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Dressing Stone: A Post-Postmodern Picaresque
The only good artist is a dead artist.
—The Art Collector’s Credo
A burned out artist harboring harrowing secrets while running a NYC remodeling business becomes entangled with his client’s alluring nanny. As the source of a renewed inspiration, the artist’s relationship with his mercurial muse becomes an obsession that, in the end, sends the pair on a quixotic road trip from Brooklyn straight into a Seattle just upended by the discovery of Kurt Cobain’s body earlier that same day.
Unfolding within the timeframe of Kurt Cobain’s impending suicide in 1994, Dressing Stone transports you into the mind of an artist. An artist crushed by the death of his first wife. An artist gutted by the death of his friends. An artist crippled by the death of his colleagues. A man still burdened with grief after five years. A man who has not yet been able to come to terms with the transformative tsunami caused by the savage crash of cocaine, heroin, and AIDS over his life…
Dressing Stone takes you into the mind of an artist struggling to pick up the pieces, struggling with the reasons to continue his work, struggling for the reason to go on living…
Adrift, angry and abstracted… in the throes of lingering grief, Craig Plummer, the once renowned sculptor known as DeBris, has an affair with a client’s nanny, the stunning Nina Brown.
Drawing the artist out, his muse conjures repressed incidents from the artist's past stirring up more storm and stress than either of the lovers bargained for. He's married, for a start, and in the middle of a crazy job. But the relationship soon turns into an obsession that sends the pair off on a quixotic road trip from Brooklyn to Seattle—and straight into a confrontation with Nina’s troubled past.
The deceptively mature Nina has been sent away from Seattle by her parents to keep her away from the influence of her Grunge loving, drug addled friends.
Will Nina help resurrect the artist known as DeBris, or will she just be another millstone dragging him down?
Will the artist save the nanny from her own worst instincts, or are they both doomed by the impulses they just cannot say no to? Dressing Stone is the story of an artist’s search for a renewed inspiration that will lead him from his paralyzing self doubts and back to the creative process—back to his commitment to his aesthetic vision.
Synopsis of the setup:
Craig Plummer, a sculptor once known as DeBris in New York art circles, has lost his creative drive after experiencing a series of tragedies, culminating with the death of his first wife, Carol Javal, an up and coming fashion model. Now remarried, Craig is consumed by guilt over his role in Carol’s death, and secretly longs for her daily.
Scraping by working as a residential remodeling contractor, Craig is facing growing pressure from his second wife, Cheryl, a high powered M&A lawyer, who wants him to sell their loft and move into a house so they can start living like normal people.
Craig reasons, that even a failed artist is still an artist, and can’t picture life without his studio, because that would mean abandoning his core identity, and dash all hopes of ever resuming his Work.
Adding to Craig’s frustrations, Cynthia Kohl and her nine-year-old autistic son have moved into the Park Slope condo he is remodeling two weeks earlier than expected. With Cynthia’s husband back in Seattle tying up affairs, Craig is left to deal with a stressed-out mother and her distressed special needs child crowding his job site.
FROM THE BACK COVER (Paperback)
Set against the backdrop of Kurt Cobain's impending suicide in 1994, Dressing Stone transports you into the mind of an artist--not always the most glamorous milieu--but the ideal setting for passion, obsession and an overarching creative madness. Dressing Stones is the story of an artist's search for inspiration, his search for a muse that will draw him out of his dark night of the soul, and lead him away from his self-doubts and back to the creative process--back to the realm of vision and revision and ultimately back to his commitment to The Great Work.
—The Art Collector’s Credo
A burned out artist harboring harrowing secrets while running a NYC remodeling business becomes entangled with his client’s alluring nanny. As the source of a renewed inspiration, the artist’s relationship with his mercurial muse becomes an obsession that, in the end, sends the pair on a quixotic road trip from Brooklyn straight into a Seattle just upended by the discovery of Kurt Cobain’s body earlier that same day.
