Zest Books Internship, Day #19: A little bit of editing, a little bit of Facebook-ing, a little bit of photoshopping, and a little bit of mailing.
Saturday, April 6th
Hanging out with family today. Went to see Oz: The Great and Powerful, which was pretty bad except for the opening credits and the Danny Elfman soundtrack.
Finished working on notes for The Man Who Never Smiled.
Wednesday, April 10th
Zest Books Internship, Day #20: Worked mostly on mailing today… I think I put together over 60 packages. Wrote a blog post for the Zest Books official blog about upcoming titles Little Fish and Super Pop! with an accompanying illustration — can’t wait to see this go up online!
Thursday, April 11th
Ran some errands and worked on some preparation for the Cannes/London trip.
Made an account with Storenvy and am beginning to set up my own online store.
Went with Wes to an event at San Francisco Film Society. Talked with some of Wes’s former employers and met a filmmaker named Joey who will also be at Cannes.
Friday, April 12th
Zest Books Internship, Day #21: Worked on some cover designs for an upcoming Zest Books title. Everyone really seems to like what I’ve done!
Invited to be an illustrator for an upcoming collaborative project with a small publisher. More details to come!
Worked on some upcoming blog posts.
Worked on setting up the online store.
Saturday, April 13th
E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
Went to North Beach to eat really tasty Italian food. ( ´◔‿ゝ◔`)
Sunday, April 14th
Date with Wes! Went to see The Place Beyond the Pines, which was interesting. Ate Vietnamese food afterwards. (・∀・)
Ran some errands and worked on some preparation for my Cannes/London trip.
Thinking of investing in a professionally printed preview zine of The Poet and the Flea to sell online and at expos. Looking into various local printers!
Zest Books Internship, Day #23: Sat in on staff meeting. Created a blog post for Earth Day. Worked on WordPress, editing some content.
Worked on some upcoming blog posts.
Saturday, April 20th
E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
Helped mom prepare for the art show next weekend.
Did some research on local printers.
Sunday, April 21st
Elias’s 1st birthday party! Bit of a strange day… Wes and I went to Gabe’s house to celebrate his son’s first birthday. Unfortunately, we didn’t actually get to see Gabe since he had to take his father to the hospital for a broken leg. Later, Wes and I went to The Ice Cream Bar since it was so hot outside and we needed to cool off. Then, we ended up eating at Sunflower Vietnamese for dinner and later had dessert with my folks and Nikki the shiba inu.
Zest Books Internship, Day #24: Put together some interview questions for Dan. Worked on some button designs in Photoshop.
HOLY MOLY MACARONI! I just received the most amazing e-mail. (A secret for now…)
♪(┌・。・)┌
Thursday, April 25th
Working on Blake Society talk!
Friday, April 26th
Wow, received another awesome piece of news. Can’t really say anything yet, but everything is really coming together it seems!!
Zest Books Internship, Day #25: LAST DAY! Finished button designs and ordered them online. The office ladies took us out for lunch, which was very sweet.
Spring Cleaning: Wanted to clean up my room and get rid of a lot of junk before leaving for Cannes/London trip! Now that most of the junk is gone, it should be easier to pack.
Monday, April 29th
Feeling under the weather today.
Tuesday, April 30th
E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
Helped mom with some photos I took of her work for various purposes.
Wednesday, May 1st
E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
Even put together some important snail mail today!
Finally got my hair cut! Now I feel like I’m almost ready for my trip. (◕‿◕✿)
Correspondence with a recruiter for a potential job.
Friday, May 3rd
Ran around EVERYWHERE today to finish up errands for the Cannes/London trip. Utterly exhausted!
Jotted some more ideas down for a future screenplay.
Saturday, May 4th
Today’s motto: 七転び八起き= Nanakorobi yaoki. Fall seven times and stand up eight.
