Late last week, I was allowed to sit in at a brown-bag lunch meeting for Penguin Group employees with Janice Taylor (right) as she explained the story behind her new book, Our Lady of Weight Loss. It's not a diet book, although it's got diet tips and recipes—think of it instead as a guide to weight loss as an art project, filled with motivational tips and exhortations. "We've pitched Janice as the ultimate cheerleader," Viking Studio publisher Kate Stark said after the presentation, and Taylor's enthusiasm was certainly catching as she revealed how "Our Lady" first spoke to her and, later, how permanently shedding fifty pounds gave her the motivation to quit her job and become a full-time artist.

The staffers were impressed by the works of art Taylor passed around, from a crocheted cupcake to various collages like the one at left, and peppered her with questions about how she got her non-dieting friends to respect her decision to lose weight and about whether projects like the "worry box" (into which Taylor tosses her written-down worries in order to forget about them) really work. By the time she passed out little packets of walnuts to everyone ("the selenium will make you happy"), though, Taylor seemed to have the room sewn up. If you want to see her for yourself, she'll be appearing at the Harlem Tea Room all afternoon on September 9 for the the Harlem Open Artist Studio Tour.