cover hesitation...

Oh Gosh, I'm amazed at how difficult it is to figure out a cover for the book I wrote for The Fiction Project.  I want to make the cover memorable...or at least nice enough to get someone to open my book!  So far, I'm NOT doing very well.  I really had hoped a few people would want to read my book while it's on the journey across America. So far, I haven't come up with the right cover design.  Nothing seems right.   

I've thought about using one or two prints from my watercolors, for the cover, but they don't seem to fit the title.  It should be something fun, bright - and I'm just not there yet.  

I started painting a background for the cover.  It turned out too muddy.  Yikes. I was hoping to send my  book in soon.  I'm going to have to solve this problem quickly!


Now, I'm thinking I might print out one of  my beach scenes and use a photo on the cover instead of a painting or print.  This might work since I talk about the beach in the story.



I'll have to play with this idea.

The Fiction Project

I've been working on The Art House Co-op's - The Fiction Project for a while now.  Actually, I'm almost finished.  I'm please with the story I wrote, but I know I rushed to get the book done.  I was so sure I wouldn't finish it in time I hurried it along. 

Even though I rushed it - I loved every minute of the books creation.  It was fun.  I went to bed late quite a few nights because I just didn't want to stop working on the book.  Part of the suggestions for writing the book were to hand write the story!  Well, I think my book would  look a lot better if I could have printed it out.  No matter how hard I try, my handwriting just isn't the best. 


Now, I've come to the part that is holding me back - the cover.  I can't seem to decide how to tackle this problem.  Should it be a collage?  Should I use one of my paintings?  Just not sure what I'm going to do yet.  Perhaps, I should consult with Melanie.  After all, she would probably have an opinion or some magical recipe that would work.

My story is about a mischievous muse named Melanie.  She finds a blank, abandoned book and decides to give it a home.  She drops it in the lap of a blocked artist and works her magic.
Because of Melanie's mentoring the artist finds her creative voice and the blank, boring book gets completed.  The artist then sends the book on to the Art House Co-op to become part of The Fiction Project.  It's a simple story, but it has a good message.


Here's a collage of some of the pages in the book.

farewell to a tree...

I'm always sad to see a tree being cut down.  I love trees.  

 

A few months ago, a tremendous, very cool tree at the apartment building where my Dad lives was taken down.  This tree used to take my breath away!  We were told it was diseased and it had to come down for safety reasons. I think everyone was wishing this wasn't the case.  The only saving grace was that parts of the tree were taken to make into furniture by a local craftsman.

The Maple was 200 years old!  I felt sick to see it go, but it's a done deal now.

One afternoon, while waiting for the elevator at the apartment I looked out and there below me was the base of the 200 year old tree. To me it looks like an unusual flower.

I had to take pictures of it.  This tree is still beautiful even in it's death. 

 This view is Ipswich, MA looking out from Central Street.

Video by Jan Phillips

I couldn't begin to put into words the way Jan describes creativity.
She nails it. This is a wonderful video. I had to share it you.

www.janphillips.com

I like this quote...

Whatever you dream 
or dare to
dream,
begin it."

Goethe

Fear of the blank page....

What is it about a blank canvas or a blank book page that is so daunting? There's an idea blooming in our heads...yet, the page stays blank and scary for days.  We look at it, but nothing happens.

I finally gulped down my feelings of intimidation.  I decided I would start my Fiction Project book yesterday no matter what.  I guess, it won't be the most perfect book ever created.  It won't even be a stellar example of an altered book because this is my very first project of this sort.  That's a fact I will live with.  I set my goal as just getting the book completed!  To realize my goal I had to start...

Often "Start" is the most important step to a creative adventure even if it's a scary step.  Without "Start"....there is never an ending....so I'm excited now.  I'm on my way.

The Title of my book is:

It will be fun.  I swear

*
The Adventures of a

Mischievous Muse

Art House Co-op - The Fiction Project 2011

My blank book arrived a few days ago from The Art House Co-op in Brooklyn, New York.  

This truly will be a challenge for me, but I'm looking forward to combining writing and art to create my story.  The Fiction Project sets its sights on literature and creating a narrative book that fuses writing with art!  I believe I need to have the project completed and back in the mail by May 1st so it can join the other books in a tour of the country.

The books will be included in an exhibition visiting galleries and museums in the following cities:

Brooklyn, NY San Francisco, CA Chicago, IL Seattle, WAWinter Park, FL

After the tour of the country these books will return to the Brooklyn Art Library and become part of the permanent collection in New York.  How neat is that?

Free Teleclass tonight...

 

Since, I've taken part in many of the Artella programs I thought this would be a worthy blog post.  Artella Land opens up an entire world to those of us who are creative and need a little boost.  Check it out.  

Just click on the picture to find out more about the teleclass.  
You won't be sorry.

Early Evening Moon

Early Evening Moon  

Where was my camera

as I drove down the road

watching in disbelief 

as the moon rose

huge and golden before my eyes?

It shown in great majesty

rising in the sky

like a knight guarding

my world.

Where was my camera

as the moon glowed warm,

dancing behind trees,

copper light 

glistening off windows?
 

The moon, so large

became in an instant

brilliant bright...

suddenly a jewel.

Suddenly a jewel

***
Penned by Linda Lamore

The "Super Moon," and the comment made by Flyingbeader sent me searching for an old poem I wrote years ago.  It seemed  to fit the beautiful scene we were treated to last night.

Super Moon...

It's Supermoon! A Rare Lunar Event Tonight

http://laist.com/2011/03/19/its_a_bird_its_a_plane_its_supermoo.php
Photo by Sundogg via LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr


Each time I listened to the news the past few days I heard about the "Super Moon."
 
The reporters said that scientists estimated the moon rising in the east at sunset this Saturday would appear 14 percent bigger than usual, and 30 percent brighter at its peak tonight.  

I was excited to attempt to take a few photos.  At first, I was disappointed because I saw no sign of the moon at sunset.  I thought my only chance of getting a shot of the moon would be at sunset when there was still some light in the sky.

Around 10:00 pm I spied that bright old moon.  

I had expected it to seem larger, but it was still beautiful.  I grabbed my camera, experimented with a few settings, and I was pleased with the results.  

 I have a new respect for my camera.  The setting I used for these pictures is called "scenery."

Paints paint flower!

Some of you know my dad has been seriously ill. 

 It's been a long haul from Jan 25th when he first entered the  hospital. He's since been in and out of the hospital 3 times! 

In between the hospital stays there was a tragic fire in the apartment building where my father lives.  Luckily, his apartment was not harmed. Unfortunately, the fire sent him out into the pouring rain where he got a chill...this happened just after he returned home from having pneumonia! Not surprising a few days later he ended up back in the hospital.

The great news is my dad has improved. He's in a rehab facility now and may be going home soon. I'm thrilled and relieved. Now, I can almost catch my breath.

I haven't painted in ages so when I opened a watercolor tray recently I discovered something just so neat. I had placed a paper towel in the container to keep the paint from leaking. To my delight an abstract flower painting emerged. 

My paints created a painting on the paper towel!

Magic does happen!!!

When has creativity rescued you?

 "Leo Scarf"

Has there ever been a time in your life when bad experiences, stress, medical emergencies, or family troubles totally overwhelmed you?  But - then, you discovered a few creative moments helped to lessen your pain?  I would really like to hear how "creative salve" helped you at certain troublesome times in your life.

This was my recent experience:

The One World One Heart 2011 event was an amazing glimpse into the creative world of over 800 bloggers.  It began Jan 31st and ended on Feb. 17th, 2011.

I learned a lot through this journey. Creative people are extremely willing to share the wonder of their discoveries and talents. They are a delightful group. 

Just before OWOH began my father became seriously ill.  He was hospitalized twice before coming home again on Valentines Day.  (Our special gift.)  He's in delicate health, but holding his own right now.  He's 93!

I'm blessed to have my dad in my life.  I cherish all the moments I spend with him.  While he was in the hospital I spent many late evenings (since I was too worried to sleep) visiting the OWOH creative blogs. I found diving into the world of other creatives helped keep my mind from my worries.  Now, I feel even closer to all who participated in the OWOH event. Thank you!

Also, I discovered keeping my hands busy helped calm my mind during the hours spent with my father in the hospital. ...Well, one scarf turned into 4, and I dubbed them "Leo Scarves!" They are very special.

I developed quite a reputation at the hospital.  A nurse I had never seen before asked me if I was the woman who crochets!

 

One World One Heart - Winner Announcement

This was the first year I participated in the One World One Heart blog hopping event, and it was delightful.  Thank you, Lisa Swifka for giving us this chance to meet so many other creatives and have such a good time!
 

It was a breathless flight!!!

At midnight I lit a candle asking for blessings to all who participated in the OWOH event, and then I picked the winners name....

Drum Roll, Please.....

...And, the winner of my Shabby Chic Denim necklace is: 


# 864 - Barbara Rosenzweig!!!!  US
http://barbararosenzweig.blogspot.com/
Barbara - please email me with your mailing address within three days so I can send you your gift.  :) Thanks

    http://www.restylestudios.etsy.com

PS...Barbara - I love love your beautiful watercolors!

One World One Heart - blog event

Hello - Welcome to my Blog.

My name is Linda Lamore, and I am a creative adventurer.

I live in Ipswich, Ma, USA. A place of beautiful inspiration. I love making jewelry, exploring digital photography, and I paint watercolors,too.    I also dabble in mixed media, collage, and I enjoy working with fiber. I'm new to felting, and I'm teaching myself how to crochet.
Recently, I decided to start a line of upcycled - eco chic items. I take tee shirts, jeans and other upcycled fibers and create new items such as necklaces, bangles, purses, scarves and very neat cuff bracelets. This is addicting and fun.

I love to go exploring with my camera.  I collect sea glass, shells, drift wood and other natural items to add to my creations. Some days, I think I should concentrate on only one creative venture, but my muse wants to try lots of new things.       Do any of you have this happening to you?

I would love to hear about your passions and creative adventures.

Don't forget to leave a comment with your email address so I can enter you into the One World One Heart contest.              I'll be announcing the winner on Feb. 18th as a blog post. I will also contact the winner directly by email.

Good luck, and I hope to hear from you.

Below is a picture of the prize I'm offering. It is a lovely shabby chic necklace created from denim jeans and other fabric and fibers. 


Just hit "comments" to leave your message.  Thanks - Can't wait to hear from you.  Also, I'd be honored if you decide to follow my blog!!!

...muse gone wild

Perhaps, it's because of winter closing in on me. Longer days inside. The dark showing up at 4:30 PM...but something has happened - my muse has gone wild!

She wants to play and she dances from one project to another. She drags me to book stores and libraries to look for books on all sorts of neat, creative subjects. She frequents YouTube, and search engines, and can't stop learning. It's been fun - almost a little naughty. Maybe, I should focus on other things.....BUT...I will admit I'm surviving the winter and learning, too.

The snow has become a great subject to photograph. I enjoy sharing my pictures and blogging about our recent storms. On the morning of the December storm I took a few beautiful pictures while the street lights were still on. I may even enter them in the next art association show. We'll see. I usually stick to showing my jewelry creations and paintings, but why not - photos, too? See what my muse is doing to me?

For one thing, I've started crocheting again. I haven't touched a crochet hook in years...or a knitting needle for that matter. My enthusiasm for upcycling has been leading me to experiment. I've been making tee shirt yarn, and I have tons of new ideas I want to try.


While exploring yarn, my curiosity has led me to purchase a Mother Marian "Meggie" kick spindle spinning wheel. It's a great invention. I can't wait to get going on it. I'm sure there will be a learning curve. I haven't had the chance to play with it yet. I want to use it to spin unusual yarns. Stay tuned. I'll let everyone know how coordinated I am. Not sure I'm going to be able to do all of this yet, but I'll give it a shot. I'm impressed by the simplicity of "Meggie." She's beautiful.


There's more...valentines, and felting...writing down my dreams in the morning, creating beachy jewelry while I watch it snow. Such delights!!!

I've been inspired to try lots of new things when I should probably be focused on one or two projects. I can't seem to help myself. My muse just wants to play and play and experiment and have fun. Does any one else have this happen to them? I wonder.

I'd love to hear where your muse is taking you. Are others experiencing a winter creative explosion or is it the opposite with the winter bringing you down? Let me know.....

More snow? Really?

The weather people were right - more snow and then it turned to rain as they predicted. Below is a picture I snapped shortly before the storm turned to rain. The snow was falling in big flakes and it looked extremely New Englandly and quite pretty.

It's still raining - or at least, doing some sort of precipitating out there right now at 10 PM. I'm really worried about some of the pine trees and bushes on my property. I tried to shovel, shake and pull off some of the snow where I could reach, but some of my trees are all bent over and miserable. I can only hope they survive. More snow will arrive on Friday. I can't keep up with it all.


Below is a pic of my neighbor's house that I snapped from my living room. The snow was really coming down hard at the time.

Early this morning a few birds visited my feeder. This Cardinal sure looks cold. Could he puff up any more than this?

I'm almost out of bird food!

Wow!

Thanks to unusual weather patterns, there's snow on the ground in 49 out of 50 US states, including Hawaii. Florida is the only state without the snow!

Amazing!

Early Morning Picture

I was up early this morning and I snapped a few pictures while the street lights were still on.

Here's one facing my back yard.

Snow of Jan 12,2011

It's almost 5 PM and it's still snowing. I went outside to knock the snow off the tall bushes and small trees and I soon found myself deep in the snow. It's kind of heavy and sticky stuff. I'm sure I'll lose a few bushes after this storm.

Anyway, I can't help myself. I have to post some pictures of the storm.

Back yard.

The bush by my front door is bent down so low it's touching the azalea in the front garden. I discovered this when I was trying to get the snow off of it. I was wondering what I was standing on under the snow. I was shocked to realize I was standing on my pretty azalea.

I thought we might loose power, but we've been lucky so far.

My house...

You can hardly see my house!

My front door is like a cave of snow.

Here is my neighbor's house The snow really coming down.