Family Bonding Day! This is the last weekend before I leave for Cannes/London, so spent time with the folks. Ate lunch at a great Puerto Rican restaurant. Finally got to see Girl with a Pearl Earring and Rembrandt’s Century at the de Young.
Sunday, May 5th
Date with Wes! Went to see Iron Man 3, which really wasn’t as bad as I was expecting. Ate tasty Japanese dinner at Sanraku. Hopefully will see Wes one more time before I leave!
Monday, May 6th
New suitcase arrived in the mail.
Finalizing Cannes/London trip plans.
Continued correspondence with a recruiter for a potential job.
Worked on some upcoming blog posts.
Tuesday, May 7th
Ran some errands for the Cannes/London trip.
Finalizing Cannes/London trip plans.
Working on Blake Society talk!
Wednesday, May 8th
Ran some errands for the Cannes/London trip.
E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
Finalizing Cannes/London trip plans.
Working on Blake Society talk!
Jotted down some more ideas for a future screenplay.
Dinner with Wes!
Thursday, May 9th
E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
Finishing up odds and ends of Cannes/London travel arrangements.
Packing for trip!!
Worked on some upcoming blog posts.
Friday, May 10th
E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
Finishing up odds and ends of Cannes/London travel arrangements.
PACKING!!!
Saturday, May 11th
Finishing up odds and ends of Cannes/London travel arrangements.
Flight leaves San Francisco at 7:05 p.m. Will arrive in Nice, France at 6:10 p.m.
Etcetera
The Poet and the Flea: 63 pages of written script (1 page of script = 4-6 illustrated pages), and about 36 pages (1-30 completed, and 31-36 in progress) of illustrated work.
The First Reich: about 1-10 pages of illustrated work in progress.
First Zine: 8 pages of illustrated work completed. Zine production pending.
Note: This post is really just for me to try to jot down and organize all the information/recommendations/advice I’ve received about London so far. AND MORE ADVICE IS MORE THAN WELCOMED!
***
Here, I’ve narrowed down the Blake historical sites to only the ones I want to see most:
St. James’s Church: (10) Where Blake was baptized. The font still survives.
Westminster Abbey: (10) Where Blake practiced drawing. Monument to Blake in the Abbey’s Poet’s Corner.Will probably end up here on a bus tour!
Royal Academy, New Somerset House: (9) Where Blake studied and occasionally exhibited his work. Original building.
13 Hercules Buildings: (7) Where Blake produced the Songs of Experience. House demolished in 1918.
17 South Moulton Street: (10) Will be here on Tuesday!
St. Mary’s, Battersea: (10) Where Blake married Kate. Original building.
Okay, this might be really silly/crazy/touristy, but a tour in a vintage bus plus tea time? That just sounds so ridiculous (in a good way, I think)!
Won’t have time for this on Monday or Tuesday, so will have to do either Wednesday or Thursday.
Location: Starts at Harrods, 87-135 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge.
Time: Starts at 1 p.m, for 5 hours.
Price: £49
Includes: Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, The London Eye, Westminster Abbey, Downing Street, Trafalgar Square, Nelson’s Column, Hyde Park, the Houses of Parliament, The Royal Albert Hall, a cruise on the River Thames, and tea/scones at Harrods.
***
Jack the Ripper Tour
Might have time for this on Monday, or otherwise on Wednesday.
Option #1: Every night at 7 p.m. Outside exit 4 of Aldgate East Station. £9. 2 hours.
Option #2: Every night at 7 p.m. Outside exit 4 of Aldgate East Station. £9. 2 hours.
Option #3: Every night at 7:30 p.m. Outside exit 3 of Aldgate East Station. £9. 1 hour, 45 minutes.
Tentatively, I think I might go to the Tate and V&A on Tuesday, the bus tour and possibly Jack the Ripper on Wednesday, and then the British Museum and Blake historic sites on Thursday.
Location: Millbank.
Time: Open daily 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Price: Free (except for special exhibitions).
