Eclecticamag's Blog

Nearing the End

eclecticamag — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 16:48:53 +0000

WE ARE COMING UPON OUR LAST ISSUE OF ECLECTICA MAGAZINE, and the emotions are mixed. I cannot tell you how much Robynn and I have enjoyed doing this publication; in many ways, we have poured our life’s blood into it. The irony of the situation is that the more successful we got, the further in debt we sank. Advertisers pay our bills, and as long as the circulation was small, our small-but-dedicated band of Constant Supporters kept us afloat. But when the circulation went up, the costs went up – and the advertising dollars did not. It is extremely difficult to compete with publications that are seen by tens of thousands of people (where would YOU put your advertising dollars?!), but one of the basic premises of our magazine was to keep the focus on the contributors – the local artists and writers who would otherwise go unnoticed – not on pages and pages of advertising. Okay, we’re naive, and more than a little idealistic, we’ll be the first to admit that. Anyone with any kind of common sense wouldn’t even have started this venture in the first place! It breaks our hearts, in many ways, to have to admit defeat, but we don’t have the resources to keep taking a $500 loss on every issue, and that’s simply a fact of life.

Reality tells us it’s time to move on, back into the world of Ordinary Jobs (with a few creative projects thrown in to keep us sane), Financial Stability, and Retirement Planning. We have our own futures to think of, and time is short on our hands these days. But in the past week, I ran into three people who’s work I immediately wanted to feature in our magazine – people with unique talents, unique work, unique stories to tell. I had to stop myself from running after them, pen in hand, because there is nowhere to publish their stories or their work, now. Idealism is over; Reality has moved in. As grown-ups, we must ultimately put our toys aside and behave in a Mature and Responsible Manner.

Several people have been bugging us to reschedule our Farewell Party, but in all honesty, our hearts just aren’t in it. Although we accept that it’s over, we aren’t really much into celebrating it. Perhaps, come Summer, we will have a big picnic – just for old time’s sake – where everyone can get together and celebrate what was, and what could have been - if our lottery numbers had come up.

Some part of me can’t help hoping that someday, we’ll have another opportunity to do this – or something like it. The best we can do right now is to encourage someone with as much vision and desire as we have – and more business sense – to turn out a magazine of her own. Yes, we do know of such a person. Stay tuned.

Thoughts on the Eternal Flame

eclecticamag — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:33:03 +0000

Hello, there!

And how are you all surviving the Olympic Mayhem?! I imagine many of you are very excited, totally caught up in an unprecedented rush of Patriotism bordering on Religious Fervour. I have nothing against the Olympics, personally. I enjoy watching the various games, and I admire the dedication and athletic prowess of the participants. But it makes me a little sad that this is – seemingly – the only way we can pull people together to celebrate Life and Community. If only people could get this excited about something other than sports! Imagine if writers, poets, and artists of every genre – visual and performing alike – could inspire a nation the way a sporting event has! Imagine if we lived in a society that celebrated vision, imagination, and artistic prowess the way we celebrate physical conditioning! I’m not trying to undermine the importance of the physical; just thinking how nice it would be if we placed as much importance on the mental and spiritual. Perhaps, if we did, we would have a much healthier society – a much more balanced, centred society, made up of people who valued something other than the physical and material aspects of Life. I’m not saying we should dumps sports and athletic events – they have their place - I’m saying that we should expand our personal worlds to the point where we can celebrate, with equal fervour, the accomplishments of our great thinkers, writers, musicians, artists . . . (Woodstock, back in the ’60′s, is as close as we ever came to that. And that wasn’t ours; it was the U.S.A.’s.)

Once upon a time, writers, artists, musicians and performing artists held a high place in society. They were much revered for their visions, much honoured for their talents. Great ideas, great visions – and the ability to transmit them in inspired form – were every bit as valued as the physical prowess of the warriors and athletes. We need to get back to those days. Anyone into starting a movement? A 21st Century Renaissance? Give me a call. I’m pretty good at stirring the pot, especially if I have some like-minded people behind me . . .

