From the Art Docent: Texture

I thought it would be fun for the first-grade kids to create images, painting with glue and paper to create texture in their art. I brought bins of paper in various solid colors, visual texture, and tactile textures like basket weave, glitter-paper, corrugated cardboard, die cuts, and paper doilies.

I started the lecture by asking them if they remembered the first thing they touched in the morning and what it felt like...soft pajamas, warm sheets, rough carpet, fuzzy slippers and so on.

Then, I had them imagine the other things they'd touch getting ready for school from their clothes to their breakfast. I told them to imagine the lights suddenly went out, and it was pitch black! They still had to brush their teeth, but how could they find their toothbrush and toothpaste? I brought a black bag that contained a toothbrush, toothpaste tube, comb, scrubby, exfoliator, file and a calculator. Without taking the items out, they felt around in the bag, trying to guess what was in there. I asked if they could tell what item didn't belong?

It was a lot of fun! This was the first lecture where I felt the kids were really engaged. Success!

The lesson, however, was a bit of a rough one. I showed the kids how to paint the paper onto their cardboard hearts...I chose this shape because I thought the kids might be interested in making unique valentines. I pre-painted the hearts blue, so the background could be the sky, water, the color of a room, but it would be done, and they could focus on glueing the surface with their imagery instead of spending the limited class time covering the background.

The blue background threw them for a loop. Was it the back? Should they glue on the blue paint? Then they didn't know if they should tear the paper? Cut it? What should they glue down? Should they really glue over the top of the paper? I explained all these things, but there was still a block in getting started. They felt unsure of what they were supposed to do.

I quickly realized that even though I had examples for them up on the board: pizza heart, animal faces, city, random, robot, shapes, words, they really needed one theme to get them started. I think they felt overwhelmed.

Most of the kids enjoyed it, but unfortunately, I didn't get to walk around and snap pictures like I wanted. Clean up was a massive effort! I scraped glue from twenty cups back into the jug and then stood in front of the sink washing glue cups and paint brushes. Oy!

I did manage to get a snap shot of two texture hearts:

Top: Shark Reporter by Ruby

Bottom: Our City by Bianca

Supplies: paint brushes, Mod Podge glue, glue cups, paper towels, paper and cardboard, painted cardboard hearts, and yarn for hanging.

From the Art Docent: Line as a Visual Element

Hey kids! Are you excited for today's art class?
(Yeah! Insert excited chattering and clapping.)

We're going to learn about line!
(Insert the chirp-chirping of crickets.)

I could tell the first grade class I taught today didn't think line was all that exciting. At first, I followed my lesson script with enthusiasm and fun facts like:
A line is a path between two points! Wait, it get's better...
A line can express a feeling. I know, fascinating, right? Like a horizontal line can be sleepy, a line full of angles can be angry or energizing, a thick line can feel heavy, a lightly drawn line can seem like it's floating.
A line can connect and create a shape, it can communicate by forming into letters or scrawling like cursive.
A line can--
(chirp-chirp)

--well, it can decorate...

I tossed the notes aside and jumped in with the fun stuff. I passed out watercolor paper, paints, brushes, water, and a black crayon. I had them sign their names first, earning a nod of approval from the teacher, and settled in with drawing lines on the paper with our black crayon.

Put your crayon on the paper and see where your line goes, I encouraged them.  I told them to draw squiggly lines, straight lines, circles, shapes, angles, dotted lines.

Hey kids! Draw whatever you feel!
(Huh? Is that it?)

Hey kids! Let's paint the white space in between!
(Yeah! Color! Insert applause and cheer.)

Some were done the second their paper hit their desks, and some consternated over each detail for the full hour. It takes all kinds of artists, and even though the enthusiasm I was looking for seemed a little mellow in the beginning, most of the kids were exited to show me their work and proud of their "line" journey.

Today's Drying Rack

Bianca's Sea Monster

Ruby's Hannah Playing in Heaven

Just, That, Really?