Taking photos not allowed.
Need to find out more about the renovated Blake rooms!
Need to figure out what else I’d like to see at the Tate!
“Fresh leaf tea in a pot and bone china, scones with clotted cream and jam, finger sandwiches and tasty cakes… could anything be more British than afternoon tea in London.”
Location: 41 Great Russell Street (opposite the British Museum).
As you may know, for the past couple months, I’ve been busy planning for my trip to Cannes and London. I’ll only have 3 full days in London, so I’m trying to figure out the best schedule that will allow me to fit everything in. For my British followers/readers, any advice would be incredibly appreciated.
Monday
Arrive: Hello London!!!
Take public transportation from Heathrow to hotel; check into hotel and get situated.
Since I’ll be exhausted from the film festival (and if I don’t get in too late), I think I might take a bus tour of London. That way, I can relax and cover all the basics in a short amount of time and hopefully won’t feel like I’ve missed out on anything. If I don’t have time to do a bus tour Monday, then I’ll do one Tuesday morning/afternoon and maybe do a Jack the Ripper tour instead.
Tuesday: Special Event Day!
I’m not exactly sure how I’ll spend a good chunk of this day yet. Like I said, I might take a bus tour of London. Or perhaps check out the London Eye, Covent Garden, Sherlock Holmes Museum, Royal Botanic Gardens, etc. on my own. I have to look into the different types of bus tours and schedules!
Leave some time to relax and possibly nap in the late afternoon.
★Tate: I recently contacted the Tate about their William Blake collection and was absolutely delighted to hear that the renovated Blake rooms are scheduled to open May 14th and will very likely include The Ghost of a Flea — talk about perfect timing!
British Museum: I would like to visit the British Museum’s Print Room (Department of Prints and Drawings), where one can access Blake works without an appointment. According to the Chair of the Blake Society, Tim Heath: “…you are able to hold in your own hands some of Blake’s original (and now priceless) illuminated books. It is one of the secrets of the city.”
Victoria & Albert Museum: According to Naomi, the V&A has “…four of Blake’s ‘fresco’ paintings on display permanently, as well as a good collection of watercolours which you can see in their Print Room (no appointment needed).” Would also love to see upcoming exhibit called David Bowie is (March – July)!!
I need to figure out the easiest way to walk and which sites I would most like to see (on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 meaning “I absolutely must see this!”).
28 Broad Street: (7) Where Blake was born. Original building no longer survives. Tate: “Old houses that survive… give a good idea of what Blake’s house looked like.”
St. James’s Church: (10) Recommended by Tim. Where Blake was baptized. The font still survives.
Mr. Pars’ Drawing School in the Strand: (5) Where Blake was sent to study at age 10. Demolished in Regency times.
31 Queen Street, Lincoln’s Inn: (8) Where Blake at age 14 became apprentice to an engraver. Original building demolished in late 19th century. Tate: “…but the next-door houses (of brick rather than stone) give an idea of its original appearance).
Westminster Abbey: (10) Where Blake as an apprentice practiced drawing ancient tombs (such as King Edward I) and monuments. Monument to William Blake in the Abbey’s Poet’s Corner.
Royal Society of Arts: (5) Where Blake admired James Barry’s murals The Progress of Human Knowledge and Culture. Original building.
Royal Academy, New Somerset House: (9) Where Blake studied and exhibited his work on several occasions. Also important location for the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, if I’m not mistaken. Original building.
Green Street, Leicester Square: (5) Where Blake moved after his marriage. Original building no longer exists.
28 Poland Street: (6) Where Blake moved after dissolving his partnership with James Parker. House rebuilt in the late 19th century.
13 Hercules Buildings: (7) Where Blake lived during his most productive years and produced the Songs of Experience. House demolished in 1918.
17 South Moulton Street: (10) Where Blake “…suffer[ed] his bitterest disappointments. Fame and financial success continued to elude him, and he sank into poverty and paranoia.” Will be here on Tuesday!
