A painting by surrealist Remedios Varo made more than an impression on author Claire McMillan of Mentor.
鈥淚 kind of needed to know everything about the person who painted this kind of portal of a picture,鈥� she said.
With her latest novel, 鈥淎lchemy of a Blackbird,鈥� McMillan makes sure other people will know all about the Spanish-born artist who fled Europe during WWII and eventually hit her creative stride living in Mexico during the 1950s.
The Varo painting that inspired McMillan, features an illuminated woman carrying an alchemical vessel walking past gray, sleeping figures embedded in the walls around her. While Varo鈥檚 paintings have garnered in the seven figures at auction and the Art Institute of Chicago opens a later this month, she鈥檚 also remained under the radar.
McMillan said she hopes the book allows more people to appreciate Varo鈥檚 art as well as the work of her friend and fellow surrealist, Leonora Carrington.
鈥淭hey have been a bit overlooked,鈥� McMillan said. 鈥淎nd I think the interest in female surrealists in general is kind of on the uptick.鈥�
In 鈥淎lchemy of a Blackbird,鈥� McMillan imagines the relationship between these two creatives, from the ways they could have supported one another in their artistic pursuits as well as how they clashed at times.
鈥淚 certainly had been blessed to have female friendships in my life that made all the difference," she said. "I really wanted to see that on the page."
The book also explores Varo鈥檚 struggles, from creating art forgeries in her younger years to putting commercial art jobs ahead of her own work.
鈥淪he found success really in middle age, because it wasn't really until she was grounded enough and settled enough that she could kind of let herself and her creativity off the leash a little bit and come into her own as a painter,鈥� McMillan said.
Coming into one鈥檚 creativity later in life is something McMillan shares with Varo. After working as an 鈥渦nhappy lawyer,鈥� McMillan said she was able to transition to writing after she and her husband moved from California to Ohio.
鈥淗aving to create space to make your own art is something we don't talk about enough, and how hard that can be,鈥� she said.
McMillan also incorporates tarot cards in 鈥淎lchemy of a Blackbird鈥� as a tool for self-discovery for her characters, and potentially her readers, as the stories unfold.
鈥淪ome of the chapters start with a definition of a tarot card,鈥� she said. 鈥淲riting those definitions was a great exercise for me about: What do these cards mean to me? What have they meant to me at different times?鈥�
"Alchemy of a Blackbird" hits bookshelves on Tuesday. McMillan talks more about the novel at several release events this month. She鈥檚 at the Cuyahoga County Public Library鈥檚 Beachwood Branch Tuesday at 7 p.m., Appletree Books in Cleveland Heights Friday at 5 p.m., and the Westlake Porter Public Library July 18 at 7 p.m.