One of my critique partners mentioned that I use the word 'just' too many times. So I did a scan on my 71,500 word manuscript and had to raise my brows. I had no idea! I used the word 'just' 268 times. Good grief! 

I did a control F and reviewed each instance and whittled all the 'justs' down to 152 occurrences.

I found this article on other words to be wary of: http://www.dailywritingtips.com/five-words-you-can-cut/ and discovered that I abuse the word 'that', too!

With over 600 cases of ‘that’ in my manuscript, I started down the long slog of reviewing each instance. After the first 100 or so, I questioned whether my usage was so awful. Some 'thats' flowed naturally and sounded good to me when I read it out loud. So, I did a little search and found an article by Grammar Girl that made sense:

http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/when-to-leave-out-that

So, I’ve decided to stop stressing. Each 'that' is worth reviewing, some need to be changed into stronger sentences, some are part of my voice and style and some work grammatically. To eliminate and avoid words doesn't make sense, but to evaluate them? Definitely! This was a good lesson for me, because now those two words stand out every time I use them. 

Along this same grain, is punctuation. Apparently, I abuse the ellipses and the m-dash, too.

Sigh. 

NaNoWriMo Winner!

Wrote 50,109 Words

What a slog! I kissed the timeline bar five times the entire month, meaning I was on track just that many times. The other twenty-five days I was thousands of words behind. Even though I had an outline figured out, I couldn't seem to follow it. My characters had other ideas, and I quickly lost sight of where I was going. There were many times where I thought, I'm not going to be able to catch up. I'm not going to be able to do this thing, to win.

But I'm too competitive. I could not NOT put the words on paper and fail. I had to put something down and that is the beauty of NaNoWriMo. I developed character's insights, I started my story from various points, I put them in weird situations to see how they'd act. I changed their motives and rewrote scenes, slapping it all down into a 50,109 word mess.

But there it is, a big mess that's been created and explored, and now, I can pick at it with my mental ax and see the best route to take. This pile of words will give me something to work with over the next eleven months while I revise, revise, revise.

It's a big pile, but damn! It feels good to win :)

Art in Tacoma's WA State History Museum

SCBWI Event

My illustration, Blue Heron Fishing, was selected to hang in the SCBWI's Illustrator Exhibit at the Washington State History Museum in Tacoma. I was prepared to send my digital version, but at the last minute changed my mind and contacted my brother, the owner of the original collage. I made this traditional collage for his 40th birthday present several years ago, and he was gracious enough to let me borrow it back.

Washington State History Museum of Tacoma

Museum Patrons

Blue Heron Fishing

Tacoma's down town is a beautiful place and the museum was educational and fun. I enjoyed seeing the other artist's work. The SCBWI illustrators are a talented lot!

At the WWSR

Ford Worden

Birthday Cards

Christmas Cards

I have a plethora of supplies spilling out of my closet that barely gets touched but once a year, usually around the time of the Western Washington Scrapbook Retreat (WWSR). I have reams of patterned paper, glue in various shapes and forms (dots, liquid, paste, stick, and tape), cards, envelopes, paints, embellishments, ribbons, tools, and lots of upcycle items like cardboard, fabric swatches, recipes, packaging, book pages, music...you name it. A plethora.

In the excitement of packing for the retreat, I'd usually make a special trip to one of the major crafting stores to peruse the latest and greatest and to drop a couple Jackson's on more stuff.

This year, I changed my game plan. Instead of shopping retail, I opted to shop in my own supplies, and make do. Operation: Deplete Stash. I'm happy to report that I enjoyed the process. I didn't come away with twenty to thirty cards that were all the same, instead I came away with a variety.

From the Art Docent: the Color Wheel

I'm the art docent for a first grade class and my first project was to teach the students about primary and secondary colors. Each student had a paper plate with dabs of blue, yellow, and red poster paint, a paint brush, paper towel, a cup of water, and a line picture of a turkey, since it was nearing Thanksgiving break.