Fountain Court, Strand: (7) Where Blake lived until his death and produced his illustration to Dante’s Divine Comedy. Original building no longer exists.
St. Mary’s, Battersea: (10) Recommended by Tim. Where Blake married Kate. Original building.
Bunhill Fields: (9) Recommended by Tim. Where Blake is buried (in an unmarked grave). Tate: “A small monument now stands at the approximate site where Blake was buried.”
Paolozzi Newton: (6) Where a statue based on Blake’s Newton stands.
Friday
Depart: Back to San Francisco!
Now that I’ve laid everything out, the next step is to narrow everything down into a manageable plan!
***
For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on tumblr and/or twitter.
Prepared for tomorrow — the first day of my new internship!!!
Wednesday, January 30th
Zest Books Internship, Day #1: Wonderful first day! Having an easy time getting into the flow of everything. Staff is extremely friendly and excited to get to know them better. Get awesome sneak peaks of upcoming titles. Friday, will be working on Tumblr and possibly doing some image research — can’t wait!
Thursday, January 31st
Not ready to announce anything yet, but amazing news (from January 20th) continuing to develop!
Received e-mail from follower Hannah Meiklejohn (bellusmundus.wordpress.com) asking if she could write an article for a magazine about The Poet and the Flea, yay! Excited to learn more details about the article and magazine. (^-^)
Zest Books Internship, Day #2: Worked on historical-themed image research for most of the day, which was mostly a lot of fun! Started working on Zest’s Tumblr (zestbooks.tumblr.com). Ate lunch in nearby park, which is very pleasant and relaxing and will definitely be repeated.
Saturday, February 2nd
Happy Groundhog Day!!
Filled out the rest of Cannes paperwork and made a checklist for what to bring (I’m Going To Cannes!!!).
Went to see Warm Bodies with Wes! Not the most brilliant movie, but adorable and a lot of fun. (︶ω︶)
For those of you watching the new Netflix series House of Cards, I highly recommend watching the original BBC version starring the brilliant Ian Richardson also available on Netflix.
Ran into a neighbor on the bus to work today, and she’d like to hire me to help her with her WordPress. We’ll see what happens… (^-^)
Zest Books Internship, Day #3: Worked on creating prom tips for Zest’s Tumblr as well as a mailing project. Getting to know everyone in the office better — everyone’s super easy to talk to. Took home a copy of Zoo Station to read.
Wow, I adore this new FX show The Americans! Amazing character development and really scary/exciting. Can’t wait for the next episode.
Zest Books Internship, Day #4: Continuing work on Tumblr! Sat at Ann’s desk today — she happens to have a David Bowie paper doll (with multiple outfits) taped to her computer, which brings me endless joy. Got to know fellow intern Olivia a bit better. Extremely excited to proofread/edit the back cover blurb for an upcoming book. Also got to share my opinion on some cover art!
Today’s constant companion: David Bowie!
Saturday, February 9th
Went to see Lewis Black with Wes and the folks! Stomach hurts from laughing so much!
Sunday, February 10th
Finally got to talk with my good friend from high school Tina! Talked on the phone for over 2 hours! (^-^;;)
Worked on TOP SECRET project.
Monday, February 11th
Went downtown today to pick up some more supplies from Britex for The Flea plush toy.
Did a little shopping in preparation for Cannes. A lot more shopping to do in the next few months.
Finished writing responses to Hannah’s questions. Just have to edit a bit and then send them to her.
Worked on TOP SECRET project.
Wednesday, February 13th
Zest Books Internship, Day #5: More historical-themed image research and Tumblr. Asked to do some brainstorming for book ideas. Ended up walking all the way home today since the bus skipped a lot.
A few days ago, e-mailed the Tate Gallery about information on their William Blake collection. Today, received response with good news. Will talk about this more in upcoming post.
