Category Archives: creation

Fairy Tale Paper Artist

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“I was a great reader of fairy tales. I tried to read the entire fairy tale section of the library.” ~Beverly Cleary

Last week I posted a blog about ways to creatively recycle book pages. Su Blackwell, an artist from the U.K.,  creates three dimensional book sculptures made with discarded books. Many of her creations are scenes from fairytales and folk lore stories.

Her work is reflective of the books she read and the fulfilling make-believe world she created while playing in the woods during her childhood. Blackwell went on to study arts, specifically textiles, obtaining a M.A. degree at the Royal College of Art in London.

“The Quiet American” was her very first sculpture which was created from a second hand book called the Kao San Road she purchased on a trip to Thailand. She says she reads books once or twice before she begins her creation of a scene from the book.

The trend of repurposing books to create art sculpture is becoming popular in many places, including here in Colorado. Artist Kim Keith, exhibits and sells her geometric shaped paper sculpture and other mixed media, at the Red Contemporary Gallery here in Steamboat. She says her creations keep “alive the tactile sense and physicality of “book”. http://bit.ly/PrThwI.

Click here for books on repurposing books for art projects.

 
For more information, on the amazing work of Su Blackwell, please visit this link. http://bit.ly/RTrcwA.

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Film Friday: Ruby Sparks

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“When we feel the need to change others, take the time to look inside yourself, find the mirror and the message” ~ Unknown

How often do you think a novelist creates a character that people fall in love with? I would suspect, quite often. Personal attributes of a character communicated through good dialogue and storyline is all part of the Art of  creative storytelling.

One of the top independent films of 2012 is Ruby Sparks. The film is about a male novelist who becomes enamored with a woman he has crafted in his mind through his story writing. This person becomes real. The author and character develop a romantic relationship. Not all of her characteristics are admirable, however, and the novelist begins to rewrite part of her personality to become more like the person he wants her to be.

This romantic comedy-drama, Ruby Sparks, features Paul Dano as the novelist and big name actors Elliot Gould, Annette Benig and Antonio Banderas also play parts in this independent film. Click here for info & ordering Ruby Sparks

 

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Better Living Books

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Are you looking for a different assortment of books, like no other? Publications geared toward mind, body, spirit and the Earth? 

The Living Now Book Awards “Books for Better Living” has a great selection of independently published books on many topics that are popular and relevant to better living. Here are just a few categories that are judged in the Living Now Book Awards. 

  • Green Living
  • Social Activism/Charity
  • Enlightenment/Spirituality
  • Metaphysical (Astrology, Tarot, Psychic Development)
  • Healing Arts/Bodywork/Energy Techniques
  • Caregiving
  • Mature Living/Aging
  • Grieving/Death and Dying
  • Inspirational Fiction

 To see the titles of the winning books that came from thirty-six U.S. States, six CanadianProvinces and 7 overseas countries, please visit this link. http://bit.ly/RLQ8WV.

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Writing Fictitious Scenes

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“Keep your face to the sunshine, and you can not see the shadow.” ~ Helen Keller 

Who likes to think of sad and unhappy times? Joyous moments, positive thoughts, fulfilling feelings are much better. Is there value in clinging to images that make us feel anything other than good and healthy? 

In my creative writing class yesterday, we were given an assignment to write an elegy. Do you know what that is? I didn’t. Think of the word eulogy. Composing an elegy is very similar in nature. The teacher said “write about significant loss or death. Nothing funny; make it serious.”  In her words, “no rhymes!” In my words,“Don’t use expressions in writing that makes a frown turn right side around.” 

Last night, I worked a little on my elegy. Wow- that is difficult for me. I am not used to that way of thinking. It is like having to transition my stream of consciousness into something backwards. An analogy would be trying to make water flow, in a river, in the wrong direction. 

I feel as if  I don’t have that much to draw from compared to a lot of people. I have been so very fortunate – the really bad times in my life have been few and far between.  

 I suspect I’ll have to dig deep within to come up with a good piece of writing. If I can’t find it inside, I suppose I can make something up –  creative writing is what you decide to make it, isn’t it? Can it all be fiction? I’ll ask my teacher.

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The Goddess of Color

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I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for. ~ Georgia O’Keefe 

Thoughts of the harvest season are beginning to creep forward, as summer has evolved into the next season.

Here in Colorado where altitudes soar, the goddess of color has already donned her white cap and is preparing to pile on coats  of ivory before the winter season is even here. Everyone says “the fall colors are beautiful” here in the Rockies. Yes, they are pretty if you like primarily all shades of golden with an occasional dusting of sugar. The foliage is rather monochromatic, to my way of thinking. Contrasts are missing from the palette. Much better than no autumn at all, however. 

