Page 60 - Reader's HouseMagazine - Issue 62

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M. Lee Musgrave is a masterful storyteller and artist whose originality, insight and emotional depth elevate both contemporary fiction and visual art.
60 II Reader’s House
The Beautiful One blends historical fiction with mystery and light fantasy, following Asim and Chione in early twentieth-century Berlin. The novel captures a city in transition and explores ambition and identity, with Chione standing out as a strong character. Though pacing and plot depth occasionally falter, it remains an engaging and imaginative read.
How have your travels and sojourns influenced the allegorical images and stories that emerge in your art and writing?
In so many, many ways for I often travel to where the exhibitions are being held or I have online meetings with people from there. These gatherings enrich my life by engaging me in fresh experiences with new people and places ... a carry-over love from my child- hood for by the time I was ten years old, I had traveled around the world twice and lived in ten different places. Which has always made me hope my art and writing will be enjoyed universally, especially in the English-reading world, so I can have broader conversations about them both and find out more about how they have affected people. During the past year or so my artwork has been featured in over 20 exhibitions internationally including in Germany, Poland, Uzbekistan, and several cities in America. I’m confident many of those places, events and participating people will eventual show-up one way or another in my writing and/or art.
Your work often explores time, memory, and discovery; how do these themes shape the way you approach both visual art and storytelling?
Here is one example - As a child, the
first time I saw a photograph of the legend-
ary Egyptian Queen Nefertiti sculpture bust (discovered in 1912) the joy artist Thutmose had in creating it overtook me. I knew in that instant I had to see it in person. When I finally did see the real thing, that precious feeling of elation embraced me even stronger. I’m certain it always will. Further, the Queen Nefertiti exhibition in the Berlin Museum is a wonderful presentation of the many sculptures Thutmose made of Queen Nefertiti, her family and associates. The realistic style and approach he used in creating them was unique in Egyptian history as was the art being created in 1912 Berlin (where the Nefertiti bust was first exhib- ited) so it felt natural to write a story encom- passing them both. The result is my amateur sleuth romantic mystery novel The Beautiful One. The challenge was how to be selective about incorporating many of the extraordinary historic people, inventions, and events of both era’s into a fictional story without overwhelm- ing the main characters. Plus, since many of
the characters were inspired by real historic people, I wanted to respect their individual legacies. Truth be told, there is so much actual legendary historic material from these two era’s, I could have easily made this book twice as long. The bottom line is, I allow time, mem- ory and discovery to imprint themselves within me and when one or all of them reach a cre- scendo I either write a story or create a work of art. Note: I have created a Techspressionism painting inspired by the Nefertiti sculpture bust and have yet to exhibit.
You work includes painting, drawing, photography, Techspressionism and creative writing. How does moving between these different mediums influence your creative process?
I’m fond of saying, if I didn’t create art,
I wouldn’t be able to write. I approach both forms of self-expression basically in the same manner. I do not pre-plan a painting or a book, I simply begin. However, that said, while I’m painting, I often find myself flashing on how to improve the current story I’m writing and vice-versa. Each art form is ingrained within me. They make me whole. I cannot image a world without art and books. However, con- sidering that contemporary life is rather crazy, creating fiction that pretends there are always solutions and closure to every major conflict; that life isn’t unpredictable and/or illogical every day; is silly ... but it never dulls my passion to create.
What inspired you to set the James Terra Mystery Series within the contemporary art community of Los Angeles?
Though I was born in Perth, Australia, I lived most of my life in Los Angeles including in Santa Monica and Malibu Cyn. As a result, all 3 novels in the Series are set there, although much of Waylaid take’s place north of L.A.
in the central coast area around Avila Beach. Each story is an amateur sleuth romantic mys- tery that takes place within SoCal’s fascinating art community primarily because as a well-es- tablished artist myself, I am very familiar with all aspects of that mini-universe. Plus, Los Angeles, the City of Angeles, is one of the most famous places in the world and was home for several of my favorite authors including Dashiell Hammett (The Thin Man), Raymond Chandler (The Big Sleep), Ross Macdonald,
“IF I DIDN’T CREATE ART,
I WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO WRITE.”
T