Received e-mail from Hannah! She sent a draft of the article, and it looks really wonderful so far. Just have to answer a couple follow-up questions. \(^-^)/
Zest Books Internship, Day #6: More historical-themed image research and Tumblr. Also, talked about a potential book idea I came up with, and some of the staff seems interested! Next week, will be attending the Teen Advisory Board on Wednesday and a staff meeting on Thursday. Very excited!
Saturday, February 16th
Ordered a beautiful dress to wear at Cannes. I needed a maxi dress for pool parties, etc. and couldn’t find the right one in stores. So I browsed Etsy and found the talented Nicole Lebreux! Not only does Nicole have really fun designs, but also she was extremely helpful in answering my questions. So go ahead and check out her shop!
Went to see a simulcast of the new Met production of Verdi’s Rigoletto. The opera is usually set in the 16th century, but this production cleverly reimagines the story in 1960s Las Vegas. Wonderfully creative and engaging production with incredible singers! Preview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-zXLKd76fk.
Sunday, February 17th
Worked on some upcoming blog posts.
Date night with Wes!
Etcetera
The Poet and the Flea: 63 pages of written script (1 page of script = 4-6 illustrated pages), and about 36 pages (1-24, 27-30 completed, and 25-26, 31-36 in progress) of illustrated work.
The First Reich: about 1-10 pages of illustrated work in progress.
First Zine: about 6-8 pages of illustrated work in progress.
Some of you have probably noticed me occasionally mentioning a project called The First Reich. This is a graphic novel collaboration I’ve been working on for a number of months with the very talented Shannon Brady. She wrote the incredibly compelling script/storyboard for The First Reich, carefully plotting out each panel to the best of her artistic ability — stick figures though they may be. It’s my job to transform her wonderful draft into a finished illustrated work.
The First Reichis more or less a biographical account of the Jewish-Austrian psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich, and deals thoughtfully with a number of subjects including the history of psychology, World War II, Nazism, Communism, McCarthyism, and beyond.
Currently, The First Reich‘s website (thefirstreich.wordpress.com) is bare bones, but you can hop over there and read a fascinating and eloquent statement by Shannon about this project. At the moment, I’m working on the first 10 pages of the graphic novel and hope to post them online sometime in the coming months. Below are details from the progress I’ve made so far.
It’s really a pleasure and honor to work on this project. It’s an absolute joy collaborating with Shannon. And it’s the perfect opportunity to reflect on my own Jewish heritage and family history.
Any questions or comments are gladly welcomed!
Preliminary Character Designs: Wilhelm Reich
Preliminary Character Design: Shannon
“The First Reich” Cover Detail
Detail from Page 2
Detail from Page 3
Detail from Page 4
Detail from Page 4
***
For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on tumblr and/or twitter.
What, another award!?!?!?! Many many many many many thanks to the incredibly talented Kiki Lanbac (laofli.wordpress.com)!!! She has a wonderful aesthetic and a wicked sense of humor. Check out a sample of her amazing work below.
This image belongs to Kiki Lanbac!
***
Rules
Post the award pic on the blog.
Tell everyone about who gave you the award with a link to their blog.
I don’t usually do this “New Year’s resolution” thing. But I have so many short-term and long-term goals, I thought this would be a good way to organize my brain.
I’m not sure exactly how long it will take to complete this goal list, but I’m hoping to accomplish a good chunk within the coming months.
But, before that, I’d also like to make a list of my recent accomplishments. Often, I feel like nothing is moving forward, so hopefully this list will remind me that my hard work is paying off.
***
Achievements of 2012
Have been working incredibly hard on my new online graphic novel The Poet and the Flea.
Entered several screenplays into a variety of competitions and have received a great deal of positive feedback (see résumé).
Nominated for a number of blog awards — Reader Appreciation Award, Very Inspiring Blogger Award (twice), Blog of the Year 2012 Award, Liebster Award, and Beautiful Blogger Award.
