Art

Kickstarter 2: German Cookbook & English Reprint!

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Grow the Global Veg Scene! The Lotus and the Artichoke - Painting, JPM in kitchen

The Lotus and the Artichoke is back on Kickstarter to crowdfund the German edition of my cookbook, and to help fund the next English printing this Spring. Join the adventure and help make it happen!

In 2012 my first Kickstarter project The Lotus and the Artichoke – Vegan Cookbook was successful with the help of over 360 amazing backers from around the world. In December, the first edition was printed: 1000 copies in full color, featuring over 100 recipes and more than 90 full-page, mouth-watering photographs. The Lotus and the Artichoke quickly became an international sensation!

Because of the costs involved in printing a book of this quality and complexity, I am asking for your help. Hundreds of enthusiastic backers made my first book possible – even with the doubling of project expenses to upgrade the cookbook format and production, and to ship all rewards international priority airmail.

I’m almost ready to print the German edition…
and re-print the English edition!

UPDATE (Feb 1)

We’re nearly 25% of the way to our goal of $8500, and 50 backers have joined the effort! The Lotus and the Artichoke was selected as a KICKSTARTER STAFF PICK on the very first day!

UPDATE (Feb 24)

SUCCESS!! The project is now 105% funded and still growing!

UPDATE (Feb 26)

The project is now 117% funded. 25 hours to go!

UPDATE (Feb 27)

DONE DEAL! 139% funded, 414 backers, $11,888 in 30 days! We passed 3 additional funding goals:

  • 2nd Funding Goal: NEW STICKERS ($9500) Success!!
  • 3rd Funding Goal: NEW PROMO CARDS ($10000) Success!!
  • 4th Funding Goal: NEW T-SHIRT Design ($11,500) Success!!

The Lotus and the Artichoke - Vegan Cookbook - Front & Back Cover

The Lotus and the Artichoke cookbook:

  • 216 pages of tantalizing recipes, photographs, tips and tricks
  • 100+ vegan recipes inspired by world travel and over 20 years of dedicated kitchen experiences
  • 90+ full-color, full-page, delicious food photos
  • Stories & photos from my travels to nearly 40 countries
  • Cool, custom artwork: Hand-carved blockprints & miniature paintings
  • Easy to follow layouts, description, and details on how to prepare delicious and stunningly beautiful meals
  • Perfect for your kitchen and complementary to any cookbook collection
  • Great as a gift to friends, family, colleagues, travel pals, partners

Vegan Cookbook - Veganes Kochbuch - Tattoo Banners Art - in English & auf Deutsch

Why publish a German edition?

  • In 2001, I made Berlin my home. I want to give back something meaningful to the community, city, and country where I live and work.
  • After dedicating years to learning German, what better way to show my appreciation than publishing a book in the language?
  • Interest in vegan cookbooks and the vegetarian culinary scene in Germany have grown impressively in the last ten years.
  • To improve awareness of vegan cooking and international cuisine to the worldwide German-speaking public: in Austria, Switzerland, Germany, and other countries.

Sweet Rewards for your contributions:

  • The Lotus and the Artichoke eBook (PDF) in English or German: $5
  • A personal postcard to you from my next adventure: $10
  • A signed cookbook (English or German), eBook, stickers & more, with world shipping! $30 / $35
  • T-Shirt & signed cookbook (English or German): $50
  • Limited edition artwork, tote bags, a 5-course Berlin dinner party… and more!

Kickstarter Rewards - Vegan Cookbook - Stickers Bookmarks Blockprint Tshirt

The Lotus and the Artichoke Vegan Cookbook ebook PDF - For iPad, Kindle Fire + other ereaders and tablets

What are others saying about
The Lotus and the Artichoke?

Testimonials Collage - What Others Are Saying About The Lotus and the Artichoke

“I was a thousand kinds of excited for The Lotus and the Artichoke! Now I can say: rightly so! There are over 100 recipes with photos, all sorted by continent. In each chapter Justin writes about his travels and the inspiration for the recipes. A fantastic idea – it fires up my appetite at least as intensely as my urge to explore far-off places!”
– Sarah Kaufmann (Germany), author of Vegan Guerilla

“Because it’s a thrill to flip through the book and travel to other countries through the many different recipes. Because even though the dishes are exotic, the ingredients can be obtained without going around the world. Because the recipes are made with fresh vegetables, herbs and spices… Because you feel the passion and excitement that Justin had while traveling and composing this book.”
– Franziska Schmid (Germany) Veggie Love