I think of New England when I see the turning leaves of autumn. The deciduous forests filled with sugar maples, oaks, birches and aspens, all mixed together, make for stunning fall landscapes. A fulfilling spectrum of colors – scarlett, maroon, purple, cadmiums, greens, brown, gold and orange bring in droves of tourists to the New England States for good reason.

I love living in places where all four seasons are noticeable. Weather indicators tell us it is time to change direction; deviate from the way we have been living the months before. Our eating habits vary and we put on extra or take off clothing to adjust for the rising and falling temperatures. In winter we hunker down and put on layers; in summer we live unadorned and freely.

 Before I allow myself to experience what comes with cooler climate, here is an image of autumn color that is found in the past season of  summer. I’m reluctant to say goodbye to the balmy weather.

This is an image of Georgia O’Keefe’s flowers.

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Lesser Known Facts about F. Scott Fitzgerald

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“All good writing is swimming under water and holding your breath.”  ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald

Yesterday was the birthday of author of F. Scott Fitzgerald.

We are all familiar with his notable books, which have become classics, but there are some lesser known facts about this author. Francis Scott Key, the composer of our National Anthem, was Fitzgerald’s 2nd cousin, three times removed.  Fitzgerald’s parents honored the memory of the composer Key by using “F.Scott ” to name their son.

He also spent time living and writing at the Paix Estate in the suburbs of Baltimore in Towson, Maryland, the town where I grew up.   He lived there while his wife, Zelda, was being treated for schizophrenia. At that time he worked on his story of Dick Diver, a bright young psychiatrist who falls in love with one of his patients. Some historians say that his writing of this book provided Fitzgerald with a fulfilling way to tell his story of his marriage to Zelda and her mental problems. For info on the 2013 publicationk about Fitzgerald’s wife, please click here  Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald.

His remains are in Maryland. Evidently because his parents were practicing Catholics, whereas he was not, there was controversy over his burial. To read more about his life and death, please visit this link. http://bit.ly/2IvUY8

F. Scott Fitzgerald also wrote for the Saturday Evening Post, Colliers and Esquire Magazine. His face graced the cover of the “Post” in a painting by Norman Rockwell that complimented his short story called “Bernice Bobs Her Hair.”

Happy Belated Birthday to F. Scott Fitzgerald, an author who helped to shape the literary world in this country.

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A Venerable Photojournalist of the 1960s

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My photography is committed to the discovery of the basic spirit of human beings in their natural environment and to unrehearsed moments of human expression.” ~ Cherel Ito

A few weeks ago, I was in an art gallery in Telluride, Colorado and came across an art book of a photojournalist. The book could be described as a “volume,” it was quite large in size. “That’s some book,” I thought, purely because of its dimensions. Naturally, I wanted to peak between the covers.

I couldn’t believe the similarity between this photojournalist’s work, and that of another. To my way of thinking, Steve McCurry‘s images are so stunning similar to that of Cherel Ito’s  that it made me wonder whether he studied Ito’s work intensely before he became a photojournalist. Ito’s work is revered by students of film, art, photography and photojournalism. Her images from the 1960s and 1970s so uniquely tell a story, that her work is featured in the permanent collections at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC. http://www.nmwa.org/

There are two differences I saw between the compositions of these two creative people. Ito used only black and white film, which makes her work more valuable and interesting from the perspective of the historical development of photography and filmmaking.

Also, when you read her journal entries, you realize she was an outstanding writer as well as a talented photographer. She had the ability to powerfully communicate so much, in so few words; an all encompassing artist.

If you are not familiar with Cherel Ito’s work, her images and her journal writings have also been preserved for future generations of students of photojournalism in the book “Through the Lens of Her Camera.” Her work is an important study in human nature as well as different cultures around the world.

To learn more about photographer Cherel Ito’s book, please visit this link  www.cherelitobook.com.

Return on Monday, and there will be more independent thoughts, words and views from

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I Remember the Bad Moment

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 “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.”  ~ Mother Teresa 

Well, I am cheating a little bit but, I have come up with my own version of Mother Teresa’s adage, as it relates to the literary world. “If you judge a poet, you have no time to produce prose.” How’s that? Needs improvement, you say? Alright, I’ll work on it. 

If you have been following this blog, you’ll know that I started a creative writing course a week or so ago and my biggest fear was writing poetry. Wouldn’t you know it – that is where we have started. On the first day of class when the teacher announced it, I thought “what am I going to do now? Withdraw from this course?” 

