Viva Cheat Italia!

My little graphic novel Cheat, published in 2003 by Oni Press and edited by Jamie S. Rich, has been translated to Italian.

This is the first and only book which I'd written and illustrated myself... and after five years on the shelf, it really shows. Which isn't to say that I'm not proud of it, I really am. Even though the art is crude and the dialogue stilted, I think it bears a mark for the type of emotional story I wanted to tell (and still tell-tale again). A woman's drama of burdened relationships.

Well, I never get tired of looking at Kelley Seda's design/color treatment of my cover illustration and I'm hoping that the romance language can only lend the book a bit more authenticity! If any of you out there are fluent, here's a review from Fumetti Di Carta - Garage Ermetico:

I DISEGNI

Delicati, dolci, malinconici. Disegni tracciati con uno stile personale, che paga con grazia gli inevitabili debiti con altri e più famosi artisti per poi giungere a una sintesi che contiene in se', contemporaneamente, una gran delicatezza e una certa forma grezza che aggiunge fascino al segno.

Le grandi vignette in cui non compaiono persone pare trasudino una sorta di ineluttabile stanchezza.

...come diavolo fa un disegno a "trasudare ineluttabile stanchezza"?!?... Chissà.
Forse, al di là della sacrosanta soggettività grazie alla quale ognun vede ciò che vuole e ciò che può - e sa - forse, si diceva, i disegni della Norrie riescono a trasmettere la malinconia e l'instabilità caratteristiche di un'intera generazione.

E' come quando si è in una stanza vuota, che non si conosce bene e della quale non si conosce a fondo l'abitante: ecco che guardando gli oggetti che compongono l'ambiente, respirandone l'atmosfera stessa, ci si fa un'idea, giusta o sbagliata che sia (ma può esistere in questo campo un'idea "sbagliata"?...) delle emozioni che hanno dimorato o che ancora dimorano lì.
Christine Norrie coi suoi disegni riesce a trasmettere questo tipo di sensazioni in modo forte.

I bianchi e i neri sono usati morbidamente per conferire particolari emozioni, per aumentare l'intensità di un momento; tanto bianco smarrisce, molto nero rende pesanti le emozioni vissute in quell'istante, la loro alternanza comunica l'insicurezza e l'instabilità, i fraintendimenti e le illusioni destinate a rimanere deluse.

Un cenno alla bellissima copertina - che si può ammirare a colori nella sovracoperta e in bianco e nero sulla copertina sottostante - la cui figura principale ricorda le giovani donne protagoniste dei romance/love comics pubblicati da Marvel e DC negli Anni 60 e 70, mentre il design generale di Kelley Seda impreziosisce il tutto con suggestioni neo-liberty.

-- di Orlando Furioso

Concepts & Film

Two of the commercial shorts I storyboard'd, Handsolo and Usan/PUMA, have just shown...

This has prompted me to put together a page of some of the things I'd worked on to my website--> http://www.christinenorrie.com/concepts.html More art to come as I try to find what hasn't been wiped from The Great HD Crash of '08.

I >heart< designers

They make things cool.

Something to Blog About is divided into two sections. The first, Libby Fawcett's Blog entries. Second, the rest of the story. I tried my best to make the blog pages act like a real Blog page. Complete with Blog entries, scroll bars, and Blog header. Christine Norrie ( illustrator of the amazing jacket art ) drew those sweet characters on the title page.

When ever I am designing an interior I try to keep in mind the reluctant reader (me). I want to have an enjoyable visual experience when I am reading. Almost like a reward for reading. Adding this visual experience adds to the experience of the reader and reading itself. An ambitious goal I know, but it's what I strive to accomplish in my work. Something to Blog About I think is a good example of this idea.

-- Chad Beckerman

From his excellent Mishaps and Adventures A BLOG dedicated to the process and exploration of Children's and YA book Design.

Check out the sweet design work: Something To Blog About Sample Pages

So little time...

Another sketch from A Very Long Engagement (2004).

Needless to say, things have been terrifically hectic here with projects colliding with the holidays arriving. Thankfully, I got excused from jury duty (though I admit I am disappointed in not getting to participate in the judicial process). My only wish at this moment is to tackle and return all the emails piled up in my inbox.

And, find chocolate cake. I'm in such a mood for a nice little slice of chocolate cake...

Where am I? I need a sandwich.

Sitting in The Supreme Court of the State of New York awaiting juror selection!

The last couple weeks had been more hectic than usual, with a streak of fantastic luck for a few days, then a downpour of terrible luck that had me sniffling and worrying under the covers to escape "reality". When I emerged from my denial yesterday afternoon, I found a pile of mail including a bright orange notice to appear to court. Uh, today.

Hopped in a cab about half an hour ago, fretting about all the things I needed to do at home, for work, holidays, etc. About ten minutes later, we pull up onto 60 Centre Street and there's THE SUPREME COURT. I wish I could say that all my grand feelings about being a citizen and fulfilling my civic duties caused me to fill with awe. No, I just said to my cabbie, "WOW, it's just like in the movies!" Walking up the steps, where many a Law & Order scene has been filmed with some deranged character shooting someone in a plot-twist scene, I thought how amazing that people could construct such a legal system, let alone a massive building, then a staggering amount of fiction based around it all.

We're now all sitting in Room 452, surrounded by gorgeous murals by Attilio Pusterla painted in the 1930s depicting monumental images of New York. Lower Manhattan, The NY Public Library, the statue of Atlas in front of Rockefeller, and the Staten Island Ferry. And, I've got free wi-fi.

Not knowing how long I'll be away and not posting new things here, might I refer you to my good friend Jackson Nash. He's an artist, writer, environmentalist, activist, wannabe-scientist, delicious food-eater, and proud chihuaha-owner. He is one of the top top top people I know, one of the most brilliant persons I've the good fortune to have met, and I owe much credit to him for inspiring me as an artist and person this past year. (I now note, with marvel and not much surprise, that my own blog started up again at the same time we were working on secret art stuff together.)

One of the most valuable things I learned from Jackson, and you might too via his blog, is to not be afraid. To not worry what people will think. That we can change our environment. That we can do positive and wonderful things. The site is my daily affirmation in good and my inspiration for the future. Please go look won't you? http://superforestnyc.blogspot.com


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Now playing: Coconut Records - West Coast
via FoxyTunes

The Librarian Inside

Okay, I'm not a librarian, but I do love the books. This is a portion of a 13-foot long shelving system that I sketched out on paper and had installed onto my living room wall. It's done from lovely brackets I purchased from Anthropologie and three very long pieces of oak that I also stained. My inspiration came from the Beatles film Help!, specifically John Lennon's sunken bed w/ the four walls of book shelves. Oh, what a man, what vision. SIGH.

Anyway, because of my recent addiction to that damnable Facebook, I've gotten acquainted with the app Goodreads. So cute, but I absolutely despise how error-ridden it is. I swear, I added nearly half my book collection, thoughts, ratings, and guess what? It only showed ONE book in my "good reads". I'll figure it out one day... but for those who care, here I am:

Finally, FACEBOOK.

Like I need another thing to join! But, I shall do it for Mr. Sebastien... and you. Feel free to click the badge.