Artist – Deanna Molinaro

Today, I am excited to announce the kick-off of my new interview page called “Spells of Artistry”. I’ve found through my years of hopping around on my ‘lazy susan’ of aesthetic adventures that artists inspire each other without fail. Throughout the ages communities of various artists–musicians, composers, poets, playwrights, novelists, painters, illustrators and actors—have always formed to find inspiration, insight and cherished camaraderie within their groups.

.

In these communities, multi-talents are discovered and encouraged. The animator is an actor and an illustrator. The librettist is a poet and playwright. The singer is an actor and a musician. The writer is a dramatist and a painter of words.

.

When these talents come together as equals and partners with the same energy, the sky is the limit for how the ‘meeting of creative minds’ shapes and changes everyone involved. So, with this objective in mind and heart, I am hoping that “Spells of Artistry” will weave its magic in very exciting and unexpected ways for my readers and contributors. And I am delighted to have Deanna Molinaro here today as we embark upon this journey.

.

.

In what I like to refer to as my Alter Ego’s World I have known Deanna for years. I have seen her many magical manifestations as the talented illustrator, the humorous writer, the clever lead animator, the caring mom to doggies and the protector of strays whether furry or human or both. The home Deanna and Aaron have built is one of festive moments, new rocking music (Aaron is a founding member of AWA—American Werewolf Academy), creative character, and warm friendships, with the occasional disco ball thrown in when Scott McCullough (DJ and AWA’s Music Video Director extraordinaire) is spinning vinyl. Today we will be discussing Deanna’s artwork and her storybooks that can also be found at her website http://www.deannamolinaro.com/Stuff_That_I_Made/Books/BookTitles.html .

.

.

DEANNA: “A Boy and His Sheep” will soon be a paperback like the other stories, but I’m not sure I’m ready to venture into hardcovers. I don’t sell a great deal of books because the stories are all already there online to read for free, so it doesn’t seem practical to invest into an expensive hardcover run. I’m thinking about putting all the stories together in one large hardcover book down the road, though. I need to miraculously become more prolific and get more stories done for that! It will be neat to have some stories in it that aren’t online.

.

.

DEANNA: Thanks! In my head “A Boy and His Sheep” was to be about the mess and bother of having this giant sheep in the house, but as I doodled and wrote bits, somehow the little boy became the problem before we even reach the sheep’s introduction. And then that turned the mom into the person who unwittingly helps groom the boy to be so demanding and impossible. Later the mom and sheep are victims. In a way this is a Frankenstein story, only the mother thought her love would create something precious.

.

DEANNA: There’s an obvious moral here about spoiling children, but in this case there’s something dark in him that she didn’t put there. The story did evolve into something personal, as I’ve known people who spiraled out of control eventually, becoming isolated and blaming the world. It’s maddening that you can’t convince them they are loved. You also have to know when to walk away from that craziness. In a fairy-tale world you can do that even while the person is still a child! Obviously I don’t advocate that in real life…

.

KARA: Your stories are at times fanciful, at other times spooky, and at others downright uncomfortable. This is delightful for a folklore-loving reader because fairy-tales are suppose to be a little bit creepy. I still remember the Story of Little Suck-a-Thumb by Heinrich Hoffman- scary stuff. I think you have stayed true to the tone of the original fairy tales and morality tales. Do you agree, disagree or want to elaborate on that? What fairy-tales stuck with you through adulthood? Do you feel fairy-tales shaped you as a writer and artist?

.

DEANNA: I love Grimm stories, which are really brutal, but I didn’t come across the real versions of their stories until I was older. I grew up reading pretty sanitized stuff because that’s just all I had available to me. And there were the Disney cartoons with wimpy princesses waiting to be saved, and I always wondered why the stories never took an unexpected turn. Like what if the prince shows up and Snow White realizes she’s not all that into him? — after all, she’s only met him once! So I wasn’t reading warped tales that influenced me, rather I was always just wanting something different than what was there.

.

I like the old fairy tales with a moral, but I also love a senseless turn in story. One of my favorite stories is called “Magic Jim,” and he’s a chipmunk that can fly and has powers to make just about anything happen. He abuses his powers, disrupting the whole town for his amusement, and by the end of the story he learns nothing. Just nothing! Jim is a punk, and he remains a punk. He’s the worst role model for children ever! Pinnochio (the Collodi book, not the Disney movie) is kind of like this. He’s cruel and selfish, he’s given way too many chances, and he even kills the advice-giving cricket! But he still gets to live happily ever after. My Lonely Sea Monster eats his only companion, which should teach him a lesson, but on the next page we see another little girl on the way to him.

.

.

DEANNA: Thanks. I don’t think I have a favorite. You would think that because I have them displayed on my website that I’m proud of them, but they are all kind of hard for me to look at — I hate most everything I draw. It’s fun to draw/paint, but I can’t step back and look at something I’ve done without criticizing everything. I like some pictures in “That Story About The Rabbit,” though, because they are exactly the creepy mood I had in my head. And I love obsessively making a bzillion little pen lines in a drawing, and then it’s fun for me to look at the lines later.