“Justin has an unmatched knack for veganizing both popular and obscure dishes from around the world. In The Lotus and the Artichoke, he demonstrates his flair for international cuisine with over 100 easy and flavorful recipes spanning the globe. All the mouth-watering food photos and riveting travel stories he includes are the icing on the cake.”
– Chef Amber Shea (USA), author of Practically Raw & Practically Raw Desserts

“Take a trip across the globe without even leaving your kitchen with Justin’s gorgeous new vegan cookbook, The Lotus and the Artichoke! It contains page after page of mouth-watering pictures and recipes from countries all over Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas.”
– Bianca Phillips (USA), author of Cookin’ Crunk – Eatin’ Vegan in the Dirty South

“The Lotus and the Artichoke is a must have for great vegan recipes from all different cultures. Whether you’re living the life in paradise or trapped in the middle of the zombie apocalypse, these recipes will make you feel as if you traveled to the unique places that inspired them.”
– Jon & Chris (USA), The Vegan Zombie

“The Lotus and the Artichoke is a gorgeous new recipe compedium… (it) dazzles with over 100 exotic recipes culled from time spent in over 40 countries. Unlike most cookbooks on the market, it doesn’t skimp on the visuals. It’s got pictures! Lots and lots and lots of full-color, full-page, mouth-watering pictures!”
– Emily Rems (USA), Managing Editor, BUST Magazine

“The Lotus and the Artichoke is bursting at the seams with innovative, healthy, and seriously flavorful inspiration. What a diverse and exotic arsenal of recipes from around the world… I want to try absolutely every recipe!”
– Frances Prema Harjeet (USA), Lila Blog

“The Lotus and the Artichoke is a great source for delicious vegan dishes from all over the globe.” “Mouth-watering food photography!” “If you are looking for creative vegan recipes, this is the place!”
– Dani & Jess (Germany/USA), Globetrotter Girls

“Judging by the photos and awesome recipes I’ve seen, this is a must-have in your kitchen collection. I’m especially excited because there’s such a focus on world cuisines.”
– Paul Jarvis (Canada), author of Eat Awesome

“Justin has traveled across half the world and back… His recipes are intense! He selects the very best of culinary specialties from all over, and whips up something totally fresh and unique. You’re always surprised… never disappointed!”
– Marko Streitenberger (Germany), CLIMA

Vegan Cookbook Kickstarter - JPM in the kitchen with books

Why I need your support:

  • Help fund the first printing of the German cookbook
  • Support the second printing of the English cookbook
  • Provide backing for international shipping expenses
  • Enable me to fairly compensate my professional translator, Julia
  • Share the inspiration, experience, and adventure with everyone!

How you can help:

  • Show your support with a pledge on Kickstarter!
  • Pick a great reward and sponsor generously!
  • Share the Kickstarter project (http://kck.st/X8mwU4) with your friends and followers on Facebook & Twitter.
  • Comment on my recipes on the website www.lotusartichoke.com (+ leave comments on this post!)
  • Subscribe to the website newsletter for free recipes straight to your inbox
  • Like my Facebook page – follow the regular updates, enjoy and comment on the photos and features
  • Follow me on twitter: @lotusartichoke RT my tweets, spread good words

The Lotus and the Artichoke goes to print!

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Friday, November 30, 2012: The Lotus and the Artichoke – Vegan Cookbook went to print at Druckhaus Schöneweide in Berlin!

After many months of hard work, the cookbook was finally ready to print! I made this short video and took photos of the production. (Special thanks to Marko & Sergio of CLIMA for the music used in this and my Kickstarter video.)

The cookbooks arrive from the printer on December 7th. I’ll start shipping the orders as soon as possible, starting with the Kickstarter rewards. I’m finalizing everything for the t-shirts and tote bags, and am getting the bookmarks and other stickers today and tomorrow!

JPM and The Lotus and the Artichoke Vegan Cookbook December 2012

The Lotus and the Artichoke - Vegan Cookbook Order Set

Order my cookbook now and get:

  • The Lotus and the Artichoke cookbook – softbound 1st English edition.
    216 pages in color, 100+ recipes, 80+ full page delicious food photos, artwork, tips & tricks, travel stories + more!
    Title page signed by the author (me!) on request.
  • The Lotus and the Artichoke sticker pack with 4 different, durable indoor/outdoor stickers.
  • The Lotus and the Artichoke bookmark
  • Only $22.95 $21.95 + shipping (US & Europe: $4.95, Canada: $5.95, Asia: $6.95)

The Lotus and the Artichoke - Covers being printing

This is a shot of the covers being printed. It was so exciting to see the covers in production. The machines work very fast, and most of the time required is to set everything up and get the color and alignment perfect.

The Lotus and the Artichoke - Heidelberg print machine

This is one of many massive Heidelberg printing machines. Only the best for my cookbook! They are so big and loud that they usually have telephones at each end so the workers can talk to one another during printing and set-up.

The Lotus and the Artichoke - Justin at Druckhaus Schöneweide

That’s me, with a silly grin. You’d be smiling, too, after months of 12 hour work days and finally getting to see your project come to life! It’s a fairly goofy photo of me, but it was the best I could get after barely convincing one of the employees to hold my camera and click the shutter.

The Lotus and the Artichoke - CMYK color printing plates for the vegan cookbook

These are the color plates for the printing job. It’s the most expensive part of the project. The paper and binding costs are relatively small in comparison to how much it costs to create 4 color plates (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black) for each of the 10 print sheets which have 24 pages, except the cover which is printed on its own. The plates are numbered 1 to 9 (plus one for the cover) and marked with VS (Vorderseite – Front) and RS (Rückseite – Back).

The Lotus and the Artichoke - Frau Thomas and Herr Wischer checking the colors

Here are two of the workers helping to check and confirm the color settings for a printed sheet of recipes, photographs and text. You can see the 12 pages printed on the top side of this sheet. The guy on the right was especially cool. He told me he loved working on this project, but the only problem was the photos made him hungry! At first he didn’t believe me when I told him all of the recipes are totally vegetarian (vegan). He ordered 2 copies for his sisters who are both vegetarian. How cool is that?

The Lotus and the Artichoke - Recipes and pages of the cookbook

One sheet of the cookbook inner pages showing the rich, colorful full-page photographs and cool green text used for the recipe instruction pages and text throughout the book. You can also see part of the text and photos used for the AFRICA travel stories and recipe inspiration background.

In just a few short days the cookbooks will be delivered from the printer!

Learn more about the cookbook and watch my Kickstarter promo video here: Order my Vegan Cookbook!

Order my cookbook now and get:

  • The Lotus and the Artichoke cookbook – softbound 1st English edition.
    216 pages in color, 100+ recipes, 80+ full page delicious food photos, artwork, tips & tricks, travel stories + more!
    Title page signed by the author (me!) on request.
  • The Lotus and the Artichoke sticker pack with 4 different, durable indoor/outdoor stickers.
  • The Lotus and the Artichoke bookmark
  • Only $22.95 $21.95 + shipping (US & Europe: $4.95, Canada: $5.95, Asia: $6.95)

9 Steps of Painting

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A lot of people ask me about my artwork. It’s going to be a part of this blog and the cookbook. Here’s a behind the scenes look in my studio. For now, I’ll deviate from my usual posts of recipes and travel stories and we can explore some art!

The Lotus and the Artichoke - Finished Painting  The Lotus and the Artichoke - Finished Painting

My 9 Steps of Painting

(Some personal background and a How-To)

First, here are the 9 Steps I use to create a painting:

  1. Idea
  2. Research
  3. Sketch
  4. Scan
  5. Underpainting
  6. Overpainting
  7. Block
  8. Details
  9. Document

I’ll explain them in more detail in a bit. Scroll down if you’re just here for the images and a cool step-by-step of a work from start to finish.

I didn’t take photos at every step for this last work, but the process was exactly as in the steps above. Further below you can see photos of an earlier work in the making. The process is the same whether I’m working really large or really small. It’s a process I’ve been working with and have refined over the years.

Are you ready for me to get nostalgic and tell a personal story?

Continue reading →

Artwork in Progress

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Image

Yes, it’s coming along! It’s a new blockprint. I hope to be finished carving it today or tomorrow and print it this weekend. If it turns out well it’ll be the main image for the blog, possibly be used for the printed cookbook cover or title page… and maybe even tshirts and tote bags for Kickstarter rewards. Oh yeah, and the print itself. More info to come, but right now I’m thinking of making a limited edition of the blockprints for sale and for fancy Kickstarter sponsor rewards

Continue reading →