tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13228600185132892712024-03-12T16:36:17.063-07:00RiverWalker Artsabstract ramblings from inside the delugeRiverWalkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319217788146789713noreply@blogger.comBlogger106125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322860018513289271.post-9626357815327240702018-09-20T10:19:00.001-07:002018-09-20T10:19:40.084-07:00odd ball books and a lady too busy to read them<div class="x_MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif, serif, EmojiFont; font-size: 16px;">
<span lang="EN-CA">Fridays are good days.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">They make us think about the possibilities of tomorrow. They let us dream of warm cups of coffee, and relaxation. I’m a mom with a 75 year old house that needs repair. I don’t get much of that relaxation. I used to paint pictures, dipping my brush in water and watching colours bloom on paper while I listened to soft music and sipped tea (or wine). I used to read novels in the lamp light and breathe in the smell of paper and books. I used to walk for miles just to feel the earth under my feet, and see the shapes of life springing forth in the damp climate I live in. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">Now I’m buried under mountains of laundry created by small dirty children. I think based on the quantity of laundry alone that there are people in my house I’ve not yet met. I try to diligently feed them, and make sure I spend some time playing with them although it think I spend more time cleaning up after them. I also spend a lot of time doing things like fixing walls, installing baseboards, learning how to remove knob and tube wiring from my house. I’ve acquired some tools, I’ve dug more than my fair share of holes trying to fix drainage (it RAINS here). Leisure time seems so foreign now.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">That being said, today the library opened it doors for a used book sale. I was inspired to skip out on an hour or so worth of work and wander up to the library to see what I could find. My thoughts were on children’s books as that is all I’ve read in years but the selection was poor, and so I drifted over into the adult fiction. I bought a book. I’m not sure when I’ll find the time to read it… but I liked the title. </span><i><span lang="EN-CA">A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar.</span></i><span lang="EN-CA"> – it’s fiction, and likely have very little to do with cycling. But I have a penchant for books with long winded and odd titles. I can recall once telling my mother that I was reading a mystery – which was not my usual genre - called Mistress in the Art of Death. She said – well that’s why you are reading it. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><br />A few of the titles that stick out in my mind include <i>A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, The Cure For Death By Lightning, </i>and<i> Diary Of A Compost Hotline Operator</i>….<br /><br />Wish me luck. Friday is sending me promises of a weekend. One in which I might crack a book. The forecast is for rain.</span></div>
RiverWalkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319217788146789713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322860018513289271.post-69759629469234654792017-09-10T08:10:00.001-07:002017-09-10T08:11:09.739-07:00Wynken, Blynken & Nod - Illustrations of a Timeless Lullaby.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
The Museum of Northern BC presents the Art work of RiverWalker Arts In Wynken, Blynken & Nod - Illustrations of a Timeless Lullaby.<br />
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Opening Reception: 7 - 9pm<br />
Friday, September 15, 2017<br />
<br />
Exhibition on display : September through October 2017<br />
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In this whimsically illustrated showing of Eugene Field’s enduring lullaby, Coral invites you to journey with her on a starlit path through the night sky of a wonder filled dreamscape. Through watercolours, Coral beautifully captures the emotion, mood and whimsy of this timeless poem, portraying it like it’s never been seen.RiverWalkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319217788146789713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322860018513289271.post-601530700044526992016-09-29T11:45:00.001-07:002016-09-29T11:45:32.568-07:00To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Fall has arrived in
thunderstorms, flurries of yellow leaves, and adventures in parenting. My
eldest is starting kindergarten, and he's now successfully and dutifully taking
the bus each morning and returning mid afternoon like children have been doing
for ages. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">September has always seemed
more like the beginning of a year than January ever did. With a larder filled
with caning and a root cellar full of apples, and squashes and potatoes.
Children go off to school and one settles in for semi hibernation of
chill breezes, dank drafts, slippers, sweaters and indoors. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">However amidst the bedding down for the long winter's nap we
cannot lose sight of spring. As Audrey
Hepburn once said - "To plant a garden is to believe in
tomorrow." and with that in mind I
would like to share with the few folks out in blog land who read my posts, that
seed packets have been painted, proofs have been approved, and seed has been
sourced. In time for Christmas I will be
offering a line of seed packets, these will have seed collected in 2016 and be
fresh for the 2017 planting season.
These have been a long time coming and I'm quite excited by the news! </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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RiverWalkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319217788146789713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322860018513289271.post-30666930386765998292016-06-20T09:04:00.001-07:002016-06-20T09:04:00.828-07:00Salad <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8f3Q1y45UETZetzeN3vUeXwNA2nwd3pfOCHWCfiVkyFZT9DM9QVeahCchhnfwy1nxMq7w2sr15JEcX6s4onddJcLo3Yrv6H8sfFGFky-ssekUcejhR6KY7oGr5XCjVa9B7IAMe_y6J7s/s1600/veggies+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8f3Q1y45UETZetzeN3vUeXwNA2nwd3pfOCHWCfiVkyFZT9DM9QVeahCchhnfwy1nxMq7w2sr15JEcX6s4onddJcLo3Yrv6H8sfFGFky-ssekUcejhR6KY7oGr5XCjVa9B7IAMe_y6J7s/s400/veggies+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Salad<br />©RiverWalker Arts</td></tr>
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<br />RiverWalkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319217788146789713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322860018513289271.post-90858296331137693732016-05-03T19:11:00.001-07:002016-05-03T19:11:43.046-07:00time to smell the flowers.<div class="MsoNormal">
I've just started a sabbatical leave. Ultimately it is about spending more time
raising my own children, but in some respects it couldn't have come at a better
time. I as I pick up all the pieces and
try to make sense of what's left. My
days are busy, consumed by the minutiae of day to day life and the pace of
childhood. I have children and they fill
my time in ways I never imagined.
someone once said it, I'm not sure who,
- that both those with and
without children feel sorry for each other.
