JANICE KIMBALL'S NEW NOVEL

Please click on "Follow" to follow my blog as I write my first novel, "Max Bird of Aztec Studios" and leave your comments to help guide me. I will post excerpts from the book as I progress and photos taken here at our studios of the characters in the book and our working studios.

Thank you for your help, Saludos, Janice from Wonderland

OUTLINE FOR MAX BIRD—

The story is set in the real live/work art gallery and studios of the writer in Ajijic, Mexico.

This is an expose of Max Bird, a talking parrot poached from the wild and integrated into the human world as the gallery’s public relations director, Maestro Francisco Urzua, a Mexican weaver of mixed indigenous heritage, and Janice Kimball, an artist originally from Detroit.

The story tells of how the three of them came together to create their own reality. In the beginning their art studios were open 5 days a week. Janice, in a desire to find tranquility opens fewer and fewer days until they are not open at all, leaving Max without a job. Max writes his memoirs after Janice hires Betty, who becomes his secretary. Through this process Max discovers that he is not the only one that lives in a cage. Janice and Francisco also live in cages. When Betty snoops into Janice’s computer files Max is shocked to find information that explains her strange human behavior. After that Max and Francisco team up to help her find peace. In the end Max finds freedom for the three of them. The gallery reopens after the woman in blue linen who visited them in the first chapter returns from her condo on the Mediterranean and finds it closed.

A story of love, survival, injustice and rebirth.


A SHORT EXCERPT FROM THE FIRST CHAPTER

The little courtyard was between the storefront and Francisco’s weaving studio. It’s main feature was Max Birds bulky round topped cage that was set up high on a foundation. It dominated the tropical garden and tiny fish pond arranged around it. With Max on top he could see everyone that came in and everything that went on outside the door, the front display area, weaving workrooms on the back side of the courtyard and imagine what went on in Janice’s bedroom and bath tucked in private behind that. He could hear everything that went on upstairs with his super sensitive ears and with a tilt of his head see a lot of it as it was arranged the same as the main floor, the area above the courtyard being empty except for an elevated walkway open to the sky. The stairway leading to it began only 12 feet from where Max’s cage stood and often Janice and Francisco would hang their heads down from the walkway upstairs and check in with him to see if everything was okay.

> Max loved it when the glass doors were propped open so he could feel the breeze as it came in from the street to ruffle his feathers. He knew how to handle being in charge puffing out his feathers to elevate his plumes, stretching himself out full length while clutching the cages round top, hanging onto its bars, facing the entrance for anyone that might be walking along outside to look in and see. He had a way of what might be called “flapping elbows,” with his wingtips folded back and tucked up under his breast sockets, while flexing his shoulders in a macho posture that said he was in charge. There was a flip side to this mannerism. It made him look like he was a cartoon character trying to lift off taking the clumsy cage, as if it were a dirigible with him, but even so it could be seen that he was a credit to his species. He was a red crested parrot with the heart of an eagle.

JANICE KIMBALL'S AZTEC ART & WEAVING STUDIOS

This is the entrance to Janice Kimball's Aztec Studios in Ajijic, Mexico where they sell original weavings and Janice's paintings. This is the view from the entrance facing the street--after passing through the garden you come to the weaving and workrooms, then the gallery, now professionally lit. Off the garden is an outside stairway leading to the "great room," that also serves s another gallery, off the its front terrace is a view of the mountains, off it's back veranda is a view of the lake and a stairway leading to the mirador
(widows watch) with an unobstructed 365 degree view of the whole world.

PEDRO IS OUR PRECIOUS NEIGHBOR

This is Pedro. His family lives here in Ajijic. They are indigenous to this area. He is our neighbor. His family has been coming to Lake Chapala to visit their buried ancestors long before those north of the border arrived. We can thank them for sharing their beautiful lake with us by buying their bead work to give to a friend for Christmas.

ARTE+AJIJIC AND PREVIEWS OF OUR WONDERFUL NEW ART PROJECTS

DO NOT MISS ARTE+AJIJIC. We will be their with our newest and finest work ready do show it off and make it easy for you to buy as Xmas presents on your master card or visa. We will be there hoping to see you, along with 99 other artists also showing off their work. OUCH! It is going to be an exciting time with music and dancing, food and revelry, contests and awards and slick, colorful catalogs featuring all of the artists FREE after paying only a 50 peso entry. Ajijics fairgrounds next to Salvadores,--dates—SEE YOU THERE!

On our attachment is a preview of our exciting new work. We would like to know what you think of it.

