#it's a beautifully written narrative that touches on so many important themes and topics

[mercymaker]

i feel like a lot of people who write astarion's character off and refuse to engage with his story and character arc are missing out on a very important aspect that is incredibly real and devastating in our world.

it's the existence of an imperfect victim.

which is an unfortunate reality for so many people. and that's why so many of us keep running into this cognitive dissonance where we can't connect the two.

in a way, through media, as well as real life examples, we're constantly being shown this image of a perfect victim, the target of suffering. often completely innocent, there to be tormented and to be weak and to suffer and cry. it's almost... palatable? they're there for us to feel one emotion or another. pity often being at the top of the list. they're at the bottom of the line when it comes to control, authority, aggression. they did nothing wrong. they're there to be brutalized, to fit a very particular role in the narrative. a passive role.

but more often than not, in real life, victims aren't these perfect, meek, quiet, passive figures. especially when it comes to sex trafficking (sex work being looked down by the society and the law surely creates a brutal trap where you're the 'bad guy' even when you ARE a victim). there's no escape. you learn to play by the rules of that world. for so many, there's no 'fairy-tale' ending where you're going to escape by remaining passive and hopeful and continuing to suffer.

there are so many cases where trafficked people end up committing crimes. for some it's just theft, battery, assault. but there are cases where the victims end up brutally murdering their abusers, or their 'clients', or both. and that's when society, as well the judicial system, stops seeing them as a victim altogether. as if they never were one. all of their absolutely horrific suffering gets pushed away, nullified in the eyes of the public. now they are the perpetrator, the criminal. and worst of all, some use this to justify their horrific abuse.

i can't even count how many times i've seen comments where people say 'well, they didn't have to kill them, they could've xyz' or 'why go out of their way to be so brutal?' etc. etc. which yet again... erases sympathy for the victim.

as if committing immoral acts somehow retroactively applies 'punishment' through previous abuse. and the mob's moral craving for 'justice' gets scratched. resolves the cognitive dissonance. it's much easier to connect the two dots, if the person was 'evil' all along. perhaps they were never a victim to begin with? perhaps they deserved it?

and that's where, to me, it loops back to astarion's story. and one of the key points portrayed.

no one deserves such horrific abuse. it doesn't matter if you're an asshole or if you're a sweet girl who had her trust exploited.

and it's not to say that a victim's crimes are suddenly justified because they were a victim to begin with, no.

it's more about our inability to tackle the nuance when someone is both. the one inflicting the suffering as well as receiving it. their 'crimes' are not justified by their suffering. yet, their suffering is also not justified by their 'crimes'.

it is certainly a difficult situation to navigate, but i wish some people would engage with those uncomfortable topics and step out of their comfort zone sometimes instead of writing something off because of some surface details.

[booksteacupandreviews]

Many thanks to @jollyfishpress for e-copy via #NetGalley 𝙇𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙣 𝘿𝙧𝙤𝙥 𝙁𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙗𝙮 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝘾𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙠 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Lemon Drop Falls is touching and moving middle grade fiction that revolves around 12 yrs old Morgan learning to live life after her mother’s death. The story is about coping with loss and grief, new transition in life, friendship, anxiety, family, and hope. The story is written in first person narrative from Morgan’s POV with ‘After’ and ‘Before’ chapters which works really well telling readers how Morgan’s life was with her mother and how her mother’s death changed her and her life. It made Morgan’s voice more realistic and easy to root for. Every aspect of this book is so well written. This is mainly character driven story but there is so much in the story. All characters are realistic and relatable. I loved the way the author gave them all depth and layers. Tone of the story is heavy and serious because of its theme and plot that made story realistic and relatable. I loved the message from the story in this part about life’s uncertainty, things about planning, how if one plan fails take the fall and rebounce to new plan in life, sharing feelings with loved ones, forgiveness and adjust with changes in life and sit back to see how it’s taking shape. Morgan’s talk with her father just before end brought tears in my eyes. It is my most favorite moment in entire book. Overall, Lemon Drop Falls is touching, sensitive, realistic, relatable, and beautifully written middle grade fiction. I highly recommend this if you like, story about loss and grief character dealing with anxiety vulnerable adults in middle grade story realistic and relatable situations importance of discussing heavy topic and feelings transition to junior high and what it means for person of this age . . 𝙌𝙊𝙏𝘿 - Which book about loss and grief you liked most? . . . ...... #LemonDropFalls #HeatherClark #contemporary #fiction #contemporaryfiction #middlegrade #middlegradefiction #booksteacupandreviews #fictionlover #middlegradereader #contemporaryreader #JollyFishPress #bookaboutlossandgrief #realisticfiction #bookblogger #Indianbookstagrammer #BookstagramIN https://www.instagram.com/p/Ca9yHK5go3P/?utm_medium=tumblr