They are busy little creatures that take up all your time. The questions are never ending and the pace
is slow. Or at least at this stage the
pace of is slow. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgboTpjVo3z3-MDAj8xVKdkH_P1kQyDjjDTCseNREChI2q8exvxCFbHUaMTY5Y3v5UcoxkVQ4z_x_DkzsGF-vPcczU1C_0jwVMOXpdapvQ9gSiCrpv905MXOJbyZuCKMqJxhFnwN4lMkrU/s1600/13076533_468781186644128_9015563118068644538_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgboTpjVo3z3-MDAj8xVKdkH_P1kQyDjjDTCseNREChI2q8exvxCFbHUaMTY5Y3v5UcoxkVQ4z_x_DkzsGF-vPcczU1C_0jwVMOXpdapvQ9gSiCrpv905MXOJbyZuCKMqJxhFnwN4lMkrU/s400/13076533_468781186644128_9015563118068644538_n.jpg" width="271" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pole Beans<br />Watercolour, (7.5 x 11 inch )<br />©RiverWalker Arts </td></tr>
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It is nice to not constantly be rushing little feet and
little minds. They stroll, they stop
constantly to admire the shape of a branch, or an ant making its way across the
sidewalk. And so I too am slowing my
steps and making more of the journey and less of the destination. It might take 40 minutes for us to get our
shoes and coats on to get out the door, and maybe we only make it half a block
before we turn around, but that is ok.
In that half a block we have explored puddles, and bugs and listened for
garbage trucks and aircraft overhead. I
am more aware of my surroundings and I have some very small companions to
thank. ... and maybe this is why basket weaving, however droll seems somewhat
fitting at this point.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">©RiverWalker Arts<br />Watercolour (5x7 inch) </td></tr>
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RiverWalkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319217788146789713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322860018513289271.post-75440450063599384162016-03-30T14:46:00.000-07:002016-03-30T14:46:05.535-07:00Basket Weaving<div class="MsoNormal">
My art show at the local gallery has come to an end. While I wasn’t lucky enough to sell any of
the art work, I do now have people come up to me in town and say “oh wow you
are Coral the ARTIST!” The Coral. I smile and they tell me how they bought my
book. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I’ve recently learned to basket weave. Laugh though you might - this is really quite
the craft. In this case it involves
willows hacked off the side of the road and somehow I’ve managed to create something
that holds together enough to actually transport stuff. I’ve decided it is the
perfect campground craft as it can be abandoned in the dirt at any moment
unharmed, while the myriad of broken bits of sticks can be fed to the fire to
keep my fingers warm.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTgdj1agVoEvbxDJSNoFutIPrrHF8nLrfkjk_Mm3b_wxAFw-oYeFKEldb0yqVRfb5CPRgJPoMIJeMnlsuMxQXARQ1s_cqXVbHWYISadTJGoCq0lkqAX56xyQDhyphenhyphendea-0O2damtPiqcTlg/s1600/10173769_10153856828566210_3555817192461263469_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTgdj1agVoEvbxDJSNoFutIPrrHF8nLrfkjk_Mm3b_wxAFw-oYeFKEldb0yqVRfb5CPRgJPoMIJeMnlsuMxQXARQ1s_cqXVbHWYISadTJGoCq0lkqAX56xyQDhyphenhyphendea-0O2damtPiqcTlg/s400/10173769_10153856828566210_3555817192461263469_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Copyright RiverWalker Arts. </td></tr>
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RiverWalkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319217788146789713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322860018513289271.post-52979562210365252332016-02-05T12:02:00.000-08:002016-02-05T12:02:00.103-08:00Wynken Makes a Public Debut!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidrvCwW3Ss41v3ERMfNQuAX2h6YjJig3W14-bT_MfK9D1mQ2_cK5L2Y5HI1jKs0ywhqxYhnEgrqR9dEXGbbXPupvnwe3I4vW5LxZkopjVoPkCxLHKmEKbyuG4RRI37CzuMtLYueqACljI/s1600/wynken1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidrvCwW3Ss41v3ERMfNQuAX2h6YjJig3W14-bT_MfK9D1mQ2_cK5L2Y5HI1jKs0ywhqxYhnEgrqR9dEXGbbXPupvnwe3I4vW5LxZkopjVoPkCxLHKmEKbyuG4RRI37CzuMtLYueqACljI/s400/wynken1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<br />RiverWalkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319217788146789713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322860018513289271.post-21072477827903989632015-10-22T16:12:00.001-07:002015-10-22T16:12:32.139-07:00the smell of blackberry wine<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve disappeared for a while. It was needed but it doesn’t really mean I’m
gone. Life sends us challenges, and
there is a dozen inspirational quotes to tell us how to deal with our
challenges the reality is that for better or for worse we work through them as
best we can. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s October – there is frost on my windows in the morning,
the mornings all include a fight with my tow year old about having to wear a
jacket (he says “no suit, no suit!) in his most adamant and bossy little
voice. The last of the leaves are
clinging tenaciously to the trees and the stores are starting to get their
Christmas decorations on the shelves and move the Halloween inventory to the
back corner. <o:p></o:p></div>
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But then it’s been a year of running ahead of season. I was visiting what I call “the island” in
August, and there had been no rain for
months, the grass was dry, the leaves were starting to turn those shades of
bronze, of old rust and polished amber just because those poor trees couldn’t
get enough water. The pumpkins were
orange and ripe. I went for a walk. I pushed the stroller, the air smelling like
blackberry wine. The berries were
overripe, fermenting unpicked on the vine.