I had labeled the turkey feathers with the color's name, so the students could follow along and make the turkey into a color wheel. We first painted the corresponding feathers with the primary colors, then mixed those to fill in the secondary colors.

Turkey Color Wheel

At the end, I told the kids to stir up all the colors on their plate to make the color brown...how fun, right? It was fun, but the exercise didn't have the desired effect. Most of the kids were coming up with some variation of purple instead of brown for the turkey's body. If I do this assignment again, I'd have the kids bring in even dabs of the primary colors to the center of their palettes. They could mix them in the center and keep adding the color(s) they needed evenly for a nice, solid brown. Once that was accomplished, then they kids could mix their entire palette to make some muddy color of their choice.

NaNoWriMo in Progress...

A Plotter and a Basher sits here.

This weekend I'll have a new office and new views to inspire my latest NaNoWriMo work in progress. I can tippy-tap on the keyboard while surrounded by the creative energy of others. It's the Western Washington Scrapbook Retreat weekend in Fort Worden! Bring on the rain! Bring on that creative zen!

I'll be plugging out my daily goals of 1,667 words per day, while making a stash of birthday cards, Christmas cards, and organizing one of the card swaps. Pure fun.

So what is the craziest thing I'm researching for my latest Young Adult Romance? Motorcycle Clubs. I've read Ralph "Sonny" Barger's memoir, Hell's Angels, watched a documentary on the History Channel, checked out the first three episodes of Sons Of Anarchy (does it get better?), and I am currently reading No Angel by ATF agent Jay Dobyns. I found a forum online called Ask a 'Real Life' Biker (Questions About Club Life) that was interesting and helpful.

I needed information on lingo, what size motorcycle would a young girl be able to handle, what distance can a rider do in a day, club life, and legit business options for the club to make money.

While I'm pondering plot points and character arcs and beefy-necked biker dudes, I'll be cutting out cupcake shapes and making sweet cards with my gal pals. I love the dichotomy. Wish me luck on my word count..it's always a tough grind.

"Tellers of stories with ink on paper have been either Swoopers or Bashers. Swoopers write a story quickly, higgledy-piggledy, crinkum-crankum, any which way. Then they go over it again painstakingly, fixing everything that is just plain awful or doesn’t work. Bashers go one sentence at a time, getting it exactly right before they go on to the next one. When they’re done they’re done.” ~Kurt Vonnegut

November = National Novel Writing Month

Last year, I wrote 50,000 words and won my first NaNoWriMo. Then, I took a revisions class and joined a writer's critique group and worked that puppy over for 11 straight months. Just now, one week away from the next NaNoWriMo event, I have completed my first Young Adult novel at 255 pages and not quite 67,000 words. Get ready agents, 'cuz here I come!

Hip! Hip!

Today, with my butt in my hot-pink, bungee office chair, I'm dreaming about my next novel. I have one week to get my characters, plot, and an outline in order so that I can write the days away, starting on November first.

But, come on...first things first! According to the NaNoWriMo website, authors have a 60% more likely chance of winning if they create a cover for their story. I believe it. Because now that I've worked up a cover...it's more real to me. It's a real story, and I need to tell it.

Get ready! Riding with the Hides Of Hell: A Love Story is getting cooked up, right now.

July Camp NaNoWriMo Coming Up!

I need to pad my skeletal young adult romance story, the one I wrote for last November's NaNoWriMo. 50,000 words is not nearly enough and after the completion of my revisions class, I know where I need to go and what needs to get done. It will be a month of new writing woven together with mass editing. 

With Independence Day and two weeks out of town visiting family (I haven't seen my brother and his family for 11 years!) I've got my work cut out for me, but at the same time, I'm looking forward to the challenge.

