Lady Eustacia Hexadecimal In Her Study

Try as he may, Drear the raven could not win the affections of Lady Eustacia. She would sit in her study cooing softly to her monstrously large raccoon, Grace, who was so adored she was allowed to lie upon the desk leaving very little room for much of anything. The raven brought feather after feather to Eustacia knowing her love of feathered head dresses, but she noticed him not as she sat lost inside of her own thoughts. Drear gazed hopefully at Eustacia, Eustacia stared out into the vastness of time itself, and Grace wondered if there would be goose dumplings for tea. None of them noticed that the ancient volume on the chair in the corner of the room was beginning to self combust.

MY NEW BOOK Strange Vintage Fictions, is here!!

My new BOOK TRAILER. Just finished this for my brand spankin' new book, Strange Vintage Fictions, The World of HaggisVitae. I couldn't be prouder of the way this book turned out and I think most of you will feel the same. It's filled with my oddly dark images with their accompanying narratives, and peppered with strange photographs and a few Victorian haiku.

It's a big book, 8.5 x 11 inches, and full color throughout. Please pass this link along to any who you think might enjoy this brand of madness and mayhem. It is available through my website or go directly to my store. I think you'll fall in love when you see it. I'm getting a great response from those who have it.

"There are books I like. There are books I love. Books I adore. There aren't many that I consider truly ground-breaking. Julie Miller's "Strange Vintage Fiction" falls into that ultra-rare latter category. It's a breathtaking journey into worlds that not only might have been but should have been. A truly incredible work of surreal, bizarre, witty and quirky Images and Words! Here there be insects creeping into vintage postcards, a boy in full Victorian regalia with crows on his head and shoulders, lightning inverted and seeping so startlingly into the scene that you actually feel the shock. With titles like "Elspith Unaware," "The One True Pumpkin King" and "The Crannages Disassociate," each page tells a unique, spell-binding story. Wholly original, this book will certainly stand the test of time. Think of Nick Bantock sipping absinthe with Edward Gorey and Poe. It's unlike anything you've ever seen -- or ever will again, until Miller weaves her alchemy and enchantment for another look into a universe so beguiling and gorgeously odd that you want two copies: one to frame." --M. Titus, author of The Tenth Life and The Girl WhoRead To Birds

Bones and Numbers and Tiny Vials, Oh My!

Specimen vials: (from left to right) one with tiny rodent ribs, another containing a wasp, one more with snake vertebrae, and finally one with a mink tooth. All these, as I'm told, were recovered without hurting a single cell of an animal. Just found or given to the seller. If you put a tiny biological specimen into a minuscule glass vial and label it with a random vintage number sticker, I will most likely need to have it. It's one of the laws of nature. Thoughts?

For The Love Of Science

I know I'm not alone in my love of all the strange things found in the natural world. I love bones and bugs and wings, etc. Here is an image of the tiniest baby bird remains I've ever seen, found on my back patio. I don't know if the baby fell out of the nest or the nest got blown down or what the story was, but there he was face down without ever having a chance at life. There is something beautiful about his tiny mummified form, so I kept it, with my bugs and bones and bees and wings. You can see by the photo that he's tinier even than the locust. I'd love to hear from any of you who may feel the same way. Who get excited to find odd and sometimes sad little things out there during your daily travels. What little treasures to you hold on to that have special meaning for you?

My Solo Exhibition - Strange Vintage Fictions!

I'm finally having a day of relative peace after spending the past months prepping artwork, framing, mat-cutting, supply-gathering, bio-writing, book-finishing, narrative-mounting. And on and on. Every spare minute has been devoted to this show which opens next Saturday evening. This is the first time all these vintage fictions pieces will be assembled in one place and paired up with their individual narratives. It's going to be overwhelming for me. Like seeing all your artwork in it's Sunday finery. I believe I'll have 43 pieces in all hanging on the walls.
This is the Halloween show for Dorchester Center for the Arts in Cambridge, Maryland. I'll have some creepy yet fun music playing and there will be some nice eats and wine. I'm hoping it's a smashing time and would love if anyone of you close enough to the gallery would come say hello.

