Who
is... Donna Barr? Donna
Barr has been drawing since 1954, writing since 1962, published since 1986,
and publishing since 1996.
She has a Bachelors' Degree in German, and
is a veteran of the United States Army (1970-1973).
Readers worldwide
follower her THE DESERT PEACH, STINZ, BOSOM ENEMIES, HADER
AND THE COLONEL, among others.
She is recognized by her peers as
a pioneer in the field of drawn books and their use in new technologies of distribution
and reproduction. She is a contributor to the world's largest webcomics site,
moderntales.com, and its affiliate
sites.
She achieved her lifetime career goal in 2004 when her life's
work -- past, present and future -- has been accepted as part of the San Diego
State University's Library's Special Collection, and will be available to students
and professors for research, and to the public for exhibits.
She can
be emailed at barr at stinz dot com (remove spam barriers). She answers. Keep
the sentences short.
Schilling: First of all, even though I've been a Booksurge.com customer for a couple years, Lulu.com just Seabisquit'd them into the rail. And for the most important reason -- Lulu's got 'em beat on quality. The first book they did for me -- Pithed, Desert Peach #31 -- and in full color -- is absolutely gorgeous. Rich, sleek acid-free paper, firm binding with a back-bend, and the most gorgeous color printing. Not a hint of color shift. What I uploaded was what I got. The colors just shine. And their handling of the little illustrated book Ringcat is elegant. You can order 'em both at http://www.lulu.com/DesertPeach You will be so pleased.
You'll probably find me a lot more laid back and less given to screaming and swearing now. Those of you who saw me at San Diego and thought I had the Killer Flu (the kind that makes you want to kill people) should know by now I had a big old rotten molar-root abcess in my face for at least the past couple years, and it didn't do a THING for my temper.
Colleague and friend Josef Rother said that's why nobody sent obnoxious people around for me to sort out, like usually happens -- not a habit I appreciate or encourage in my colleagues, but do you think that stops anything? I thought I was getting a break. Josef says nobody wanted to see an actual homicide.
Anyway, certain people have been extremely decent in seeing that I got the root-canal and the other broken tooth repaired. I now have enough gold in the back of my mouth to pay off Charon when the time comes, if he feels like digging it out himself. So I am MUCH nicer and much less torqued-off now, without having an abcess fever all the time.
Been out of the loop lately. Car broke down, washer threw a strut through the drum, roof died, computer crashed big-time, refrigerator bit the dust, cats got sick, cat BIT me, wrecked a ligament in my hand, yada yada yada.
Not like we're living with hurricanes or anything.
But, man, am I tired of supporting goddamn appliances and buildings -- this is what happens when you get what you ask for. I tell you what, if I could get even a part-time day job in a city that would allow me to buy a nice quiet condo where I could ride buses and rent Flex-car and do the clothes in the basement and let me keep all these cats -- because I'm not the kind of Dreck that puts part of her family to sleep or into the pound because it's inconvenient -- I'd snap it up in a moment.
Which is why I've passed the written tests for a commercial driver's license. Yup, once I actually get my hands on a Class B passenger vehicle (26,0001 pounds or more) and pass the walk-around inspections and final driving test, I will be allowed to take several tons of commercial buses and/or school buses out on the road. Ya ha ha.
You should be lucky if I don't get tempted by the even higher pay to test for Haz-Mat. I mean, do you really want ME to be hauling ass around your city with a combination rig pulled by a big honkin' double-clutching ABS Peterbilt cab and the license to haul more than 600 pounds of class 6 liquid poisons? There were people who got the shivers when they found out I got a chain saw for Valentine's Day.
They're going to let me drive their kids around locally -- and school bus driving means you can pick up a bus-driving job anyplace. I can deal with bus driving. It would give me time to think and plan. Nobody is supposed to talk to the bus-driver, anyway. I don't care if the passengers up here moon the driver as a joke.
Don't look at me funny. There are artists out there who've been in this business 30 years who are working as janitors. Great artists, who when they fly overseas are feasted and lauded. Welcome to fucking America. We do not respect the arts because we are a bunch of native-murdering torturing fundamentalist oil-worshiping barbarians. If I could talk Dan into going to Canada, I'd be there right NOW.
I don't understand any attachments to one particular country. Me, I'm an Earthling. And ancestrally Rom, so that may explain some of it. I already know I can learn enough French in two weeks to order my baguettes cut and to make change and use the Metro. What else do I need?
Not being able to do anything with a computer right now means I've just plowed through 24 pages of the next Stinz. I'm doing a Stinz because one of my very nice readers asked for it -- and it's the black centaur stallion's turn. Having loads of fun with a new clean style that's driven by a big ol' antique drafting dip pen I picked up at St. Vinnie's. Totally surprised by what character just ended up in charge. Well, that's weird.
Thinking seriously of leaving the Dark Side, too -- getting out of the publishing game and finding another publisher. I mean, I'm ABLE to do all this stuff but why grind myself into the ground just because I CAN? I don't care where or how the books get published, just so's they do. Yeah, I can do the whole publishing thing -- but without a staff, ain't nobody can publish AND produce product. I'd rather draw stuff, than deal with Diamond (just an example of a distributor). I've done my bit, having phone meetings with Baker and Taylor and Barnes and Noble, just one of hundreds of little publishers who are pushing the major distributors to come our way. I have art to finish. Books to write. I'd rather be chewing my nails as an artist, than as a publisher.
And I've promised myself that every Sunday I'd treat myself to finishing another deliciously naughty mini-painting for an upcoming Seattle Erotics Arts Festival. The first one is called Tank Boys, and my my knowledge of German uniforms and -- ahem --equipment has come in handy. Not to mention the best Boy Art in the biz.
And while we're at it, I'm putting my 1970 VW Bug up for sale. I've had good offers on it already, but decided not to sell. NOW I'm ready. It's my car, so get your bids in at barr@stinz.com before next July.
I've even thinking -- send me $45,000 in paypal, and I'll get the thing completely redone and re-painted with a nice base-coat -- and then cover it with my art in full detail, any damn way you want and then ship the thing to you. You can be driving MY car and my art, like your own little art gallery. I don't fiddle around once I'm paid, either -- pre-paid work gets priority. You go to the front of the line.
I'd rather be painting these things than driving them. But everybody needs to be mooned by a passenger at least once in her life.
(Final note: At least three of you guys have pulled this on me: attempting to sex-talk me in my email. Look, you want to jack off while you're emailing me, it's $100.00 an hour at paypal, up front. Get IM and we can devote our full attentions to it. I am naturally imaginative. And I keep the clock running. But don't get all fizzed off when I not only won't do it for free but forward it to all our mutual acquaintances. If you're going to try to use artists and writers as your personal unpaid sex-toys in private, WHY would you get all embarrassed and upset if your friends find out you do it? And don't expect me to follow the Bully Code and keep your little secret by not tattling on you. I don't tattle on my friends. But try it on with me, and watch everybody find out who you REALLY are. And as you've probably figured out by now, there's no way you can return the favor. EVERYBODY already knows what a total butt-head I am.
No kiddie porn. I've already had it up to HERE with furries. And don't think you can get away with it by disguising it as Manga.)
