As a reward now and then for my good behavior I let myself buy a few from the racks; here are the latest three I thought might be of interest to other writers (not that I'm trying to get you hooked or anything):
The March/April '10 issue of Archaeology magazine has some particularly fine articles in it; anyone who is interested in the debate over whether we should clone Neanderthals (which may soon be possible) should really love this issue. One other article that ethralled me was written by Hyung-Eun Kim about the discovery and translation of family letters and personal items placed with entombed body of a Korean gentleman who died in the 16th century. One of the 424 year old letters, written by his pregnant, devastated wife, was used to cover the body like a shroud. Love and loss never changes; despite the centuries that have passed the letter sounds as if it were composed yesterday. 
I am quickly becoming addicted to just about everything Stampington & Company publishes, and their Spring 2010 issue of Somerset Digital Studio has so much phenomenal digital art it should be on the must-buy list of all digital artists and writers who create their own cover art. I got some great ideas of how to move in some different directions with my digital art, especially with layering, which I've always been a little timid about trying. Also of particular note: The Charm of Darkness and the Search for Precision, an article showcasing Maro van Middendorf's art (you can see some of the images in his website gallery here) as well as a great look at Vanessa Paxton's incredible photography (I dare you to look at Invisible Walls on page 83 and not be inspired to write something.)
Finally, one of the magazines that has been extremely helpful in transforming my art journaling, Somerset Studio, has the usual great variety of content. I've been picking up magazines and books about mixed media for a while now as I am trying to do more non-traditional art quilts. I'm also about to start on my first assemblage piece and frankly I'm terrified, so anything helps. Why I think this issue is also good for writers is one of the best articles I've read in a long time about the healing power of art by Kelly Rae Roberts. If you ever doubt the meaning what we create has for others, you really need to read this.What magazines do you read and/or subscribe to that inspire you? Let us know in comments.
Added: Ayla mentioned in comments that it is tough to impossible to get some magazines overseas, so I did some hunting and found that Vanessa Paxton also has a Flickr account. Here's where you can see Invisible Walls online.
Twenty seven! Wow! I try very hard to keep a handle on my magazine subscriptions. With the posting to Malaysia, those p&h charges can quickly spiral out of control. I get Make magazine for the entire family (I'm trying to encourage Little Dinosaur to become an engineer. So far, she loves fixing things, so you never know!). But the other one that has us arguing over is Linux Magazine. The tone of it suits us better than Linux Journal, and I don't have to put up with the eye-rolling matching of wine varietals and software that Michel Gagne resorts to in his LJ columns. He's still there in LM, but much more toned down and focused, which is just the way I like it. We're also on the lookout for a good science magazine. We've tried New Scientist, Scientific American, Nature, National Geographic, Wired (well, we were desperate), but none of them have really "taken".
ReplyDeleteAnd don't forget internet magazines. I don't know what I'd do without Web Urbanist or Smashing Magazine.
See, now you've dared me i HAVE to see the picture on page 83! i just have no idea how to go about getting a copy in the UK. any chance of a scanned/photo image for the insanely curious? I could really use some inspiration right about now
ReplyDeleteI'm not too big on magazines, but I love Real Simple, Watercolor Artist, and Rolling Stone.
ReplyDeleteI subscribe to Discover magazine, and each issue, I always find something that dovetails with what I'm writing (near-future SF).
ReplyDeleteI have 2 subscriptions for myself and 2 I share with my wife. The 2 for myself are:
ReplyDeleteArchaeology
Acoustic Guitar
The 2 I share with my wife are:
Time
Smithsonian
I also get 4 newsletters related to the clinical laboratory industry, plus several newsletters related to the writing organizations I'm a member of--MWA, MWMWA, AHCJ.
Ayla wrote: See, now you've dared me i HAVE to see the picture on page 83! i just have no idea how to go about getting a copy in the UK. any chance of a scanned/photo image for the insanely curious? I could really use some inspiration right about now
ReplyDeleteI didn't want to scan any images from the magazine as that invites the ire of the respective artists, but I did some hunting and found that Vanessa Paxton also has some of her images on Flickr. Here's where you can see Invisible Walls online.
I love reading magazines, but I found I never had enough time to read them, so I currently don't have any subscriptions. Maybe when I retire. :) I'd love to subscribe to a cooking one and make every single recipe.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I awarded the One Lovely Blog award today. Thanks for your blog.
Hmmmm...The Smithsonian and History magazines are subscriptions. I did Country Living for 20 years and finally dropped it not too long ago though I'm thinking of picking it back up. Same with the quilting magazine I took for ages.
ReplyDeleteOther than that, anything else I buy at B&N because they might have something on the cover I want to read about, but am not interested in getting the magazine on a regular basis.
I do miss TeddyBear magazine though. I make miniatures and they always had such great stuff.
The Archaeology magazine looks great. I love science and music magazines.
ReplyDeleteThank you! that is an amazing photo.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I'm at 27, but probably closer to 10. That number seems big, but for some reason, magazine subscriptions have been ridiculously cheap the past year. I think that subscribers must be economizing, and the publishers are economizing. And they all arrive at different times of the month, so I always have something new to flip through.
ReplyDeleteMy most inspiring is National Geographic. Every month it has something completely new to me, and has inspired a few world-building files for future writing use. My 5-year old daughter absolutely loves it too, which I think is totally cool.
I get a smattering of cooking and decorating magazines which inspire more mundane things (like dinner, and what color of kitchen cabinets I'm currently drooling over for that mansion I'm going to buy when I become rich and famous). I used to get Threads magazine, but it ended up making me feel sad that I had neither the time to sew nor the place to wear any of the beautiful garments that they showcase. I still fondle it when I go to the library...