Jane: jane@eclecticamagazine.ca

www.voicefortheunheard.com

ISSUE #8 IS ON THE WAY!

eclecticamag — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 21:22:48 +0000

Yes, it’s at the printer’s (our thanks, once again, to Mike & Carol down at ONE SOURCE PRODUCTIONS) and heading for a store near you on January 21st. We are planning to leave larger stocks with our dealers this issue in order to avoid going downtown during the Olympics. You can always order on-line, though, and cut out the hassle of finding a dealer who still has copies in stock. Better yet, get a subscription, and it will be delivered right to your door!
Great stuff in Issue 8, from the fabulous art works of Stacy Sakai, Joe Bérubé, Susheela Kundargi and Emilio Coppel to stories and poems, long and short, from both previous contributors and new-to-us writers. Writing styles cross the spectrum in this issue, from Ofelia Dina’s surreal prose, through James Williams’ down-home cooking lesson, Lisa Hatton’s slightly wicked Olympic vision, Ellie Halcrow’s neighbourly nature notes, Anne Berrie’s powerful poetry, Megan Jones’ “overheard conversations” vignette, and Erika Koenig’s fantasy series, to several little gems of prose by Lee Beavington and Christine Durgo. And that’s just the tip of the ice-berg. We also have new installments of our usual serials, a number of articles and stories from previous contributors, and all the usual tid-bits.

Congratulations to blues/rock band SOME X 6 for landing their Olympic gig! You can go and see them at the Edgewater Casino, Thursday Feb. 18th @ 6:30 p.m. Be there or be square! And if you can’t make it to that show, then catch them at The Backstage Lounge, Sunday, March 28th @ 8p.m. Visit their website at:

http://www.myspace.com/somex6

International award-winning collage artist, BOB CRAIG has a new book out; it is a guided text book for art educators, teachers, parents, or anyone interested in line, form and design fundamentals. Visit his website at: www.bobcraigcollage.ca, or contact us for more information.
Artist/writer ERIKA KOENIG-WORKMAN has started a new chat group for women artists and the men who support them. Go to http://salonunidad.wordpress.com and look for SBArt – Steveston Badass Art.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

eclecticamag — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:38:54 +0000

Greetings, Earthlings. This past week has been a bit of a whirlwind; and, like a whirlwind it seems to have disappeared without a trace, leaving mass destruction in its wake. Yes, it is true that we have managed to complete the next issue right down to the final edit, confer with numerous contributors, advertisers, and technical people by email, phone, and live-in-person, fill various notebooks and scraps of paper with Great Thoughts, Necessary Information, Research, Dates To Remember, Phone Numbers and Email Addresses, and still find time to eat, drink and (occasionally) be merry . . . But surely that shouldn’t have taken an entire week!?! I must admit, though, that we’re pretty pleased with the up-coming issue. We have some really great photographs from Melanie Weickinger; if you’re looking for those special Christmas portraits, or if you have a wedding or other great event coming up, Melanie is a professional photographer who’s just relocated to this area, and she’s definitely worth checking out. We have three brilliant little pieces by award-winning author Lee Beavington – “Bartleyby’s Return”, “Meeting In The Aisle”, and “Water”; a trip to beautiful Lake O’Hara with Wayne Hoskins; an interview with Vancouver-based blues/rock band SomeX6; a wonderful story from a previously-featured (issue #6) artist, Oscar Cea, called “The Trials of a Paradigm Shift”; some fascinating art-work by multiple-award winning artist Sonja Kobrehel; a cute little story about woodpeckers from naturalist Annie Haycock; and a wonderful journey through space with Vancouver artist, Stacy Sakai. And for those of you who are wondering what happened to Magda and Lillith – the Slag Sisters – our new reporter, Tiffany Sweeny-Potts, managed to get Magda on the phone for an up-date on her latest activities . . . And, of course, you can look forward to the next installments of Robynn Maher’s “Best Laid Plans”, Erika Koenig’s “A Liger’s Tale”, and Christina Ardebaugh’s “Britannia Falls Chronicles”; along with 2 more beautiful poesm by R. M. Maher, food & recipes, herbal blurb, green tips, puzzles, humour, HORRORscopes, and all kinds of interesting tidbits (including a look at a fascinating ghost town on Vancouver Island).

