Tag Archives: Writing

Sunday at the Opera House

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Sunday, January 29, 2023 – 3pm

No, I wasn’t at the Sydney Opera House, it was much closer to home where I spent last Sunday at an event which was headlined as “Two Boys! Two Pianos! And a show that will knock your socks off!” It was my first visit to the Havre de Grace Opera House in the arts and entertainment district of a town in Harford County, Maryland.

Ronnie Carrasquillo and Kain Felix’s concert began on a few recognizable arrangements – Pachelbel’s Canon in D and The Prayer. Along with that, the pair put on their very best professional airs these two middle school boys could have. The varied mix of music – duets, classical and then contemporary allowed a them to drop their professional facade just a little bit toward the end and just have a little fun, like youth do. Concert piano may not be every 11 and 12 year old’s idea of having a great afternoon but these two were enjoying themselves, despite Ronnie’s admission of how nervous he was, which seemed to disappear once he began playing. From where I was sitting I could see a little into the wings. After each one’s individual performance, I could see the boys giving each other the thumbs up and high fives, encouraging one another. As their teacher Miss Julie said, the two have “great synergy” between them.

Not a page of sheet music was at the baby grand. Kain played all from memorization, which was impressive given the fact that his talent has already lead him into some complex compositions. Kain who has begun studying at the Maryland Conservatory of Music has started writing some of his own music such as two tunes he played, Lost and Found and Ripples. Some of the other pieces each boy played had unique elements, some improvisation, added in.

Ronnie has been Miss Julie’s student for four years and their great rapport was evident, yet he is preparing to advance his skills at the Maryland Conservatory of Music. Their teacher Julie Shaker has been very instrumental in her mentoring and their development, and all three seem to enjoy one another too.

One wonders where their futures in music will lead them but already their young talent did knock my socks off and in the process all I could think is how challenging it sometimes is to get my own emotions down on a piece of paper, so I ponder how can two boys with so few years of living on this earth turn their thoughts into writing a rather complex composition of musical notes or take music already written, then add to it and play it with such pleasing results? Innate, God-given gifts they have been given.

I’d like to thank Kain’s mom, Claudia Felix for giving me the the opportunity to see these two middle school boys first public appearance and display their hard work and young, admirable talent.

Kain’s Mom Claudia showing her support and congratulations at intermission. The two boys parents have much to be proud of.

Artists Gather – Part 2

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Literary enthusiasts were not forgotten in the All Arts Week which is still happening throughout the weekend in Harford County, MD. On Wednesday night, there was a living history performance of poet/writer Mary Oliver presented by storyteller Colleen Webster at the Armory, where the night before it was the venue for ballroom dance lessons as part of the All Arts Festival..

Webster, whom I have seen several times previously playing the parts of Freda Kahlo and Georgia O’Keefe was convincing playing the role well of a shy poet, Mary Oliver, who did not particularly like to share her private life but was full of words when it came to the natural world around her. Besides her many books of poetry which were published, her claim to fame was a National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize for her writing. Read more about this poet who was greatly influenced by Edna Vincent Millay through the Poetry Foundation.

Mary Oliver lived most of her life in Provincetown, Massachusetts and she left three points of wisdom for all of us – #1 Pay Attention, #2 Be Astonished, #3 Tell About It! On a daily basis, she followed her own advice as she found ideas for the basis of her writing while spending time in nature.

Thanks Colleen Webster for another wonderful performance and to the Bel Air Cultural Arts Commission and other sponsors for including this event in the weeks line-up.

This poem called Praying is By Mary Oliver. (September 10, 1935 – January 17, 2019)

Author’s Showcase – Perry Hall

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April 13, 2022

Book Buyers at the Perry Hall Branch of the Baltimore County Public Library

It is always fun to gather with other authors, and the Author’s Showcase at the Perry Hall Branch Library brought book lovers of all types to browse tables and purchase books from a wide diversity of subjects.

Thanks to the Perry Hall Library and to Douglas J Beatty – Adult and Community Involvement Librarian for organizing this evening. Our book buyers/potential buyers are our reason for being and it is fulfilling to have venues to share and talk about what we love to do – write!

Valuing The Future

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As a life-long library patron, anytime I visit a library I have never frequented before, it’s like library week all over again. I recently visited one in the western part of the U.S.

Bozeman, Montana has a wonderful library. A good indicator of valuing future generations is a willingness to invest in good community resources for learning, information and gathering spaces which inspire discovery.

Located in the fourth largest city in Big Sky Country, the Bozeman Library is light-filled! In a place where winter is long and cold, an active library where one can find connection through book groups, children’s reading programs, at the library coffee shop and at special library sponsored events, is well appreciated. Sometimes getting involved in library activities can become a “life-saver” for those feeling disconnected or isolated.

Interior Bozeman Montana Public Library
Children’s Library Area at Bozeman Public Library

Art abounds both in the interior and on the surrounding grounds of this and other public libraries around the country.

Through books, we are given the opportunity to fly off to places and meet people we ordinarily wouldn’t! So never discount the value of books and the importance an author feels to engage with others through the written word.

Self-Fulfilling Action

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“We are the creative force of our life, and through our own decisions rather than through our conditions, if we carefully learn to do certain things, we accomplish goals.” ~ Stephen Covey

 

It’s the season of Thanksgiving. Ten years ago I had limited knowledge about independent publishing and I had never written anything. But I had a strong interest!  If it hadn’t been for the fruits of my labors over a span of the last decade, there is no way a project that will soon come to fruition would have landed in my lap!  A year ago I became entrusted to write someone else’s story. I am honored and thankful! The publication is going to be outstanding.

Truly, it takes just as much action as it does words when it comes to becoming a writer and independent publisher. Nixing fear and doubt and replacing it with unwavering faith and the words “I AM WRITING AND PUBLISHING A BOOK” (rather than I am trying to) makes a big difference in ones determination and motivation to get the job done, project after project.

The opportunity came on the heels of taking a break from any serious writing time because for a season in my life I became full-time caretaker to two terminally ill parents and it reinforced my belief in the power of writing to heal from loss and bring personal fulfillment.

The narrative was so much fun to write! I know the artist is looking forward to revealing his new publication and it will soon be hot off the press!  Keep your eye out on this website, soon more information will be posted.

Art Writing Opportunities

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“Art helps us see connection and brings a more coherent meaning to our world.” ~ Ernest Boyer, Founder, Carnegie Foundation

In my previous post about two weeks ago, I wrote about a plein-air painting workshop I attended given by Artists-in-Residence Mike Bare and Joanne Bare at Ladew Topiary Gardens. I’m grateful I have acquired knowledge about painting through past life experiences with several master artists. It has led to opportunities to write about art and the humanities in general, such as all the essays on the website Through the Lens of Her Camera, about photojournalist Cheryl Ito.  Her work is in the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.

Over the past year, I have been engaged in another art related writing project. Soon the manuscript will be going to print. It has been very gratifying and more will come about this later!

Some of what Bare spoke about in the workshop at Ladew Gardens can be applied to writing.  “Art,”  Mike said,  “allows us to understand who we are.”  This is precisely why I find writing so fulfilling. I have learned so much about myself and what I value through my writing.  Authors tend to write about what they know.  You can understand much of what is important to me by reading the 2500 posts (which are indexed by category) on this website, AllThingsFulfilling.com. Four topics – art, gardens, independent publishing, and faith are just some of the subjects I return to time and time again but always with a new perspective.

Painters do the same thing, according to Bare, they tend to return to the same spot time and time again because one makes connection with the scene that way and paints it well. There are often seasonal variables when painting “en plein air” but one finds value in coming back to the same location. Capturing the changes in light or other seasonal/environmental/atmospheric conditions holds both significance and challenge for the artist.

During the workshop at Ladew Topiary Gardens, photos were shown of other artists work. In one image, a cityscape, we saw a part of the composition was intentionally left unfinished. Yet, as the instructor pointed out, we did not notice it until we made a closer inspection of the painting. Why?  “Because our mind makes up what is missing!”  says Bare. True enough, I thought. Readers do the same thing with stories. They read into it what they will by the associations made with the words given on the page. Not every detail in a story is drawn-out. Some readers get irked when they have to draw their own conclusions and others like to be left hanging so they can use their own imaginations and create what happens next.

Thank you to Mike Bare and Joanne Bare for continuing my art education simply by allowing me to be a listening participant in the morning lecture. A writer’s life is wonderfully fulfilling.

This blog is brought to you by Sue Batton Leonard.

Forever Grateful for Art Education

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“To live a life fulfilled, reflect on the things you have with gratitude.” ~ Jaren Davis

Last weekend I sat in on a plein air painting workshop held at Ladew Topiary Gardens. It is truly an extraordinary,  top-notch venue for artists who enjoy getting out of the studio to paint a garden landscape scene right in front of them in natural light.

Instructors and husband and wife team, Mike Bare and Joanne Bare are completing their one year Artists-in-Residence at Ladew Topiary Gardens. As I listened to the artists talk, I couldn’t help but feel gratitude for a few chapters of my life that I would not have wanted to skip for anything – the opportunity to work at two different art galleries. More recently, Wild Horse Gallery in Steamboat Springs, Colorado and some years ago at West Wind Fine Art, LLC in Manchester, Vermont. That is when I handled the order fulfillment of art books and videos published by representational painter Richard Schmid‘s publishing house, Stove Prairie Press, LLC.  What an opportunity it was to learn so much about painting. My appreciation of art grew exponentially with those life experiences.

So, when artist Mike Bare spoke about differences in painting styles between loose vs. tight , and terminology such as warm vs cool colors, opposites on a color wheel, soft and hard edges, painting shadows (dark) vs light and negative spaces, I understood what he was talking about. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about other technical aspects of painting before the artists went out into the gardens to sketch and practice what their instructor so capably preached.

( Above photo: Mike Bare at Barn Gallery at Ladew Topiary Gardens)

Some of what Bare spoke about can be applied to writing. Do come back to my next post on October 10, 2019. I’ll explain what the artist said that also relates to a fulfilling writers life.

(Above Photo: Mike Bare’s sketchbook and paintings at Ladew Topiary Gardens)

On this Independence Day 2019

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On this Independence Day, we at AllThingsFulfilling.com have decided to take stock by looking in on some of the latest statistics regarding independent publishing! Indeed the publishing paradigm has changed enormously over the past ten years.

Did you know in 2017 alone, over 1,000,000 books were independently published? That’s right!

Go right to the source for the report from, Bowker!

That’s not even to mention 266 million e-books that were sold. Read the full reports here!

For the fifth straight year the number of books in print have grown. According to Beat Barblan, Director of Indentifer Services at Bowker, independent publishing “shows no signs of slowing down and it continues to grow at a steady rate.”‘

Of course, in this digital world, intellectual property piracy continues to be a huge concern and at issue.

Since 2012, there has been 156% increase in ISBN#s issued, says Bowker.

What can that be attributed to? You might ask. Here are some of the reasons why:

  • Increase in number of publishing associations which serve authors.
  • Technology
  • Growing author communities
  • Increasing products and services for authors
  • Resources to market books independently and digitally

On this Independence Day 2019, I’d like to point out freedom of press has been a cornerstone value since our country began! It is our belief at AllThingsFulfilling.com that with freedom comes great responsibility. Use and choose your words carefully to help unite rather than harm.

In short, practice the golden rule “Treat others as oneself would wish to be treated.”

Happy 4th of July!

 

Stimulating-Creative-Energy

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All Things Fulfilling

If we look for it, there is good news every day of the week, not just on Thirsty Thursday. So the good news for today is – “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” ~ Maya Angelou

Back on December 29, 2014 I posted an article on All Things Fulfilling about Jonathan Lehrer’s book called Imagination. If you missed the blog, you can go back and read Spinning Yarns.

The blog was about my decision to take a creative writing course because I had read so much evidence including Jonathan Lehrers book, called Imagination on the importance of seeking out opportunities to use our creativity.

Everyone-Has-A-Creative-GiftIf you are a person who has never explored the creative aspect of your brain, it’s never too late to discover your creative gifts. It’s been said that creativity builds more creativity. To use some popular buzz words, our imagination is a…

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