Tag Archives: The Ghost of a Flea

Check Out “The Poet and the Flea”!!!

Postcard 1

Due to my upcoming trip to Cannes and London, my online graphic novel The Poet and the Flea is on hiatus this month.

But fear not — The Flea will return with page 25 on June 5th!

In the meantime, feel free to read and re-read the first 24 pages. :D

See you in June!

–G. E.

***

Start from the beginning!

Cover

Title Page

Note

Page 1

Page 2

Page 3

Page 4

Page 5

Page 6

Page 7

Page 8

Page 9

Page 10

For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on facebooktumblr and/or twitter.

***

Copyright 2013 by G. E. Gallas


Package from The Blake Society, 2013

Related Posts: Package from The Blake Society and G. E. Gallas Invited to Speak to The Blake Society!

***

Photos of The Blake Society’s Calendar of Events for 2013!

Blake Package 2013 1

Blake Package 2013 2

Blake Package 2013 3

Blake Package 2013 4

Blake Package 2013 5

***

For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on facebooktumblr and/or twitter.

***

Copyright 2013 by G. E. Gallas


Trying to Figure Out London!

Related Posts: Planning for London! and Planning for Blake’s London!

***

Firstly, I just wanted to thank all the awesome bloggers who have given me very helpful advice for this trip!

***

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:

  1. St. James’s Church: (10) Where Blake was baptized. The font still survives.
  2. 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!
  3. Royal Academy, New Somerset House: (9) Where Blake studied and occasionally exhibited his work. Original building.
  4. 13 Hercules Buildings: (7) Where Blake produced the Songs of Experience. House demolished in 1918.
  5. 17 South Moulton Street: (10) Will be here on Tuesday!
  6. St. Mary’s, Battersea: (10) Where Blake married Kate. Original building.
  7. Bunhill Fields: (9) Where Blake is buried.

***

Important: Buy an Oyster card!

***

Harrods Vintage Bus Tour of London with Champagne Tea at Harrods

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 #2Every 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.

***

Tate Britain

At the very top of my list!!!

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!

***

Victoria and Albert Museum

Location: Cromwell Road.

Time: Open daily 10 a.m. to 5:45 p.m.

Price: Free (except for special exhibitions).

May take photos, unless otherwise noted.

  • Ask information desk about the “…four of Blake’s ‘fresco’ paintings on display permanently.”
  • David Bowie is£14.00 (+£1.40 booking fee per ticket). Already bought my ticket!! :D

***

British Museum

Location: Great Russell Street.

Time: Open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Price: Free.

Photography permitted in most galleries.

***

National Gallery

Not sure if I’ll have time for this.

Location: Trafalgar Square.

Time: Open daily 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Price: Free.

Taking photos not allowed.

***

National Portrait Gallery

Not sure if I’ll have time for this. May go if nothing else to do on Thursday evening.

Location: St.Martin’s Place.

Time: Open Sat.-Wed. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Thurs.-Fri. 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Price: Free (except for special exhibitions).

Taking photos not allowed.

***

The Princess Louise

A restored Victorian pub. Recommended pint: Timothy Landlord’s.

Location: 208 High Holborn, Holborn. Between Covent Garden and the British Museum.

Time: 11:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.

***

Tea and Tattle

“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).

Time: 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

***

The London Review Cake Shop

“…the traditional with a twist.”

Location: 14 Bury Place  Bloomsbury (near the British Museum).

Time: 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

***

Coach and Horses, Soho

Very shabby, but landmark.

Location: 29 Greek Street, Soho

Time: 11 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.

***

French House

Location: 49 Dean Street

Time: 12 to 11 p.m. (Food served until 4 p.m.)

***

Seven Stars

Something quieter.

Location: 53-54 Carey Street (behind the Royal Courts of Justice, near some of the Blake sites around the Strand/Fleet Street).

Time: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

***

The Angel

Something quieter.

Location: 61-62 St Giles High Street (a bit of a no-man’s-land between Covent Garden and Bloomsbury that’s central yet tourist-free).

Time: 12 to 11 p.m.

***

The Queen’s Arms

Location: 30 Queen’s Gate Mews (near the V&A).

Time: 12 to 11 p.m.

***

The Sherlock Holmes

Has a very authentic English feel. Fish & chips.

Location: 10-11 Northumberland Street

Time: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

***

The Old Shades

Great fish & chips.

Location: 37 Whitehall (Trafalgar Square).

Time: 10/11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

***

Lighthouse Fish Bar

Fish & chips of mammoth proportions.

Location: 8 Tooting Bec Road (1/2 block from Tooting Bec Tube Station).

Time: 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.

***

Curry/Indian: Any suggestions?

