Shadow http://www.danielwiener.com
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Woven Tale Publishing Š copyright 2013 ISSN: 2333-2387
The Woven Tale Press
Vol. II #11
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Sandra Tyler Author of Blue Glass, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, and After Lydia, both published by Harcourt Brace; awarded BA from Amherst College and MFA in Writing from Columbia University; professor of creative writing on both the undergraduate and graduate levels, including at Columbia University, (NY), Wesleyan University (CT), and Manhattanvill College, (NY); served as assistant editor at Ploughshares and The Paris Review literary magazines, and production freelancer for Glamour, Self, and Vogue magazines; freelance editor; Stony Brook University’s national annual fiction contest judge; a 2013 BlogHer.com Voices of the Year. http://www.awriterweavesatale.com
ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Michael Dickel, Ph.D. A poet, fiction writer, essayist, photographer and digital artist, Dr. Dickel holds degrees in psychology, creative writing, and English literature. He has taught college, university writing and literature courses for nearly 25 years; served as the director of the Student Writing Center at the University of Minnesota and the Macalester Academic Excellence Center at Macalester College (St. Paul, MN). He co-edited Voices Israel Volume 36 (2010). His work has appeared in literary journals, anthologies, art books, and online for over 20 years, including in:THIS Literary Magazine, Eclectic Flash, Cartier Review, Pirene’s Fountain, Sketchbook, Emerging Visions Visionary Art eZine, and Poetry Midwest. His latest book of poems is Midwest / Mid-East: March 2012 Poetry Tour. http://michaeldickel.info
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: FICTION: Kelly Garriott Waite Her work has appeared in The Globe and Mail, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Christian Science Monitor, Thunderbird Stories Project, Volume One, Valley Living, The Center for a New American Dream and in the on-line magazine, Tales From a Small Planet. Her fiction has been published in The Rose and Thorn Journal (Memory, Misplaced), in Front Row Lit (The Fullness of the Moon) and in Idea Gems Magazine (No Map and No Directions). Her works in progress have been included in the Third Sunday Blog Carnival: The Contours of a Man’s Heart and Wheezy Hart. She is the author of Downriver and The Loneliness Stories, both available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble. http://kellygarriottwaite.com
FLASH FICTION: T.K. Young: US-based writer; author of the flash fiction collection When We’re Afraid, and currently finalizing the upcoming “pre-dystopian” science fiction novel Chawlgirl Rising for publication. He posts original work, writing tips, news and contests at www. flashfictionblog.com. THE ARTS: Seth Apter Mixed-media artist, instructor, author and designer. His artwork has been widely exhibited, and represented in numerous books, independent zines, and national magazines. He is the voice behind The Pulse, a series of international, collaborative projects, the basis of his two books The Pulse of Mixed Media: Secrets and Passions of 100 Artists Revealed and The Mixed-Media Artist: Art Tips, Tricks, Secrets and Dreams From Over 40 Amazing Artists, both published by North Light Books. He is the artist behind two workshop DVDs: Easy Mixed Media Surface Techniques and Easy Mixed Media Techniques for the Art Journal. http://www.sethapter.com PHOTOGRAPHY: Lynn Wohlers Awarded BFA from School of Visual Arts, NY, NY; writer for Daily Post’s Photography 101 series. http://lynn-wohlers.artistwebsites.com
ASSISTANT EDITORS: Dyane Forde Author of forthcoming Rise of the Papilion Trilogy: The Purple Morrow (Book 1) http://droppedpebbles.wordpress.com Lisa A. Kramer, Ph.D Freelance writer, editor, theatre director, and arts educator. She has published non-fiction articles in theater journals, as well articles aimed at young people for Listen Magazine. Her fiction is included in Theme-Thology: Invasion published by HDWPBooks. com. She is the director of a writers’ workshop From Stage to Page: Using Creative Dramatics to Inspire Writing. http://www.lisaakramer.com LeoNard Thompson Has published opinion editorials, weekly columns and essays, and interviewed performers, practitioners, writers, politicians and personalities. http://leeyonard.com
Our staff is an eclectic mix of editors with keen eyes for the striking. So beware–they may be culling your own site for those gems deserving to be unearthed and spotlit in The Woven Tale Press.