Camp NaNoWriMo questions:

Q. Things I never thought I'd find myself researching are...
A.  Badgers, online gaming lingo, and native PNW plants.

Q. What is my goal for this July NaNoWriMo?
A. 25K total, 800 - 825 words per day.

Q. What are my self-imposed constraints for my writing?
A. Be mindful of each character's unique voice and motivations. Delve into the plot layers. Cherish the moments that need to be remembered.

Emerald City Opener Contest

I just entered my latest work, a Young Adult romance, in the Greater Seattle Romance Writers of America - Emerald City Opener Contest. Here are the details for those interested and writing in the romance genre:

* Due date is May 31st
* Entry fee is $20 for non-members, $12 for GSRWA members
* First 7-pages only
* Final judge for YA is Kathleen Rushall of Marsal Lyon Agency
* Big prize: $20 Amazon gift card...(obviously, I didn't enter for the money!)

Cloud Covers

1 Pink Tent, 2 Tent Undone, 3 Forgotten Tent, 4 Two Tents

I'm gearing up for Camp NaNoWriMo for the month of April by wrapping up my children's chapter book C.L.O.U.D. series with the final book, number four.

The Camp NaNoWriMo website has a place to put a small cover, advertising your work-in-progress. Naturally, I couldn't do just one...that would be lopsided. So I spent the morning working on the covers for all four books.

April starts in two days; I need to figure out my game plan.

Raining Dirty Gumballs

Raining Gumballs

"Too much of a good thing can be wonderful!"

Raining Gumballs - detail

I can't even believe how long this collage sat in my studio in pieces. I had the idea, but I just couldn't get it to look right...so it squatted on one desk, then the other, constantly moving around and always in the way. Inevitable the letters would blow off and I'd crawl around looking for them...

Painful.

I finally decided that the gumball machine was too big for the canvas and cut it down. Wow! Making a decision and following through made all the difference in the world. Months and months of staring at this pile then - pow! - the pieces flew into place. It felt good to get things glued down.

This illustration is for my kid's room...where there are two gumball machines on her shelf. When I asked her what she thought, she asked, "Why are the gumballs dirty?"

The other family members hadn't realized the gumballs were raining down or that the white circles were supposed to be clouds. Bubbles, yes...clouds, no.

Dirty gumballs, indeed. Like it or lump it, kid. It's going on the wall.

Christmas Season

Santa Baby

Christmas Card 2013

Made these at the Western Washington Scrapbook Retreat last November. A single ply card with library sleeve on the back where I inserted a small note and kids' school pictures. 

Merry Christmas out there!

SCBWI Western WA Illustrator Exhibit

Lunch Break

Illustrated by Jessixa Bagley, (c) 2012

Get ready for the open house, family style, on Sunday, October 27th, 2:00 - 5:00 pm. Kids get to create with the artists and see the 67 framed illustrations that represent the local SCBWI Western WA chapter.
I'll be there with "Made My Bed", matted, framed, and ready to go.

Paying Homage to the Community Cookbook

Sorry to those who have gifted me community cookbooks in the past. I don't use cookbooks that don't show color pictures of the food, and I don't trust the instructions that people write themselves. It's me, not you. 

I cleaned all spiral-bound cookbooks off my shelf, but instead of throwing them out, they're in my collage bin. They're calling for a new life, and they got it. Ice cream thank-you cards! I tore out a few dessert pages and spritzed them with Tsukineko Walnut Ink then cut them into cone shapes. I added a highlight and some crosshatch with some pastel pencils for added detail and texture.

Happy Day Ice Cream Cone

Thank You Card

Okay, fun's over. Party food has been put away, people have come and gone, and the house is quiet. The cards were made and sent, and now it's time to get back to work.

"Write without pay until somebody offers pay. If nobody offers within three years, the candidate may look upon this circumstance with the most implicit confidence as the sign that sawing wood is what he was intended for." ~ Mark Twain

The Chosen One

The Western WA chapter of SCBWI has an opportunity this winter to show artwork at the Washington State Convention Center. I entered five illustrations to be considered, and Made My Bed was chosen. I need to have it matted and framed by October.

