Originally ARTK12 was only about art history. The first books Kristin published were Mona Lisa Smiles and Mona Lisa in 2010. Next came the American Art History books, a series that grew out of the classes she taught. The geography books, by far ARTK12’s best selling books, were something of a whim on Kristin’s part. She was looking for geography books for our son while we were homeschooling him and couldn’t find any books she liked.
So she published Draw the USA and eventually the complete Draw the World series. The rest is history, as they say, just not art history.
UPDATE: You can now buy The Worse for It.
World War I
My grandfather fought in World War One. He was a medic and in several of the major battles at the end of the war. He was wounded on October 3, 1918 and did not return to his company until the war had ended.
Over a decade ago my mother gave me 30 or so letters that my grandfather had written to his parents and brother. Some time later a distant relative of mine (My grandfather’s sister’s grandson), sent me a dozen or so letters my grandfather wrote to his sister. For many years now I have wanted to compile these letters into a book along with the photographs and artifacts my grandfather left behind.
I have learned a good deal more than I expected since crossing the great pond, but am more the worse for it.
— Robert E. Schalles, Mother’s Day letter, 1918
ARTK12 plans to publish The Worse for It toward the end of 2021. In all there are 45 letters and dozens of photographs, artifacts and documents my grandfather left behind. Almost every letter will have images of the envelope and actual letters after the text.
The Complete Experience
The letters span 1917 to 1919, from my Grandfather’s time training in Texas, to the war in France and finally as part of the Army of Occupation in Germany. The total experience is in these letters: the new recruit, living in a foreign land for the first time, experiencing the horrors of combat, enduring the boredom of military life and longing to go home. The book comes with a table of contents, introduction, short biography of my grandfather, cross referencing between letters and photographs and an index. It will be a great companion book not only for World War One, but any war in general.
Along with the book, there will be a companion website (theworseforit.com) where students and readers can see much larger images of those in the book, along with photographs and other documents that are not in the book. All the letters will be searchable on the site.
So The Worse for It is not art, but it is history. So I guess we’re halfway there.
As with all our new books there will be a newsletter contest to win a free book for the first 10 respondents once the The Worse for It is published and we make the announcement in the newsletter. Be sure to sign up….only newsletter subscribers have this opportunity.
Cover & Example Pages
UPDATE: You can now buy The Worse for It.
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