I cleared my head and set my heart free.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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And just like that summer turned into fall. With the coming of fall, it’s almost like a
new year – Fall is the time of change – be it bears getting ready for winter,
or kids starting school it is far more the turning of a leaf than January first
with it’s cold winds and cheap glitzy champagne. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK6cu9TxLULBcUBWlUlW06yOx043526_ndXwXm1KT3mwwJt3n6kXDa0rOEMgNc_JzTQYjkHEOop2oSq8JVA5XskQD_fG7IkclckCQrhFDNxdUeGTYMCto9xMcF_3s4lZgdOQPVEVC4BD8/s1600/lp+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK6cu9TxLULBcUBWlUlW06yOx043526_ndXwXm1KT3mwwJt3n6kXDa0rOEMgNc_JzTQYjkHEOop2oSq8JVA5XskQD_fG7IkclckCQrhFDNxdUeGTYMCto9xMcF_3s4lZgdOQPVEVC4BD8/s320/lp+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a>I developed two more spice recipes to add to my collection
of packets. I signed up and will be
selling them locally at the medieval market.
If you can’t catch me there you can either contact me through Facebook
or through my website at <a href="http://www.riverwalkerarts.com/">www.riverwalkerarts.com</a>.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizIRZkWtEt18V4LnudDZssSkE1Hh_zE0v3O90-toK5AmibS9EnSxLyx1c0OIagH4O_wKlKCTA2gY8PMwSBT4ReUvc7D21ulfAUk6g4pFcivfdN8M134sEq4rcBwW0vjfFWu9aSmNgaDdg/s1600/lp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizIRZkWtEt18V4LnudDZssSkE1Hh_zE0v3O90-toK5AmibS9EnSxLyx1c0OIagH4O_wKlKCTA2gY8PMwSBT4ReUvc7D21ulfAUk6g4pFcivfdN8M134sEq4rcBwW0vjfFWu9aSmNgaDdg/s320/lp.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I teamed up with a company called Blooming on Canvas to
facilitate social painting parties; these involve wine, friends, a canvas, and
some kind of step by step as to how to paint the selected scene. My fun little component is creating those
scenes and then showing folks how I did it.
The people that come out are happy, excited and really love the whole event
(although the wine might help) . </div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Here is one of my latest creations for Blooming on Canvas: <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3EqLUQLpRdiVtdoTQ9T-9LpTDC7bUqaUyF6dencv-x-s1Viko5-04hSQkjMgBQfDKuhSuAKgwQ3EaRZhR9QQIw6VSInEj-YVmVFH3mQR3HJyP5uA2LQLnstSark2s6XULhD0GIYVzJ5I/s1600/12143123_413288945542602_4644500520765372651_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3EqLUQLpRdiVtdoTQ9T-9LpTDC7bUqaUyF6dencv-x-s1Viko5-04hSQkjMgBQfDKuhSuAKgwQ3EaRZhR9QQIw6VSInEj-YVmVFH3mQR3HJyP5uA2LQLnstSark2s6XULhD0GIYVzJ5I/s320/12143123_413288945542602_4644500520765372651_n.jpg" width="246" /></a></div>
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RiverWalkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319217788146789713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322860018513289271.post-48100447826478532012015-07-30T16:15:00.000-07:002015-07-30T16:15:28.570-07:00<span style="color: #fff2cc;">It’s been an age. A tumultuous period in time. And in that time I’ve mostly just made it through each day. I’ve been camping, and I’ve been swimming in the lakes, but mostly I’ve been breathing. Just breathing. August however is whispering to me, it’s sultry star filled night are approaching and I’m listening. I’m listening to the creative stirrings on that hot wind that blows out of the desert hills, and the moments of still and shimmering heat. There is change in the air. </span><br />
<span style="color: #fff2cc;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #fff2cc;">I’m ready for it. </span><br />
<span style="color: #fff2cc;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #fff2cc;">I am back, I am whole and I am ready to jump back into life with two feet. I have signed up for the local Art Walk, which is a month long event where artists from the region display artworks in local business. It is a brilliant concept that brings three diverse communities together: the business community, the artistic community, and the general public. So for me that means – my art can be viewed at About Face and More Mon-Fri 9a-5p, Sat 10a-2p. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic3fAUAKinoo2ezWNfhoWDkkHzGIfwIkIINHQ_Xw5cdyvZYJgsZemNeeHg2ZmDB-IuuLx_tp6Lk71Q7rQkbRFxsOX2CXNVHdVoCMfxiqNK-mEIaO8BuURS9peVIcOxzjvLMJV2KBSNRdY/s1600/11754108_385879884934259_164986093742768678_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic3fAUAKinoo2ezWNfhoWDkkHzGIfwIkIINHQ_Xw5cdyvZYJgsZemNeeHg2ZmDB-IuuLx_tp6Lk71Q7rQkbRFxsOX2CXNVHdVoCMfxiqNK-mEIaO8BuURS9peVIcOxzjvLMJV2KBSNRdY/s320/11754108_385879884934259_164986093742768678_n.jpg" width="275" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Original Watercolour <br />by<br />RiverWalker Arts </td></tr>