I will also... [drumroll]... have my brand new, hot-off-the-presses Strange Vintage Fictions book for sale as well! And yes, I'll have a handful of The Girl Who Read To Birds there too.

I think it's going to be a pretty special evening. Wear something black and come on out!

Dorchester Center for the Arts
321 High Street
Cambridge, MD 21613
410-228-7782

Mr. Mung's Theatre of Ennui

They expected a puppet show like they'd seen every Sunday afternoon all summer long. On this day, however, the puppet master, Mr. Mung, had had enough. Life was getting him down and he felt the children should share in his emotionless despair. He'd show them life wasn't always full of characters with high squeaky voices hitting each other over the head with tiny bats. And so he stared out at them, and they stared back until their parents one by one took them by the hand and led them home.

Austin Modern

Here's a little piece I recently did for Austin Modern, a shop in Texas that sells the coolest things. They had the photo of the boy, loved it and wanted it to be stranger, a bit darker to use on the backs of their business cards. They came to the right artist. :)

Please check out their store here: Austin Modern  Per their Etsy store:

"Vintage Industrial home decor, Architectural Salvage, Mid Century furnishings, 20th Century originals and Custom Jewelry Design - Our fine finds and designs have been included in ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST ✥ DOMINO ✥ ELLE DECOR ✥ METROPOLITAN HOME ✥ APARTMENT THERAPY ✥ DESIGN-SPONGE ✥ DESIRE TO INSPIRE ❖ DAILY CANDY ❖ GRASSROOTS MODERN ☞ AUSTIN CONNOISSEUR ✺ We'd love to be featured in YOUR home decor! "

Chemicals/Elixir

Here's another from my science geek collection of chemistry glassware and strange specimens and bottles acquired through the years. I fell in love with the elixir bottle (back) as the label was hand written and yellowed. It also has some residue of some substance of yore in the bottom still. It's a beauty.

A Wasp's Nest And A Liquid

Last weekend I took a bunch of photos of specimens I've collected over the years. Some included an assortment of bottles apothecary and otherwise. Wanted to pepper them into my book that's due out soon, Strange Vintage Fictions, The World of HaggisVitae. I'm uploading the interior file as I type this. The cover next. Hopefully it meets all specs and requirements and I can get my proof copy to approve soon.

It's going to be one of the strangest books you'll ever want to own--filled with my SVF images, Victorian Haiku, narratives, photos, etc.

For any readers who are interested, I'll keep this blog updated with any and all info about ordering. Also, remember to check my website.

For now I'll keep posting these little goodies. I truly have an addiction to strange tiny specimens of a biological nature--bugs, wings, bones, ex-creatures, exoskeletons, nests, eggs, fossils, feathers, etc. My other collections include a small one of chemical glassware, the older and more patinaed the better. And bottles, mostly tiny, strange and old bottles that are uncommon. But also anything that smacks of an old apothecary shop. I have no control when it comes to this stuff. If I see something I want, it ends up in my curio cabinet. Hope you enjoy seeing these wee treasures. :)

A Girl Who Reads to Birds? OUR BOOK IS HERE!!

Yes, our book is finally available. After a year of trials and tribulations, I finally took the bull by the horns and designed the book myself (thankfully!) I can say with pride and relief that it's now available. And it's beautiful. Michael's wondrous tale of Avery Street, an eccentric young girl who follows her heart in all matters, paired with my illustrations have come together as a very special book.

From the Michael Titus, the author:

"The Girl Who Read To Birds tells the tale of Avery Street, an eccentric young girl who is urged by those around her to conform and be practical. But she has friends in high places - birds - and she refuses to abandon her belief in the power of the imagination; it's in her blood, and she'll do anything, even if it means following a dangerous path, to overcome the odds and keep herself terrible alive in a world where magic and wonder are all but extinct."

Should you have any questions about ordering your copy or multiple copies, please see the link above or email me. Many thanks for taking a look at our creation. :) To order either go to our WEBSITE or directly to our eStore.