[rezaabdoh]

King Kong

Reza Abdoh (1963-1995) was the fervent, tenacious and visionary orchestrator behind a pack of rabid dogs named 'dar a luz' who corralled audiences incessantly into the depths of hell.

The AIDS era director, playwright, company leader, and poet wryly deferred his biographical details to his own fallacies, a twisting of details and the strenuous efforts of researching journalists and critics. But, some of what we do know is that he was born in Tehran to parents well connected to diplomats, his father a violent former boxer and a member of the Shah's coterie. He was sent to school outside London, where he experienced British boarding school racism but also directed his first play, a youth theatre enactment of Peer Glyt, and published a book of poetry, 'The Sound of a Poet Breathing in an Imprisoned Air'.

Immediately after high school, he found himself in Los Angeles with his father who had fled exile due to the 1979 Iranian Revolution and was subsequently no longer a wealthy friend of the monarchy due to its' abolition. The family was there mere months when Reza was cruelly outed as gay by his step-sister via pornography he may or may not have owned. His father was furious and two weeks later, before Reza could speak with him, he died, leaving Reza and his siblings penniless in America.

The next few years are mysterious: possibly he dropped out of literature or film at USC, possibly he completed it, possibly he started a law degree and in 1981, possibly, he directed 'Darkness Visible', 'a compilation of meditations on Satanism.'... or not. For sure though, he continued to conceive new works and cultivate friendships that would grow into his production company. By the end, he had prolifically directed eighteen theatre works, ten of them his original productions.

There are three plays which Abdoh considered a trilogy; 'The Hip-Hop Waltz of Eurydice' (1990), 'Bogeyman' (1991) and 'The Law of Remains' (1992). Only he really knew why...

The first, genderswaps the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, placing the couple in a neglected domestic setting, bickering away, ambiguously following the plot twists of the ancient source material. The murder, the bargaining, and return from the underworld lie somewhere amidst resentful one-liners, exploding Statues of Liberty and banned eroticism. This was the calmest of Abdoh's works but contains the most explicit use of a theme that over-arched his work; the theme of descent, or a careening through, and, towards indefinite endings.

The result is a rebuke to the reality of forbidden love in America: to the imposed rigidity on gender, to censorship of private lives and the tragic evasion of public queer suffering under Reagan's non-existent AIDS policies. Abdoh's Hades is a disgusting lesion covered fascist, he appears in a white suit, has Eurydice decapitated and brandishes his repugnant rant of mockeries, vanities, and hypocrisies with confidence that they're the wisdom of an astute businessman. For Abdoh, gallows humour like the comical tyrant was a potent technique to scrutinize the widespread human paradoxes which he dramatised, 'the most important part of my aesthetic;'

“Eurydice: Suppose a burglar breaks into the house and finds me? Orpheus: It would serve him right.” - The Hip-Hop Waltz of Eurydice (1990)

In his often large-scale and always experimental performances he encompassed a scope of topics difficult to comprehend. Each different for he never wished to do the same thing again, and each holding precipitous, tense contradictions, moral ambiguity and never once a release or reconciliation. Any point one might like to pull out to draw a singular understanding from would have been violently negated by the preceding passage, or the screams of a voice from off stage, or subsumed in the chaotic invasion of pop, political and dramaturgic details.

He cut out the pastiching, plagiarising, deconstructing heart of the '80s and regarded it's many fatty details before he sliced them up and fed them to his actors for his audiences' entrancement, and then, he refused to license another to ever re-stage a single thing. A beautifully contrary act from a self-proclaimed 'receiver': to pillage culture then demand the results never be distorted? But, it makes sense, Abdoh thought his work existed outside post-modernity because he had a strong point of view. One which could easily slip away, like a line missing from a poem, and he considered himself like a 'symbolist poet' and his work like a poem; irreducible to its parts. Besides, he was more fascinated by contradiction than ambiguity.

