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Monday, March 11, 2013

The Awakening

 "The voice of the sea speaks to the soul." 
–Kate Chopin, The Awakening 

Book cover for the Prestwick House Touchstone Classic edition of Kate Chopin's landmark work of early American feminism, The Awakening.


With the Atlantic Ocean standing in for the Gulf of Mexico, I photographed this on a very cold January day with the wind-chill at freezing or below. My friend held the metal cage dress form while I composed and took the shot. We'd set up and shoot 2 or 3 different compositions then make a mad dash back to the car to thaw out our freezing fingers and do it again. I can only guess what the crew manning the Ship Controlling Tower behind and above us, just over the dunes, were thinking.

Adding a studio shot of my model, along with a summer cloud photo from the same beach, I finish the composition in Photoshop. 

Importing the finished illustration into an InDesign document I then add visual elements to the front and back covers that tie into the novel's use of caged birds, solitude, and escape from convention as symbols.




 Sample chapter headers.

Cover including the back and spine.

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