We want to thank all friends and family who've stood by us and listened to our tales of woe throughout the last twelve months. And most especially, I'd like to thank Eveshka "Peanut" Guranich for being our perfect Avery. It's because of you this book is so beautiful.

NOTE: This is not the cover of the book, but rather one of the interior illustrations.  Here's the true cover.

A Watchful Eye

Once his wings were fully formed Danny Fly puffed out his chest and exuded a confidence like he never had before. Yes, he was a sideshow, and yes, people were skeptical of his dragonfly-like wings but to Danny it mattered not. He knew who he was. He wanted nothing more than to take flight and show them all but knew he was under the close supervision of his older brother at all times. He'd wait till the time was right. He could wait.

Watching The Darkness Descend

Starting a world's end series. No, it's not the Mayan calendar that has me thinking. It's climate change, the lack of humanity all around, the focus on the self more than the whole, the bad news on TV every hour of every day, failing economies, unprecedented storms, I could go on and on.

Maybe too much CNN? *sigh*

Mothboy

This is the only known photo of this short-lived, nocturnal creature.

McLeggin And The White Queen

     Young Sorrow McLeggin set out to see if any ospreys had taken up residence in the haphazard twig nests he'd built for his school science fair. To his surprise, a beautiful white llama was inhabiting one of the nests. How she got there he'd no idea, but adopt her as his own he did. After all, she was not just any llama, she was the white queen. He was awarded the Rupert T. Harrowsby Prize for Primary School Science Genius in 1904 and went on to first imagine anti-matter, though he kept the dark dream completely to himself. He died in 1954, after a tragic accident in which he impaled his foot with his own walking stick and died of sepsis a fortnight later. His journals were found behind a moldering loaf of bread in his ice box.

The Girl With The Spiked Collar

Distant cousin to The Girl With The Pearl Earrings.

The Seventh Sign

This is one of my very, very early Strange Vintage Fictions.  I believe I was using an early version of Corel PhotoPaint.

Upon Finding Mrs. Rumplemar

Unlikely Family at the World's End

They were each allowed a single toy on this very last outing. Inexplicably, three of the four chose their Cher Ami dolls, remembering fondly the story of the famed homing pigeon which had been trained by American pigeoneers and who helped save the Lost Battalion of the 77th Division in the battle of the Argonne, October 1918. Unlike the others, Little Brandolin hated birds, and any mention of C. Ami cause him to break out in hives. He chose his simple yet buoyant model sailboat. Together with Padre Firebrand and Captain Beaulardon they formed an unlikely family, who with little emotion, watched the final moonrise.

H.V. avec des Lunettes de la Science

"Science goggles--is there no limit to their awesome power?"

--Stephen Heintz

"Acid Zen Wonderpaint"

Acid Zen Wonderpaint

This is a self portrait I did a few years back as a nod to the genius that is Acid Zen Wonderpaint.  I'm not even sure if Stephen Heintz is still turning out his amazing drawings.  If not, then I ask you to take a look through his works of yore.  So many of them are still in the bucket of my most favorite things ever.  Enjoy.

Website of the Day!

Wix.com has selected my HaggisVitae.com website as their website of the day for February 14!  I'm pretty proud of it, so if you have a chance go take a look around.  It's fun and interactive with lots of slide shows and some strange accompanying music. 

Sorry for the lack of posts.  I spent much of March sick with some respiratory plague.  I had no creative energy at all.  Hoping to make it up to everyone with lots of new pieces.



Happy Spring!

Remember if you're looking for a way to purchase HaggisVitae pieces, please visit my store.

Strange Vintage Holiday

My husband and I went away for a few days to Cape May, NJ. The weather had gone from rainy and cold to really beautiful--sunny and 55F on Thursday and almost 70F on Friday--the first truly Spring days we've experienced on the North East coast of the U.S.  We packed a lot into two days and now that we're home, looking back, it was a bit of a Strange Vintage weekend, so I thought I'd share some images here.

Our hotel of choice,  Congress Hall, is a gorgeous old Victorian hotel that's been rehabed but the feel is still very much vintage. The rooms are very simple and tasteful with lots of white, white linens, bright walls and white vintage bath tubs and sinks. We love this place.