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<span style="color: #fff2cc;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #fff2cc;">My next challenge is to figure out what to put in behind the glass and what to put on the walls in the store. I also hope that they will be willing to have my Prints on display so that people can own a reproduction of the art work at a reasonable price. I also always mat my reproductions to reasonable sizes such that you can buy a pre-fabricated frame form Micheals or Wal*Mart and not set yourself in the hole just putting the image behind glass. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgtmMM1hCfswGBsL508mWTS2I4Y2knG4MpquEMe5zr7VA54Ei9jhN5fNlKZOBETEWXgE1l09BE4NvkMiL-ZPB-pAZHPfeolc2JpnHRTz_CvIAhvH5w3hB7ecWISReE9apete_a4AVKoh8/s1600/art+work2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgtmMM1hCfswGBsL508mWTS2I4Y2knG4MpquEMe5zr7VA54Ei9jhN5fNlKZOBETEWXgE1l09BE4NvkMiL-ZPB-pAZHPfeolc2JpnHRTz_CvIAhvH5w3hB7ecWISReE9apete_a4AVKoh8/s320/art+work2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Original Watercolour <br />by</span><br style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">RiverWalker Arts</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #fff2cc;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #fff2cc;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #fff2cc;">If you happen to have any opinions about what images you think I should put on display – please let me know as I’ve still not made up my mind! </span><br />
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RiverWalkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319217788146789713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322860018513289271.post-73196473964578046162015-05-21T14:27:00.003-07:002015-05-21T14:28:51.475-07:00Gardening is cheaper than therapy and you get tomatoesThe Sun is up. And there is heat in it. The mornings are crisp and very cold, and the odd time it rains the only thing that happens is you get dark spots in the dust. I wake up to the sun streaming through my windows every daybreak. I look out and see the glittering promise of the lake (I also deliberately avoid seeing the giant walmart and the industrial area of town with its pellet plant and saw mill that also dominate the view from my window).<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7JGFoez6aeGvPUlBALccVBaHE41UQ52j9FZ8VFv3VpNVpIRDGk7_cVv9ELOcmJwkEX9PfZjeLJEXAS1LmpBL50EQW3yf2jqLuXYlSMno57PFkQKCegJeQYrBqHpPGPwf7i-2GSGl3GX4/s1600/11221287_10153205802716210_2912368360874972062_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7JGFoez6aeGvPUlBALccVBaHE41UQ52j9FZ8VFv3VpNVpIRDGk7_cVv9ELOcmJwkEX9PfZjeLJEXAS1LmpBL50EQW3yf2jqLuXYlSMno57PFkQKCegJeQYrBqHpPGPwf7i-2GSGl3GX4/s320/11221287_10153205802716210_2912368360874972062_n.jpg" width="320" /></a>After Ten years (less one month) in one of the Rainiest places on the planet, this lack of rain is positively novel. For all those years my yard was graced with moss and liverworts, as well as other vegetation capable of surviving months of being semi submerged in water and tucked away the deep deep shade of a town nestled on the northern slope at the base of a mountain on the Northern Coast. I lived with rain soaked summers with high temperatures hovering around 18 degrees C. I never owned a sprinkler – my yard dripped and oozed in moisture and thick green moss and algae which overtook anything that didn’t move too frequently or too fast – like my canoe. My summer wardrobe varied from my winter wardrobe very little. In summer I wore cotton socks instead of wool ones in my rubber boots, and I paired down to a lighter weight rain jacket.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4HbqYfWVLWGVvcCUV4hD1qbLPY6K95Dbs4TWQuw7jjhgbyOwlV7eOQsLvpiiFSGZTTD13j-q-Clfw0KUKSQKkkGM-Lgtie9tgdkUiOKfE56EQlUxd4Jzr2geNhkz3Kjv6_qD_77Matio/s1600/11218720_10153219592256210_9065106117253168346_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4HbqYfWVLWGVvcCUV4hD1qbLPY6K95Dbs4TWQuw7jjhgbyOwlV7eOQsLvpiiFSGZTTD13j-q-Clfw0KUKSQKkkGM-Lgtie9tgdkUiOKfE56EQlUxd4Jzr2geNhkz3Kjv6_qD_77Matio/s320/11218720_10153219592256210_9065106117253168346_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Since moving in January I have not worn any of my rain gear. I have donned rubber boots to walk in the thawing slush, but as spring approaches I realize this is a community of sprinkler systems and sun umbrellas. Digging through my wardrobe (which is bigger than you might imagine given my apparent distain for fashion) I realize I own only one pair of shorts – which I bought for camping season last year when we drove to the Okanagan. My kids are utterly fascinated by sprinklers having never seen them before, they also get to go outside without the rigmarole of head to toe full body rainsuits. As such they might actually learn to ride a bike.<br />
Up north on the coast, I used to try my hand at gardening, I had almost no successes. My Tomato plants drowned, my strawberries drowned. My squash rotted on the vine. The few things I found success in were hellebore, rhubarb and peonies. Although my nasturtiums were pretty good for a few years.<br />
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This year I’m determined will be different. It gets HOT here. The ground is only as wet as the water you add to it. DH and the kids have built two wonderful little raised beds, and I dug up my front yard and called it a flower bed (then promptly declared I was planning pumpkins in it. When we put the soil into the raised beds, Chicken Little crawled through it in near nakedness, he laughed and enjoyed the feel of mud between his toes as he watered the soil with his latest toy – a sprinkler. I bought cucumber seeds, zucchini, pumpkin, beans and peas. I provided jiffy pots and we sat on the lawn (without getting soaking wet bums) and we planted one little seed in each pot. The Kids check them everyday looking for growth. Once the frost has passed we will put those little pots into our garden. Little Peanut can dig the holes with his spoon, and Chicken LIttle can water the earth with his sprinkler. We will wear sun hats, and shorts and sunscreen. I feel like I’m living on a whole other planet – so far from what I’ve come to accept as normal. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsQQ_x7HmyCYw6j9iuBuA2AEtjug6h9EIF2u9VHbTJSlfTztdOQhBWOP43X5XAD41YTILg8uv8wH0PLb4c0Ir65ejXSV0HRWF1S17Q0z5FLpTUR8EuBcCpXB00HsxuQOyHxFI6FpTsvKs/s1600/11205501_365308373658077_8128623655811620649_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsQQ_x7HmyCYw6j9iuBuA2AEtjug6h9EIF2u9VHbTJSlfTztdOQhBWOP43X5XAD41YTILg8uv8wH0PLb4c0Ir65ejXSV0HRWF1S17Q0z5FLpTUR8EuBcCpXB00HsxuQOyHxFI6FpTsvKs/s320/11205501_365308373658077_8128623655811620649_n.jpg" width="253" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #1c1c1c; color: #cccccc; font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 14.6666669845581px; line-height: 20.533332824707px;">"Squash"<br />Original Watercolour</span><br style="background-color: #1c1c1c; color: #cccccc; font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 14.6666669845581px; line-height: 20.533332824707px;" /><span style="background-color: #1c1c1c; color: #cccccc; font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 14.6666669845581px; line-height: 20.533332824707px;"> ©RiverWalker Arts </span></td></tr>
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And with all this gardening on the brain, again I’m painting vegetables!<br />
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RiverWalkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319217788146789713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322860018513289271.post-85312456520587050452015-03-17T13:03:00.001-07:002015-03-17T13:03:37.738-07:00new light<div class="MsoNormal">
I awoke to the sound of small children. I tried to tune them out, but they are rather
persistent. I tried scooping them up, turning
the TV on and snuggling back into the warm nest of my blankets. It didn’t work. They followed me. So I got up. I opened the curtains and I was
greeted by the most spectacular display of reds, oranges, violet and pink. The
sun’s rays reflecting off the lake, and off the clouds in all of their un-parallelled
glory. The air was crisp temperatures
outside were below freezing, but the sun brought the promise of warmth, the
promise of spring, the promise of light through my windows and into my home. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Oh but I could get used to this new weather… I’m going to
have to rename this blog. There is no
Rain here! I’m getting better, my lungs
are clearing, my health is returning. And
I even painted. I joined the Cariboo Art
Society. Apparently the oldest art guild
in BC for those who keep track of these things.
I thought I’d start small it’s been months. And so I present a small 5 x 7 inch tribute
to corn. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw9NvN36gAsedqPPVcYEUBdvysze5V8phlfzuSnsdQdSO-_ldGwfzLuJnQL5gR55QmDx3W27Vh_XDphXU-w16JT0loR8cT1ShC8R9r9b0Z4Hk0IwXV32DWDdi3ZGwfq9oBSdxc5IMkEEo/s1600/11017052_340994272756154_4223343992373841535_n+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw9NvN36gAsedqPPVcYEUBdvysze5V8phlfzuSnsdQdSO-_ldGwfzLuJnQL5gR55QmDx3W27Vh_XDphXU-w16JT0loR8cT1ShC8R9r9b0Z4Hk0IwXV32DWDdi3ZGwfq9oBSdxc5IMkEEo/s1600/11017052_340994272756154_4223343992373841535_n+(1).jpg" height="302" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Watercolour</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">© RiverWalker Arts</span></td></tr>
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RiverWalkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319217788146789713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322860018513289271.post-27371729547268995732015-02-18T10:51:00.000-08:002015-02-18T10:51:43.407-08:00Saying Goodbye <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I left my
home of 10 years on a foggy morning. There was a light drizzle giving
everything that moist glitter in an otherwise muted diaphanous grey
landscape. Cargo ships rested at anchor and a lonely little fish boat
puttered through the morning murkiness. A
rail barge was being loaded and the sound of metal clanging rang mournfully in
the mists. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFvIFpZPikipLWNvyMD8PNm2qtDVq23V8iTk9OL_IkO__6QXj72UioPbGT4SRX5rsUSJPVTtmG7fqGoOB48Dqw6V4kLQuczdjtVnuB3uVJpfgzWmThYb82jKGvj2LCJd8zxL_YCnQe8pM/s1600/west+coast+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFvIFpZPikipLWNvyMD8PNm2qtDVq23V8iTk9OL_IkO__6QXj72UioPbGT4SRX5rsUSJPVTtmG7fqGoOB48Dqw6V4kLQuczdjtVnuB3uVJpfgzWmThYb82jKGvj2LCJd8zxL_YCnQe8pM/s1600/west+coast+(2).jpg" height="210" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harbour View (photo credit: RiverWalker Arts)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My car was
loaded with the last few possessions that I’d managed to round up and jam in the
back of my car. The kids had no idea how
final that goodbye was. They waved
dutifully as we said our goodbyes, and protested kisses from friends, they
waved again out the window when I asked them too. The significance of such a leave taking
completely lost on the here and now nature of children. I watched as the ferry pulled away from the
dock, and I wondered where life would take me next and I reflected on the ten
years of my life I had spent in that rainy little north coast town. The juxtaposition of buildings jammed so
tightly together you cannot walk between some of the houses, with the wide
expanse uninhabited land surrounding the town…
it always seemed so odd to me. As
if folks were nestled down against the dark of the wilderness afraid as they
stared out into the wild from around the friendly glow of their neighbours hearth.
