Interview with Marjorie Price and Giveaway!

I am pleased to welcome Marjorie Price, author of A Gift From Brittany, to The Book Chick today! If you missed my review of her book yesterday, you can read it here. Make sure that after you've read the interview, you enter the giveaway to win a copy of her book!

The Book Chick: You are both a writer and a painter. Do you find it difficult to pursue both careers simultaneously?
Marjorie Price: So far, I have never been able to commit myself entirely to both at the same time. While I was writing my memoir, A Gift from Brittany, I was totally absorbed — I should say obsessed — by it and had put aside my painting. I did continue to sketch from the live model and produced an occasional watercolor, but I didn’t attempt large canvases or become involved in a series of paintings, which I usually do when I’m painting. After I finished the book, and after I found an agent and a publisher, I began another book. But when I was offered a large exhibition of the Bathers series of my paintings, I couldn’t refuse. For a short time, I tried juggling both, but soon found it too distracting. Reluctantly I put aside the writing to devote myself to preparing for the show. Almost immediately, I found myself completely absorbed — or should I say, obsessed — by the paintings. I had to produce all new work and just barely finished the last few paintings in time for shipping them to the gallery and the opening. The truth is that I love to paint. And I love to write. What a dilemma!

TBC: What will you do now that your show of Bathers has opened? Will you keep on painting or return to the writing project you left unfinished?
MP: I wish I knew the answer to that question. I know I want to continue the book I started. But I don’t want to abandon my painting. I think I need to step back for a while and see what will happen.

TBC: Does your writing nourish your painting or visa versa?
MP: It’s a mysterious process. I believe everything we do nourishes the rest. I think my experience in theater in college (I was a Speech and Drama major at Stanford University) enriched my writing and perhaps helps me to express a kind of theatricality in my painting. I studied modern dance for years. Perhaps the understanding of the body I acquired in dancing enhanced my ability to draw from the model. Certainly my lifelong passion for swimming and synchronized swimming invigorated my painting and gave birth to the Bathers series.

TBC: Do you believe it’s necessary to engage in many activities to be a successful writer or painter?
MP: No. I think each writer’s or painter’s method is different and equally valid. There are as many ways of creating art as there are artists. Some artists never leave their backyard and create masterpieces. Others venture into the new and unknown to find their inspiration. Each artist finds a way of expressing his or her own, unique vision.

Thank-you so much for taking the time to stop by and answer my questions! Now, onto the giveaway: one lucky person will win a copy of A Gift For Brittany! To enter:

1. Leave me a comment and let me know why you want to win A Gift For Brittany. Please include your e-mail address in your comment, so that I have a way to contact you if you win. No e-mail= no entry!

2. *Bonus Entry* For 1 bonus entry, become a follower of this blog on Google Friend Connect. Please leave me a seperate comment letting me know that you follow. Current followers are eligible as well- just leave a seperate comment letting me know that you already do!

3. *Bonus Entry* For 1 bonus entry, spread the word about this giveaway. You can Tweet about it, blog about it, add it to your sidebar or Facebook about it, just be sure to leave me a seperate comment and let me know what you did.

This contest runs until May 20, 2010 at midnight. Winners will be notified after that date by e-mail and will have 48 hours to respond. This contest is open to those with a US or Canadian address, no PO Boxes please! Good luck!