VERANDA VISTAS—I designed these Large Panels to give your home a quiet softness

These lovely tropical vistas as seen from interior spaces have been woven by my weaver Maestro Francisco on a primitive ancient loom in our studio. They are constructed using the wools we hand dyed in the street in front of our gallery from the latest fade proof dyes from the United States. WE used our collection of metallics and intense acrylics as accents.

Day of the Dead (Dia De La Cruz) in Mezcala, Mexico taken in 2003 -- the impetus for my contiuning multi-generational on indigenous cultures. As you can see by my advanced size it was a period in time that I got carried away by eating too many marshmallows.

The Case for Mexican Marshallows

A day before my big yearly event, Marshmallows and Music, promoted as an old fashioned marshmallow roast and gallery opening I ran into a glitch. My friend said to me, “Janice, you must have American marshmallows, those Mexican ones won’t get soft roasted on the bonfire. They just won’t do. ”

“Good, grief,” I cried.” I can’t go all the way to Guadalajara at this late date!” Well, I didn’t have to. To my relief they had them at good old Super Lake, in the pudding department, right next to the pink and white Mexican “Maravillosos.” I bought 6 bags of Kraft America’s Favorite jet puffed marshmallows at 55 pesos a bag and also threw in 3 bags of Maravillosos {Mexican Marshmallows} into my cart at 100 pesos a bag, just in case I ran out.

“Are we going to have S’Mores? “ I have such wonderful memories of eating S’Mores before a bonfire.” Jill pleaded. “Me too” her friend replied”. I would give anything to make a S’More just one more time.” At the last minute I went back to Super Lake and found giant Hershey bars in the candy department. I bought a gross, the graham crackers were generic and sprinkled with cinnamon, but I knew they would do. 480 pesos later I returned back to our Live/Work gallery, broke.

I hired Lola from next door to be in charge of the bonfire in the street so I could greet guests in the Gallery. I asked her in and gave her a S’More making demonstration before the gas burner at the kitchen stove. She smacked their lips in approval on tasting the samples, so I offered her some more. In my very best Spanish I explained that the Maravillosos were for back up only. She listened intently and told me I could trust her to be completely in charge.

Later, as I was hosting the party inside the gallery I heard Max Bird Shriek. As I ran outside I saw Jill flyer throw her S’More in the garbage. Walking over to the bonfire to investigate I became aware that Lola had been making these from the back up Mexican marshmallows that had no squash. I saw an obliging guest attempting to take a bite whose mouth simply could not navigate the thick sandwich concoction. Rushing over to the bonfire, much to Lola’s dismay, I removed the remaining bags of Maravillosos. I replaced them with those from the United States that were jet puffed. I wondered why they did not make jet puffed ones in Mexico.

In defense of Mexican marshmallows, I can say that they lack a lot of downsides. Later in the evening, with the guests all back home, the neighborhood children gathered at the fire. They delighted in the way the American “mallows” went up in flame and waved them in the air like sparklers. Lola’s granddaughter scorched her fingertips as she pulled a burning mallow off her stick removing only the burnt outer layer. Another child grabber it from her and stuck what was left on the stick back into the fire and burnt his tongue licking it off. There was also a little girl that had a glob stuck in her pony tail.

The following morning, unpacking the leftovers, I found a bag of jet puffed marshmallows in the bottom of the box. They were squashed and melted together. The Maravillosos packed next to it looked exactly as they had when I bought them. After removing charred marshmallows from the soles of my shoes and cleaning up the mess they made tracked unnoticed across the gallery floors, I went over to pay Lola. She was apologetic about the S’Mores mix up. “If you had to choose between a jet puffed and a Mexican marshmallow, what would you choose?” I asked her. “We do not like American mallows here in Mexico,” she replied.

AZTEC STUDIOS MARSMALLOWS & MUSIC ON THURSDAY, OCT. 28TH AT 7:00 P.M.

Old fashioned bonfire in the street and gallery tours and exhibition. This is one of Janice's paintings that will be on display along with a retrospective of a large collection of handwoven original tapestries. All of the work in this collection has been made in these studios. Everyone is welcome to see our new 1,000 sq. ft. area now all on the first floor. Wine and botanas, come as you are or dress up or dress down. We will be delighted to see you. Thanks, Janice and Francisco.

Dance of the Old Men Tapestry

Dance of the Old Men/Tapestry

Adolescents nervously waiting their turn to perform, They are dressed in men's white shirts and embroidered tortilla cloths. Their heads are bedecked with tissue paper pompons and ribbon draped sombreros. It is a large 3' by 4' acrylic on wool. Artist: Janice Kimball, Weaver: Teo Urzua.