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.
For More Info and to Purchase:
Please see Babu Books
By Nancy Calef with Jody Weiner
Publisher: Babu Books, www.babubooks.com
Publication date: May 27, 2014 Categories: Nonfiction | Memoir | Art | Health
156 pages | ISBN: 978-0-9898171-0-3 |
Price: $22.95/ $24. 90 CAN paperback
includes 149 original drawings and
paintings
in full color
copyright 2014
No longer available on Amazon Book design by Nancy Calef
Original art by Nancy Calef
Photographs of art by Jody Weiner
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“This memoir tells the story of how Calef ingeniously transformed her mother’s ravenous ambition for Nancy to be a “star” -- through much childhood and young adulthood suffering -- into a world stage where the audience becomes sensitively and beautifully executed human beings, evoked with irony, humor and pathos in a painting style uniquely her own.” Jack Hirschman - Award-winning author and poet, painter
and former Poet Laureate of San Francisco, CA
*** "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." Sue Barton - Book Review Gal
"When I first saw Nancy Calef's paintings I thought, 'Now here's an original idea.' As a traditional, old workhorse, I don't have much use for
and don't believe in classifying contemporary art. I do think a picture should say something and Nancy's subject matter and palette express
a view of the world beyond her years." Jack Levine -- former President of the American
Academy of Arts and Letters, New York
“Brueghel meets the underground stylings of artists like Spain and S. Clay Wilson in the
oil and mixed-media paintings of Nancy Calef,
whose "peoplescapes"
are on display at a cutting-edge North Beach gallery.”
San Francisco Chronicle
“Her Peoplescapes are a must-see!" Nicole Meoli -- Where Magazine
“This is art with an attitude!” Willie Brown, former SF Mayor
"Nancy Calef's landscapes of
people are a real challenge
to any figurative painter,
by portraying humanity en masse
with all its sad happy faces."
Lawrence Ferlinghetti - Award winning poet and painter; co-founder - City Lights Bookstore
*** "Your story is a remarkable journey, indeed. The paintings are exquisite, and what a terrific
story for women and girls in our culture. And, reading about
Nancy's travels
and experiences is fascinating."
Linda Chapman, MA, ATR-BC - Art Therapy Institute of the Redwoods
*** "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
*** "This book is basically an autobiography, but unlike many, it’s not smug,
self-absorbed or self-aggrandizing. It’s frank, funny and fascinating."
Geri Koeppel - Editor, Barbary Coast News
*** "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 sharing 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
***
"Nancy Calef has distinguished herself as a role model for this generation.
In a world where girls and young women are confronted with idealized images,
Nancy, sharing her inner life, demonstrates that a mind in creative process can prevail in the face of childhood pain"
Debra Gill, LCSW - Training and Supervising Psychoanalyst, Contemporary Freudian Society, New York, NY
***
"Stories like Nancy Calef's are central to Narrative Therapy and research methods in clinical psychology.
Nancy has shared a personal story but done it so astutely and brilliantly by using artwork to manifest the
narrative of her development. Anyone suffering wh is fortunate to read this book will benefit from
the universality of this profoundly compelling and magical journey."
Dr. Janis Phelps, PhD, MFT, Director of Clinical Psychology, Professor
