Launching from an International Shipping Port

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Posted on June 17, 2013

You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. ~ Henry David Thoreau

Charming Oxford, Maryland, http://www.oxfordmd.net/ a small waterside town of about 1,000 people is one of the oldest towns in America. Oxford has a very southern feel with huge, old magnolia trees lining many of its streets. Until the American Revolution, Oxford enjoyed prominence as an international shipping center surrounded by wealthy tobacco plantations.

On my way to St Michaels, Maryland, I boarded the Oxford ferry for a scenic fifteen minute ride across the TredAvonRiver to the town of Bellevue, Maryland. The ferry is the longest running privately owned ferry in the country. Service began in 1683.

People in Oxford live a fulfilling “waterman’s way of life.” Here are a few pictures from my travels to Oxford.

Above: A Day at Work for Oysterman & Crabbers

Oxford is enjoying a new resurgence based on tourism and leisure activities. Its quiet environment, fresh air and cooler breezes provide a haven from the hustle and bustle of the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area. Boaters, weekend visitors, and summer residents find Oxford a welcoming change of pace.

Filmmakers came to Oxford in 2006 when they captured some of their scenes for the movie Failure to Launch, a romantic comedy staring Matthew McConnaughey, Terry Bradshaw and Sarah Jessica Parker. This film can be ordered through the Internet Movie Database http://imdb.to/14ZGByG .

Photo: The stars of the film Failure to Launch in Oxford, Maryland

Do return tomorrow and I will show you more photos of fulfilling things I found to see and do, when I traveled from Oxford to St Michaels, Maryland.

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Honoring Nature and Roots in Photography

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Posted on June 12, 2013

Good art is art that allows you to enter it from a variety of angles and to emerge with a variety of views. ~ Mary Schmich

The exhibit, Creatures in Motion, is like looking out at the world through the eyes of a true nature lover. The photography of Linda Roy Walls is featured at the DorchesterCenter for the Arts during the month of June 2013. Images of living things (bovine, beast and avian) in their natural environment, is the focus of the exhibit.

It is evident by the images Walls captures, the artist believes in “living in the moment.” Scenes of her environment, wildlife, and all other things that catches her eye, through the lens of the camera, provides an even more extensive photographic collection on her website.

Walls has honored what is important to her in her life through the three photo books she has published. One book, “Ode to Ed” is dedicated to her father, a war veteran, who succumbed to leukemia due to Agent Orange poisoning after three tours of duty in Vietnam. Her other photo books “Riding Waves and Herding Cats” and “The Content Canines” call attention to more of what she has found fulfilling in living on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. Her travels to Ireland will be the focus of an upcoming publication.

Linda Roy Walls is also a writer for the column “Ponderings” in the Dorchester Banner and a contributing writer for other regional newspapers and magazines. Ever the artist, she is also involved in a portrait study of humble Eastern shore waterman and other locals who add flavor to the region in which her roots have been planted.

Stop by the DorchesterCenter for the Arts to see the photography of Linda Roy Walls, it is a limited but delightful sampling of her photographs. To see more of her images, read her artist bio and to learn more about her art, photography and writing, please visit her website http://www.lindaroywalls.com/.

We look forward to sharing more independent thoughts, words and views with you tomorrow on www.AllThingsFulfilling.com. This blog brought to you by www.cornerstonefulfillmentservice.com. A company specializing in e-commerce and e-marketing for independent publishers.

Energy of Artists and Athletes

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Posted on June 11, 2013

Paint interacts with humans, with the canvas, with the walls around the paint.~Brenda Johima

Words like perseverance, determination, action and commitment tell the story of the art that Kirk Nowlin creates. The traits depicted in the bold images are many of the same qualities that both an artist and athlete must have to reach success.

This month, at the DorchesterCenter for the Arts in Cambridge, Maryland, the work of artist Kirk Nowlin is featured. He works in a multitude of mediums, but his intense use of color and sports related subjects prevail throughout his work. His large scale paintings bring an appropriate energy to the athletes he portrays on canvas. Serena Williams, Lance Armstrong, Darryl Green and Michael Jordan are just a few of the sports figures Kirk Nowlin has featured in his work.

NFL Hall of Famer Ray Lewis, Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, CEO Tom Giannopolis (CEO of an international IT company) are among his collectors who appreciate the qualities of talent, triumph and character that are shown in the strokes of the artist’s creations.

The exhibit of the artist, Kirk Nowlin, who was trained at the MarylandInstituteCollege, will run until Saturday, June 29th at the Dorchester Center for the Arts in Cambridge, Maryland. Stop by the 321 High Street location and be inspired by the energy of motion that Kirk Nowlin shares through his art.

Do return again tomorrow to All Things Fulfilling. We will be highlighting the work of an artist who captures creatures in motion through her photography. This artist has published numerousbooks with her images. This blog brought to you by http://www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Cambridge, MD: Creating an Art Community

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Posted on June 10, 2013

“Whenever we witness art in a building, we are award of an energy contained in it.” ~Arthur Erickson

Checking out the local art scene is something I find interesting to do when I am traveling. Last Friday, I stopped into the Dorchester Center for the Arts in Cambridge, Maryland.