***

The Gay Hussar

Fabulous Hungarian food and a very interesting past illustrated by the political cartoons on its walls.

Location: 2 Greek Street, Soho.

Time: 12:15 to 2:30 p.m., 5:30 to 10:45 p.m.

***

For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on facebooktumblr and/or twitter.

***

Copyright 2013 by G. E. Gallas


Check Out “The Poet and the Flea”!!!

---Silhouettes

Yesterday, I posted the 20th page of The Poet and the Flea… What!? Wow!!

The Flea premiered online November 28th, 2012 and has already received more than 10,000 views.

I have been honored to received a number of wonderful reviews thus far, such as those by Sarah Goode and Hannah Meiklejohn, as well as an incredible invitation to speak to The Blake Society in London this coming May.

Self-publishing The Flea online has been an incredible experience so far and I thank everyone for their enthusiasm and support!

Best wishes,

G. E.

***

FYI, to receive information about The Flea on your Facebook news feed, please “like” me at facebook.com/gegallas!

For those of you who have yet to check out The Flea (and for those who wish to read the first 20 pages over again), I’ve included links below. Enjoy!

***

Start from the beginning!

Cover

Title Page

Note

Page 1

Page 2

Page 3

Page 4

Page 5

Page 6

Page 7

Page 8

Page 9

Page 10

For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on facebooktumblr and/or twitter.

***

Copyright 2013 by G. E. Gallas


Planning for Blake’s London!

Related Posts: Planning for London!

***

Disclaimer: I do not own this image!!

Disclaimer: I do not own this image!!

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

  1. Arrive: Hello London!!!
  2. Take public transportation from Heathrow to hotel; check into hotel and get situated.
  3. 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!

  1. 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!
  2. Leave some time to relax and possibly nap in the late afternoon.
  3. Special Event: G. E. Gallas Invited to Speak to The Blake Society!

Wednesday: Museums Galore!

  1.  ★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!
  2. 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.”
  3. 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)!!

Thursday: Blake’s London!

Thursday, I plan on adventuring through London to visit all the Blake historical sites. Naomi recommended this tremendously helpful resource on the Tate’s website: http://www2.tate.org.uk/williamblake/lambeth/london_intro.html.

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!”).

  1. 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.” 
  2. St. James’s Church: (10) Recommended by Tim. Where Blake was baptized. The font still survives.
  3. Mr. Pars’ Drawing School in the Strand: (5) Where Blake was sent to study at age 10. Demolished in Regency times.
  4. 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).
  5. 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.
  6. Royal Society of Arts: (5) Where Blake admired James Barry’s murals The Progress of Human Knowledge and Culture. Original building.
  7. 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.
  8. Green Street, Leicester Square: (5) Where Blake moved after his marriage. Original building no longer exists.
  9. 28 Poland Street: (6) Where Blake moved after dissolving his partnership with James Parker. House rebuilt in the late 19th century.
  10. 13 Hercules Buildings: (7) Where Blake lived during his most productive years and produced the Songs of Experience. House demolished in 1918.
  11. 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!
  12. Fountain Court, Strand: (7) Where Blake lived until his death and produced his illustration to Dante’s Divine Comedy. Original building no longer exists.
  13. St. Mary’s, Battersea: (10) Recommended by Tim. Where Blake married Kate. Original building.
  14. 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.”
  15. 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.

***

Copyright 2013 by G. E. Gallas


The Flea’s First Fan Art!

Yesterday, I was incredibly excited to discover that the awesome Ms. Blake Woodruff of imoutoart.wordpress.com (I’ll call her Ms. Woodruff as to not get confused with Mr. Blake!) posted a fan art of my graphic novel The Poet and the Flea. As far as I know, this is the first ever fan art of The Flea and feels like a huge milestone in The Flea‘s progress!!

I asked Ms. Woodruff for permission to repost her illustration here on my blog (see below) and hope that all my readers/followers will take a look at the impressive work on her blog and website!

I especially admire the deep colors/tones she used for this piece and get a total kick out of The Flea lurking in the background!

veilofstars6

Next, I plan on creating a fan art page on thepoetandtheflea.wordpress.com and will post Ms. Woodruff’s piece there as well.

I wholeheartedly welcome all The Poet and the Flea fan art and would be more than delighted to showcase your work on my blog!

***

For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on tumblr and/or twitter.

***

Copyright 2013 by G. E. Gallas


Preliminary Design: “The Flea” Plush Toy

Related Post: First Zine and Future Shop

***

Everyone seems really enthusiastic about The Flea plush toy, so I thought I’d tackle this project sooner than later! Below details the progress I’ve made so far…

Tuesday, January 15th: I began drawing a rough outline for what will eventually become a plush toy of The Ghost of a Flea à la my graphic novel The Poet and the Flea. I’m still playing around with various ideas — size, fabric, etc. Ideally, I’d like the finished product to be simultaneously adorable and menacing. (^-^;;)

Friday, January 25th: Worked on a second outline, this time on a larger scale and with slightly more exaggerated features. When the time comes, everything will have to be hand-stiched since I currently don’t own a sewing machine. My mom has a lot of experience with sewing, so she’s going to help me out.