When walking the hallways you feel the ebb and flow of the dips in the floor.  This old building has seen so many years of use and rough weather.  Despite its sloped floors,
ill-fitting doors,

Faithful Friends, Listen

"In the vast celestial library of the Thielli, The Book of Starlight was opened by a child who wanted nothing more than to read to the birds, as they loved stories and had many of their own to share by song, but none to know back by the voice they loved best, the human one. The birds gathered round -- as did Grawyn, the toad -- and their ears opened to tales they would later relate to their own young, in their
own language; and though the myths would change with each telling, they would never fade. The book would not be silent. The child was just one chapter. The birds were the words."

--Michael (a.k.a. Frogmuseum2 on flickr)

Michael Titus is the author of  The Girl Who Read To Birds, the book I recently illustrated.  It's been slow going getting it printed and into our hands, but we both believe this will happen soon.  Hopefully, one day in the not too distant future, you'll see a post on this blog shouting "IT'S FINISHED!!!"  That will be a happy day for both Michael and me.

The Acceptance of Basil

She was aware every moment of every day he didn't belong in her home. One day he just walked in the door and lumbered into a corner not uttering a single word. She was aware he was prone to destruction--never of her but of things in her home. Early this morning she was awoken by a loud explosion. He had blown up the family safe. Never took a thing from it once the deed was done. Just stood nearby, not speaking but looking a bit pleased with himself. She knew she should ask that he leave, but something felt right about his presence. In some odd way he made her feel safe.

Tobias Waddlecrock Enjoys the Out Of Doors

It had been a long, hot summer, and now finally the weather had shifted. Tobias was able to sit outside in his wool suit and feel almost comfortable. With this change in the weather however, came legions of unreasonably large insects, the cooling air causing them to slow to a somewhat comatose state. They were a bit unsettling yet they kept quietly to themselves. Tobias sat with them, unbothered. If anything they put him in a meditative state. All body systems slowing. All of them feeling the passage of time.

+ Playing Card

The "+" card from the remnants of a mysterious secret society's deck.

The Dreadsboro Hats Tragedy

The Dreadsboro sisters purchased the hats on the same day, at the same fair in Gypsypox, from the very same vendor, yet the hats forever refused to acknowledge one another. No matter how the sisters positioned themselves or however quickly they re-positioned themselves, the hats would look in opposite directions. Eventually this aggrivated indifference turned to simmering hatred and finally to catastrophic violence. One night Eula and Mania were awoken to agonized shrieks and shuffling sounds. Upon locating the source of the disturbance, naught remained of the hats but scattered black and white feathers and two quiet beaks.

Return From Terra Incognita

He was gone a long time, almost two years longer than the mission was expected to take. Family and friends assumed he had been lost in the wilds never to be seen again. Surprising them all on an overcast day in April, his plane landed at the base. It was too quiet; the others present reported that no engine could be heard. He stepped down from the craft, smiling but with a distant and detached look in his eyes. All appeared well. He seemed happy, healthy and not aged a day. His uniform showed no signs of wear and tear as any garment would after having been worn continuously for so long. He had not lost weight. He would not speak.

Then behind him appeared two other forms. He had brought back with him some new friends.

Torkus Glibstein Spots A Coalbottom Bicrusted Coot

At times, binoculars were simply insufficient.



[For all the bird watchers out there, and those married to them.]

Elspith Unaware

Elspith noticed neither the tiny moon that had found its way into her sitting room via the fireplace nor the creature lurking just behind her back as she sat absorbed in a book. The creature, on the other hand, was fully aware.

A New Year's Wish

This new year has begun in my house with a bunch of really bad things. I refuse to believe they are setting the tone for 2011. We spent new year's day putting down our beloved sheltie, Sean. We will dearly miss that soft, lovely if standoffish watch dog. Next was a very, very serious accident. For some reason a single tree is responsible for lots of broken bones, but also preventing a car from going over a cliff into a ravine, possibly killing the occupants. My feelings of thankfulness and grief are all jumbled.

Hoping you all are having a more positive start to this new year. Wishing all a happy and healthy 2011.