Since my last visit about ten years ago, The Dorchester Center for the Arts http://bit.ly/12APkwy has relocated. Its art programs are growing, and they are fulfilling their mission of “creating community through the Arts.” After a successful one million dollar capital campaign, the art center moved into a large old furniture store space, and they are renovating it, phase by phase, to accommodate for their plans for the future. Fully committed to providing a “vibrant performing and visual arts center,” the historic building is large enough to house a gift shop, exhibit space, several classrooms and administrative offices and more. There are plans to fill the substantial space on the second and third floors with a 250 person capacity reception area and 400 seat performance hall. The entire structure is dedicated to the arts in this town of 12,000 people.

The day I first stopped in, there was a knitting class and drawing class in progress. Each year visitors of all ages attend gallery shows, classes, workshops and special events at the DorchesterCenter for the Arts. The staff member who greeted me and took me on a tour could not have been more hospitable.

Here are some pictures from my visit. Please return tomorrow so I can share with you information about this month’ s two featured artists and their work.

Best of the Eastern Shore, Art Programs

Drawing Class with Model in progress

Gift shop with paintings, jewelry, pottery, prints, all kinds of artistic creations

including books of regional interest by local authors

Below: My favorite thing in the gift shop – artistic pins by As Time Goes By. Baubles, creatively styled incorporating time and puzzles.

Please return tomorrow to www.AllThingsFulfilling.com to learn something about the artists that were featured this month by the Dorchester Center for the Arts. This blog brought to you by Sue Batton Leonard, author of Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected<a target=”_blank” href=”http://www.amazon.com/s/?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&field-keywords=sue%20batton%20leonard&linkCode=ur2&rh=i%3Astripbooks%2Ck%3Asue%20batton%20leonard&sprefix=sue%20batt%2Cstripbooks%2C305&tag=allthinfulf-20&url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&linkId=7UVM27KUVJZ3M67Z”>Click for info on the memoir</a><img src=”https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=allthinfulf-20&l=ur2&o=1″ width=”1″ height=”1″ border=”0″ alt=”” style=”border:none !important; margin:0px !important;” /> and www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com. A company specializing in e-commerce and e-marketing for independent publishers.

Honoring Those Behind the Scenes

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Posted on June 6, 2013

The other day I posted several blogs about the 2013 EVVY book awards from the Colorado Independent Publishers Association. Service providers are also recognized for their outstanding work on the night of the award presentations They are the individuals and companies who work behind the scenes to help independent publishers create and sell quality publications for the marketplace.

Today, I would like to acknowledge the freelance professionals who provide services to the independent publishing industry, such as printing companies, editors, cover designers, layout designers, e-book formatters and designers, marketing , copyright experts and more. Here is a helpful link for finding assistance with your publishing projects for the future. http://bit.ly/ZOsPCr .

If you are an author in any state or region looking to hire high quality freelance professionals to help you with your publishing project, a great place to start is to contact a regional or statewide trade association for independent publishers. They may be able to steer you in the right direction by locating companies who support authors in all parts of the publishing process.

When you are in the planning stage of publishing a book, decide what part of the process you can handle yourself and what parts would be best left to the professionals. It will make for a smoother process and a quality end result.

Book Marketing Savvy

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Posted on June 5, 2013

“….from the reading of ‘good books’ there comes a richness of life that can be obtained in no other way.” ~ Gordon B Hinckley

On Tuesday I joined a book club of women from Dorchester County Maryland for lunch. It was the second time I have been among the group, and talk naturally flowed to who is reading what, favorite authors, book lists and other common subjects among book lovers.

One member of the group mentioned she was headed to Boonsboro, Maryland to the historic Inn that is the subject of Nora Roberts recently published Boonsboro trilogy. Roberts has capitalized on capturing the hearts of her readers not only through her books, but by giving her fans an opportunity to visit and relax in the setting of some of her stories. In my opinion, it is a great example of using creative book marketing savvy and smart business.

Obviously her investment in the old stone property, the Boonsboro Inn, on the corner of North Main Street and Potomac, and in the town, itself, has been made possible by her success as a very prolific writer. She has approximately 200 titles to her credit, and some of her novels have been adapted for film. www.noraroberts.com.

The Boonsboro Inn aims to provide a fulfilling vacation travel experience with a literature experience. The assistant innkeeper, Patti, worked at Turn the Page Bookstore for four years. Obviously a booklover and well-read person, I am sure she is well-versed in providing the guests with plenty of background about the Montgomery brothers, the clan featured in The Next Always (Book 1), The Last Boyfriend (Book 2) and the final book of the trilogy, The Perfect Hope. To read more about the Boonsboro trilogy,Click here..

To learn more about the Boonsboro bed and breakfast experience, the amenities offered and the renovation of the historic property, please visit the website. http://bit.ly/19GwZhM.

According to hospitality surveys, more and more people are looking for unique vacations. If you have had a satisfying vacation in a literature hotel or inn, please share your experience with booklovers and writers who frequent www.allthingsfulfilling.com. Click on comment below and tell us all about it.

Gold Standards in Independent Publishing

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Posted on June 4, 2013

Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution. ~ William A Foster

Award-winning authors with award winning books! Today we continue highlighting authors who took away 2013 EVVY prizes from the Colorado Independent Publishers Association (CIPA) last month.

Fiction Legends Lost by Charlie Mac

Click for info & order

Misc. Games & Puzzles The Mindbender Set
by Dom Testa