Simply Read Books: International Con Artist, Dimiter Savoff

Dimiter Savoff of "Simply Read Books"
using our beautiful books to bait yet another
 writer and visual artist at the Bologna Children's
Book Fair Bologna, Italy, 2014.

Thanks to Alan Twigg of BC Bookworld for this quote from Elie Wiesel “We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere.”
[This article is a work in progress. It will change as I get more organized and more information comes in.]
Regarding Simply Read Books Here is Publisher's Weekly article by Laura Godfrey: Facing Complaints, June 16, 2015. Here is the CBC Report by Jeannette Kelly, May 22, 2015. Waiting to be Paid Please check out the radio interview.
Quill and Quire did a lazy and light version of their own: Allegations
Great article here: B.C. BookWorld
Duncan Weller www.duncanweller.com

Having interviewed over 50 writers and illustrators around the world, either by phone or email, I can say conclusively that Dimiter Savoff and his wife Gillian of Simply Read Books (and now Locarno Press) are con artists. And calculating from the number of people I contacted (corroborated with the help of two other jilted writers who requested anonymity), multiplied by the number of people Dimiter has worked with, I can say with some certainty that Dimiter Savoff has ripped off over a hundred and twenty writers and visual artists in ten countries, primarily in Canada, over the last thirteen years.
     What I have learned from other people's experiences is that Dimiter steals artwork from artists, he prints translated books in foreign countries without the writer's knowledge or payment, he completely ignores contract obligations, he lies continually, fails to promote the books, prints as many books as he likes without informing the writers, prints second and third editions without the artist's knowledge and payment, his cheques (the lowest advances in the country) routinely bounce, he ignores attempts by writers and illustrators to get their rights back, the royalty statements are indecipherable, he fails to submit books for reviews or awards, he fails to have the award winning stickers put on books when a book miraculously does win an award (if the award winner is even informed of winning it), ignores the editing process, and creates eBook versions without the writer's knowledge, contract or payment. He prints "dishonour books" (ex. 100 copies instead of 3,000 to con everyone involved). He has been caught not paying his printers, is guilty of fraud when taking funds from art galleries and architects, some of whom are also funded by the Canada Council of the Arts who pass these funds on to Dimiter, much to the architect's detriment. Evidence for his behaviour is international and easy to procure.
     And Dimiter Savoff continues to con the Canada Council of the Arts, Heritage Canada, and the B.C. Arts Council who have given him over a hundred thousand dollars a year every year for at least ten years, (A MILLION DOLLARS WASTED) despite many authors warnings as early as 2003. I first wrote to the CCA to complain of his behaviour in 2006. It turns out that dozens of other writers and illustrators have made similar complaints over the years with no effect. The CCA encouraged me to submit my complaints with the Writer's Union of Canada, a third party with a host of its own problems, namely little interest in holding publishers accountable. Compared to ACTRA, that actor's union, the WUC is failing miserably. ACTRA is an integral part of a booming business, and can shut down a production if a director even yells at the actors. I've seen ACTRA in action when working for a theatre company. I was impressed. Not so with the WUC.
     KILLING BOOKS Dimiter Savoff of Simply Read Books has killed books, killed careers, and put a stink on the publishing industry like no other. He has completely demoralized a large number of writers and visual artists who have decided that the entire publishing industry is corrupt, causing some to retire from the industry completely.

Beautiful books that Dimiter Savoff used
to bait writers and illustrators into signing
contracts that he would immediately ignore.

     Our little group would like to warn the public on an international scale as Simply Read may be receiving funding in other countries. Dimiter is from Bulgaria and a European citizen, so it is likely he is conning funding agencies in Europe and beyond. Many of his writers are American so we ask that American news outlets also contact us and take an interest. We can provide any media outlet with the names of writers and illustrators who have agreed to speak publicly. Or you can contact writers and illustrators directly by going to Simply Read's website where there is a listing of writers and illustrators: www.simplyreadbooks.com  He has two other imprints: www.readleaf.ca and www.readleaf.ca/blueprint/home. These sites are graveyards of artists who will never work for Dimiter again. Personally, I think the RCMP should investigate. Mike Duffy didn't (allegedly) waste as much public money.
     DESTROYING CULTURE IN CANADA Public money is being used to destroy the careers of dozens of writers and illustrator across the country and internationally. Sadly, Simply Read Books activities are not unusual. Many Canadian publishers routinely exploit writers and illustrators with impunity, threaten legal action against writers who try to hold their publishers accountable, and likely wouldn't know how to survive without public funding - in other words - useless businesspersons. 
     Funding agency's policies need to change dramatically in order to fund writers and illustrators directly rather than having the artists rely on publishers. As a best-selling book in Canada is considered to be only 5,000 copies there's little incentive for the best writers and illustrators to work with Canadian publishers. As an example, the income I earn from my books in Thunder Bay alone, with a population of only 110,000 people is ten times greater than when Simply Read Books sold them across Canada, the United States, England and Australia. There are far more benefits to work as a self-published author, especially if you are talented and the public likes your work. It only makes sense to work with a publisher if they can sell at least 20,000 copies. Less than that and you might as well do it yourself. And none of your books will get pulped and you can sell the rights to your books internationally.
     THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY AND ITS SUPPORTERS ARE DESTROYING CANADIAN CULTURE. Don't get me wrong, there are good publishers out there, many working hard with little money to promote the books they love. But the children's book publishers in Canada are known for being particularly terrible. (Related Article: It costs us $50 to $70 per children's book to get a Canadian book into a Canadian child's hands. Semi-related: The Incredible Whiteness of Children's Books)
     The Writers Union of Canada reported the results of a recent study. It "contains the very bad news that writers in Canada are making 27% less from their writing than they were making in 1998. What's more, a full 45% of those surveyed indicated they are working harder in order to earn that lower amount." The irony here is that the Writers Union of Canada is partly responsible for this. They fail to take publishers to task in a manner that would change the industry. They make it difficult for writers to report abuses, unlike the Quebec writer's union who are willing to take complaints from writers without charging them a fee to join the union. The WUC wants 200 bucks. Even then, with mass evidence against a publisher, they do nothing about it - they don't investigate and certainly rarely report abuses. Like the funding agencies, no one seems to bother to pick up a phone to corroborate anyone's story. If three of us can garner a mass amount of evidence easily, then certainly someone whose job it might be to look into Dimiter's activities can also do so just as easily. Trouble is, we can't seem to find anyone who cares - reporters, funding agencies, the Writer's Union, amongst others.
     I had to threaten legal action against a local representative of the Writer's Union in order to get the $2,500.00 owed to me from the sales of my books, after waiting seven months and getting the same runaround story for four months. This is the same woman who gave me some inside scoops into how awful the industry is. More irony. And when I reported my findings about Dimiter Savoff to the Writer's Union, they refused to say what they could or should do regarding his behaviour. Nothing is what they did. When I asked professional writers about the Writer's Union, I got a familiar response, using the exact same description, "fucking useless." That isn't to say they haven't helped individuals – they have, but action is very limited.
      It doesn't help that institutions funding publishers or organizations who might help self-police the industry are made up of former publishers and people who worked in the publishing industry (or are still active in the industry.) I wrote about a former intern from Toronto who I met in Thunder Bay who gave up on his dream of working for the publishing industry: Bad Publishers. He revealed that this publisher gave the interns a speech which included the phrase, "exploitation is not a dirty word."
     This begs the question, if a top selling book in Canada is only 5,000 copies and a writer only makes about five to ten percent from the sale of a book, why does anyone bother with publishers? The answer is simple: status. We all get respect for being published. "Who's your publisher?" is the first question we writers get. But when a friend of mine who has received wonderful national reviews and has been nominated for many awards looks to me for advice that says something. She is published by two of the best publishing houses in Canada and wondering if it's more worthwhile  to self-publish her next book. She is making much less money than I am. I think this says a lot about the industry. 
      I make eleven to twenty dollars per book. I make more money on average in one week from selling my books in Thunder Bay than I did every six months (if I got my statement) selling my books through Simply Read Books when my books were distributed across Canada, the U.S.A., England, and Australia. I own all the rights. I print the books in Winnipeg - 3,000 copies of each. I sell my books in seven different locations. I could easily double, maybe quadruple my money if I lived in a bigger city. I am a full time writer and visual artist. I don't make much, but I don't need the Canadian industry. (I would love to work with a good American publisher - a good capitalist actually interested in getting books in children's hands). Sadly my best chance of making a good living as a writer and visual artist is in Europe or the United States. It appears to me that people in this country whose job it is to help support us writers and artists are often working against us, a completely backward scenario. Is it community envy, criminality, ideology or a combination of factors that is causing this? Whatever the case, children across Canada are missing out on good books. Kids love my books. I get positive feedback from kids, parents, teachers and librarians regularly. Feedback has come weekly for four years now. And I managed to win two of Canada's top awards with only my third book, one being the Schwarz Award where the jury is made up of children.
     One could go crazy thinking the troubles in the publishing industry in Canada are a result of not working hard enough, not being lucky enough or talented enough. What happens when you have all the talent in the world and do all the work required only to discover that the reason you have no luck has nothing to do with you? And what happens to a writer who speaks out? Do writers and visual artists get blacklisted for it? What if they don't take action? How many careers have to be wrecked before someone does something? Not taking action would mean, what - that these problems continue for another fifty years? Do the talented people in this country need more reasons to leave? I recall an episode of Bill Maher's show Real Time where he mentioned that all his successful Canadian friends living in LA left Canada because of the "tallest poppy syndrome." Is that what this is? I wish I had some hint of this sooner.