Documentation of his work is rare and seems like a clandestine bootleg, but its still worth watching; how often do you see people or art explode like this? Today we're more likely to represent the onslaught of societal injustices privatised as things to personally overcome, threaded through some drama, or seeping through environs as familiar weeds. Unlike Reza, who's plays' furiously jabbed at every soft spot around them, like a virus eating through vitals from the inside out. Implicating everyone and seething with tears and laughter.

'Bogeyman' (1991), Part II of the trilogy, towards the end features a severed head, among falling feathers, freshly plucked from a crow, the head is bitten and swung like a pendulum over a mother and the sycophantic metropolitan reincarnation of her original pig of a husband. A coming-out story of sorts, the son's narrative is subsumed in the action of the many other characters spread across nine settings within a three by three grid construction which contains apartments, an upturned hospital room, a field of wheat and video screens.

The maniacal parents fume and berserk throughout the play dragging the sex and intermittent dancing undertow to their abusive relationship with delirious speed. At any moment various scenes play out beneath the shouting, all on view simultaneously in different boxes: a demarcating structure constantly undermined by the intermingling characters scaling the set. In real life, behind the scenes, the complicated set resulted in many minor injuries and once an actor screaming at a colleague 'Don't touch my blood!' The truncated lives of queer persons flow beneath the hypocritical tirades of heteronormativity. From the disclosure, to taboos and to a hospital bed with rapid speed 'Bogeyman' fits lifetimes into its short span, rampaging across the stage to confront people with a raucous and angry work of art-imitating-life.

Abdoh abhorred theory, the term 'avant-garde', and the word 'radical.' He explained, he thought art was not radical; 'what is radical is what is in the streets, what is radical is the war in Iraq.' Drawing comparisons to his work leaves you with insufficient and reaching declarations. It has been compared to a massive array of artists and writers from Bosch, to Burroughs, to Shakespeare, Edgar Allen Poe, Bach, Rimbaud or Marquis de Sade. Much is written also on the influence of the permanently evolving, mournful and unstable Shi'ite theatre/ritual called Ta'ziyeh which does away with such unities as time or place, and the detachment of the audience, as fundamental requisites for it's staging. How important he considered these influences we don’t often know. If he ever saw Ta'ziyeh in his life it may have been from the window of a limousine as a child, but regardless with art this complex, comparison shines a light, coincidental or not. In his own words, however, his biggest inspiration was life in America, and included cryptic notions like the 'multi-layered realities' of MGM musicals, or the performance from L.A.'s 'Club FUCK!', and especially, pop culture and TV, specifically, the way 'popular media is, to me, abusive.'

“I ignore 99% of all information, 99% of all products. The tiny amount that I do absorb subjects me to perpetual electrocution. There is something so disgusting about this endless uselessness. It’s the disgust for a world that is growing, accumulating, sprawling, sliding into hypertrophy, a world that can’t manage to give birth.” -'Quotations from a Ruined City' 1993

In part III of the trilogy, 'The Law of Remains,' the audience is moved around from setting to setting, co-conspirators in the consumption and exposition of the 'story.' The story is the making of a movie and furthers a line that recurred, like a fugue, in many previous plays, repeating the idea of finding a star for a movie or being that movie star. The star here, however, is Jeffrey Snarling (a.k.a. Dahmer), the serial killer, necrophile and cannibal who targeted young boys of colour until he was caught in 1991. The director is Andy Warhol, the tyrannical auteur who literally framed pop-culture and controversially exploited his muses. What follows is an hour and half of cruelty and fascination, examining and complicating the function of a gay serial killer in American culture.