Unfolding within the timeframe of Kurt Cobain’s impending suicide in 1994, Dressing Stone transports you into the mind of an artist. An artist crushed by the death of his first wife. An artist gutted by the death of his friends. An artist crippled by the death of his colleagues. A man still burdened with grief after five years. A man who has not yet been able to come to terms with the transformative tsunami caused by the savage crash of cocaine, heroin, and AIDS over his life…
Dressing Stone takes you into the mind of an artist struggling to pick up the pieces, struggling with the reasons to continue his work, struggling for the reason to go on living…
Adrift, angry and abstracted… in the throes of lingering grief, Craig Plummer, the once renowned sculptor known as DeBris, has an affair with a client’s nanny, the stunning Nina Brown.
Drawing the artist out, his muse conjures repressed incidents from the artist's past stirring up more storm and stress than either of the lovers bargained for. He's married, for a start, and in the middle of a crazy job. But the relationship soon turns into an obsession that sends the pair off on a quixotic road trip from Brooklyn to Seattle—and straight into a confrontation with Nina’s troubled past.
The deceptively mature Nina has been sent away from Seattle by her parents to keep her away from the influence of her Grunge loving, drug addled friends.
Will Nina help resurrect the artist known as DeBris, or will she just be another millstone dragging him down?
Will the artist save the nanny from her own worst instincts, or are they both doomed by the impulses they just cannot say no to? Dressing Stone is the story of an artist’s search for a renewed inspiration that will lead him from his paralyzing self doubts and back to the creative process—back to his commitment to his aesthetic vision.
Synopsis of the setup:
Craig Plummer, a sculptor once known as DeBris in New York art circles, has lost his creative drive after experiencing a series of tragedies, culminating with the death of his first wife, Carol Javal, an up and coming fashion model. Now remarried, Craig is consumed by guilt over his role in Carol’s death, and secretly longs for her daily.
Scraping by working as a residential remodeling contractor, Craig is facing growing pressure from his second wife, Cheryl, a high powered M&A lawyer, who wants him to sell their loft and move into a house so they can start living like normal people.
Craig reasons, that even a failed artist is still an artist, and can’t picture life without his studio, because that would mean abandoning his core identity, and dash all hopes of ever resuming his Work.
Adding to Craig’s frustrations, Cynthia Kohl and her nine-year-old autistic son have moved into the Park Slope condo he is remodeling two weeks earlier than expected. With Cynthia’s husband back in Seattle tying up affairs, Craig is left to deal with a stressed-out mother and her distressed special needs child crowding his job site.
FROM THE BACK COVER (Paperback)
Set against the backdrop of Kurt Cobain's impending suicide in 1994, Dressing Stone transports you into the mind of an artist--not always the most glamorous milieu--but the ideal setting for passion, obsession and an overarching creative madness. Dressing Stones is the story of an artist's search for inspiration, his search for a muse that will draw him out of his dark night of the soul, and lead him away from his self-doubts and back to the creative process--back to the realm of vision and revision and ultimately back to his commitment to The Great Work.
412 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 3, 2018
About the author
Scott Feero
1 book15 followersScott Feero has been an award winning filmmaker, a performing musician, a sometime painter, and a writer since high school. A master carpenter, the artist chose to support himself in construction rather than follow his colleagues into academia. When not working for a living, this master plan allowed Mr Feero to follow the unfettered pursuit of his interests in art, science and the human condition by invoking the model of the Natural Philosophers, and his motto: 'All For the Pure Interest of It All.'
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
February 12, 2019
Being a person of the arts myself, this book totally enveloped me. It was such a fun experience learning what a bolero was, and how this story fit that style. I loved it! Every time you thought the story was going to go a certain way you got taken on another path, which was a hell of a crazy ride.
Definitely not for the faint at heart. 'Dressing Stone' packs a serious uppercut to those who may not know the industry of an artist. It is dark, deep, sensual, artistic, maddening, passionate, in all its glory- the good and bad it is plain fucked up. How one continues on through all of it or makes the most out of it despite the travesties, is where the real beauty lies.
"The problem with perfect beauty is that the slightest imperfections stand out, ..."
"Probably the same beef that crops up with every black sheep living with a herd of dense bovine."
"I'm glad you said you wanted to do nothing, because in a relationship you spend more time doing nothing than doing something, and if you can't enjoy doing nothing together, you can't enjoy doing anything together.