Flea Preliminary

Monday, January 28th: After finalizing my travel arrangements for Cannes/London with an agent, my mom and I stopped by Britex Fabrics and picked up fabric and other supplies (stuffing, needles, thread, etc.). It might take a bit of experimenting to figure out the best materials, but I’m looking forward to it! Stay tuned for more details!

Sewing1

Sewing2

***

For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on tumblr and/or twitter.

***

Copyright 2013 by G. E. Gallas


Planning for London!

london

by William Blake

As some of you may know, I was originally planning a trip to the UK for February 2013. Circumstances have changed a countless number of times and I thought I wouldn’t be able to go at all. But, thanks to The American Pavilion Cannes Film Program, I think I’ll be able to make my dream of seeing some of William Blake’s work in person come true (among other dreams of screenwriting, filmmaking, etc.). I’ll be in France for about two weeks, and I hope to tack on a few days in London during my journey back to the States!!!

I’m currently in the process of figuring out my travel arrangements. There are so many different routes to Nice, France, it’s difficult to decide the best way to go. Possibly, I could stop over in New York or Amsterdam or even Paris. I’m hoping my dad (Mr. Globetrotting Lawyer himself) will be able to find me the best deal. Or perhaps I’ll try a travel agent.

The wonderful Naomi Billingsley at The Blake Society sent me a fabulous e-mail detailing all the best ways to see Blake’s work and historical sites in person. She suggested that I make a list of what I want to see, so I’ll be making a number of lists on my blog in an attempt to figure out how to schedule everything into two or three days.

  1. The Tate possesses an impressive collection of Blake’s works, but I believe many pieces just returned from Madrid and are not currently on display. I’m hoping that by May this will change. My #1 dream is to see The Ghost of a Flea in person — so I guess I’ll try contacting the Tate and ask them for more information. Naomi pointed out that there are a number of “view by appointment” Blake works at the Tate’s Print Room and that I could make an appointment to see them. I’ll have to browse their online catalogue.
  2. The British Museum has some Blake works in their Print Room as well and they are accessible without an appointment.
  3. According to Naomi, The Victoria and Albert Museum has four of Blake’s “fresco” paintings on permanent display and a collection of Blake’s watercolors in their Print Room, accessible without an appointment.
  4. Naomi also recommended a really amazing page on the Tate’s website detailing Blake historical sites (http://www2.tate.org.uk/williamblake/lambeth/london_intro.html). All these sites seem like they’re in a pretty concentrated area, so I think I’ll be able to see a lot of them!!

From here, I’d like to further explore the museum websites/online resources and figure out how much I can see and what I want to see the most in the few days I’m in London!

***

Updates

January 28th

Today, finalized my travel arrangements! On the way from San Francisco to Nice, will be stopping over in Frankfurt. And on the way to London, will be stopping over in Belgium. Will be staying in London for three full days, staying at a decent hotel not far from all the museums and Blake historic sites. Can’t believe this is really happening!!!

***

For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on tumblr and/or twitter.

***

Copyright 2013 by G. E. Gallas


Brief Update

★ Don’t forget to check out my graphic novel, The Poet and the Flea!

A new page every Wednesday!

***

Here is a brief update on my current creative projects and endeavors…!

Wednesday, January 9th

  1. E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
  2. Worked on Elias & the City of Cats.
  3. Worked on first zine!
  4. Received my fourth nomination for The Beautiful Blogger Award!

Thursday, January 10th

  1. E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
  2. Worked on Elias & the City of Cats.
  3. Continued work on first zine.

Friday, January 11th

  1. E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
  2. Worked on Elias & the City of Cats.
  3. Continued work on first zine.
  4. Today, set up an interview for a potential internship at a local publishing company! The interview’s Wednesday afternoon, so I have some time to prepare and de-stress beforehand.

Saturday, January 12th

  1. Was going to go see Gangster Squad this weekend with Wes. But I’m definitely coming down with something. Hope I get better before the interview on Wednesday! ヽ( ̄д ̄;)ノ
  2. I’m sure you’ve all heard about and seen the amazing giant squid footage recently captured by Japanese scientists. Well, I made a giant squid discovery of my own (see photograph below)! P. S. I love the Japanese word for giant squid – 大王烏賊 daiouika, which uses the characters for “big,” “king,” “crow/raven” (perhaps because squids have beaks), and “rebel/thief/bandit.” Yes, giant squid are awesome!!
IMG_0127

Resident Squid at Woodhouse Fish Co.