The show is as usual loud and unrelenting. This time with more dance breaks than previous pieces -which serve to punctuate Abdoh's plays- but in this most cacophonous one, the punctuation is with speed and force. Replacing traditional silence with noise and flitting between creation and destruction, there is no room for pause, for as in real life death is not an end. Whether you are spiritual or not there is the macabre fact -remember physics class- that energy cannot be created or destroyed but only transmuted to new forms. We watch processes begin at death: 'boy toy chilli cheeseburgers' for example, potentials like making 'a heap of money out of this movie', or interviews which begin as the victim is dying, a microphone held out to grab the story or just the anxiety that grows in Snarling and permeates the cast and audience as Dahmer's psyche riled a culture. Like an endless loop, everything seems inevitable and interconnected. Dahmer is a dark star in American mass media, his nefarious story, racially and sexually charged, far crosses the boundaries of taboo but it was foremost his taboos and not his evil that made him an American star. After all he's far from the only serial killer of that time. In the end, Snarling writes a letter from heaven in a typically twisted scene that questions the authority and innocence of the moralisers, both in the audience and society at large;

“Dear Bridget, Do you remember Ronald Reagan in 'The Killers'? He's here now in heaven. Dressed in the old glory he's become a fuckable doll. I study his moves. We drink tea and sympathy with an avid swig of joy. We yelp the baseball scores over the radio. I tap the channel changer: multiple pile-ups, head-on collisions, motorcade attacks and the simulated anus of Reagan post-colostomy surgery - which generates spontaneous orgasms in me. I love him. I wanna fuck him. Time to go do, Bridget.” -'The Law of Remains' 1992.

Abdoh's plays draw together a vast network of details for audiences to get lost in, but pull back to view the bigger picture and you're similarly lost. His genius did not lay in a tortured theorisation or an orderly effort to understand, but rather, in the illumination of the emotions which propelled his obdurate drive to live. He would compound a barrage of information into a single heavy emotional mass via very complex pieces that used their complexity to delve down to a place where artistic creation can express that which is beyond the individual and cannot be reached sufficiently with rationality or logic. The sheer complexity of events is embraced fully and details of contradictions, injustices, and pleasures are played out without sentimentality so they may commit their energy to the communication of what it felt like to live these lives. Instead of offering an interpretation of interpretations he had, like everyone else, received, he got right to the point of why humanity had to do better.

“I have a lot more to say, but I have a plane to catch. And the ruined city will follow me wherever I happen to go. 'I carry the ruined city under my skin, in my belly, in my underbelly. And so do you motherfucker. And so do you motherfucker.” -'Quotations from a Ruined City', 1993

The final work Abdoh staged was 'Quotations from a Ruined City' (1993), co-written with his brother Salar. Staged between barbed wire and a picket fence, it takes a broad view of the violence exerted by the lives we live, by capitalism, identity, and war. It takes the themes of power/powerlessness and justice/injustice to caustic hyperrealism. With a pair of narrators who stand with only their heads showing through hatches in re-purposed elevator cars placed like watchtowers, screaming 'DON'T DO THAT!' intermittently between a script of quotes blasted over the lip-syncing cast.

The setting is a post-apocalyptic ruined city where brutality proliferates. Characters dressed from the future, or as Puritans, '50s & '60s Americana, Victorians, mummies, or the Civil War era, stream through the stage conversing across time at a blistering pace. The scene always changing, the characters pulling up new props and evolving their persona to new realities. Pummelled through changing circumstances they go through mutations in their lives exerted by the regularities of American power, and an emerging 'New World Order' that charged the components of that power with a new and terrifying edge. Whether religious fundamentalism verses/in politics or economics, the effect of folk culture vis-à-vis mass media or brutality exerted through the body-politic on politically dispossessed bodies he offers a searing critique on our culture, showing us what he sees but preferring not to apportion any blame unless its inhaled by all like the air we breathe.

In this final play, before Abdoh was killed by AIDS, we glimpse the complexity of the concerns the director of dar a luz (which means 'bring to light' i.e. 'give birth') had, tempered with rage, find an eloquent reciprocity between dark and light. Amongst the noise of existence, the most unmissable aspect that runs through every moment of Abdoh is the depiction of the nature of queer identity and its role against normative society. He has been called a queer prophet, which still stands true today as his works expose the deep origins that shaped our culture, on both human and inhuman scales, with far-sighted and stinging sophistication.