Contains Awareness on:
Autism, Art, Music, HIV/AIDS, Drug abuse, Domestic Violence
This story was absolutely shocking in the best ways. So shocking and written in such an artistic way that this book will be with me for all my days forever in my mind, that's how big of an impact it had on me.
You may love this book as I did, if:
You like/d the band Nirvana
Love Art or The Arts
Love thrillers
Love shock factors
Like the Punk/Rock Scene
This story may be hard for some to digest, but I loved every messed up bit of it. Thanks to author Scott Feero for the PDF copy. All reviews are my own and voluntary.
Definitely not for the faint at heart. 'Dressing Stone' packs a serious uppercut to those who may not know the industry of an artist. It is dark, deep, sensual, artistic, maddening, passionate, in all its glory- the good and bad it is plain fucked up. How one continues on through all of it or makes the most out of it despite the travesties, is where the real beauty lies.
"The problem with perfect beauty is that the slightest imperfections stand out, ..."
"Probably the same beef that crops up with every black sheep living with a herd of dense bovine."
"I'm glad you said you wanted to do nothing, because in a relationship you spend more time doing nothing than doing something, and if you can't enjoy doing nothing together, you can't enjoy doing anything together.
Contains Awareness on:
Autism, Art, Music, HIV/AIDS, Drug abuse, Domestic Violence
This story was absolutely shocking in the best ways. So shocking and written in such an artistic way that this book will be with me for all my days forever in my mind, that's how big of an impact it had on me.
You may love this book as I did, if:
You like/d the band Nirvana
Love Art or The Arts
Love thrillers
Love shock factors
Like the Punk/Rock Scene
This story may be hard for some to digest, but I loved every messed up bit of it. Thanks to author Scott Feero for the PDF copy. All reviews are my own and voluntary.
December 27, 2018
This is a very unique story.I would like to read such kind of stories.But it held my interest, and I actually enjoyed even the odd transgressive moments that made me blanche.I felt at times the author, a male, really does understood what it means to be a woman (from the adoration to the harassment to the outright abuse) Overall, a good written read.Thank you.
March 6, 2019
A spark of sexual tension. Sculptor Craig Plummer, reeling from the death of his wife, finds new focus on Nina, his client’s caretaker. He immerses too quickly that her muse status to his creativity is never to be seen. Deep attraction jumps to regret, then obsession. All this goo, yet SCOT FEERO remains literary.
October 8, 2018
Can a creatively moribund, emotionally addled artist harboring shameful and tragic secrets enjoy life with a striving, never home, lawyer wife? Currently working as a residential contractor for the denizens of early hipster Brooklyn, he resents having to grovel on the rock pile, and despises the poseurs of the New York art scene. Finally, he casts off on a cross-country road trip with a client’s nanny, a deceivingly young, pill-popping Kurt Cobain devotee of mind-blowing sexy transformations.
Along their reckless journey, the sculptor and his muse do battle with the walking dead of the early 90’s Grunge era, lurching into bizarre, terrifying, sometimes hallucinatory adventures and mishaps. In their banter and arguments, they lob graphic, alliterative insults at each other with dizzying and hilarious rapier wit. Will our self-identity challenged hero find redemption and renewal in destination Seattle, or disaster?
This original, picaresque novel engages the reader on many levels. Offering at intersecting points glimpses into, or lessons, in the applied art process; erudite analysis of celebrated works and figures of the art world, along with the salacious thrills of trashy romance or pulp fiction; it’s simply a fun and unpredictable read. The writing is snappy and smooth – but keep your dictionary or Wikipedia app, nearby. In random and unexpected places, the author enjoys throwing in the most esoteric references and teaser SAT words just to keep you entertained.
Highly recommended.
Along their reckless journey, the sculptor and his muse do battle with the walking dead of the early 90’s Grunge era, lurching into bizarre, terrifying, sometimes hallucinatory adventures and mishaps. In their banter and arguments, they lob graphic, alliterative insults at each other with dizzying and hilarious rapier wit. Will our self-identity challenged hero find redemption and renewal in destination Seattle, or disaster?
