Today I'm really excited to be sharing some art that reminds me of one of my all-time favorite Sarah Dessen novels, The Truth About Forever! Truth is such a gorgeous novel, and I love falling in love with Macy and forever YA boyfriend Wes as well as the rest of the Wish Catering crew. Keep scrolling to see some truly spectacular works of art plus enter to win the Sarah Dessen mega giveaway!
Release Date: May 11, 2004
Publisher: Viking Books
Genre: young adult contemporary romance
Status: standalone
With her sixth novel, award-winning author Sarah Dessen offers up another generous helping of finely crafted storytelling about real teens dealing with real life.
In The Truth About Forever, when asked how she is coping with her father's death, invariably seventeen year old Macy Queen's answer is "fine," when nothing could be further from the truth. In actuality, she is drowning in grief while maintaining a flawless façade of good grades and unblemished behavior. Though she feels lost when her boyfriend heads to "Brain Camp" for the summer, she finds herself a job with the quirky Wish Catering crew, and meets "sa-woon"-worthy Wes, whose chaotic lifestyle is in direct opposition to her own.
As the two share their stories over the summer, Macy realizes she can no longer keep her feelings on ice. Though it feels like her future ended with her dad's death, Macy's learns that forever is all about beginnings.
In The Truth About Forever, when asked how she is coping with her father's death, invariably seventeen year old Macy Queen's answer is "fine," when nothing could be further from the truth. In actuality, she is drowning in grief while maintaining a flawless façade of good grades and unblemished behavior. Though she feels lost when her boyfriend heads to "Brain Camp" for the summer, she finds herself a job with the quirky Wish Catering crew, and meets "sa-woon"-worthy Wes, whose chaotic lifestyle is in direct opposition to her own.
As the two share their stories over the summer, Macy realizes she can no longer keep her feelings on ice. Though it feels like her future ended with her dad's death, Macy's learns that forever is all about beginnings.
Wes's art:
Everyone liked my post about Norman's sunglasses in Keeping the Moon last week so this week, I thought I'd spotlight some real life art that reminds me of Wes's from The Truth About Forever. I love how bookish merchandise is taking off for YA books, but I definitely would like to see some characters' artsy talents IRL like Wes's sculptures, Feyre's (ACOTAR) and Adrian's (Bloodlines) paintings, and Sierra's (Shadowshaper) and Luca's (I Believe in a Thing Called Love) murals.The first artist I want to show you is welder John Lopez's GORGEOUS pieces depicting life in the western US. I discovered his work through this article on Bored Panda when I googled welded art, and I think his use of found and donated metal to create recycled metal masterpieces is absolutely something Wes would find inspiring.
Pictures courtesy of John Lopez's website & posted
with permission of the artist.
Next, we have the mile-long wooden xylophone created by Japanese ad agency Drill Inc. These guys have no chill. They literally created this xylophone out in the middle of the woods just to advertise a cell phone. It's a gorgeous phone, no lie, but that is one intense ad.
Third is the "Liquid Shard" installation by artist Patrick Shearn in LA's Pershing Square.
Fourth is another welding artist, David Madero, whose instagram account is seriously just #goals. I love this interview he gave about his process.
Lastly, we have artist Fabian Oefner. I discovered his work a couple weeks ago and have fallen in love with his unique and colorful style. Check out his website for a closeme>r look at all his amazing installations. My favorites are Black Hole, Nebula, and Orchid!
When creating this post, I also found a fun Buzzfeed listicle of to-die-for art installations, and at least three of them are stunning works of art that feature BOOKS as the primary medium so definitely check this one out too. Also, Etsy has quite the collection of welded metal pieces that you can purchase!
So that's my list of artists & pieces that remind me of Wes. Sure, not all of them are welded works of art, but they're bold, passionate, emotional pieces, and for me, that's the sense that I get when Macy describes Wes's art or when he talks about it with her. Art, in all its infinite shapes and forms, be it books, paintings, sculptures, music, sketches, dance, or things less definable, helps both the artist and the consumer explore the world inside and outside of our own selves, and that's what makes it beautiful. Art unleashes raw emotions that help us connect with the world, with our inner selves, with each other, and for that, I am Forever grateful.
Coming Soon:
Preorder Links:
Release Date: June 6, 2017
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Genre: young adult contemporary romance
Status: standalone
Preorder Links:
#ReadADessen Tour Schedule
Week 3:
About the Author:
Author Links:
Giveaway:
Enter for a chance to win one (1) set of Sarah Dessen’s books in paperback (ARV: $132.00).
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Enter between 12:00 AM Eastern Time on April 17, 2017 and 12:00 AM on May 29, 2017. Open to residents of the fifty United States and the District of Columbia who are 13 and older. Winners will be selected at random on or about June 1, 2017. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received. Void where prohibited or restricted by law.
Wow! I found a new sculpture artist to admire. If I could, I'd have these figures locally to share. And the mile long xylophone is amazing too. Thank you so much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThose sculptures are so cool! And I LOVE Sarah Dessen's books sooo much, I can't wait Once and For All!
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of "brain camp." My daughter would totally go to that!
ReplyDeleteDianna
This is such a cool post! I love this idea and I think it's perfect and so fitting for this book! And I absolutely agree with your picks and definitely think Wes would like them! Also I follow you on instagram (I'm also cyborgcinderella on there) and I follow your blog via email but my email isn't the one I used to comment on this post. It's hpluver4ever01@aol.com just so you know!
ReplyDelete