On an (often difficult to draw) autobiographical note, we see in 'Quotations' perhaps one such moment; when living bodies are as if mummified and stuffed into coffins lain upstage behind two gauze-wrapped, wreathed and garlanded women who's heads have emerged from trap doors. It is the way of AIDS, and viruses, that you wouldn't know from whom you contracted the illness and likely they wouldn't know where theirs came from either. This multiplicitous nature meant that one could not apportion blame, rather the cumulative injustices of the world had conspired to act upon your body. When considered in such terms what differentiates that from anything else? There are more trap doors than doors with money behind. There's no doubt he saw that life is cruel, and perhaps, he felt that a trap door had opened beneath him when at only twenty-one he was given a diagnosis of a terminal illness itself slathered in taboo. One writer, John Bell, thought that in 'Quotations' he had detected a political philosophy more so than in previous works and when he asked Abdoh about it his response was more succinct and encompassing than any that've been figured by critics:

“I believe that one has to not be a victim.” -Reza Abdoh

[stampington]

Get Published: December 2017 Calls and Challenges

Our Stampington publications want your submissions! If you are an artist or writer looking to have your work featured in one of our magazines, here are the December calls and challenges that our editors are looking for. We encourage you to submit your work again even if you have tried before. The following magazines have upcoming deadlines of December 15th (unless otherwise noted), so this is your chance to see your name in print and get published!

Have questions about submitting your artwork? Please leave a comment below and we’d be happy to help!

~Artwork by Richelle Westfall

A hand-me-down sweater … a raggedy old skirt from the thrift store … a plain T-shirt … all of these items can be repurposed into new, fashionable finds with just a few tools and a little creativity. We invite you to submit your own altered and embellished clothing items to be considered for publication in Altered Couture. Items published in the past include skirts, dresses, pants, tops, jackets, vests, shoes, and accessories.

Please submit a “before” photo along with your altered creation, if available. Photos and illustrations showing your process are also strongly encouraged. We also encourage you to submit to our challenges below. Deadline: December 15th

Challenges

Pretty in Patchwork Most sewing areas — be it an actual room, a corner, or a dining room table in between meals — have a designated spot where leftover scraps of fabrics are thrown and often forgotten. Maybe it’s a specific bin, a labeled drawer, or a corner of the table. We want to see these lonely leftover fabric pieces, as well as those found in local thrift/antique stores, transformed into eye-catching patchwork designs. You could use the element as a detail to embellish a denim jacket or to lengthen a dress. With reconstruction options galore, we challenge you to upcycle garments, accessories, or shoes with your favorite patchwork patterns. We’re talking mixing prints, complementary and contrasting colors, maybe even adding a dip dye effect, and so forth. Creativity is the key here, and we can’t wait to see your designs come to life! Deadline: December 15, 2017

Submission Guidelines

~Artwork by Annie Wahl

Challenges

Ahoy Matey! Pirates have always gotten a bad rap. These violent tough guys who attack and rob ships at sea are pretty despicable fellas, nonetheless we’ve always been fascinated with them. From the pirates in Peter Pan to Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow to Blackbeard, we know you can come up with some creative dolls for this theme. Do a little research, choose a character, or let your imagination go wild. Whether you make a wench, a pirate, or anything related, we want to see what you can create! Results will be published in our Summer 2018 Issue. Deadline: December 15, 2017

Tips for Getting Published | Submitting Doll Photographs

Submission Guidelines

  ~Photography by Joy Sussman

Let Artful Blogging be your guide as you discover a world filled with visual delights from today’s most inspirational artists, writers, and photographers. In their own words, read how blogging fits into the creative lives of artists and creative souls like yourself. Filled with full-color photography, illustration, mixed-media and assemblage, fabric and vintage artwork — whether or not you have a blog of your own, you will find no richer landscape to spark your own creative fires.

Artful Blogging is a quarterly publication. If you are the creator of a blog or know of one that you think other creative minds would like to know about, please send a letter of interest to the Managing Editor, at artfulblogging@stampington.com.

Deadline for submissions to be received: December 15th

Click here to download our guide for submitting photographs. It will also show you how to convert images to the correct size and resolution for this publication.

Submission Guidelines

~Photograph by Katie Jensen

Bella Grace is a print publication devoted to discovering magic in the ordinary. Our aim is to touch the souls of our readers through beautifully penned stories and striking photographs that capture life’s beautiful adventure.

At Bella Grace, we believe that:

Every cloud has a silver lining.

An ordinary life can be an extraordinary life.

There is beauty and magic to be found everywhere.

It’s OK to embrace imperfection.

Life should be lived with a full heart and open eyes.