There is so much beauty in the grey and
green landscape I had called home.
Although as one friend reminded me, first impressions are one of an ugly
little mildewing town, slowly rotting in the inevitable damp. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The ferry
bore us south. On and on, the mountains
rising in the distance, the waterfalls rushing into the sea, the day past and
night blanketed it all in darkness – the darkness that comes without any lights
on the horizon, the darkness that would have lit the sky in the brilliance of
stars had the clouds not jealously blocked them from view. And dawn came once
more….. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZIUk4lln99AmLnUKuKBoaL7O_RjnGCNTNgiwtW_PIodbe-vWTYcFQbgPDZEhqbZ-3dQVDMDweBdG4crdi1_7svW8mz6NLofD7lUGBSoZyWVtjFXv5M2TObH2V_jD_vBZVb8zg3222BvY/s1600/west+coast+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZIUk4lln99AmLnUKuKBoaL7O_RjnGCNTNgiwtW_PIodbe-vWTYcFQbgPDZEhqbZ-3dQVDMDweBdG4crdi1_7svW8mz6NLofD7lUGBSoZyWVtjFXv5M2TObH2V_jD_vBZVb8zg3222BvY/s1600/west+coast+(1).jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">West Coast Journey (photo credit: RiverWalker Arts)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We drove in
the fog and coastal mist. This long long
journey away from the only home my children had known, and the place I’d called
home for so long. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Eventually
we come to visit with my folks, we celebrated the season, we ate, we watched
the fire dance in the fire place and set off again for our new home. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We arrived
two days later in a snow storm. My
introduction to this new community was an adventure in pure white. Snow swirled
and the wind howled at 18 degrees below zero.
The roads were white, the sky was white, and yet somehow it was dark
even in midday. I navigated coughing,
and feeling fluish. The temperature
ebbed, and flowed warming and cooling,
and I got more and more sick, and the month of January passed in a haze
of fatigue and illness. I lost my
hearing for a while, my eardrums ruptured and I slept. I went to work in the mornings and would
rarely make it until lunch hour shaking with fever and falling asleep with
exhaustion brought about by lungs filled with fluid and infection. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My office,
my studio space is still filled with boxes unpacked and abandoned, but I am
getting better and in time I’m sure I will be back to my regular self. I hoping
that by the time the snow melts I will again be in my studio. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
RiverWalkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319217788146789713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322860018513289271.post-85262548639481997702014-10-29T10:06:00.001-07:002014-10-29T10:10:00.043-07:00Halloween Horror or a bad April fools joke<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Halloween Horror or a bad April fools joke.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not sure which.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I logged on to Amazon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’ve been waiting for my book to be posted for sale on Amazon – it is my
hope that someone I don’t know might eventually purchase this book through this
site.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For local folks and people I know I
am more than willing to sell one of the many copies I’ve got on order.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For those who follow my blog – they can<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>buy it through the paypal buy it button I’ve
got posted, but for those people just browsing the internet – I hope to one day
hear that some random Amazon Shopper has decided to give my book a loving home.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So I’ve been creeping Amazon – and I found it! It’s up. Complete
with an image of the cover, and above that a little blue and orange invitation
to “Look Inside.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I clicked on it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can you imagine my HORROR when I saw the Giselle
Potter’s Edition of the book pop up. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Wynken-Blynken-Nod-Eugene-Field/dp/0375945962/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid"><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Calibri;">http://www.amazon.ca/Wynken-Blynken-Nod-Eugene-Field/dp/0375945962/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3;">=</span>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdHEolm2Ok1AawVQ6aby4zmVg3W7J_BRJov4QRH4h6MUFJOebvAbea0EjVkt5B0f8CEcVDcahxhhhwdOjHRa5teGWuxhdjjB5SUphyphenhyphen4P988cDPv14hqoTYgcwg9IUXfMIu1zlaXDJHago/s1600/51aM8H6PY3L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdHEolm2Ok1AawVQ6aby4zmVg3W7J_BRJov4QRH4h6MUFJOebvAbea0EjVkt5B0f8CEcVDcahxhhhwdOjHRa5teGWuxhdjjB5SUphyphenhyphen4P988cDPv14hqoTYgcwg9IUXfMIu1zlaXDJHago/s1600/51aM8H6PY3L.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wynken Blynken and Nod - Giselle Potter Edition. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><br />
<br />
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My indrawn breath was audible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Amazon recognizes the various versions of
Wynken, Blynken and Nod as different editions of the same book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So does not see why a book produced for it’s
artwork would need a different preview than any other edition with the same
text.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a computer thing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m working to try to fix this – but of course Amazon can
market it’s books anyway it wants to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But of course I’m still mildly horrified. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Happy Halloween – my book is in disguise! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
RiverWalkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319217788146789713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322860018513289271.post-23004686708050312762014-09-23T11:52:00.001-07:002014-09-23T11:52:42.309-07:00 What does it mean to be an Artist? <br />
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #fce5cd;">I’ve
been thinking a lot about art lately. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>taken on the monumental task of organizing
our local craft fair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The catch is that
there are a lot of “new” rules this year and with change comes resistance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of the resistance is just that the tables