Sunday, January 13th

  1. Under the weather! :(
  2. I just had to share something amazing with all of you. Recently, I’ve started watching a very strange show called Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy. The only way to describe it is Monty Python meets a live-action version of Yellow Submarine plus an unverified amount of crack. You might want to watch the whole episode if you’ve never seen it before to understand the humor. But I wanted to point you all in the direction of a skit about William Blake and The Ghost of a Flea (like The Poet and the Flea, but not)! Watch from 7:50 for The Flea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fvx4QLHGUCs

Monday, January 14th

  1. Worked on Elias & the City of Cats.
  2. Continued work on first zine.
  3. Prepared a bit for interview on Wednesday!

Tuesday, January 15th

  1. Worked on Elias & the City of Cats.
  2. Continued work on first zine.
  3. Worked on preliminary design for  The Flea plush toy!!

Wednesday, January 16th

Thursday, January 17th

  1. Discovered this amazing review of The Poet and the Flea by Sarah Goode at University College Oxford on the British Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies’s website!
  2. Correspondence with The Blake Society.

Friday, January 18th

  1. Brief but great meeting with Gabe! He seemed to really love what I’ve done so far on the final illustrations for Elias & the City of Cats. He didn’t make any changes other than adding a handwritten title to the cover and adding a second page for the part we call “cat craziness.” Plus, I sent Gabe a list of children’s book publishers I’ve compiled and he’ll look over it in the coming days. It’s wonderful to think that, once I’ve finished the final illustrations, Gabe will start working on submitting Elias to publishers!!! 
  2. Began reading Wes’s screenplay!!

Saturday, January 19th

  • Continued reading Wes’s screenplay!!

Sunday, January 20th

  1. Received some amazing news — more details to come!
  2. Saw Gangster Squad with Wes! Both of us agree that it wasn’t as bad as the 33% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Monday, January 21st

  1. E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
  2. Finished reading Wes’s screenplay!! Going to meet on Wednesday to go over it with him. (^-^)
  3. Nominated for The Liebster Award for a second time!

Tuesday, January 22nd

  1. E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
  2. Worked on Elias & the City of Cats.
  3. Submitted The Poet and the Flea to The Belfry WebComics Index.
  4. Nominated for The Versatile Blogger Award!

Wednesday, January 23rd

  1. Discussed screenplay with Wes today! I think he has a really strong screenplay (especially for a first draft) and already knows which elements need to be further developed. (︶ω︶)
  2. Received Amazon order — William Blake’s Divine Comedy Illustrations and Charles Burns’s Black Hole!

William-Blake-s-Divine-Comedy-Illustrations-Blake-William-9780486464299

Blackholecover

Thursday, January 24th

Friday, January 25th

  1. Worked on Elias & the City of Cats.
  2. Worked on preliminary design for  The Flea plush toy!!

Saturday, January 26th

  1. Helped my mom, the abstract artist Irene Zweig, deliver her paintings to Gallerie Citi in Burlingame where she will be featured in a show sometime this Spring. You can visit Gallerie Citi’s homepage to learn more and even visit my mom’s profile on their page.
  2. Had dinner with a lovely relative from out of town.

Sunday, January 27th

  1. Had brunch with our lovely cousins.
  2. 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.

To Do:

  • Add more information to my Behance.net profile.
  • Add more information to my Coroflot.com profile.
  • Continue adding blog content to The First Reich.
  • Continue to work on The First Reich.
  • Continue to work on Elias & The City of Cats.
  • Complete script for The Poet and the Flea.

***

For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on tumblr and/or twitter.

***

Copyright 2013 by G. E. Gallas


Check Out “The Poet and the Flea”!!

---Silhouettes

Yesterday, I posted the 10th page of The Poet and the Flea – I can’t believe it! The Flea premiered online November 28th, 2012 and has already received almost 5,000 views. I’m so excited that everyone seems to be enjoying my graphic novel so far and I hope more and more people will begin to read it. :)

For those of you who have yet to check out The Flea (and for those who wish to read the first 10 pages over again), I’ve included links below. Enjoy!

***

In related news, I just discovered a very long and detailed review of the first 9 pages of The Poet and the Flea by Sarah Goode at University College Oxford on the British Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies’s website! Wow!!! Check it out here!

***

Start from the beginning!

Cover

Title Page

Note

Page 1

Page 2

Page 3

Page 4

Page 5

Page 6

Page 7

Page 8

Page 9

Page 10

***

For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on tumblr and/or twitter.

***

Copyright 2013 by G. E. Gallas


Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 2,524 other followers