.

.

.

DEANNA: “That Story About the Rabbit” is my favorite. It was fun to have a reason to weave together a couple actual nightmares I had about a giant rabbit. And while I was working on it I felt a little like I was digging through boxes of my childhood stuff.

.

.

DEANNA: I thought about “Rabbit” and the “Sheep” stories for a long time before I wrote anything down. And then I wrote down bits of them all out of order, and I started to doodle pics on the same pages. They all happen different ways, though, I guess. “Sea Monster” just occurred to me one night, and the next morning I sat down and wrote it in an hour.

.

.

DEANNA: The pictures take the longest, and the rabbit story pics dragged out forever. I draw quickly, but I have a hard time getting started every day. I’m so critical that I throw away a lot of pictures and waste a lot of time. Then I hit a point where I learn to move forward and keep what I’ve got. For all my rethinking, I end up following exactly what’s in the tiny storyboard I did in the first place. Man, I need for someone to take the pictures away from me as I go. I’d produce a lot more work.

.

.

DEANNA: I just want to write whatever comes into my head and not worry that it will warp, offend or scare a kid, so I went ahead and labeled them all as not-for-children. So I guess the stories are for adults out there who still like to read children’s books, but if a kid happens to read them and like them, that’s really cool. They aren’t for publishing or to make a big statement, and I’m never gonna be a fantastic writer, but it sure is neat-o fun to put a whole idea down with pictures.

.

.

From “That Story About the Rabbit” by Deanna Molinaro

.

DEANNA: I can’t explain why I throw things away. I mean I can’t explain why I’m so critical. What would it really hurt to keep them, even if I don’t like them? I’ve thrown away tons of drawings/paintings, a novel, and tons of stories, and I don’t really regret it. I do sort of regret throwing away all of my journals from when I was younger.

.

.

DEANNA: I draw everything on paper with pencil, then I ink and sometimes watercolor. Usually if I’m going to paint I scan the pencil sketch and use the printer to get it onto watercolor paper. Sometimes while the sketch is in the computer I’ll move or erase something before I print. I finish out the drawing with pencil before I go forward with painting.

.

I think the computer is a nice tool, but I don’t think I’ll ever use it much. There are artists now making such rich, beautiful digital paintings that I really admire, but I think the stuff I do will always be too simple to justify working on a computer. I also like having everything on paper, and as much as I struggle, I do like the challenge of no “undo.” My “undo” is the trashcan.

.

.

.

DEANNA: Aaron gives me feedback about drawings, encourages me NOT to throw things away (to no avail), and gets onto me when I’m not actively working on any story or artwork at all. When I completed the “Sheep” story he felt like I’d censored the story I’d told him in the first place, and I’m glad he made me go back and fix it. I doubt myself so much that it’s good he jumps in to keep things moving along. He has a way bigger and better imagination than me.

.

After “Sea Monster”, I storyboarded “Inconsolable Octopus” but couldn’t get going on the pictures. He stubbornly said he was going to draw the pics himself if I didn’t. I said that was fine by me, and he hopped right on it. I love his completely different style of drawing, and I can’t even picture now how it would look if I did the pictures myself. Later he told me his own story “Sold to Vampires,” and I wanted him to go draw it. When he finished the drawings I wrote the story he’d told me, and that was fun.

.

I always thought it would be a lot of trouble to collaborate, but we seem to think similarly. We’ll argue about how to park the car, but we can put together our words and pictures without a hitch. I think we are both the happiest when we are creating things, so if we can help each other (or get out of the way) to help make new stuff happen, home life is more like recess.

.

.

DEANNA: I can’t remember the occasion, but I wrote and drew ”Alligator” really quickly in a little black and white stapled-together book just for Aaron. Every page has something to do with one of his real-life traits — like his hatred of peas, and his love of popcorn and scary movies. Aaron liked it and wanted me to redraw and color it nicely. I’d never tried to use markers much, but I bought a set and tried them for the illustrations. I guess that’s why this book looks so different. I also drew it a couple years before all of the other stories.

.

.

.

DEANNA: Once finished, I guess the book seemed more like a real kids’ book than any of the others. It’s all of the child-like aspects of Aaron, but turns out it could be any little boy’s regular day… And I guess it’s a good thing Aaron made me redraw the illustrations, as our dog (a puppy at the time) ate the original little stapled book.

.

.

DEANNA: A novel would be a big stretch for me, as I want to sum everything up so quickly. And being assigned anything to write or draw; I freeze up the second there are any rules. I guess I do like to push my boundaries because it’s actually really hard for me to put anything at all out there for public consumption, but I make myself do it anyway.

.

.

DEANNA: A few of my books are for sale on my website and others will be printed and for sale some time in the future. Some of my drawings are also available as prints on my website, but I’m not sure how much longer I’ll do that.

.

.

DEANNA: I have three stories I’m choosing between to do next, but I think I’m picking the one about someone stealing the moon. You know, if the moon was actually only about five feet high and could be transported in a red wagon — you’ll have to forgive a lot for this one…

.

.

*****