Seeking Artists for Book

Hi, Andra:
Please consider reaching out to Betsy Shapiro as she's an Art Therapist and has a plethora of both outpatient and inpatient patients in psychiatric hospitals for several years. https://www.pacesconnection.com/member/betsy.shapiro

Please consider posting your Art as Medicine in our Books! Educational DVDs! Documentaries! community on ACEs Connection following completion. So many individuals will be tremendously inspired and the messages through your artwork will be profoundly healing.

You are looking for an illustrator for a textbook or you are making an anthology of visual artists? What about writers? Is there pay for the artists or it just the perk of getting published? If "just getting published," are you going to self-publish, or do you have a contract with a traditional publisher?  All these questions matter to artists. 

Hello, thank you for responding to my post. I appreciate it. To answer your questions, my hope is to produce a book similar to the one I wrote, Dimensional Cloth: Sculpture by Contemporary Textile Artists, which will be released in June (2018) by Schiffer Publishing (Pennsylvania). In that book, I interviewed 78 artists and included their "stories" along with one to five photos of their artwork. I provided very little commentary as I believe the artists and their work speak for themselves. However, for this next book, which I'm hoping Schiffer will pick up, as well, I will write an extensive introduction about loss and grief and art. I was a psychotherapist for 25 years and have been in therapy myself - I grew up with a severely mentally ill mother. When I was forced to retire in my 50s due to surgery for scoliosis (one of 3) that left me with chronic pain and fatigue, I turned to writing and fabric art. I'd been a traditional quilter for years, but never found it satisfying - it wasn't until art quilting came to the fore, and most recently 3D fabric art, did I find my niche.

Unfortunately, there is no monetary compensation offered to artists contributing to my book. In fact, I will not be paid either. Publishers of nonfiction no longer pay for manuscripts, and royalties from sales are usually about 25 cents to a dollar per book sold. Since these sorts of books don't sell the way popular fiction does, we're not talking much money. Most authors/writers these days have other jobs to pay their bills.

Lastly, if Schiffer doesn't pick up this next book, I will look for another publisher. I have found that it's not possible to produce a beautiful book, in terms of showing full-color artwork, through self-publishing. If I can't find another publisher, I'll end the project.

My purpose in writing this book is to showcase wonderful art and also to engender compassion and appreciation for those who suffer either with "physical" and/or "emotional" pain. It's not easy being a sensitive person in today's culture. 

If you have other questions or concerns, please let me know. I'm happy to try to address them to your satisfaction. - Andra

Hello Andra -

Thanks for your work and dedication to it. I have shared this post with three people who may or may not be able to help. 

I wonder, too, about art produced by children in children’s hospitals, and will also share this with people at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, which, like many children’s hospitals, features patient art throughout the buildings. 

I will also share it with a friend who works with refuguees, as there may be some powerful art there that could add another level of and opportunity for understanding. Too, some of the artwork done by flood victims in New Orleans and cities in Texas could be of interest. I have shared this with leaders in those communities as well. 

Good luck with this project! 

Carey