Editor’s Note: The Woven Tale Press is a monthly culling of the creative web, exhibiting the artful and innovative. Enjoy here an eclectic mix of the literary, visual arts, photography, humorous, and offbeat. The Woven Tale Press mission is to grow Web traffic to noteworthy writers and artists–contributors are credited with interactive Urls. Click on an Url to learn more about a contributor. If there is a “Featured!” button, it will link you back to a special feature on The Woven Tale Press site. To submit go to: http://thewoventalepress.net
http://www.danielwiener.com
“
Each piece is formed somewhere between accident and composition, between selection and serendipity. In all my work, large gestures of raw abandon are set alongside moments of delicate, intricate patterning.This inclusiveness does not stem from indecision or compromise, but rather from a belief in the value of the impure.
�
–Wiener
Installation at Bravin Post Lee Gallery
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Murmur 6 x 7 x 8 inches Plastic, Wire, Sculpey, Acrylic Paint
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Fly Away 12 x 18 x 8 Plastic, Sculpey, W 3
y Home 8 inches Wire, Acrylic Paint http://www.danielwiener.com
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Pat It, Prick It 20 x 27 x 34 inches Plastic, Acrylic Paint, Wire, Sculpey 5
Out of Whole Cloth 15 x 17 x 56 inches Plastic, Acrylic, Sculpey, Wire, Acrylic Paint
ed!
ur eat
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http://www.danielwiener.com
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http://charliegoffdeakins.com
I enjoy painting faces and bodies, creatin “landscapes of human contours and experienc the uniqueness of everyone I paint. ”
– Ch
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ng alluring ces, celebrating
harles Goff-Deakins
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http://briannewrites.wordpress.com
A Sisterly Addiction I love to feel the grit on my teeth. I love to taste the bitterness in the back of my throat. I love the rush it gives me with each breath. I rub the powder between my fingers, looking at it closely. It’s thick and sandy. I stick my fingers into my mouth and rub the substance onto my teeth, enjoying the taste. My hands shake as I break up the larger pieces on the table. They crunch. I crush them between glass and wood, turning them into a fine powder and forming a straight line, diligent in its perfection. I stare at it. What am I doing? I suck on my teeth thoughtfully; a small voice in my head gnaws at me. I feel a familiar sensation: my eyes burn, my throat tightens, my head spins. Instead of allowing those gates to open, I lean forward and inhale the dust. It tastes like incense. The warmth spreads through me; her body with my body. I feel her love again, see her face. I unsteadily reach for the ebony urn and gaze inside, wiping powder from my nose and licking it off my shaking hand. I hate to feel the grit on my teeth. I hate to taste the bitterness in the back of my throat. I hate the rush it gives me with each breath. I loathe the world for taking her from me. Where she once sat, swinging her legs cheerfully with toes just grazing the floor, she now lays again. Ashes. 10
http://ninalindgren.se
F l oat ing C ity
Cardboard Sculpt
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ture
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ed!
Featur
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http://sonjabenskinmesher.wordpress.com
Mixed Media on Canvas
Earth Works
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Ynys Witrin
The painting of ‘ynys’ is a study of islands, particularly Bardsey “Island. It is an exploration on how we perceive the world, and certain
landmarks…I am also exploring a way of seeing. While we look,we are also feeling emotion, memories, and experiencing physical feelings, wind, sun or rain. –Sonja Benskin
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The Watchers
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Moon Blue Square
http://sonjabenskinmesher.wordpress.
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http://www.coenhamelink.nl
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Coen Hamelink’s illustrations were selected for 200 Best Illustrators Worldwide 09/10, by an international jury and Luerzer’s Archive
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http://www.coenhamelink.nl
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http://www.leefoulger.co.uk
self-portrait project was shot “inThisbothfigurative Gran Canaria and Cornwall UK, and
shows my contrasting feelings about being a gay male in the 21st Century.
I used the vast and visually beautiful landscapes of Gran Canaria to represent the times when I feel free to be who I want, without any grief, and feel I can be the real me...
