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Editor's Notes
Welcome to the premier issue of The Writer's Eye Magazine, an online magazine developed to showcase the work of those I call
"writer/artists" - writers who are also visual artists, or vice versa.
We have some wonderful art, poetry, fiction, and nonfiction articles in this issue.
As the submissions dropped into my email box, exploring death and dying emerged as a general theme. We offer articles, poems,
stories and artwork related to loved ones passing, The Day of The Dead, difficult life passages, and broader reflections on
life itself.
I'm excited to present this work to you and, as always, I welcome your feedback and comments. In the next issue, we'll introduce
a Letters to the Editor section.
Happy viewing & reading!
-- Amber Lea Starfire
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Featured Writer / Artist
Jana Weston
I met Jana Weston at the Sun Magazine Writers' Workshop at Esalen (Big Sur, CA). A small-boned, quiet woman, Jana's tattoos
and sparkling eyes caught my attention. We happened to sit at the same table for a meal and began chatting. I was intrigued
by her necklace -- a mouse's skeleton encased in clear acrylic with a red background -- and it was from the ensuing conversation
that I learned Jana's special art form.
Jana paints skulls. The human skulls are not real, she was quick to inform me, though she collects animal skulls when and
where she can. Bones are her canvases. She is, in her own words,"an artist who also dabbles in writing."
In the spirit of Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos), Jana created an altar to honor family members who have died. The Day
of the Dead is a Mexican holiday -- actually two days, celebrated on November 1st and 2nd. Her altar has been shown at galleries
in Santa Cruz, Pacific Grove, and Oakland, California.
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Jana painted, beaded, and decorated skulls to tell the story of each particular family member. Then, she wrote texts - eulogies
- to go with each skull. The texts are displayed on the wall behind the altar. The show is titled "Calaveras Para Mi Familia,"
which translated is "Skulls For My Family."
In this issue of The Writer's Eye Magazine, we're featuring the skull painted in honor of Jana's father, along with the
text.
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