Bella Grace is currently seeking submissions from writers and photographer

What We Are Looking For

Narratives We are currently looking for original narratives and poetry that focus on the idea that “life is a beautiful adventure.” Submitted work can be about simple pleasures, life lessons learned, slowing down, embracing your authentic self, and more. Written submissions can include accompanying photography, but we will also pair writers up with photographers if necessary.

Photography Picture submissions should capture the spirit of Bella Grace. They should depict simple moments, bits of romance, feelings of happiness, etc. Photography can be submitted on its own and will be considered for use with narratives or as the background for some of the quotes featured throughout the book.

Lists Who doesn’t love making a great list? Creating lists can be a very effective and inspiring form of writing. They’re also incredibly fun to read! We aren’t looking for your grocery list; we’re looking for your life lists. A few ideas include 10 Ways to Turn a Day Around, 5 Times I Laughed Uncontrollably, and 15 Things I’d Tell My 15-Year-Old Self. Make it funny, make it sweet … the choice is yours.

Instagram Collections Who doesn’t love Instagram? As artists and creatives, it’s such a great way to beautifully share our days with others. It also serves as a diary to help us document our days. In each issue of Bella Grace we feature a few Instagram collections. We’re now opening this up to submissions! All you need to do is send 15 images that you feel capture your Instagram and a statement about what living a Bella Grace life means to you to bellagrace@stampington.com. If selected, you will need to provide high-resolution images that can be printed at 5″ x 5″, 300 dpi.

Ideas To Get You Started

We are happy to receive general submissions, but in case you need a few ideas to get you started, we are also looking for responses (photographic or written or both) to the following prompts:

Stories of Self-Love Most of us have our own bag of tricks we turn to when we need to show ourselves a little love and kindness. For our editor-in-chief, it’s a quiet night spent under her very favorite blanket and the first book in the Harry Potter series. It never fails to brighten her spirits. What is it you turn to? What’s your recipe for self-love? (Lists and narratives accepted.)

Small, Random Acts of Kindness It’s been said that you never know what another person might be going through, so it’s important to be kind with everyone. A small gesture, such as a flower placed on a car windshield or an anonymous note left for someone to find, can make a huge impact. For an upcoming issue of Bella Grace, we are hoping to gather as many ideas for committing random acts of kindness as we possibly can. Furthermore, if you have a story to share about the impact an act of kindness has had on you, we’d love to hear it.

You in a Song Wouldn’t it be great to have a theme song for yourself? One that would be played as though you were in a movie? Here in our office, we’ve been asking each other what a song about them would sound like, and what lyrics it would contain. Now, we want to issue the same question to you. If someone wrote a song about you, what would the lyrics be?

Super Sassy Bios One of the most challenging assignments can be to write a biography for yourself. No matter how short the requirement, the task can be daunting. While perusing blogs, we’ve spied some really clever bios, some so unique that we can’t help but feel we know that blogger. In 30 words or less, what can you say about yourself? Don’t be boring and follow the usual format. Make it fun and attention-grabbing.

Bella Grace is released on a quarterly basis: March, June, September, and December. Submissions are accepted on an ongoing basis, but must be received on or before the following dates to be considered for a specific issue.

Deadline for submissions:

Summer Issue — January 15th • Autumn Issue — April 15th • Winter Issue — July 15th • Spring Issue — December 15th

For consideration, please send any of the above to:

bellagrace@stampington.com

Click here to download our guide for submitting photographs. It will also show you how to convert images to the correct size and resolution for this publication.

  Be a Part of a New Generation

We’re sharing Bella Grace with a whole new generation of young women.

In 2018, we will be launching Bella Grace New Generation, which will feature the same inspirational content you love in Bella Grace, but geared toward girls ages 12 to 19.

We are currently looking for the following people to help us launch this exciting new title:

Writers and photographers who fall within our target age range

Young women ages 12 to 19 interested in being part of a special focus group where they will help generate ideas for content as well as provide feedback on potential topics, designs, and stories

Parents of young women in this age range willing to share what kinds of content they would like their daughters to read

Parents who can write thoughtful, reflective articles geared toward young women in this age group

If you fall into one of these categories and are interested in being part of something truly special, please send an email to bellagrace@stampington.com.