I'm looking forward to seeing the final exhibit. There are some very talented artists in this area.

Second Place!

There were nearly 900 entries for the PNWA Literary Contest this year. Nine finalists were chosen in my division for childrens picture and chapter books. I took second place with my first chapter book in my unpublished C.L.O.U.D. series!

I was so excited to get the phone call this afternoon! I would have done a happy dance, but I was driving back, in stop-and-go traffic, after my 2-week vacation in Oregon. It took me five and a half hours to get home instead of the customary four.

Horrible traffic be damned...it was a sweet ride!

Done...But Not Quite.

I did it!

Today, I validated my word count with Camp NaNaWriMo. I typed 15,745 for the month of July, meeting my self-inflicted goal of 13,000 words. Goals were met, but expectations were still a little shy. I envisioned a complete final draft and a rough start on the next story's outline.

Word Count Goals Met

Camp NaNoWriMo

But alas, I'm done with my word count, but not done with my story. I'm about four pages from the end; the story closure still needs to be firmed up. 

Funny, how different stumbling blocks happen at different points for different stories! Book One I wrote in sections, rearranged those sections, then went back and agonized over the first chapter, over and over. Book two seemed easy, I wrote an outline, followed the outline and now it's ready for editing. This book, book three, started off easy. I wrote the first seven chapters chronologically - good stuff, too! - then, realized it was going nowhere. I rewrote the first half again...and again. I tried an outline, rewrote, re-outlined, stared into space, meditated and stewed...for months. I tried dreaming about it and forgetting about it. I went to an SCBWI conference and during the sessions, I thought more about it.

Then I had an epiphany! 

I had to rethink where my story was starting, the inciting incident, what my character wanted, and figure out why the story was important for that character right then and there. Back to the beginning.

After much noodling and the convergence with Camp NaNoWriMo, I powered through. Now...four pages from the end and I'm still wondering how to wrap it up. So close to being done...but not quite.

How will Book four work out? Where will the challenge be in that story?

Only writing the words will tell.

WOTGo for Camp NaNo

Writing On The Go (WOTGo) while participating in Camp NaNoWriMo has been fun! Writing outside has its perks...fresh air, beautiful 360 degree views, and loads of inspiration, meditation, and relaxation. But I guess that all depends on the local.

First, I used our new play structure to do some editing. Nice shade, perfect place to keep the kids occupied, and a flat writing surface. It worked for me!

 New Play Structure at Home

Picnic Table/ New Writing Office behind the climbing wall

Editing Desk

My Outdoor Office!

Complete with Children

Next writing stop was during our camping trip at Crow Butte. Man, it was a scorcher! It hovered around 96 degrees, complete with rattlesnake warnings, and no cell phone coverage unless you hiked up a dry, desert hill. Wouldn't you know, I could receive calls...like my credit card didn't go through to reserve a hotel room in August and my cat was diagnosed with kidney failure while having a kennel stay...But I couldn't make calls. So I had to hike up the hill, keeping an eye out for snakes to make a couple important phone calls. 

Writing inspiration!

Crow Butte Camping Trip

Outdoor Office with my pooch.

Cell Phone Coverage

In the Hills

Conference Room

"I'm frying my brains out in rattlesnake country."

Writing Prompts

Campground Treasures

Today, we're back in Dallesport (The Dalles area) and are enduring the 100 degree heat by having a covered kiddie pool. Once again, kids are kept entertained, I'm kept cool, and I've got a cup of coffee by my side. I'm not that big of a coffee die-hard, but some times writing requires the jolt...hot or cold.

Relaxation!

Covered Swimming Pool at the Ready!

Office in Dallesport

Now I must say adieu. It's time to dunk my head.

I'm melting...