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...These contrasting images in Cornwall were shot in much more enclosed areas, and the sheet was used in a different way, to look more claustrophobic. This was to emulate the times when I get verbally abused, bullied, and feel subhuman–like a piece of shit on the bottom of someone’s shoe. –Lee Foulger
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http://orangepostman.com
The Ha
lf
Pound
Cake
Pound-
Gary Rivito was on his way to a family gathering after church. He decided to stop at a local supermarket called Winn Dixie to purchase a cake. As he made his way to the bakery and looked at the assortment of cakes and pastries, he noticed a sign that said: Special Today—Pound Cake—Half Price. “Everyone likes pound cake, I can’t go wrong with this choice,” he thought. He walked over to the display where the sign was located; reached down for the box and noticed something unusual. Inside the white box with the plastic window appeared to be half of a pound cake. He saw a tall thin white lady with her puffy brunette hair wrapped in a hair net, and dressed in all brown uniform covered by a yellow apron. He raised his hand and said, “Excuse me, I have a question.” She nodded and walked around the counter to the display. As she got closer, Gary saw her name was Mable, as stated on her pink-colored name tag in black bold cursive lettering. He also noticed that her white pasty foundation seemed to be appropriate for the department, since it was caked on her face. “Thanks for coming over Mable. I have a question about the special.” Mable raised her hands and crossed her lanky arms. “What can Mable do for you sir?” Her husky voice smelled like a pack of cigarettes she’d just smoked on her last break. 27
Gary moved slightly away from the display and Mable, because he didn’t need to die of second-hand smoke before he left the store. “Yes, umm it looks like there is only a half of a pound cake in the box. Is this a pound?” “Sir,” she said, “its half price.” He asked again, “So this half is a pound?” Mable’s tone cracked as she answered, “Sir, are you listening to me?” Carefully, Gary said “yes.” Then she spelled out in smoke signals, “It’s half price.” He picked up one of the boxes and said, “So it’s a half pound-pound cake?” She looked around the bakery as if to see if there were any witnesses to this murder she was going to undertake. “Sir…do you want the pound cake?” “Why?” I said. “Did you say ‘why’ sir?” Mable responded with a billowing blunt answer. He took another box and held it in the other hand. “Does the sign say Special—Pound Cake, sir?” she continued as her bony hands reached out over Gary’s two hands. She placed them on his hands and squeezed them together like two Legos. Mable leaned into him like he was the next domino to go down, and addressed him with her ashtray opened wide, “Are you happy now?” Gary looked up and into Mable’s Marlboro mouth and concluded, “Yes, I feel special.”
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http://tworzysko.blogspot.ie
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I make paper and canvas layouts, collages and altered art, tags, journal pages...I believe in the power of recycling and upcycling, and just adore texture, paints of any kind, and flea market supplies. Freedom, embracing creativity and being true to your inner voice is my main source of inspiration and creative energy. – Finnabair
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Once Upon a Time
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One Way Ticket - Grunge Dreamin’
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aroque
ial B Industr
Follow Your Dream
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http://michaeldickel.info
Moshe’s House in Space
Moshe is our son’s name, he is three (almost four), and some of this story did come from bits and pieces of stories he tells us. Moshe is a Hebrew name that in English is Moses. Despite all of this, the story is completely fictional. We have not, as yet, met Pollaydowen: Before, no sand swept through, no water splashed—a beach at driving distance, yes, but a long, long walk away. Before the three year old’s stories, which I only half listened to: he was born in clouds before dinosaurs were alive; he died; “But now,” he said, “I’m becoming alive again.” I remember a story he told me one morning. I thought it came from his dreams. He told me he knew a dinosaur with bright blue feathers and skin in the day. At night, he said, it turned wooly and gray, to keep warm. The dinosaur had a name, Pollaydowen. I thought, what an amazing imagination my three-year -old son has, what colorful dreams. He had other stories, about his house in space and all of the animals that lived there with him. How he had a farm at this house. He went on and on with details—listing every animal we saw at the zoo, on farm visits, in books, on videos, on the internet; listing all of the plants and flowers he had heard of; listing creatures great and small in his lakes and seas. How did he know all of them? He insisted we should visit his house in space. Then changes came suddenly, not slowly, as even the most pessimistic predictions held. One day, a news report said the sea covered beaches even at the lowest tides. The next week, waves washed across roads. Houses washed away. Whole neighborhoods could barely evacuate before the surf swallowed them. The water washed sand over everything. The ozone layer shredded. Paint bubbled and peeled on cars, houses, government buildings. Everything and everyone aged. Sand dunes blew across where a road had run in front of our house. The house looked like fifty years of neglect. 33
The last day, my wife and I heard my son speaking in his room. And another voice. We went in. A bright blue flash turned toward us. “We have to go,” my three year old calmly explained, “now.” “These sands end time here, the last to flow through the hour-glass,” the blue lizard-creature, Pollaydowen, added. As we left the house, we trekked through hills of sand. We returned once, to see what had happened. I left this note for you, scratched in the walls, just in case anyone remains. We have an ark.
Artwork by Michael Dickel
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http://www.vacheresse-art.ca
Digital Works
Entrance to the Back Lake
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Fallen Trees on the Shore of the Swamp
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Pine on the Shore
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Spring Melt at the Back Dam
Sunset in the Woods
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http://www.vacheresse-art.ca
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ISSN: 2333-2387