LOOK FOR OUR SPECIAL GIFT GUIDE INSIDE THIS ISSUE! If you’re looking for a truly unique gift that will be treasured for years to come, why not buy something truly beautiful and completely original – and support our local artists and writers while you’re at it! If you want to start shopping early, check out the links on this site.

Our special thanks to all our contributors for entrusting us with their wonderful work this past year, and to Samantha Wildey for bringing us some great artists, and tirelessly pounding the pavements on our behalf.

Jane

P.S. MORE great stuff coming up in Issue #8 . . . Stay tuned!

Sunday, November 8/09

eclecticamag — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:20:29 +0000

Great new art coming up from Joe Bérubé, Stacy Sakai, Sonja Kebrehel and Susheela Kungari – check our blog at www.voicefortheunheard.com for more information. Always interested in something new, whether it’s art, photography, fiction, poetry, humour or interesting articles on just about anything! Check our ‘Submissions’ section for submission guidelines and deadline dates. Next issue goes on sale on December 5th . . .

Jane

Saturday, November 7, 2009

eclecticamag — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:43:13 +0000

You can now subscribe to Eclectica Magazine – or buy single issues – on-line! We extend our greatest appreciation to Modder Dave for sorting out all our problems, and getting the PayPal account up and running. Next project: getting a synopsis of each issue posted, and uploading an entire ‘sample’ issue for your perusal. Meantime . . . we have some awesome talent coming up in future issues . . . short-shorts by award-winning author Lee Beavington, ‘figurative-surrealist’ artist Emilio Coppel, an interview with blues/rhythm & blues band SomeX6, and a new ‘nature watch’ article by naturalist Annie Haycock, to name just a few. Stay tuned!

Issue 6 is out!

eclecticamag — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:27:24 +0000

Issue 6 is on the shelves and doing well. We presented Eclectica Magazine at the Surrey International Writers Conference trade show last week, and it was well-received. Now we’re off and running with Issue 7. Lots of good stuff lined up for the next couple of issues – check our website – www.voicefortheunheard.com - for updates.

New submission guidelines now posted, too!

Our thanks to everyone who is out there soliciting readers, submissions, dealers and advertisers – you don’t know how much your efforts are appreciated!

Thanks!

Jane

New Issue in the Works

eclecticamag — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:48:52 +0000

Hi there! For any of you who have been trying to get in our web-site – it has problems! Don’t worry; we have Modder Dave working on it as we speak, so things should be back up and running soon.

Meantime, we are working hard on Issue 6. Got some great stuff coming up – new artists, new writers, and some pretty interesting reading. Should be on sale Sept. 21, all being well.

For any of you who went to Mayfair News only to be told that they don’t carry Eclectica – that’s all sorted out now. A simple computer error that has now been fixed . . .

Stay tuned for updates . . .

Edition 5

eclecticamag — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:50:07 +0000

Issue 5 just went to press . . . And it’s definitely a good one! It should be hitting the stores by Saturday, Sept. 5th, and it’s still just $5. Just want to remind you that for $39.00, you can get a year’s subscription delivered right to your door. Visit our website for more into . . .

Some interesting new artists and writers coming up in Issue 6!

Putting Out The Call!

eclecticamag — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 17:22:36 +0000

Edition 5 is coming along nicely. Should be ready to go to print by Monday. I’m putting out the call to all writers, poets, artists, musicians, film and theatre people – visual andperforming artists, and artisans of all kinds. If you have work you would like to display in our magazine, or a story to tell – fiction or non-fiction – we’d like to hear from you. (No, we can’t pay. Yet. Sorry.) Visit our website @ www.voicefortheunheard.com

Jane