2019 Golden Globes Here We Come!
I am so excited to announce that my new book "The ABC's of Non-Consent" will be included in the Artisan Group's "swag bags" at GBK’s Celebrity Gifting Suite Honoring the 2019 Golden Globes this coming January.
Back in 2011, The Artisan Group, a celebrity gifting organization, discovered me at a fine art and craft show. That same year I participated with them in GBK’s Celebrity Gifting Suite Honoring the 2011 Emmy Awards and over the past 8 years, I have worked with them many other smaller events.
I decided to go all out this year with their Golden Globes event because I think my book is so timely with the #metoo movement. My exposure with the Artisan Group will include getting my book into the hands of 90 celebrities, 30 members of the press and having it on display at their table at the event. I'm guaranteed to receive a couple of photos with VIPs or celebrities holding my book which is so awesome! The event takes place on January 4th and 5th, the two days before the Golden Globes which are on January 6, 2019.
I know January seems so far away, but the deadline to send all of my products in is coming up. I have been working on getting everything together for it the past couple of weeks and I'd love to give you a "behind the scenes" look at what I have done so far.
Once I was accepted into the event I had to create an eye-catching display for their table. I found this great wooden shadow box and painted it orange to match the envelopes I use in the swag bags. The box fits my book perfectly and the celebrities and press will be able to easily take it out and look at it when they visit the booth. I attached my information on the back of the display as well.
Over the past couple of months, I have been ordering the materials I needed, new business cards, envelopes, stickers and of course the books themselves. I created and printed a postcard that explains what the book is about, how it came about and a little bit about me. Now I had to just put it all together. I did it in steps, attaching the business cards to the postcards, collating the books, stuffing the envelopes, attaching the stickers etc., 120 pieces in all.
And I signed each book of course...
After collating all the parts I began stuffing the envelopes. The last thing was attaching my address sticker on the back to secure the package and then it was just wrapping everything carefully with bubble wrap for shipping. I included a photo of what the display should look like put together and wallah, I was done. I'll get it shipped out after Thanksgiving weekend and then I will just have to wait until 2019 to see the response! Super psyched!
"Nesting" or Purging Every Few Months...
I just finished the bi-monthly cleaning of my workspace. When I first set up my studio years ago, I thought that I, like other artists, would live in a creative "mess", paint, supplies and papers all over the place. (That's the way our studios were at in art school.) I have found that I can't be inspired to create when I feel overwhelmed by the "mess". I love having artwork and inspiration everywhere, but I need everything organized and accessible.
So I began a regular clean-up of my space. I go through my sketches and supplies and don't keep everything the way I used to. The purge feels great afterward. I usually get the urge to do this when I have a big project coming up and I just can't get started, then I know its clean-up time. This time around I even rearranged furniture and opened up a corner of my space which I love. (I can't figure out why I didn't think to set it up that way from the start!)
So now I'm ready to go, no more excuses. I have an exciting opportunity for my book, "The ABC's of Non-Consent" that I will be sharing next week and now have space to prep for it. Stay tuned!
And Why this Book is Important...
I open boxes that come to my doorstep or mailbox every week, (Okay, maybe Amazon prime isn’t a good idea for me.), but I have never had the thrill that I had opening my first box of my own published books. Wow, this is real, I am officially an author. I may never write another book, but all I know is that I needed to write this one. My parent anxiety was at an all time high when my daughter was leaving for college and I needed to get my fears out of my head and onto paper.
I had a friend ask me recently a question she was worried I might take the wrong way, on the contrary, I loved it. She asked me, “How are you qualified to write such a book”. I told her being a parent qualifies me. I explained to her it wasn’t a textbook or a novel; it was a poem composed of all the scenarios that created my parent fears as I was about to send my only daughter off to college.
I spent a lot of time over the month of August researching my target audience of parents, educators, counselors and organizations that deal with sexual violence. During that process I read disturbing statistics about rape and victimization of not only women, but of people of all genders. I’ve discovered amazing non-profits that have similar mission statements rooted in preventing sexual assault and violence through programs and education as well as supporting victims such as End Rape on Campus, RAINN, Joyful Heart and Raliance to name a few. There are also many state run coalitions against sexual assault all around the country.
The time is now, rape culture can change and we can stop sexual violence once and for all. Teaching young people consent is a start. As Raliance says on their website, there is a national appetite for this right now. If this book helps one parent, one educator, one counselor or organization teach one kid, then I’ll feel I did a mitzvah (good deed) by writing it.