My books which children love and were beautifully produced,
but which no one ever heard about. I own the rights to these
books as SRB was in breach of contract multiple times. A lawyer
in Toronto had no trouble making a case. 

     If you have a story to share about Simply Read Books or any other publisher, please contact me: Email: duncanweller@hotmail.com Telephone: 807-286-6534

Quotes from Around the World and my letter to the CCA in 2012.
(The names of authors and illustrators and the titles of their books will not appear on my post or any of our group. Approval from writers and illustrators to use their names are in two categories, for use in letters to funding agencies and/or for a press release, or when the press contacts us. The list of quotes below represents five of nine different countries.)

“Hi Duncan, I'm glad you asked. Dimiter is the most difficult publisher I've ever worked with, and I've warned several illustrators of working with Simply Read because of his unprofessional practices.” 

“His contracts are toilet paper.”

“I've never met any author who has had a good experience with Simply Read from a business point of view. My feelings about Dimiter is that aside from his ltotal ack of organizational skills, he feels compelled to lie even when he doesn't have to.  …he does really want to make beautiful books (which he does), but he'd rather give you copies of your books than actual cash. … As you probably know, if you do manage to get him to send you a royalty statement, it consists of only one page and even such a simple statement is near impossible to understand. … I can't believe what money I have been given is close to what is due.” 

“My experience with him has been terrible. I have not given him my sequel. Also, I asked for my rights back and lo and behold a kindle version of my book was released within a month.” 

"I received my advance cheque from Simply Read for $500, but it was returned insufficient funds. Dimiter said he was sending another cheque but nothing has arrived in two weeks. He doesn't respond."

I’ve had major issues with them-him, regarding the two illustrated books they published. Basically, everything that could go wrong between an author and publisher…went wrong! My case is even worse, because we used to be friends with Dimiter and I completely trusted him. … I’ve no idea what I’m owed (if anything). I’ve been unsuccessfully trying to get my rights back, but…he had stopped answering my calls and emails, and I simply gave up. I have not tried to contact him for over a year now. At some point I was considering legal action, but then gave up.” 

“My issue with them is being paid. That is the biggest complaint for me. I have only one book published so far, Spring 2014. I received my first retainer a year late. … I have a bit of an issue because I haven’t got a contract for my second book, nor do I have my retainer yet. However, Dimiter has all my artwork. No royalty report yet. … I am researching getting an agent to avoid dealing with contracts and negotioations in the future”

“Unfortunately you are right. I also have had troubling experiences with Dimiter. He hasn’t paid me royalties in five years and I don't even know how many copies of my books have sold. I am looking for a new English language publisher, but it is not easy. No one wants to republish books already published by another.”

"I have received a minimal 400 euro payment from Simply Read Books even though the book was published already in the year 2009. In addition, I don't even know how many copies of my book were printed and how many copies sold in Canada despite several inquiries... [Name of book] won two awards:... 2009 Aesop Award [and] 2010 Benjamin Franklin Awards... but I have no idea what these awards actually are. I just happened to notice these awards by accident on the Internet when I was browsing the pages of Simply Read Books [website].

“I used to believe the music business was the worst on earth in terms of corruption, exploitation, and taking advantage of artists. Clearly, the book business is far worse. … he does not respond to multiple emails or requests for clarity about proposed projects, he half-initiated multiple projects with me, and then went dark for months, then years.”

“The best outcome, for me in any case, is for him to have to release our rights back to us. I really don't want anything more to do with him.”

“All my foreign rights are handled by my publisher [Simply Read] and come to me just as ‘foreign rights’ in my royalty payments. [My book] doesn’t seem to be earning anything anywhere. It’s difficult to get hold of the information one needs when it’s all in the hands of the company that might not be behaving. Book publishing does seem to have recently become some sort of target for money-obsessed-megalomaniacs/crooks.” 

“My advances were late coming and required constant emailing to remind him of what was owed to me. As for royalties, twice now in the past few years I have tried to request politely to have my statements sent to me, especially when they issued a new altered version of one of my books last year (which I didn't get copies of or notification of its re-release) and I knew it was selling well. Both times I resorted to sending an email warning them that I was in the process of filing a grievance with the writers Union. Within a day of my emails my cheque has always miraculously in the mail. So, while I have been paid (assuming their numbers are correct) it has always been under threat.” 

“I am so glad you contacted me and really not surprised to hear your story. I have published two books with Simply Read and it has only been a series of headache after headache, trying to track Dimiter down to get payment. I waited 2 years to have a book published, and another 2 years to get paid. The author of my 2nd picturebook with Simply Read, [name withheld] is on the same page. She has been very frustrated with their lack of professionalism (not paying on time, not publishing on time, not answering emails or phone calls, not sending a yearly sales updates, etc).”

