Tag Archives: Writing

September 12, 2013 · 11:30 am

Old Dogs, New Tricks

Yes, I’ve heard that old saying too. “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” Supposedly to be an explanation of how it’s easier to teach something new to someone younger. That expression has been around since the 1500s, and quite possibly just as inaccurate then as it is now.

To my way of thinking: it depends on the dog.

From time to time, I try to teach myself a few new tricks. I like to think I can knit and am mostly self-taught when it comes to that. There’s something oddly self-satisfying about the repetitive hand motions which accompany knitting, crocheting or hand spinning. While researching hand spinning, I came across a general statement about how Gandhi used spinning as a form of meditation and if he did, I understand how that works. My mind is clear, yet focused, and I can use that time to allow the most amazing creative thoughts to develop. Multiple points of view(s) are explored, plot points developed, dialogue planned, characters fleshed out: when I use that time as a technique for writing, it frees my creative consciousness to go to a whole other place. I’m not just spinning or knitting. I’m WORKing my brain! If I knit while riding a recumbent bicycle, I’m working my body as well. (Before you ask, the answer is yes.)

My friends who knit socks are encouraging me to give socks a try. So I’ve watched them, watched videos, knit and UNknit the same sock multiple times. The sock has to fit my foot and calf, right? (Yes) But it will go in a shoe, so does it matter if the toe is all the way closed? (Yes) Turning the heel part of the sock is a whole-other-matter. And you need two socks that sort-of match to have a pair of them.

My creative path to making socks is evolving. I can make two fairly good “tube” socks, with no heel. I am learning to knit from the toe-up and I enjoy having made my own double pointed knitting needles out of wooden dowel sticks. Granted, my work looks like a tiny porcupine with all those needles sticking out of it but that’s not what’s important. Just like those messy first drafts, I am working it out. Even if I have to unknit later, even that will have taught me something about the process. I will learn to knit a heel; short rows seem to be the way to go. There are SO many ways to knit a sock.

Looks like a toe has begun to form, doesn’t it? As I keep going, maybe the rest of the sock will appear.

As I keep writing or drawing, I’m fairly certain the ideas will come together, too.

I’d show you a photograph of one of my dogs, but she’s not in the mood to pose for a photograph. The offer of extra kibble-bits just won’t do it.

The dogs suggest I come back later. They’re wise to me.

I think I’ll go knit. Or write. Or draw.
Happy Creating!

Serenade

Homer can really sing. He throws back his head and aMAzing sounds come forth.

His “warning cry” sounds like a cross between a gargle and a yodel. Think: Tarzan yell, if you remember what that sounded like on early Saturday morning television. Or if you’ve ever watched any of the Carol Burnett Variety Shows (1967-78) or caught them as “re-runs,” remember? She always had a request from someone in the audience to do the Tarzan yell and she always obliged.

Go ahead—try it yourself. Tilt your head back and let it fly.

Feels good, doesn’t it?

My barn/studio is in the pasture beside the alpaca shelter. I can sometimes tell what’s happening right outside my doorway just by listening, like I used to be able to do when my kids were younger. The sounds of tussle, tussle, thump, thump in an adjoining room would be followed by some kind of outburst from one of the kids. Then there would be the sounds of hurried footsteps as one child chased the other down the hall.

Alpacas do that, too. One animal gets too close to the hay that another animal was thinking about eating and it begins. Tussle, tussle, thump, thump, WARbling sounds and one is chasing the other through the pasture. I stop what I’m doing to watch–to pay attention–and listen. I give them a few minutes to sort it all out. They love cool water, so turning on the water hose is a good method of distraction. They crowd around me for a drink of fresh water. I hose down their legs and in a few minutes, all is forgotten. They roll around in the dirt together and soon they are eating grass in the pasture.

I smile. I remember. I laugh out loud. Something about all this seems familiar.

I smile because I have the privilege of watching my own three sons grow into fine young men. I remember days of trying to figure out positive encouragement as they learn skills to be able to navigate their own waters.

