Artists

In the first year of Goblin Fruit's existence, with it still a rather unknown quantity, it was far more likely for Jess and me to hear people praising the gorgeous artwork than the poems themselves. Poetry 'zines were something of a dime a dozen, but a pretty poetry 'zine? Online? Unheard of! In this space, we want to shine a permanent spotlight on the artists who have tempted your wayward gazes towards the fare we offer, and thank them profusely for their contributions.

Elisabeth "Liz" Heller is a pen and ink addict working in comics, freelance illustration and mixed media, indulging in the absurd occult, time traveling and historical dramas. She is also a Portland, Maine enthusiast who enjoys Hibachi bars and catching food in her mouth. Liz is available for commissions. Follow her work on Tumblr and Twitter for upcoming art shenanigans!
Betsie Withey is a US-based fibre artist and costume designer. She creates fibre art knitwear and hair accessories as well as large-scale textile art, sculptural dresses and hats. Her inspirations come from a variety of places: from nature (all manner of leaves, flowers, roots, and other organic shapes can be found in her work), from faerie folklore, fashion and costume history, and from exploring the vivid world of colour. In addition to her Etsy shop, you can peruse art at her Flickr account.
Paula Arwen Friedlander is an illustrator and designer from New York. Her unique illustration style is created with hand cut paper silhouettes, collage, ink, and digital art. She is fascinated with the opposition of darkness and light, and is inspired by her surroundings, from the urban world of Brooklyn to the natural beauty of the Catskills. Her imagination is fed by dreams and tales of myth and legend, and the subjects of her work range from serene fantasy to morbid horror. She is a regular contributor to Mythic Delirium, and her illustration work has appeared in magazines such as SageWoman, Black Petals, and Murky Depths. You can see more on her website, Arwen Designs. She also has an Etsy store selling cut paper cards and art, and a Cafepress store where she has fun making t-shirts with her graphic design skills. You can also buy art prints of her work at Artist Rising. The wild raspberry is her favorite fruit, and luckily it has taken over part of her garden.
Rose Lemberg is a poet, writer, and editor who occasionally dabbles in art. 2012 has been an artful year so far — check out the book she created for Terri Windling's auction. As a poet, Rose works primarily in the mythic tradition, with work appearing in Goblin Fruit, Mythic Delirium, Jabberwocky, and Strange Horizons, among other venues; her poetry has won the Rannu competition and has been nominated for the Rhysling award. She edits Stone Telling with Shweta Narayan. Her prose is all over the map, but fantasy and magic realism are dearest to her heart; her stories appeared in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Strange Horizons, Fantasy, and other places. She is currently working on too many projects at once, and daily regrets not being an octopus. For more about Rose, check out her website, and her livejournal blog.
FAM is a Japanese artist/freelance illustrator based in Melbourne. She has been living in Australia since 2002, and has completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Victorian College of the Arts, majoring in painting. FAM can be contacted at spoonbait[at]gmail[dot]com.
Roseau's beautiful work illustrated the 2009 Fall Issue. Living and working close to the sea, she creates jewel-like miniatures on pieces of handmade paper and teabag packaging. Asked why she loves to work so small, Roseau says, "it's a natural way; small sizes invite people to be close to the picture, creating a certain intimacy, favourable to exchange secrets, fragile moments." Roseau invokes a diverse range of traditions, including medieval manuscripts, the surrealism of Joan Miro, Paul Klee and Leonora Carrington, and the contemporary revival of journal drawings shared amongst friends over the internet. To view more of Roseau's work, visit her Flickr and her Etsy page.
Desirée Isphording is an artist specializing in mythopoetic portraiture and illustration. Although primarily a visual artist, she also is involved in other art forms. She enjoys bellydancing, playing the Celtic harp and Native American Style flute, and writing. She currently has an Etsy shop where her handcrafted jewelry, art, leathercraft is available for purchase and prints of her work are available through deviantART.
Rebecca (Bek) Huston was first introduced to the pages of Goblin Fruit with her illustration of C.S.E. Cooney's "Goblin Girls" in the Spring 2009 issue, and is, by her own assertion, a shameless banana junkie. She is also responsible for the cover of C.S.E. Cooney's The Big Ba-Ha, available from Drollerie Press. She tattoos at Heathen Ink in Summit, Illinois, as well as painting, drawing, sculpting, playing with fire and crocheting. Check out more of her artwork at Tattoo Heathen.
Michael "Warble" Finucane is an artist in the Art Nouveau tradition, but with various modern influences that span over the last century. The most powerful of these influences are the MacDonald Sisters of what was called the "Spook School" in Glasgow, Scotland. Also, the work of Alan Lee, Frank Frazetta, Jan Toorop, and the Pre-Raphaelites have been important in forging a style that is based on various medieval themes. Warble has been working with these styles to create a unique hybrid of line, color and watercolor technique that brings his own idiom of art, alongside these masters of past generations. By learning and examining art of the past, Warble presents a classic, yet endearing modern style in the fantasy art spectrum. You can find him online at Art of Warble, or visit his MySpace page.
Marge Ballif Simon was the very first artist besides Ollie to share her work with us, and is a distinguished writer and poet in her own right. She freelances for genre and mainstream publications such as From the Asylum, Chizine, The Pedestal Magazine, Strange Horizons, Flashquake, Aeon, Vestal Review, and more. Marge is former president of the Science Fiction Poetry Association and now serves as editor of Star*Line.