About this project
The Black Ibis is a graphic novel told in nine books. Each book takes you a little deeper into a dark fairy tale that is based upon my own love of the idea that there exists a world beneath the world. This idea that sometimes a door is not just a mundane door but an entrance to someplace we reserve for our dreams. The story, at its heart, is a simple one. It revolves around one sister trying to find her sister who has become lost. She must follow the same path her sister has set out on going a little farther into this underground world of dark cabarets and strange theaters as she attempts to catch up to her sister, who is falling faster down this path in her desire to finally find a performer known as the Black Ibis. The story is absurd at times, illustrated in my particular style and filled with my legion of wonky characters and enigmatic performers. Two tarot decks accompany the story, the Sepia Stains tarot and the Black Ibis tarot, which offer illustrations of the Black Ibis underworld on each card. More about the story and samples of the tarot and artwork can be found here.
What I want to do is earn enough money to invest in the initial printing of the first book of the Black Ibis graphic novel series and the major arcana tarot deck that goes along with the novel. I want to do this so I can offer the book and tarot deck at the World Steam Expo this coming May. It will be the first time I've attempted a more formal launch of a project of mine. Normally my work is print on demand because I seldom have the funds to make large orders and keep a ready stock of my own work on hand.
To hopefully entice individuals to help invest in my project I've created artwork & items of my work that I will be offering through this fundraiser. Some are small, some are huge, a couple (big and small) will actually put you into the Black Ibis books. They're all quite lovely things I've worked very hard on.
I want to thank you in advance for any help you can offer for my project, from a one dollar donation to just promoting the project and this fundraiser. I truly appreciate anything you're willing to do. At any given time I have a number of projects I sort of juggle and like to work on -- I'm an air-fairy artist type who likes to scoot from one idea to the next and sometimes have problems seeing them get done before the next idea lures me off. I'm so proud of the artwork and fiction I've created for this story that I've tenaciously worked on it the last few years to see it done. And now that it's done I want to honestly offer it the way graphic novels are meant to be offered and promoted. :)
Bethalynne
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Funding Successful
This project successfully raised its funding goal on April 21, 2011.
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A postcard of limited edition artwork from the Black Ibis.
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Your name & doodle will be apart of the "wall art graffiti" at the back of the first issue. You can send me a doodle and your written name or I'll whip something up for you. The artwork wall is basically blank at present, the scenario is one of those rooms somewhere in a club where everyone who has drifted through there has left their mark. In my fictional cabaret, you'll have all apparently found your way into the secret London and left your mark there. This artwork is at the back of the first book.
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A limited edition signed 5x7 metallic print of Black Ibis artwork.
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An 8x10 limited edition signed metallic print of Black Ibis Artwork.
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An 8x10 hand embellished giclee on fine art paper. There's a variety of artwork and with the hand embellishing each print becomes unique.
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Purchase the book and have your name & doodled on the back wall. An extra pledge option upon request.
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A 5x7 hand embellished, mounted giclee on canvas of a limited edition piece of art from story.
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A signed Black Ibis major arcana tarot deck with an accompanying doodle. (Doodle equates pencil sketch.)
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A signed & numbered Black Ibis major arcana tarot deck with a handmade deck box.
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A piece of original artwork (OOAK) from the graphic novel's page artwork.
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I'll illustrate you into the final scene of the last book. At the end of my story the Black Ibis (who is the mythical creature the story is centered around) is quite possibly found. The final cabaret scene is a mural of people I admire, my friends, a few among my family, and if you can see yourself in a turn of the century, purely dark fantasy, neovictorian type cabaret audience, so can you ;)
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An original 16x20 inch mounted canvas giclee of one of the major arcana cards. *The major arcana tarot cards are mostly digital paintings. To create an original piece from the digital composition the piece is printed on canvas giclee paper with archival acrylic inks. I mount this canvas and continue to paint and add beading, metal leafing and things of that nature to make the painting the final and only version of that image.
Project By
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Bethalynne is a Michigan native with 15 years of experience as a professional artist. Her artwork has been featured in magazines such as Dark Beauty, Dark Realms, Real Detroit, Cthulhu Sex, and Weird Tales, along with contributions to books Gothic Art Now and John Santerineross’ two coffee table books, Dream and Fruit of the Secret God. She currently spends much of her time juggling too many projects, attempting to be a writer who doesn’t include squirrel references too often and working along side her fiancee –artist Myke Amend. Her current projects are The Black Ibis, a graphic novel, and Insects & Angels, a long time art zine of hers that has recently become a printed magazine.