Complete materials for Elias & The Cityof Cats(hopefully before the end of January) and send out to publishers.
Finish first 10 pages of The First Reich and get them up online.
Begin working with Masa and Gabe on full-length screenplay collaboration The Blanks (working title), to be finished before June 2013.
Send out inquiry letters about my completed full-length screenplays to production companies.
Finish the script for The Poet and the Flea, hopefully somewhere between 60 – 75 pages.
Work on my first zine (possibly a tie in with The Flea) and self-print it.
Open up a Storenvy account to sell zines and other merchandise (prints, t-shirts, etc.).
Work on the next 10 illustrated pages of The Poet and the Flea. Then the next 10, and so on and so forth!!
Find a reliable and talented director and/or producer to turn one of my short scripts into a short film. Then enter the short film into a number of festivals.
Finally get an official internship, fellowship, and/or job in a field of interest.
Wish me luck!!
***
For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on tumblr and/or twitter.
“The First Reich”: Behind the Scenes (Part 1)
Related Post: “The Poet and the Flea”: Behind the Scenes (Part 1)
***
Some of you have probably noticed me occasionally mentioning a project called The First Reich. This is a graphic novel collaboration I’ve been working on for a number of months with the very talented Shannon Brady. She wrote the incredibly compelling script/storyboard for The First Reich, carefully plotting out each panel to the best of her artistic ability — stick figures though they may be. It’s my job to transform her wonderful draft into a finished illustrated work.
The First Reich is more or less a biographical account of the Jewish-Austrian psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich, and deals thoughtfully with a number of subjects including the history of psychology, World War II, Nazism, Communism, McCarthyism, and beyond.
Currently, The First Reich‘s website (thefirstreich.wordpress.com) is bare bones, but you can hop over there and read a fascinating and eloquent statement by Shannon about this project. At the moment, I’m working on the first 10 pages of the graphic novel and hope to post them online sometime in the coming months. Below are details from the progress I’ve made so far.
It’s really a pleasure and honor to work on this project. It’s an absolute joy collaborating with Shannon. And it’s the perfect opportunity to reflect on my own Jewish heritage and family history.
Any questions or comments are gladly welcomed!
Preliminary Character Designs: Wilhelm Reich
Preliminary Character Design: Shannon
“The First Reich” Cover Detail
Detail from Page 2
Detail from Page 3
Detail from Page 4
Detail from Page 4
***
For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on tumblr and/or twitter.
***
Copyright 2013 by G. E. Gallas
12 comments | tags: Ability, Account, Announcement, Artist, Artistic, Artwork, Austria, Austrian, Bare, Beyond, Biographical, biography, Blog, Bones, Carefully, Character, Character Designs, Collaborate, Collaboration, Comic, Comic book, Comments, Communism, Communist, Compelling, Cover, Detail, Details, Doodle, Draft, Drawings, Eloquent, Ethnic, Ethnically, Europe, Eva Reich, Family History, Fascinating, Finished, Freud, Germany, Graphic Novel, Heritage, Historical, History, Honor, Illustrated, Illustration, Illustrator, Immigrant, Immigrated, Incredibly, Jew, Jewish, Jewish Heritage, Jewish-Austrian, Job, Joy, McCarthy, McCarthyism, Months, Nazi, Nazism, Notice, Number, Online, Pages, Panel, Pleasure, Plotting, Post, Preliminary, Progress, Project, Psychoanalyst, Psychology, Questions, Script, Shannon Brady, Sigmund Freud, Statement, Stick Figures, Subjects, The First Reich, The Poet and the Flea, Thoughtful, Thoughtfully, Transform, Web Comic, Webcomic, Website, Welcomed, Wilhelm Reich, William Blake, Wonderful, Work, Work in Progress, World War II, Writer, Written, Wrote | posted in Graphic Novel, Illustration/Design, The First Reich