though— I appreciate that there’s still a sort of unpretentiousness to the reading of comics, and I think this allows readers to be moved and affected by them almost unconsciously in a way that’s different to the more lofty experiences of reading a novel or watching a film.

 Rebecca

What are a couple of your favourite comics that you would recommend to readers, and do they differ from comics that you would recommend to aspiring comic artists?

Jules

For readers and artists alike, I would recommend anything by Chris Ware (particularly his ACME Novelty Library series, as well as the massive Building Stories) as he really does push the boundaries of what a ‘comic’ can be. Glyn Dillon’s The Nao of Brown is another favourite, with a more conventional structure, beautiful art, and a powerful, loving story. Lynda Barry’s cartoons are excellent (What It Is is a good one), and Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi should be required reading for most comics enthusiasts. I also love anything by Michael DeForge (Ant Colony). For aspiring comic artists, I’d say just read whatever appeals to you, art-wise or story-wise. New artists are constantly reinventing the medium.

Rebecca 

What is your outlook on what it will be like to be a professional artist after leaving art school?

Jules

I ask my Magic 8 Ball this question all the time.

Rebecca

As an artist, do you worry about financial security?

Jules

Constantly.

Rebecca

Do/will you have to rely on other forms of income such as Patreon or a part-time job to be able to create comics?

Jules

I freelance doing commissions and bits and pieces of design work currently, which is more or less sustaining me for the time being, but after graduation I’ll most likely need a part-time job of some description. I hope to have a Patreon for comics and art up and running in the next year!

Rebecca

How has the ability to use the internet to share your work affected your career as a comic artist?

Jules

The ability to use the internet has been absolutely crucial in my career as a comic artist. The vast majority of acquaintances, friends, and collaborators I’ve met in comics, I’ve primarily met through Twitter initially. I think the internet, for better or for worse, puts artists all on a somewhat level playing field— it doesn’t cost anything more than the price of an internet connection to publish your work, advertise yourself, network with other artists, gain an audience, and sell things, all online. The value of internet relationships is massive for providing everything from support and resources to literal couches in countries across the world.

Rebecca 

Would you ever want to work for a publisher or would you rather self-publish your work?

Jules

I think both have their merits, but I don’t have any experience with either so I’m unsure of the benefits and downsides of both. I have friends who’ve started their own small press imprints, which interests me a lot.

Rebecca 

Have you ever taken part in a collective comic anthology? Do you feel like you gained anything from working with others?

Jules

I’ve been published in anthologies a few times— local comics collectives and fanzines mostly. The pressure of a deadline and the thrill of seeing your work published as well as the social aspect of going to launches and promoting the work are all good things I think. I would love to do more practical collaborative work with other artists in the future.

Rebecca

What is your opinion on manga – is it the same as reading a Western comic?

Jules

I think manga follows a different set of rules based on an entirely different history and storytelling tradition from Western comics. Personally, I was drawn to manga when I was growing up because the artwork appealed to me more, but also because the stories in shōjo manga felt more contemplative, with thoughtful pauses visualised in consecutive black pages, empty speech bubbles, metaphorical flowers blooming, et cetera. There was an emotional focus that I found Western mainstream comics largely lacked. My experience of reading manga was, and still is, very different because of that sense of emotional timing.

Rebecca

Thanks so much for your time!

You can find Jules’ work online on their twitter and portfolio site

https://twitter.com/lieabed https://www.julesvalera.daportfolio.com