“Oh, well,” I thought, “I may as well conquer those fears from the offset.” 

Guess, what, my teacher is a Mother Teresa – kind, not too harshly judgemental and very helpful. She said my stuff was not bad, for a beginner. I have never seriously written poetry before but I’ve learned a lot about the art of writing poetry in just a few classes . I am thinking about words and how to put them together in all new ways. My teacher said “Each word to a poet, counts in the overall effect of the composition.”

The first piece I wrote is called I Remember. I will share it with you in due course. Briefly, it is about moving to a place, sight unseen. 

I am currently working on my 2nd poem, using the writing prompt The Bad Moment. I hope it won’t come when  the teach tells me “She was just kidding, that she didn’t mean what she said. She made a mistake. My writing is not as good as she initially thought.” 

If that happens,  that’s ok, I am a student. I’m taking the class to learn from it. I’ll fulfill my duty, do something about it and learn to write better. Won’t I? 

Before I end this blog writing, I just wanted to tell you, the September/October of Poets and Writers Magazine is the MFA issue. If you are interested in pursuing a writing program, check out P&W, it is filled information on fulltime programs, low-residency programs and writer’s conferences. Here is the link   www.pw.org 

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Common Community Through Art and Culture

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“In art, the hand can never execute anything higher than the heart can imagine.”  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Have you ever noticed how artists flock together and build common community?

People find kinship in their writing, painting, poetry, music, filmmaking, knitting,the performing arts and so forth. You know how it goes. Everyone in the group speaks the same language. 

The Colorado Creative Industries has worked to identify communities where art contributes greatly to the overall culture,  enhancing the lives of local citizens and tourists.  

Telluride has been designated as a one of five prospective Creative Districts in Colorado. Forty-four towns and cities were under consideration. The goal of the Colorado Creative Industries is to bolster the artistic community by providing consulting and technical assistance and an $8,000 grant to help grow the community as an economic driver through art. 

During the winter, outstanding skiing is the impetus behind visiting this “box canyon” with stunning and dramatic scenery, but in summer it is all about art festivals. Each weekend from May to September people flock to the area for two film festivals, music concerts and gatherings of playwrite/screenwriters. There is also a Cajun weekend, chamber music, yoga and bike races,  and more. 

There is even a Compassion Festival held in Telluride, which I was not aware of until I picked up some tourist literature. This event brings in academia from different parts of the country who lecture on the benefits that compassion brings to overall health, well-being and stress reduction. Cultural differences in compassion is also part of the discussion. It is held in collaboration between the Telluride Institute http://bit.ly/U87yzg and Stanford University’s Center for Compassion & Altruism Research & Education (CCARE). Interesting! Please visit this link to read more about it.http://bit.ly/QVb8Kn

Congratulations, Telluride! When I was in the area recently I was impressed with your charming Victorian homes, art galleries, retail spaces, historic hotels, the amazing scenery and the emcompassing flavor of the artistic community. It was fun visiting. I’ll be back!

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The Power of Love

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“The simple act of reassurance from another human being becomes a tool of the spirit.” ~John Ortberg, Jr. 

“Ok, so, I bawled yesterday in church and had to pull out the Kleenex.  It all began with the christening of a little baby. It took me back to 24 years ago when my husband and I were standing at the font with our little one.

I didn’t fall apart until the after the baptism was almost over. As the congregation began singing “Child of Blessing, Child of Promise”, the water works started. I couldn’t sing; I just listened. The melody and words made me feel the embracing power of love, hope, faith and all good things that support children in their development.

My tears were only momentary. When our minister started his sermon on friendship, his commentary about Facebook friends was hysterical. I could relate completely. On a more serious note the pastor  also talked about what it means to have friends who stick by you through thick and thin. That was inspiring.

The message was craftily brought around to include the words of a song written in 1971 by Carole King. We watched a short video of one of King’s performances singing that trademark song “You’ve Got a Friend” to a packed audience. By the end of the video, I and many others in the congregation were singing along, with huge smiles on our faces. I carried that uplifted feeling with me until the day’s end.

Week after week, as I sit in the pew, I am reminded of the art of delivering a good sermon. If every minister had talent like ours does to  communicate  such a relatable message , every church in America would be standing room only.

Thank you, Reverend Tim, for all you do in healing the spirits of our people. And I just want to know –  Are you Facebook friends with the old guy that was standing in line in front of me waiting to shake your hand after the sermon?” He doesn’t really look like he knows how to turn on a computer. Could it be that you know him from another of your networking circles?

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