This original, picaresque novel engages the reader on many levels. Offering at intersecting points glimpses into, or lessons, in the applied art process; erudite analysis of celebrated works and figures of the art world, along with the salacious thrills of trashy romance or pulp fiction; it’s simply a fun and unpredictable read. The writing is snappy and smooth – but keep your dictionary or Wikipedia app, nearby. In random and unexpected places, the author enjoys throwing in the most esoteric references and teaser SAT words just to keep you entertained.
Highly recommended.
May 13, 2019
I received an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.
If I am honest I think I am being very generous with a 2 star rating but have stuck with that for a couple of reasons.
Firstly I don't think this was ever my type of book but I found I didn't want to put it down and i wanted to know what happened. Secondly I kind of liked the Characterisation of Nina and Craig in the New york setting, neither of them were angels but they sparked. The Autism storyline also held my interest.
However the second part was just too crazy, unbelievable and downright senseless in parts and As i got to the two-thirds mark I just found myself wishing it was over. The length of time it has taken me to struggle through this is excessive for the low amount of enjoyment from the story line. The ending was in itself deeply disappointing
If I am honest I think I am being very generous with a 2 star rating but have stuck with that for a couple of reasons.
Firstly I don't think this was ever my type of book but I found I didn't want to put it down and i wanted to know what happened. Secondly I kind of liked the Characterisation of Nina and Craig in the New york setting, neither of them were angels but they sparked. The Autism storyline also held my interest.
However the second part was just too crazy, unbelievable and downright senseless in parts and As i got to the two-thirds mark I just found myself wishing it was over. The length of time it has taken me to struggle through this is excessive for the low amount of enjoyment from the story line. The ending was in itself deeply disappointing
December 4, 2018
It is one of the best book.This was an entertaining read, though it hit a little close to home. I'm an artist, although I don't- thank God- have DeBris' level of problems, I know what it is to be creatively blocked. It kept me reading because I wanted to know what was going to happen in the end. I'm not going to spoil the ending other than to say it took a twist towards the end that I did not see coming at all. Overall, it was a very entertaining novel and even if you are not an artist you would enjoy this novel. This book is too earnest to be considered satire (Trust me, those problems the artist has, they exist). Extracting humor from painful situations is not satire. Maybe more like irony.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 1, 2019
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to review this book.
The author gets 5 stars for best use of vocabulary. Had to keep looking up the meanings of words as I read which improved my vocabulary.
While there were a lot of interesting comments about art and artists, I felt the interactions between the two main characters had too much unnecessary detail. The story was a bit long. Most of the characters had gritty personalities and lives that were uncomfortable to read about. The story is contemporary and reflects some of the current social ills this country suffers from.
The author gets 5 stars for best use of vocabulary. Had to keep looking up the meanings of words as I read which improved my vocabulary.
While there were a lot of interesting comments about art and artists, I felt the interactions between the two main characters had too much unnecessary detail. The story was a bit long. Most of the characters had gritty personalities and lives that were uncomfortable to read about. The story is contemporary and reflects some of the current social ills this country suffers from.
January 4, 2022
Author Scott Feero is holding the gun in this shotgun marriage of Vladimir Nabokov [Lolita] and Hunter Thompson [Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas]. The ceremony is officiated by Thomas Pynchon, who, like the priest in any porn film, gets in on the action. Witnessed and notarized by Lawrence Sterne, Esq. Great read on the state of contemporary American culture. Feero has done something which is almost impossible— make the New York Art Scene seem a passing fancy.
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March 17, 2022I was trying to give this book an honest chance but my reading time is too short to spend on a book that isn't working for me. I don't like Craig. I don't like his lifestyle. I don't like the voice or pace of this book. I don't like the narrator's attempt at NY accents. Its painful to listen to.
December 4, 2018
Nice book. I like it
December 4, 2018
Excellent
February 27, 2019
Unique
This was an interesting read. It’s not my style, but it was very well written and wonderfully detailed. It’s definitely one to set aside time to read.
This was an interesting read. It’s not my style, but it was very well written and wonderfully detailed. It’s definitely one to set aside time to read.
March 18, 2019
This was a very interesting read, very unique. While there were erotic scenes and sexual tension, it was a good read. Recommended reading.
March 19, 2019
Not your classic fiction story! A unique look at modern/post-modern day life. Great character development and plotline! A MUST read!!!
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews