Back to the TO-DO-LIST

Squiggles - remember these when you were a kid? A ream of blank paper, a box of 64 crayons, and a rainy Saturday afternoon - Life Was Good!

So - here I am , 50 years later - I'm still squiggle-ing. Only now I  am using it as a form of meditation. A way to empty my mind of everything except what is important at this moment - my ART-TO-DO-LIST.

Early next year I need to complete a slew of new paintings for the Gallery, 2 shows, illustrations for a second Courage Lion book, prepare for a 5-day workshop, and a 5-day vacation - all to be completed by May/June.

And here I sit - squiggle-ing - and wondering how many squiggles my Gallery will take!

Message from Ellie:

ellie said...

Used to be that one of my most treasured possessions was the Crayola box of 64. Loved the shades and the names of each. Hated that moment when the first one broke.
These days in order to clear my mind or to tussle with a design modification I do sudoku or play solitare. Hands at work while the mind can worry a problem and visualize a solution.
We're not too far from our childhood, are we?

Words of Encouragement . . .

A very special Thank You
to my dear non-cyber friend LINDA SOMMER,

who would be very quick to deny the fact that she is the most

inspirational
and
motivational,

art friend I have. She said she "loves my passion" and that my "flame burns brightly" - so sweet!! My passion pales next to hers.

Words of Encouragement . . .

Thank you ELLIE . . .

Thank you for showing up on my blog whenever I need a lift or a dose of reality - TRY AGAIN and KEEP GOING. The best advice ever - so simple, yet so true!!

Ellie and I were cut from the same piece of cloth. When we were kids, if we wanted to play, we made our own toys, mainly paper dolls. Ellie is the same way today, inspired by her grandchildren, she started her own business, making clothes for little girls. What lucky grandchildren to have Ellie as dressing them in fantabulous beautiful colorful clothes!

http://annarellahome.blogspot.com/

Words of Encouragement . . .

Thank you CLYTIE . . .

Clytie is an artist who claims to "see things differently"
I think the only way she sees things differently is that she actually sees things that the rest of us don't.  She is an  APPRECIATOR and an OBSERVER,  in a world that has forgot the importance and the benefits of both.

http://clytie-randomtrash.blogspot.com/
http://clytie-eandomheartwork.blogspot.com/
http://naturejournal.blogspot.com/


And while she is OBSERVING, she APPRECIATES when those of us in her cyberWORLD need a cyberHUG, and she freely showers us with her Random Hearts. She is a treasure.

Words of encouragement . . .

Thank you PAUL KASMIR . . .

Paul reminded me of a few popular books that were rejected numerous times:

M*A*S*H, Richard Hooker - rejected 21 times
Carrie, Stephen King - rejected 30 times
Gone With the Wind, Margaret Mitchell - rejected 38 times
A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L'Engle - rejected 26 times
Heaven Knows Mr. Allison, Charles Shaw - rejected 20 times
Dune, Frank Herbert - rejected 23 times

Paul is a fabulous fantastical illustrator of whimsical gargoyles and toy animals.
Check out his YouTube video - Taurus Remembers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk-xaRtnSi8

Words of Encouragement . . .

Thank You - Jamie Burch . . .

Jamie sent me these words

"Remember - dreams are just your future waiting to come true"

I sent these words to her a year or so ago, and now they found their way back to me.

http://dancingdownserendipitystreet.blogspot.com/

http://chasingthemooncreations.blogspot.com/

Jamie is an aspiring YA novelist. I expect to see her books on the best seller list in a year or two.

Don't give up your DAY JOB!

Ahh the critique. The baring of the soul. Letting a perfect stranger see your hopes and dreams. Being able to say THANK YOU as they gently tell you  - you are ordinary - you are the same as every other artist trying to make their mark -you are bold and brave yet humble and touched. My two hundred page book is just a small idea not big enough to support a real book,  I need to write a big story with my little idea in the middle. So - I have no book, no reserved spot on a library shelf, no movie deal - and no AUTOGRAPH from Wendy Loggia! Plus, I am a year behind on my art projects with nothing new to post on my blog.

But what I do have is an admiration for the writers with big ideas for their big books. An admiration for the writer who can remember 65,000 words ago whether they gave their main character her birthday yet this year, or if her brother's name is Zach or Justin, or was that the Dad's name? or if her bedroom is on the first or second floor of her house. Things we readers think our authors most certainly know!

Plus, I am still a great reader. And those writers with their big ideas wouldn't be so great if it wasn't for us great readers. I still have that!

Honestly - the critique was exactly as I expected, I am a first time writer. And all my first time writer weaknesses were evident. I knew they were there. But writing a novel was on my bucket list and now it's not. And the next time I illustrate a manuscript, I will do it with reverence and awe!

ps - Wendy Loggia was sweet, with true grace she let me down gently without saying those dreaded words - you suck!

SCBWI - Gettysburg Conference

Today is MY DAY

My Mountain IS waiting

Wendy Loggia - Ever After

This weekend I am attending a SCBWI conference in Gettysburg PA. It's a huge conference for the Eastern PA and Western PA chapter, and Maryland Chapter.

I always love these conferences, so much to learn and great fun! As you all know I am primarily an artist, and even though I write picture books, I am not published. But recently, on a lark, I thought I would try my hand at writing a YA novel. I had an idea that gnawed at my brain and wouldn't leave me alone. It was a big idea, one that would never do in a picture book. After a few months, I gave in to the YA novel idea. I wrote the novel. I wrote it three times and I see at least twenty more rewrites in my future. Picture books, with their 800 words are a piece of cake compared to 70,000 words. Lord knows I was challenged! Long story short - I threw aside self-doubt and signed up for a book critique at this conference. Self doubt came back with a vengeance and I have regretted it ever since.

I received my critique appointment, this Saturday, 9:15am, with no other than

Wendy Loggia.

Author of

Ever After,

and Editor of

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.

Are you serious?

It's too late to crawl in a hole, travel to the other side of the world, or have my wisdom teeth extracted - anything to avoid this appointment. I will be there. I figure all is not lost, for my $40 critique fee,

I'm getting one hell of an autograph!