Peoplescapes Newsletter No. 3

Nancy Calef at the Beat Museum

Please join Nancy Calef and Jody Weiner on Friday, March 27, 2015 at 7:30 pm when the Beat Museum in San Francisco presents her illustrated memoir Peoplescapes -- My Story From Purging To Painting.

Author/Artist Reading and 
Art on Exhibition 
The Beat Museum 
540 Broadway, SF, CA 94133 
(415) 399-9626

Coming Soon

April 4, 2015 - Saturday, 1-3 pm 
Meet & Greet/ Art Display 
Gallery Book Shop 
PO Box 270 / 319 Kasten Street 
Mendocino, CA 95460

Group Art Exhibition 
March 19, 2015 - Thurs., 7-11 pm 
One night only 
"The Garden of Alacrity" 
12 Artists on the brink of a 
Spring Equinox 
Live Worms Gallery 
1345 Grant Avenue, SF, CA 94133

Babu Books 
Nancy Calef Gallery

Note from the Author/Artist

It has been a while since my last Newsletter, as I have been learning lessons about mortality and priorities. In July 2014, my father, who is 89 years old, had a massive heart attack requiring open heart surgery. My career went on hold, while Jody and I gratefully helped my father have another chapter in his life. I am now incorporating what I have learned about the fragility of life and its fleeting nature into my paintings, musical compositions and performance, thereby affirming the healing power of creativity.

I'm working on the album. Watch this music video to hear one of the tunes.

Lost My Mind Again 
music, lyrics & animation by  Nancy Calef 
written & directed 
by Jody Weiner

Praise for Peoplescapes:

"I've never quite read a book like Nancy Calef's "Peoplescapes" before. The paintings alone tell how deeply she observes the world of humans. . . . But the text tells her life story; full of adventure, far flung travels, a career as a child model and the dysfunctional wrangling with an overbearing mother hellbent on fame and fortune for her. . . . What is different though about Nancy's story, is her relationship with painting. . . . Give this book to anyone you know who is struggling with self-esteem." Terre Roche - Musician/Author

"Your excellent book is quite a tour de force! Your description of maternal abuse is moving and disquieting, while your introspection, honesty, and successful efforts to rid yourself of your eating disorders will inspire others to follow your lead. I really `couldn't put the book down,' and your art is amazingly creative and unique. All in all, I stand back and applaud. Congratulations on a beautifully written and illustrated work of art." Merla Zellerbach (dec'd 2015) Author, civic leader, philanthropist, TV personality, Chronicle columnist and Nob Hill Gazette Editor

"Nancy has taken a unique view on sharing her story through her gift of artwork and how the arts can be extremely helpful and therapeutic with recovering from an eating disorder." Lynn S. Grefe, President and CEO National Eating Disorders Association

“One of the most people-possessed painters in contemporary art, Nancy Calef fills her canvases with humanity, rich or poor, stylish or shaggy, manifesting them in equal size because it’s equality, that is love, which rules her brush.” Jack Hirschman, Award-winning author and poet, painter and former Poet Laureate of San Francisco, California

"I enjoyed Peoplescapes. I absolutely love Nancy’s artwork. She’s clearly a talented contemporary artist. . . . Nancy Calef is proof that we can all overcome life’s difficulties and turn negative experiences into positive creativity. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about triumph over adversity, and finding one’s own creative path and purpose." Susan Barton, eBook Review Gal 5 of 5 Stars

This transformational journey in words and 149 full color paintings and drawings, chronicles Nancy Calef's evolution from child model, suffering anorexia and bulimia, through recovery and maturation into a multi-disciplined artist renowned for her innovative "Peoplescapes:" vibrant plein-air colors applied to exaggerated snapshots of the human condition. Characters are often rendered in 3D, sculpted on the canvas, found objects, symbolism and commentary added, together producing a razor sharp narrative on issues facing society.

Driven by honest self-examination and daily commitment to convert her self-destructive energy into creative expression and physical exercise, Calef provides in these pages inspiration for others to help themselves transcend their emotional and physical obstructions. More than a cocktail table art book, Peoplescapes -- My Story From Purging To Painting is an around-the-world tale of self-discovery, courage, and love, at turns hilarious and heart-breaking, while Calef's luminous talent shines through.

Peoplescapes: My Story from Purging to Painting 
By Nancy Calef with Jody Weiner 
Publisher: Babu Books, [www.babubooks.com] 
Categories: Nonfiction | Memoir | Art | Health 
156 pages | ISBN: 978-0-9898171-0-3 | 
Price: $22.95 paperback 
Illustrated throughout with 149 full-color paintings and drawings 
Available at Babu Books, Book Passage, Green Apple Books, Beat Museum &Amazon