“I will confirm that he avoids communication like the plague. I have had to track him down for months to get some form of reply, either by phone or by email. After waiting for an entire year to get the 2nd half of my advance for my first picturebook [book title withheld], Dimiter finally responded to my phone calls and declared that he couldn't get back to me sooner because he was very sick (who is sick for months on end that they cannot write a single email?). For my latest picturebook (which I had completed back in 2012, but only got published in 2014- it was then pull off the market and got republished officially in 2015....we had no information as to the official publication date and no follow up), I had to wait over six months to receive my copies and final advance payment. When I asked about the delay, he explained that the weather wasn't good, and they couldn't ship my package. For the last 3 years-4 years my books have been published with Simply Read, I haven't received a single royalty statement.  I have no clue if they are being submitted to awards, or if they are selling at all.”

“I struggled to get them to sign a contract for a long time. The contact did get signed finally but I can't say that I ever made much money off of the book in royalties after the fact and I never saw my originals again…”

"I too have a similar experience with Simply Read. Since they published [book name withheld]. In 2003 I have had precious little in royalties, other than a minor payment when we signed the contract. We even approached the Australian High Commissioner in Canada to see if he could bring pressure on the firm to pay us, but in spite of repeated promises nothing happened. Cheekily, Dimiter even published a reprint without telling us. … No royalties came from that either. I have also seen Canadian editions in Australia libraries, which is against the contract.” 

“My dealings with Simply Read have been positively dreadful - I signed the contract and it took 7 years until the book actually came out….and communication was so unbelievably poor - (emails never being responded to) - and this has continued throughout - in my contract, (which sadly I do not actually have a copy of, because they never returned a copy to me with both of our signatures on it —) but I am entitled to 2 royalty statements per year — I received 1, and then I was nagging them for a whole year-and-a-half before receiving a second — It has been appalling!”

“To wrap my experience with Simply Read Books into one sentence would go like this: I was the final portion of my advance nearly a year late with a check that bounced. After hearing of other authors and illustrators experiences working with Dimiter Savoff I feel like part of a broken record. I am tied into contracts with him that due to his negligence and unaccountability, I'll continue to lose money well into the future. How am I trust him to send royalty checks and statements when it takes nearly a year to send and advance payment? The trick is, is that Simply Read on the surface produces great books. The design and quality are great, the printing and binding are lovely, (largely due to his small staff of editor and designer,) but with Dimiter having no accountability to uphold his end of the contracts, these books become grim milestones for authors and illustrators. Yes, their book has been published but in such an unprofessional manner most will never work for him again. What scares me is that he's operated this way for years and will continue to do so if something doesn't change. Year after year he continues to exploit authors and illustrators to create beautiful books, but behind the scenes is a long and growing line of breeched contracts, lies, and disenchanted authors and illustrators. I feel like I walked into a spiderweb looking back on it. Yes, my books are published but I'll never work for him again.” 

This letter below is what I sent to the funding agencies back in 2012 that was completely ignored. 

Duncan Weller

Thunder Bay, Ontario

(All my possessions are currently in storage. 

I have no mailing address at the moment.)

Phone: (233)0248545132 (Accra, Ghana)

Email: duncanweller@hotmail.com

Website: www.duncanweller.com

Blog: duncanweller.blogspot.com

Feb. 14, 2012, Accra, Ghana

Dear Funding Agency,

This letter was written to convey the importance of denying funding to Dimiter Savoff of Simply Read Books. 

At the time of this writing I am in Accra, Ghana, working on a children’s picture book with the assistance of a Chalmers’ Fellowship Award. My notes, contracts, and statements are in storage in Thunder Bay. If you need proof for any of the following, I can obtain copies after I return to Thunder Bay on April 24, or you can corroborate anything I’ve said by making a few phone calls.

Dimiter Savoff published three of my works over a four-year period. In that time, I moved from North Vancouver to Montreal, and finally to Thunder Bay. One of the primary problems in dealing with Dimiter is the near total lack of communication, which at first he manages to make appear like an endearing character flaw – as if he’s so hard at work promoting his books in other cities and countries that he’s difficult to get ahold of. However, it’s a pattern, which over time reveals that he has a no interest in communication with authors and illustrators after the contracts are signed and/or after the books are printed.

On my second meeting with Dimiter Savoff, in Vancouver, he said I had the option of working without a contract. I made a point of being stunned at the suggestion. I demanded a contract for each book and confirmation that I would receive an advance before I would consider taking him on as a publisher. Atypical of the publishing industry, Dimiter wanted to publish three of the six books that I presented to him, after only two meetings. (I both write and illustrate my own work.) At that time, Simply Read Books was in existence for only two or three years.

At first Dimiter talked a big game. He talked about promotion, his connections, yet warned that the industry is a difficult one, of which I was fully aware. He does have a few good quality books as evidence of some discerning ability, but in all other manners, he completely fails as a publisher. I have broken all communication with him after winning the Governor General’s Award and the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Picture Book Award (an award where the winner is chosen by children) for my third book, The Boy from the Sun. In the near future I plan to find an entertainment lawyer in Toronto and take legal action against Dimiter Savoff. 

In the four years that I had to suffer our relationship, before and shortly after winning two of Canada’s top awards for children’s picture books: 

·    He consistently lied about nearly everything we discussed over the phone or in person. He does not leave a recorded trail in either paper or via email.

·    He has failed to promote the books in the form of advertising or submitting the books for review. 

·    He has failed to submit the books to award juries. For the Francis Howard Gibbon Award, the head of the committee spoke with Dimiter directly, three times, in order to have my book, The Boy from the Sun, submitted with the appropriate submission form. This is a six thousand dollar prize. I had a good chance of winning this prize as I was competing with the same books submitted for the two other awards that I had won. No books or submission form were submitted for the FHG Award. 

·    Afforded the opportunity on several occasions to promote the books – when The Boy from the Sun won two of Canada’s top prizes for children’s literature, there was no advertising, no interviews or reviews in newspapers, radio, or television. Reviews that did come, were a result of my own actions, and the Canada Council’s.

·    Book sales are ridiculously low. I have sold more of my own books than he has. For my first two books, he has not been able to sell more than 800 copies a piece, in more than six years – books that also sold in shops in the United States, England, Australia, and Japan. It is likely the books were sold in other countries as Internet sites indicated. Currently, I order books directly from the distributor and have no problem selling them. I am convinced that the statements I’ve received in no way reflect the actual number of copies sold.

·    I am unsure of how many copies of my books have been printed. Royalty statements that indicate the number contradict what I was originally told. In discussion, Dimiter is obscurant and mumbles, becomes irritated when pressed, and responds, “I don’t know, three thousand, maybe five thousand copies.” 

·    My first book, Spacesnake was published Nov. 1, 2004. It was over a year after publications before I received a royalty statement. My contract states that I am to receive a statement every six months. (I will discuss statements later.) This also occurred with my second book Night Wall. For over a year I had no idea how many copies were printed or if any sold or if it had any promotion. I had a phone conversation with Dimiter, in which he began with his half-human obscurant mumbling. I lost my cool, swore at him, and demanded some kind of action. Eventually some promotion was done. He paid $400.00 to have the books face out on the shelves at Indigo/Chapters. 