are more expensive this year than last, others are upset that they must now
follow the Guidelines laid out by the Health Authority for safe preparation and
sale of foods.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The things that catches
me is the concept of “handmade”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>this is
a craft fair and the criteria state that items have to be crafted in some
significant way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nothing with the stamp “made
in china”. While sometimes this is easy – those cute little hand blown glass
beads are definitely hand crafted, and somebody spent a lot of time crocheting
little hats for babies. Whereas those Pashmina imports from India were screened
out as not locally handcrafted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the
line gets blurry<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- does gluing a little
metal hello kitty charms onto hair clips count as a craft?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>or cutting elastic bands in short lengths and
tying a knot in the end?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How about
machine embroidery – where you buy a program for a Snoopy image and then let
the machine do its thing on hand towels? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are my little packages of seasoning blends
hand crafted?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #fce5cd;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #fce5cd;">Which
takes me into a whole other realm – the business of art. Or craft.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I spoke to a woman who makes her living on
her art once – she talked about her paintings, her prints, he workshops, and
then the rise in cute little crafty things on webpages such as Etsy.com and
maybe it was better to be selling cute little crafts rather than trying to
break into the realms of art collectors and galleries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She thought my spice packets were brilliant
in their own way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe I need to spend
some time and put something up on Etsy. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #fce5cd;"></span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #fce5cd;">I
have another artistic friend who is a photographer – who used to spend hours
and hours in her dark room but can no longer find the chemicals for her work as
film is slowly becoming obsolete.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She now makes more money making handmade soap
than the delicate art of the dark room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She suggested I watch a documentary called “Exit through the Giftshop”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIEoZN0As0OENquwGj8YO5qGQzSuvkKCM1Z15ItojFMRvvpRXo6amkpPa8dLDI6_1OZ4IyTIDa8Di61bLyisQz6VlSF6cZSNRyxJgQstK0zxH9UoaYu4ad8krRxNFlGeJ3qfCsNqYYogY/s1600/Graffiti+Artist+Mr+Brainwash+First+UK+Exhibition+GqWA6dCu0K0l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: #fce5cd;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIEoZN0As0OENquwGj8YO5qGQzSuvkKCM1Z15ItojFMRvvpRXo6amkpPa8dLDI6_1OZ4IyTIDa8Di61bLyisQz6VlSF6cZSNRyxJgQstK0zxH9UoaYu4ad8krRxNFlGeJ3qfCsNqYYogY/s1600/Graffiti+Artist+Mr+Brainwash+First+UK+Exhibition+GqWA6dCu0K0l.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #fce5cd; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: #fce5cd;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="ircsu"><span lang="EN" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;">Artist stands with his paintings </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="ircsu"><span lang="EN" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">'The
Queen' (R) and 'Kate Moss' at the Opera Gallery on October 3, 2011 in London,
England</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">. (I doubt he had permission to use their images - given that he's already lost a court case to RUN DMC for the use of their image)</span></span></span> </span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #fce5cd; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #fce5cd;"></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #fce5cd; mso-ansi-language: EN;">I
did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a straight documentary, this
film is a snoozefest, an artist's love note to himself written in spray paint
on a public wall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But on another level
it blew my mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is about a French
immigrant who started filming graffiti artists, and eventually met some very
famous ones, who encouraged him to try making art.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So he did…. But not in the fashion that I would
consider art – is it handmade – certainly… but not by our Parisian filmmaker.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fellow instead jumps in with two feet,
hires out of work artist and graphic designers – having them do the actual
creating of his ideas on an enormous scale.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The not so brilliant ideas he pawns off on these designers are largely
imitations of other renowned graffiti <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>artists,
crossed with the use of famous artistic and historic images, many of which are
copyrighted, altering them in slight ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The documentary then follows him as he holds an “art show” in an
abandoned CBS builidng. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Marketing his
self-financed debut<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>with </span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="color: #fce5cd;">mixture of an overheated and hyped street
art market and his misuse of endorsements from a few legendary graffiti
artists. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then comes the part that kills
me -<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>this fellow who didn’t actually do
any of the creation of the installations himself, who didn’t seem to have one
original idea in his head sells this so called artwork made largely of
copyrighted material for<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>five-figure
sums.</span> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #fce5cd;">Art collectors
and people with lots and lots of money gobble up this “art” so his debut art
show is a soldout affair that brings in sums I’ve never even dreamed of.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Over a million dollars in a matter of weeks….
