For a debut art & literary book, its success has been significantly notable. The Alchemy of Earth & Sky is written and curated by Luna Arcana’s co-founder, the British writer, Rohini Walker, with artwork by her creative partner, visual artist Martin Mancha. It also contains various contributions from artists curated by Walker from the burgeoning arts & creative community of the California high desert region of Joshua Tree, where Walker has been based since 2014. During this time, she’s established a solid reputation as a gifted and prolific writer with an influential voice emerging from this high desert area. Indeed, she’s considered one of the key creative players that is putting this region on the national and international map for arts, culture and the resulting growth in tourism.
Walker co-founded Luna Arcana with Mancha in 2016. Since then, the publication’s huge success and national readership – now growing to an international audience – prompted the well-respected arts publisher The Artlands to approach Walker and Mancha to publish the first volume of an anthology of Luna Arcana, with all original content written by Walker. The book’s success has surpassed all expectations for a high-end debut art & literary book, with multiple print-runs taking place to meet the demand, including from a growing audience here in the UK.
Unsurprisingly, The Artlands has agreed to publish future volumes and have contracted Walker & Mancha to create them.
Walker’s poignant, lyrical and thought-provoking poetry and prose transports the reader to the surreal and otherworldly landscape of the California high desert.
Her writing has a multi-sensory appeal, drawing you in so you can almost feel, taste and touch the environment that she’s paying homage to with her words.
The artwork by Mancha and contributing artists beautifully complements the writing and creates even more depth and texture to the whole experience of the book.
Meanwhile, alongside the next volume of The Alchemy of Earth & Sky, Walker has several exciting upcoming writing projects lined up that are going to put her firmly in the spotlight. She’s also a popular contributing writer on cultural and conservation topics for the California broadcast platform, KCET. It’s safe to say that if she continues producing work of this calibre and consistency, she’s set to be a force to be reckoned with as an author.
The Alchemy of Earth & Sky, Volume 1 is available to buy directly from The Artlands as well as from selected retailers in California and New York.