·    When I lived in Montreal, living off of savings in the bank, Dimiter said I was to receive advances, two payments of $5,000.00, and contracts to illustrate two children’s picture books, The Pink Book and When You Were Small. I refused to begin the illustrations until I received the funds and the contracts. I held out for a few frustrating months, holding off finding a job, fully expecting the money and the contracts to come. Despite being told repeatedly that they would, nothing every showed. I learned later that he had hired another illustrator during this time. Starved of funds, I chose to leave Montreal for Thunder Bay, to stay with my brother, a filmmaker, where I began work on the semi-animated version of Night Wall, for which Dimiter said he would help fund, but never did. 

·    My book, Night Wall, was poorly edited, and the process was a breach of my contract. I was living in Montreal at this time. I did not get a final say on changes made by the editor. Dimiter read an edited version to me over the phone. I disapproved of several changes to my text, and asked that a printed copy of the edited text be sent to me. Within a month, a box of printed hardcover books arrived at my Montreal apartment before I had given approval of the final text. (I was furious – a very odd feeling when your beautifully produced books arrives in a box.) Because of this, I worked with the editor on The Boy from the Sun, and did not allow Dimiter final say of the text. I also flew to Victoria to work with the designer, Doug McCaffrey to ensure that that I got the book I wanted. 

·    The contract for The Boy from the Sun, was delayed a number of times. I had demanded a higher royalty payment, partly because he was not promoting the books, but also because I asked for changes. Eventually, the printing of the book occurred before I received the contract for it. I will note here, that at the outset of receiving my first contract I met with an entertainment lawyer in Vancouver. He read over the contract for Spacesnake, my first book, and told me that it was a badly written contract, but that it would work in my benefit, because a number of passages contradicted each other, and that if it were to be used in a court a judge would immediately rule in my favour.

·    A 2006 calendar featuring illustrations from my picture books published by Simply Read Books was made available for sale, but I was not informed of its existence and not asked for permission to have an image used. My book contracts allows for images to be used in promotional materials, but a quality calendar, made for mass-market sale, exceeds the limits of what constitutes promotion. The calendars were for sale in shops and over the Internet. The Internet is where I discovered its existence. I confronted him about this in a phone call, and again got mumbled, near incomprehensible answers. He said he would send me a copy and a contract. I never received either – but I did get a cheque for under a hundred dollars. (I don’t have the info handy.) 

·    I agreed to a graduated royalty payment in my contracts because I was assured that money he earned from the sales of books would be put into their promotion. I have seen little evidence of promotion – none in terms of advertising. I have promoted my books through my own efforts more than Dimiter has, in which I spent my own time and money. 

·    I received a cheque for a thousand dollars for Spacesnake to be translated and sold in Korea. I have never received any indication on paper or by word as to how many copies were printed for this purpose, how many were sold, or what the conditions were – how I was to be paid in the future for potential book sales or what this payment was even for. Statements I receive for this book do not include book sales in Korea.

·    To promote my books in 2008, it was arranged by the publisher to do a book signing at the Kidsbooks store in North Vancouver. When I arrived with Dimiter’s assistant, Kallie, we met with the owner of the shop and the staff. None knew of any arrangements for a book signing. And no one showed for the event/non-event. Kallie claimed that arrangements had been made. She couldn’t produce any evidence that the event had been advertised, although she insisted that it was. I think Dimiter spun her a story. I have photos of her embarrassed red face.

·    When Steve Ball created music for my book Night Wall, I moved back to Thunder Bay from Montreal to work with my brother, who teaches and makes film, to create a semi-animated short film. Funding for this project that Dimiter said he would provide never materialized. He said he would give $2,000.00 towards the project. I paid for the project myself.

·    Steve Ball (www.steveball.com), a sound engineer and director at Microsoft in Seattle, and a talented musician who works with the likes of Robert Fripp (King Crimson), first encountered Dimiter in 2007. He was asked by Dimiter Savoff to create music for a children’s picture book by an Australian writer and illustrator. Dimiter approached Steve after Steve created music for my book, Night Wall. As incredible as it sounds, Steve and I never did get the name of this Australian artist. I’ve searched the Internet for similar images appearing on Steve Ball’s website. As did Steve. I asked Dimiter and his assistant Kallie, on several occasions, who this author is. They never gave me a name. They didn’t give me a name when I asked them both – in person when I was promoting my books in Vancouver – a trip I made with my own money. The project didn’t happen and Steve didn’t get paid for the music he created. He still has the images of the Australian’s artwork on the main page of his website – www.steveball.com. You can click on the images of the art, and listen to the music that Steve created for the project. When I take legal action against Dimiter Savoff I will approach Australian arts councils, groups, etc. in order to locate this artist and get his/her story. 

·    Steve informed me that two months ago, Dimiter Savoff was in Seattle, approaching Microsoft hoping to work with them to create eBooks, using Simply Read Books’ catalogue of writers and illustrators. Steve Ball sent out a memo warning Microsoft employees to stay away from Dimiter Savoff, referring to Dimiter as a con-artist. 

·    During the award ceremonies for the Governor General’s Award, Dimiter failed to bring books for sale to the Ottawa National Library. A member of the Canada Council was sent to the local Indigo/Chapters store to purchase all the copies of my book that they could in order to avoid embarrassment. The 12 books sold quickly. When Michael Ondaatje came to my table to purchase a book, I was out. When I told him that my publisher had not ordered books for the event, he was shocked and said, “That’s disgraceful.” Members of the Canada Council at this event tried to act coolly to Dimiter’s negligence, but it was obvious that they were disturbed. 

·    Public money was used to fly me down to Toronto from Thunder Bay after winning the GG and R&S Awards. I was flown down to do book signings. This constituted being driven around by a staff member of the distributor for a couple days and taken to several book stores where I signed books. I had expected events where people might attend what constitutes a proper “book signing,” which might be advertised in a Toronto newspaper. This was not the case. There was no advertising, and no one to sign books for. In effect, they could have sent a couple boxes of books to Thunder Bay. I could have signed them there and sent the boxes back. It was a complete waste of everyone’s time, not to mention public money – some of the money given to the publisher to promote sales of the books. It was some kind of weird façade, supposedly to make me happy, but had the opposite effect. I was stunned by the lack of professionalism, and silliness of it all. I was also stunned that the distributor went along with the façade. Sadly, trying to help my publisher out, I stayed at a friends place, instead of a hotel, hoping the money saved would be put towards advertising. 

·    Six months after winning the GG award and the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Award, I discovered that the award winning stickers were not put on the covers of the award winning book, The Boy from the Sun. The books therefore were not located in the award winning book displays with other American and Canadian award winning books across the country. Staff at the bookstores that I met personally in Toronto and Montreal had no idea that my book had won an award, and in a few instances, they had never heard of either of the awards. Meanwhile, the American award winning books, esp. The Invention of Hugo Cabret, (which became the Academy Award winning film, Hugo) were promoted exceptionally well. Some of the bookstores had no copies of my book at all. This is six months after winning two of Canada’s top awards. When I called the distributor, I discovered that Dimiter had not paid them the $200.00 necessary for having the stickers applied to the books. When I offered to pay the fee, the distributor, (PGW) said that would be inappropriate. After complaining to Dimiter’s assistant, the stickers were applied to the books, a couple months later – but in the warehouse. These stickered books did not make it to the shelves of the bookstores. When I order the books myself from the distributor, most books do not have the award stickers. Dimiter (and the distributor) effectively killed the book’s potential for sales with this inaction, on a huge scale. 

·    There is no pattern for the arrival of my statements. A friend of mine, Jean Pendziwol, a children’s book writer who has two publishers, Kids Can Press and Groundwood Books, kindly allowed me to see the statements she receives. The difference in the amount and kind of information she receives in comparison to my statements are dramatic. Mine are scant; hers indicate numbers of books sold in other countries and other details I don’t get. I receive statements intermittently, sometimes up to two years apart. The actual dates written on the statements can be off by six months of the date at which I receive the statement. Regarding statements, Dimiter Savoff is in total breach of my contracts. The lack of information is considered unusual.

·    My Alma mater, Lakehead Univesity, used images from The Boy from the Sun and a photo of me in an advertising campaign to promote their Orillia campus. Their campaign included t-shirts, posters in bus stops and the subway in Toronto, as well as a billboard. This campaign, not intended in any way to sell my books, resulted in selling more copies of The Boy from the Sun in a few months than anything my publisher has done, or any advertising and news reports that came as a result of winning the Governor General’s Award and the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz picture book award. 

I have strong opinions about the Canadian publishing industry. Over twenty years of experience, in and surrounding the industry I have heard so many horror stories from all quarters that I know there are endemic and systemic problems that have made it an unfair society for intelligent and creative people to do their best work. This results in children (and adults) getting lazy and uninspiring books in this country – a reason why the Indigo children’s book department has become a toy department. Continuing to fund publishers who treat contracts like blank pieces of paper, or in the case of Key Porter Books (and others) who outright steal work with no contracts at all, makes the funding agencies complicit in the publishing industries’ near criminal, and criminal activities, if they knowingly continue to fund these publishers. 

I, like many others before me, are guilty of not having spoken sooner. I kept quiet for the first few years of working with Dimiter Savoff in order to advance my career by getting books published and in the stores. Knowing some of the problems, and having been warned by artists and groups like CANSCAIP about problems in the industry I knew some of what I was in for, but no concept of the extent. I was continually stunned. 

I was gearing up for using my website to launch a general complaint against the industry in tandem with taking legal action against Dimiter Savoff. Other authors contacted me, and with no need for encouragement I was delighted to help them out in taking action against Dimiter Savoff.  

Unsuspecting writers and illustrators are unaware of the lies and corruption in the industry and will waste years of their lives hoping for a future that won’t materialize, not for lack of their own effort, but because the very people who are supposed to be helping them, are actually working against them. The current system allows publisher to make money and gain status even though their abuses are criminal.

This letter is written in tandem with letters sent by three other authors:  Letters Sent To:

Conor Rossiter, Program Officer,

Canada Book Fund,

Department of Canadian Heritage 

25 Eddy Street, 25-8-T 

Gatineau, Quebec 

K1A 0M5

Chris Gudgeon, Communications Manager

Literary and Publishing Programs

BC Arts Council

PO Box 9819, Stn Prov Govt

Victoria, BC  V8W 9W3

Elizabeth Eve

Program Officer

Writing and Publishing Section

Canada Council for the Arts

613-566-4414

1-800-263-5588 ext 5576

The Art of Asia Schultz

Asia Schultz at only twenty-one years of age is a talented young artist, enrolled in the Lakehead University Fine Arts program. Her talent at mixing both high art and low art is a great example of style mixing where some influences come from established English portrait artists like Lucien Freud, Tai-Shan Schierenberg, Francis Bacon, and German artist Max Beckman.

     However, Asia is unusual in that she successfully blends into her work styles from such disparate Japanese artists as animator Hayao Miyazaki and any number of artists who create anime characters that can be found most easily in online web comics, both professionally designed and created by amateurs from all over the world.

     Born and raised in Thunder Bay Asia’s first major influence in style came from the darker works of artist Clint Kraft who teaches at Hammarskjhold High School.

     “Mr. Kraft was great for not limiting us,” says Asia. “He was really open to letting us explore what we really wanted to explore, which I really appreciated. He never told us we had to work in a particular style, like work only in realism or work only in abstract. He let us try a lot of things.”

     Asia began her university education enrolled in psychology, but had her love of drawing rekindled dramatically in her second year in Quinten Maki’s drawing class. She then decided to enroll full time in the fine arts program where she also discovered she had a great love of art history, thoroughly enjoying Christi Holmes’ classes, where Asia says the students are allowed to explore some of their own interpretations of how art history evolved.

     Asia is also unusual in that she had a bit of a head start in her artistic education in a way that most artists can only dream of, not only was she born with some talent, she had an artistic compatriot who was an easily accessible companion who could influence and motivate her by being extremely critical without causing any sting, insecurity or doubt.

    Asia has an identical twin who also likes to draw.

    And true to twins, although they share some of the same traits and interests, each is their own person with completely different personalities. Asia’s sister, Kimberly, is not studying art at university, but continues to enjoy drawing “as a side thing.”

   Asia explains that as children, “Me and my twin sister, we didn’t really have any artistic influences in our lives. So Kimberley and I would spend a lot of time drawing together. It was simple to do and we liked to see what the other could do. We would choose the same thing to draw and see how each other drew it. It was interesting to see how the other interpreted the subject, but we grew to develop our own styles. …. It was something that we could improve daily and practice without being competitive, not trying to outdo each other. I always had someone who could give me confidence. It was a lot of back and forth that helped us. We never judged. And we never thought something was taboo. We got lot of encouragement from each other.”

     In conversation Asia talks about influence from her favourite Miyazaki film, Kiki’s Delivery Service, the Vampire Hunter D series, graphic novels, kids cartoons and something called “gemsonas,” which are cartoon portraits made of oneself, inspired Steven Universe, a spinoff of Adventure Time.

     “I like kids cartoons that don’t underestimate the intelligence of children. They [the creators] understand they have large audiences so they try to make it interesting for everyone.”

     So when it comes to painting and finding her own style, Asia isn’t on a mission to find one style to express herself.

       “I enjoy the fine arts and the intelligence of it and what can grow in that specific mindset, but I do like the mainstream art culture and the pop culture elements that allow you to explore aspects that may not be art but allow you do to your own cartoons, your own animations. I really do enjoy doing figurative works that tests my intelligence and challenge how I can portray something. Painting is where I am better at exploring figurative works. Drawing is where I explore other things, like handmade animations, getting back to your roots in drawing without having to worry about being super polished.” Asia adds, smiling, “And I like working in a gothicky Victorian aesthetic.”

     When asked what kind of advice she would give to young, up and coming artists, Asia offers up insightful multiple suggestions.

     “I learned a lot from copying other artists. I explored already well-received artistic styles, and looked into what exactly I could offer, what my voice could be. I didn’t have to worry what people thought, because I was working in a style that people already loved. I’m learning to become an individual – even though everything has already been done.”

      “You shouldn’t feel self-conscious about what you want to do. Don’t get caught up in comparing yourself to the great masters. You can still be good at what you want to do without creating great masterpieces.”

     After some thought she adds, “There’s no one way to be a great artist. Especially now, there are so many ways to create art. And it’s really important. Web comic artists, artists on Tumblr, they reveal how people have come to grow into many styles.”  

The Art of Candace Twance

     In her element as a mother, artist and partner to a talented musician, Candace Twance is full of smiles, ideas, and energy. Her buoyant spirit is infectious and evident in her colourful and dynamic paintings. You can see in the images above how she plays and/or experiments with technique and style.

     Candace grew up with two brothers and two sisters in Port Arthur and hails from Pic Mobert Reserve, four hours East of Thunder Bay. She studied Fine Arts at Lakehead University, and while focusing on painting, she states, “Lakehead sped up my skill development and I was able to try different things… learn different techniques and see what style I was most drawn to.”

     With Ojibwe and Ukrainian ancestry, Candace says, “I’m always going to be described as an indigenous artist, and although my work could be seen as woodland, it is contemporary. I incorporate mixed media and abstraction, but my work is always figurative and narrative. I’m interested in people from my community, my native ancestors.”

     Her latest series, including four large-scale paintings, incorporate people into woodlands themes. “I smush a lot of beads and objects into my paintings, in an abstract way. I’m incorporating craft into dynamic abstract images that are tied to the land.”

     Candace has received three grants to help her with her work, so she’s grateful for the support of the Aboriginal Arts Grant and the Ontario Arts Council that have helped keep her full time as an artist. “Lately I’ve been getting a lot of commissions, portrait works mostly. So I’m doing that as well.”

     Recent inspiration has come from photographs taken early in the 20^th century. “My dad has a bunch of black and white photographs of my family and community. Many are old fur trade images. No one is smiling,” she laughs. “They’re not like the Curtis photos. They’re wearing modern clothing and are really cool and inspiring, so I’m incorporating them into my paintings.”

     Candace is also doing research for another series, beginning with a large instillation piece. “It’s going to require a big space. I want to show, in layers, spirit realms… as homage to my ancestors, so I’m going to produce a section of a house with ordinary objects made extraordinary. I want to express, through different sensory elements using light and sound, the existence of a different realm to give a sense of presence in a room that is invisible.” Candace smiles and waves her hands in rejection, “But not like a haunted house.”

     Again, expressive with her hands, Candace looks to the ceiling, thinking aloud. “Have you ever gone into to an abandoned house, a special place, a sacred place, with ordinary items, but all elevated somehow? I want to do that, through adornment and create a surreal experience. I want to provoke that feeling from people. I’ve wanted to do an instillation like this for a long time. And I’d love to tour it to communities, to reserves.”

     With two young children Candace has trouble finding time to paint, but she grabs an hour or two when she can. However while she’s caring for her children, she plans out ideas. “I formulate what I’m going to do in my mind so by the time I come to paint I have a pretty good idea of what I’m going to do.”

     Candace wants her children to follow their own path, yet hopes they will have an appreciation of art. “They motivate me to be successful. I wouldn’t say they inspire my work,” she laughs. “Don’t write that! It sounds so mean. Well… it’s inevitable that they will influence my art, and I do want to leave them a legacy.”

     Reflective of her early start as an artist and the success she’s had already, she adds, “I think you’re born to be an artist. I was born to do this. I was always creative, but in my teenage years I had the realization that it didn’t just have to be a hobby. It could be a career, but it felt like a risk to go to school for art. I didn’t know what kind of job I could get. I had other interests like social work, you know, to make money. But life chooses you. You have to embrace it.”

     Candace is also a musician, writing songs and playing guitar. Her partner Nick Sherman is a musician, who is releasing an album this May called, Knives and Wildrice. Candace and Nick both manage to make a living as artists. “Sometimes we look at each other and we’re amazed we’re doing this, that we’re going all in with our art. Some in our families ask, how do you do it? Some think of us as unemployed, but we’re both self-employed. I guess we’re lucky. When you choose to be an artist you’re either all in or you’re not.”

     Candace sighs and with a big smile she adds, “Ugh! I want to do so much work. I just need some time!”

     You can see some of Candace’s work at the new location of the Ahnisnabae Art Gallery downtown at 18 Court Street, HERE, and Candace Twance, Anishnaabe Artist on Facebook.

Graphic Novel in the Works: "Daniel Stronger" by Elliot Doxtater-Wynn

You may know Elliot from his CBC Superior Morning Radio Show. You may not know that he has designs to create an elaborately plotted graphic novel involving the growing pains and concerns of a young adult, with elements that any young adult will appreciate along with elements related directly with aboriginal youth, which should allow the novel to appeal to a diverse audience.

     Elliot is originally from Six Nations in Southern Ontario. He spent his formative years in Sudbury and Manitoulin Island where he went to Beal Vocational School to specialize in sculptural design and obtain a College level introduction into all visual art disciplines. He met his wife then and moved to Thunder Bay in 1997 to live and work. He also continued his education in the fine arts program at Lakehead University, specializing in sculpture, which involved traditional sculpture along with mixed media work, found objects, and installation.

     “Sculpture is a particular discipline, and even the spaces required are particular,” he says when he describes how more involved and problematic sculpture can be compared to other art disciplines. With his sculptural work he focused on environmental statements involving a love for the environment as a contrast to the amount of refuse we produce and how the two interact.

     He does earn more from his paintings and drawings and his work has been displayed at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery, at the Vancouver Olympics, and many Aboriginal Arts and Crafts shows. In 2014 he won the Thunder Bay Arts and Heritage Award for visual arts.

     When at LU he used his studio time to refine his own style to create imagery more recognizable as his own rather than what he considers to be more stereotypical Indian art. He also geared himself to graphic design and eventually his work gained interest, allowing him to get paid for producing works in his own style.

     His study drawings, created to generate ideas and to play with different approaches to design, reflect good drawing skills with some stream of conscious work. The drawings have that comic book feel in the Heavy Metal Mobius vein mixed with the subtle influence of Japanese anime. Clothing, symbols, hairstyles, objects and design elements still maintain the First Nations character. Many of his study drawings would make for great larger paintings.

     With his blended style Elliot is able to stick to his roots and maintain work that is relatable to a larger audience. And the style choice he’s made will come in handy when he finally puts it to work for him on a project that he’s had in mind for twenty years.

     Twenty years ago he did a cover page and that alone was enough to generate long lasting ideas. As he describes the work, he’s expressive with his hands and his face lights up in excitement of the memory. And he’s thrilled that he’s been able to obtain an Ontario Arts Council grant which has allowed him to move to the production phase.

     His graphic novel concept involves a young man named Daniel Stronger who becomes transformed after an accident. While in a coma, many years pass, but when he wakes he has miraculously remained only fifteen years old. And his parents are missing. Much like a superhero, he has to learn how to control the powers he’s mysteriously obtained while simultaneously dealing with the particularly awkward troubles of adolescence. The quest in the adventure is of Daniel searching for his parents and understanding and controlling his powers.

     However, there are other details that add much more depth and dimension to the story. Elliot gave a description of some, which will make Daniel Stronger’s adventure more complex, but they won’t be revealed for a long while.

"Talent" is not a dirty word.

     Nature, in her wisdom, sprinkles talent indiscriminately amongst us, so that some lucky individuals are born with a genetic predisposition that allows them to do activities better than the rest of us. It doesn’t at all mean they will achieve anything with that specific genetic advantage because society has to allow for it to be fruitful and actively seek out the bestowed person and be encouraging. Parents, relatives, teachers and the public have to want talented people to succeed. And the individual with the talent may not know they have it and may not see any value in developing it. If there's no incentive to work at it, that itch they have as a child to draw or write or sing or dance or tell jokes won't last beyond childhood.  

     A country can do well by supporting the search for talent, no matter what the field; sports, arts, science, cooking, raising children, etc. and then provide good reasons for someone with talent to actually follow through. So, just as much as we need talented people to make life better for the rest of us, as we benefit from their exploits, as I do every time I turn on my laptop, a device created by a number of talented people, so we also need mentors, promoters, investors, agents, and critics. Talent shows might be tacky as all heck, but they can help. They're doing us a service that our friends daren't do, discern whether you have any ability or not. 
     Don't get me wrong, if you don't think you can win a talent competition, it doesn't in any way suggest you should stop singing or telling jokes. You might not get top marks, but you still are very valuable to all kinds of people. You just might not want to invest thousands of dollars in trying to make a living at it. 

     Sadly, many people, especially in the visual arts, see talent as a dirty word, and the search for it as something that will benefit a few at the expense of others. Some go so far as to say it doesn’t exist. It seems to be in our egalitarian nature to think that anyone can be an artist if they choose to be. Any time I'm with any sort of group of artists there's often someone there to remind us that, "anyone can be an artist."
     Funding and admiring only the talented seems grossly unfair. The problem, as we are all aware, is that we resent being told there is a wonderful film or art show worth seeing and when we go to the effort to check it out for ourselves, it turns out to be mediocre at best.
     In an art show a thousand mediocre works of art won’t make up for the one great inspiring piece that is missing. And much to the public's credit, more people than you think, actually have an ability to recognize a great work. The work often seems to sing for attention. It will have the effect of creating awe.

     With the invention of cameras, microscopes, wallpaper and colour printing, the ability to draw has been mistaken as a technological feat and not a human one. Many contemporary artists and critics too easily dismiss or undervalue an individual artist’s ability to create a vast range of subtleties in an image. They have thrown that ability into the dustbin of history, along with another, the ability revealed when an artist’s job or interest was the idiosyncratic application of allegory.

     This is where human emotions and actions can be read, where people’s desires and beliefs are recorded and can, over time, becomes part of history, so much so that history exists IN art, more artfully displayed than any camera or computer can achieve, until very recently. And even then, it takes an artist’s hand with enough skill to replace pencil and paper with stylus and pad and not make the image seem frozen. The difference between a photograph of any quality is nothing compared to a master painting filled with the artful use of texture and glazes.
     And of course there is the heavy handed weight of "the idea." A regular reader of this paper probably isn't aware that the traditional functions of art have been thrown under the bus in favour of lofty ideas, or philosophies of art. I'm not talking simply about "abstract" art. Some modernist and abstract art is valuable and quite good. What I'm talking about it when ideas become so strong in the art world that art, the work that physically exists in a gallery, becomes the byproduct of a way of thinking. Many university professors and their students get lost in their ideas, often having no application whatsoever in a world either outside of where the ideas are studied or where the byproducts are displayed, typically a gallery. 

     Or maybe I’m just a snob.

     Malcolm Gladwell argues in his book, Outliers, that all anyone needs to be good at something is ten thousand hours of practice. So in approximately ten years no matter who you are you will be good if not great at whatever it is you choose to do.

     Really? Sure, some can take ten years out of their lives to write a novel if they really put their mind to it, which Gladwell uses as an example, and anyone can learn to play a guitar in ten years or belly dance or ski or whatever. But will they be great? Will a woman or man practicing guitar for ten years be as good as Andres Segovia, or Jim Hendrix or Steve Howe? What about the kids who play the violin or piano at the age of five or seven? What about rock bands that turn out dozens of number one hits while other bands can’t? What about sports stars who have bigger lung capacity, or are taller, or have whatever physical disposition giving them the advantage?
     Two friends of mine have been painting portraits and figure drawings for much longer than ten years. Neither have gone beyond a high school level of ability. But they love doing it. One, Elizabeth, decided to expand her ability and love of art and went back to Fine Art school at the University of Victoria. She now produces installation works that don't require any drawing skills.
     Another friend, Daniel, who I knew for five years in Victoria, and who I hadn't seen in ten years, invited me into his home in Ottawa. His studio was filled with portraits and figure drawings. I happened to visit him on the day before a model was to show up. He had turned his living room into a studio as well, complete with lights and a model stand. He was excited and animated and was keen to talk about his collection that covered all the walls of his house. He still has the little portrait he bought from Myfanwy Pavelic in Victoria. You've seen Myfanwy's painting of Pierre Trudeau on television in the halls of the Parliament building whenever a politician is interviewed in the hall.
     Daniel's enthusiasm and love of art is infectious. And being French-Canadian his accent and manic gesticulations inspire admiration for his determination. He LOVES painting. He LOVES the human face. He LOVES the body. Yet after all these years, even with all his love he will not show his paintings publicly. He will not sell his work. He knows it simply isn't good enough. And he doesn't care. He loves the journey.
     Just about anyone in any field of endeavour can name someone else they were inspired by or are jealous of because they seem to be naturally talented at doing their job. I’ve been jealous of a number of artists who can draw and paint better than me. Boo hoo. But I learn from them and admire their abilities. And I know that my particular métier, my subject matter is quite different from theirs, so I only get inspired rather than turned off.

      Some people equate the search for talented people as the Nietzsche inspired Nazi search for the white superman of the Aryan race where countries hold up our sports and science stars as evidence of their superiority over others. This is a terrible rabbit hole to go down. But there are people who freak out when they hear the word “talent.” Or when they meet someone they think is more talented than them. I've met a few.
     I was invited to a drawing session in East Vancouver by an artist who just had a sellout show at a prominent gallery on Granville Street. We stood with our drawing boards next to each other and we had a clear view of each other's work. He drew in a Mannerist style. That night I was more Raphael. During the session, he became clearly more and more agitated as time went on. We barely talked. I realized soon enough that he had become insanely jealous. He began commenting on how organized I was, how sharp my pencils were. "They look like daggers." And after a few snide comments, often said with a smile, thinking he was funny, he said. "You know, you're a lot like Hitler." 

     There have been a number of books on the subject of how talent is a myth. Books on contemporary art often argue that the ability to draw is merely mechanical and that the attempt to find and create beauty is a shallow affair. They devalue the ability to draw and paint, which for thousands of years was the one qualifying ability that made a visual artist an artist. And Canadian Art magazine often features articles where inevitably the artist or critic or gallery owner states that popular art is the enemy of culture. Really? Pop-culture? Your biggest enemy? 

     There are genetic predispositions that allow some people to do activities better than the rest of us but only occur in an individual and not in that individual’s children. Sometimes talent skips a generation, like baldness. Maybe talent, on occasion, is a genetic benefit and rare, because nature in her evolutionary wisdom, or imperfection, sprinkles talent indiscriminately throughout a population no matter what their sex or race, like some forms of diseases? Are child prodigies the victims of a beneficial brain disease?
     Anyway, I’ve decided to write about individual Thunder Bay artists for the next two or three months to help them out. I’m looking to write more about talented female artists and First Nation artists. If you have any suggestions, please write to duncanweller@hotmail.com.
    As an extra personal note, not printed in the CJ, I thought I should add that I never applied for a grant until I won a couple awards. When society gave me an indication that I might be of value, I decided I was worth other people's money. I've invested that money in my work and I'm happily making a living at doing what I love. Also, in my twenties, I saw artists who had no artistic ability, as far as I could tell, who received grants, and I was amazed that their work was getting support. Previous to winning the awards, I thought of grants for artists as welfare money. When I realized that a "best-selling" book in Canada is only at around 5,000 copies, I realized that I might as well be a welfare recipient. The chances of making a living in our current system, simply wasn't going to happen. I decided to dump the publishing industry and do it myself. So far so great.

     

Chris Rantala

     Chris Rantala battles the wall of wind and snow kicked up between the buildings along Cumberland in the North Core. With a bit of difficulty he manages to get the heavy signboard he’s just completed safely off the back of his truck. He carries the signboard into Espresso Joya, a new espresso bar and gallery. With its arrival, Thomas White, the owner, beams with delight, thrilled with its look and weight. “It certainly won’t get blown over by the wind,” he states.

     Chris Rantala is a full time Thunder Bay artist, who has found a supportive community willing to commission him for a wide variety of projects, many you have seen as murals. He’s done about five large murals and twenty smaller pieces that can be found in town and in Kakabeka. He’s also taken commissions for signage, elaborate goalie helmets, funky motorcycle tanks, paintings of children, people in canoes, general portraits both human and animal, trains, classic cars, fighter planes and even an image of a wood chipper with delivery trucks.

     Chris laughs with an understanding of the sentiment involved in the wood chipping commission, “Some of it’s not art, but it pays the bills.” However, he doesn’t put down the commission work at all. His love of the antique and Thunder Bay’s past has melded well with the desire of the people who commission him. He does his research, visiting the Thunder Bay Museum and the Archives, looking at old photos and old film reels.

     “Creating a scene is a bit like being an archeologist,” Chris says. “I find it really interesting; digging up old imagery and discovering stuff you’ve never heard of before. I never knew there were racing tracks in Thunder Bay back in the 1930s.”

     Despite his enthusiasm for making a living as an artist and his success with multiple commissions, he’s excited about his prospects as a future graphic novelist, sketching out characters and ideas for what will be his break into more personal work. A big project like a graphic novel will stretch his imagination and talents, as he has to battle with an intricate story line and create many hundreds of images. His elaborate and detailed sketches indicate his love of a future past where technologies, fashion and design elements are jumbled into something similar to that of the steam-punk mix.

      He spent his childhood in Kakabeka and lives in the house his father built. His artistic influence came mostly from his father and a talented aunt and uncle duo. He adds modestly, “There’s the cliché that I was born with a pencil in my hand. I was drawing as early as I can remember. I was drawing pictures of cars and houses on the back of my dad’s envelopes when I was three years old.”

     “I was always aware that I was going to be an artist. I remember when in kindergarten we were put in smocks with easels set up. I painted a steam engine with a caboose. The painting was shown to the principal and my parents. They were all impressed that I was doing more than stick figures. From that day forward that’s what I knew I wanted to be; an artist.”

     He went to Sheridan College, in Oakville, studying classical animation, character design and layout. Figure drawing is enforced at Sheridan and this had a huge influence on Chris. As important to him was the study of scene setting where characters had to be dropped into an historically accurate scene, complete with a suggested storyline and perspective.

     In his third year at Sheridan, Chris’s father passed away. Chris greatly admired his father for living a self-employed lifestyle; building houses and replicating Victorian furniture from old Sears catalogues. Chris’s father had encouraged him to follow his passion.

      More recently Chris completed a snow sculpture of Little Red Riding Hood for Winterfest, with help from his girlfriend, Becky Davis. Chris has created a few sculptures of his own, hoping to do more with his own spin, creating personal works involving humour and surprise elements, mixing the familiar with the new. Meanwhile he’s got his plate full of upcoming commission projects. And he’s continuing to sell his work at craft and art shows. Chris Rantala can be reached at chrisran88@gmail.com.

Urban Infill and 3 New DEFSUP Shows: 2015

    The Definitely Superior Art Gallery is back in full swing on a number of fronts, encompassing dynamic art shows in their three gallery spaces, infusing businesses and unoccupied spaces of the North core of the city by incorporating art into eighteen venues and by offering musical and video performances in different locales.

     The gala opening for all of this is tomorrow night, 7pm at the gallery, located at 250 Park Avenue, just up from the Casino.

     Ongoing since January and ending April 25th is Urban Infill-Art In The Core 9 with the lofty goal to revitalize downtrodden downtown. Port Arthur is already a hotspot for foodies with several new restaurants and the imminent opening of an espresso bar where Atkinson’s Jewelers was once located.

     Variety is key to Urban Infill with the idea to turn the Waterfront District, for a short while, into an arts and entertainment district. The event combines commercial venues with self-expression, which may not encourage sales directly, but allows individual artists to make statements publicly allowing them to reach an audience they might not ordinarily access. More so, Urban Infill temporarily decorates empty spaces and commercial venues, suggesting future alternatives and possibilities. A key factor is the element of surprise, pushing aside the mundane momentarily and giving you something to talk about. Also Urban Infill might present to businesses and local politicians the potential value of incorporating art into a business district.

     In Gallery One at DEFSUP is a painting and film instillation by Toronto based Cary Waito called Microgeographica. The show is comprised of paintings of minerals you might find in a rock shop, but painted lovingly to capture the light, texture and elemental nature of the stones and crystals. Without a setting the objects float freely as if created for a geology catalogue. If it weren’t for the wonderful handling of the paint and colours the realism would leave you a little cold.

     In Gallery Two, Polish Canadian artist Dagmara Genda is very accomplished at drawing and collage, creating dynamic apocalyptic and explosive scenes incorporating animals, architecture, and other objects. Her show is called Panorama/Corrupted Animals. As the title suggests, she is like a mad scientist, but on paper, where she rips apart things and recombines them to create swirling masses of floating chaos. Each work encourages close inspection as she uses lots of contrasting imagery to joggle your brain.

     In Gallery Three, another artist who likes to reanimate by recombining animal and human body parts is Julia Pott, an award winning British animator. Her films combine fear, sex and obscene violence enacted out on cute teddy bear like creatures. Although employing the macabre, the films will appeal to your dark side and draw out sympathies and empathy very quickly when you least expect it. For some it might be an emotional rollercoaster ride.

     Opening night features a musical performance by Nancy Pants, featuring Adam Waito. This is a Montreal based “dirty pop band” and described by one reviewer as performing “teenage ‘60s garage pop and weird ‘90s punk.” They are considered a band that is going places. And you will be able to dance to the music.
     For more information please go to: www.definitelysuperior.com. To see videos by Julio Pott go to: www.vimeo.com/user2401669