Submission Guidelines

  ~Artwork by Kathy Hays

  Repurposing Vintage Thrift-store shoppers and junkers everywhere: We challenge you to reuse vintage in a fresh, upcycled manner. Adding paint or embellishments are just a couple examples of ways you can breathe new life into vintage items. Why not stop into your local thrift store or secondhand shop for inspiration? Deadline: Ongoing.

Create With Me Showing children the value of recycling can be one of the most rewarding and fun green projects of all. We challenge you to explore the many ways that repurposed and recycled materials can be used to make chic and artistic projects for kids. This is a fun and playful challenge, and we encourage you to let your inner child shine! Toys and games made from recycled materials are fantastic, as well as easy-to-follow crafts for seasonal projects like holiday ornaments or Valentine’s gifts. Just remember to keep it simple for small hands. Deadline: Ongoing.

Green Living This department is dedicated to showcasing projects that promote a green lifestyle. These items do not have to be made from recycled or repurposed materials, but they do have to be eco-friendly. Reusable fabric towels, homemade household cleaners, and reusable sandwich bags are some examples of what we’re looking for. Deadline: Ongoing.

Feature Articles Finding creative and cost-effective uses for old items is nothing new to artists, but the spirit of preserving the planet is more important than ever before. That’s why GreenCraft Magazine is here — to honor and inspire those who find artistic applications for normally discarded resources. GreenCraft features articles about repurposing trash to treasure and showcases projects where waste is upcycled into ecologically chic creations. Have you found a use for cardboard rolls left over from paper towels? Have you cut up an old T-shirt and knitted it into a purse? Have you taken a burned-out light bulb and made it into a beautiful flower vase? Have you transformed old board games into notebooks? Then we want to hear from you! Submit your recycled, reused and repurposed items to GreenCraft Magazine today! Deadline: December 15th

Submission Guidelines

~Artwork by Trudy Honeycutt

Prims features exclusively handcrafted folk art inspired by a bygone era that will captivate the imagination and enchant with its simple beauty. Artwork by primitive, folk, historic, and early Americana artists explore the traditional beauty of handcrafted art making. Included on the pages are dolls, paintings, mixed-media artwork, along with a mix of teddy bears, animals, and other primitive characters. Stampington & Company’s tri-annual publication is released every January for spring, May for summer, and September for autumn/winter. Deadline: December 15th for the May issue.

Pattern Spotlight Do you have a pattern for a primitive doll with step-by-step instructions that you would like to share? We would love to see your patterns and possibly feature them in the publication. To be considered, please email or mail in your pattern, doll/hi-res images, and instructions by the deadline. Deadline: Ongoing

Antiquated Aquatics Last summer, Renee Tousignant introduced her fisherman character Pete and his haul of fish. Inspired by her fish, we have decided to center a challenge on aquatic creatures. You may want to create a regular old fish or get more creative with other oceanic creatures such as octopi, otters, starfish, shark, or even a mythical sea creature like a kraken or mermaid. If it lives in the water, it is fair game. Unleash your primitive designs! Deadline: December 15, 2017 * In addition to this challenge, we are also accepting primitive artwork in the patriotic and Americana theme — break out the star- and striped-fabric for this issue!

Submission Guidelines

~Artwork by Melinda Barnett

Launched in 2014, Willow and Sage features natural, handmade products that soothe both body and soul. We’re paying special attention to unique packaging and the art of presentation, and we want YOU to be a part of the next issue!

Here’s what we’re looking for: • bath salts and soaks • solid perfumes • natural scents • homemade soaps • chemical-free lotions and make-up • toiletries (such as deodorant and toothpaste) • hair treatments, spray-in conditioners, and dry shampoos • face masks • sugar scrubs • soy and wax candles • unique spa kits • gift bundles • handmade bath and body products in beautiful packaging • lifestyle stories that touch on adopting a natural lifestyle • and more

Deadline for Submissions:

For May issue: December 15th

For Consideration, Please Send High-Resolution Digital Project Photographs to: willowandsage@stampington.comFor general artwork guidelines and more information, please visit: http://ift.tt/2A9y0EH We Also Accept Mail Submissions:

Stampington & Company Attn: Willow and Sage 22992 Mill Creek Suite B Laguna Hills, CA 92653

Submission Guidelines

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