And I laugh out loud because, well, it feels good. Will you join me?

AAHHHHHeeeaheee………Ah!!!

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Filed under Life on the Farm, Writing

Tagged as Alpacas, kids, Life On The Farm, Writing

August 11, 2013 · 1:38 pm

(New) Beginnings

When I say, “I want to be a writer and/or illustrator,”

the advice I often hear is to:

A. “Write/draw what you know about.” B. “Write/draw what you’re passionate about.” C. “Write/draw what you want to learn about.” D. “Write/draw to please yourself first.” E. “Follow the Markets”/”Don’t follow the markets.”

What to do?

Attending writer’s conferences and taking classes in the craft of writing and illustrating have played a large part in my creative development. Having a strong group of creatives around me who critique my work and can give constructive suggestions for improvement has been priceless. I will remain forever grateful for lessons I have learned, even the ones which were difficult to accept. Thank you especially for those.

Here are a few thoughts I’ll pass along if you might be on your road to creative discovery:

Be Still. Listen. Ask questions. Try. Stop. Try again. Don’t Stop. Believe in and be honest with yourself. Take chances. Repeat as often as necessary. Make choices. Surround yourself with like-minded creative individuals. Somewhere during all that time you might discover what you really want to do as well as what you’re good at doing. You could also discover things that you don’t do as well as you thought, and that’s important to learn, too.

The illustration pictured above is called “Flower For A Friend,” and over the spread of many years has been published in two different magazine/newsletters. This drawing was originally done in colored pencil, then in b/w line art, then as a pencil sketch. It’s a simple little drawing, really, and what I see in it tells me something different about my work than it did when I first made the illustration.

It’s good to take a look at where you are in your journey every once in a while. You can see where you’ve been and where you might want to go.

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Tagged as Creative living, drawing, Writing

July 30, 2013 · 8:44 pm

Something Old, Something New

My husband looked over from the section of the newspaper he was reading one morning and said, “There’s an estate sale on Friday and Saturday at (place.) Take a look at the items when you get a chance.” The newspaper ad listed farm tools, primitive furniture, home furnishings, a loom, and a spinning wheel. Rain or shine, I knew exactly where I wanted to be and I could hardly wait!

I LOVE going to flea markets, auctions or estate sales. Each one of them has a special personality: One is like a treasure hunt, another is the thrill of the pricing game, and still another might be discovering a piece of history. I might get to talk to someone there who had specific knowledge of the item(s) that I want to buy. Maybe they had even used the item, which would be even better.

I’d like to think this old barn loom was waiting for me to come and claim it. It was leaning against the wall of the storage shed in which many other items were being sold. I took a quick look. Barn loom, circa mid-nineteenth century flashed through my head. Most of the pieces were attached.

“What can you tell me about this?” I asked the woman standing there.

“Well, all’s I know is I remember my grandmama using it when I was little, and it was old then,” she said.

I smiled and nodded. The loom came home with me.

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Tagged as antiques, Creative living, weaving, Writing

July 27, 2013 · 9:23 pm

Creative Spaces

As a child, my favorite creative space was in a cardboard box. I would select several books, art supplies, make a sandwich and grab a drink. (How long did I expect to be IN there? I now wonder. ) With a Baby Ben alarm clock and four of my grandmother’s umbrellas for a roof, I was ready to go. It didn’t matter if it was raining or not. If it was, I’d find a beach towel to put inside on the floor. The real world and all that was in it could go by–I was in my own special place, and the stories or drawings I’d make surrounded me with creative ideas and inspirations.

Now I have a Grown-Up Creative Space. With tin for my roof, the Barn/Studio is just large enough in which to work, yet small enough to maintain without too much effort. The alpaca in the pasture sometimes poke their head in the front door just to watch. They ARE curious. They “hum” in my direction. Did you know alpaca hum when they’re curious or happy? Maybe I do, too.

Do you have your own Creative Space?

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Tagged as Alpacas, Creative Spaces, Farm life, Writing