<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #fce5cd;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifatErR0OabjdxEP9lWNdnQEuYApraKEDrzGqPI2Q8TiSFpo09SwYSVjggUzLrwqeL7Gji5XCOGVINGRkvtmR5AN9SEQf1Bh1TR5QPBYf6g0hz_PhoSLSMHVD3PlET_ZsFbNPeV2iD_M0/s1600/overpriced+shoes.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #fce5cd;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifatErR0OabjdxEP9lWNdnQEuYApraKEDrzGqPI2Q8TiSFpo09SwYSVjggUzLrwqeL7Gji5XCOGVINGRkvtmR5AN9SEQf1Bh1TR5QPBYf6g0hz_PhoSLSMHVD3PlET_ZsFbNPeV2iD_M0/s1600/overpriced+shoes.JPG" height="216" width="320" /></span></a><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #fce5cd;">So is this guy
brilliant, or just lucky?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does promotion
of Art give it value?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How do you value
art?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What really is handcrafted? and
what does this say about my own art? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How
do I price my art? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And what does it mean
to be an artist? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #fce5cd;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="color: #fce5cd; font-family: Calibri;">But if you want
some famous art- you too can own a pair of spray painted, Nike sneakers for
$1000 <span style="color: #3d85c6;">(</span></span><a href="http://www.mrbrainwash.com/store/storeproducts/justdidit.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Calibri;">http://www.mrbrainwash.com/store/storeproducts/justdidit.html</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #fce5cd;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">)</span>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>– <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #fce5cd;"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkq331bN5jVUxWy_rHH9q1ZcjSA8KEbKlICfkXGOCqSMPO9nejVmLLP2ZIkpf9oUJdnTUtjoIi0uny9DSGnVjhp1gHP4NfE6KAGwU4FWsaBmAlX2NmHf2yHmJt9ZUiSpxIc7ecAV71zyE/s1600/cover+page.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: #fce5cd;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkq331bN5jVUxWy_rHH9q1ZcjSA8KEbKlICfkXGOCqSMPO9nejVmLLP2ZIkpf9oUJdnTUtjoIi0uny9DSGnVjhp1gHP4NfE6KAGwU4FWsaBmAlX2NmHf2yHmJt9ZUiSpxIc7ecAV71zyE/s1600/cover+page.JPG" height="320" width="246" /></span></a><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #fce5cd;">or you can get
some not so famous art in the form<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of my
labour of love – Wynken, Blynken and Nod -<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>$15.99 which should be up on the Friesen’s Press bookstore website
within the week.</span> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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RiverWalkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319217788146789713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322860018513289271.post-91789027734293938522014-09-19T15:08:00.001-07:002014-09-22T09:18:35.869-07:00Pricing and a Book Critic. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjznq_r_CO1PgtU5aXVjJhDttTBlwzJNth80o1UlOWSfi1u85iKWPRj54x6PiRlLcJhD555FWQO81VCslQXMtjF0r8MAMPZQrJGcTScvrqF2_e4ienqK5uBLmXaKOVLHMGqJ9wpGR1gPhI/s1600/Last+Page.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjznq_r_CO1PgtU5aXVjJhDttTBlwzJNth80o1UlOWSfi1u85iKWPRj54x6PiRlLcJhD555FWQO81VCslQXMtjF0r8MAMPZQrJGcTScvrqF2_e4ienqK5uBLmXaKOVLHMGqJ9wpGR1gPhI/s1600/Last+Page.JPG" height="400" width="306" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The book – the book … the BOOK><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Wynken, Blynken and Nod.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I signed
off on the final proof and will be able to order copies for distribution within
the month.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It will be available on the
publisher’s website as well as Amazon.ca shortly after that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you want a copy – let me know. My final step
in all of this is a MSRP.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
price.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Pricing is hard for me. In order to price your art realistically, you
must understand and respect how the art business works and how people shop and
buy. You must step back and objectively evaluate the significance and quality
of your art in relation to all other art. You must also objectively assess your
art world accomplishments and determine how they position you in relation to
all other artists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The more aware you
are of the big picture, of what other artists are creating, how it's being
priced and marketed, and who's buying what for how much and why, the better
prepared you are to price your art sensibly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
</span><br />
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So with all that in mind…. How the heck do we decide what to charge?
Pricing just feels like a big, black void, and one with a lot of pressure:
charge too much, and they’ll run away; charge too little, and you’re shooting
yourself in the foot – undervaluing your work – and some folks might not buy it
because you’ve now convinced them via the price tag that it’s not worth
much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gah! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">But a book should be easy – never mind that it took me almost three
years to paint the collection of illustrations, or that I’ll likely need to
sell over 400 copies just to break even on the editing/printing design
work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are lots of books out there
– a quick look at amazon should put me in the ball park – even if I can’t compete
with publishers such as “scholastic”. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF0yXcPjPnXu8JBgu22lytOCaMj52uDQiJu8_B3DqaCokwVa8GIMVYQpKg_jd7EXXKYefLjZ-Avd7WVoVHEtMhmmUy8FyCLQG-2ylZOUfGzqQTQ4c_Ezzt3CCFF7QjHk17d6hyqhNm7_Y/s1600/twinkle-little-star-pinkney.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF0yXcPjPnXu8JBgu22lytOCaMj52uDQiJu8_B3DqaCokwVa8GIMVYQpKg_jd7EXXKYefLjZ-Avd7WVoVHEtMhmmUy8FyCLQG-2ylZOUfGzqQTQ4c_Ezzt3CCFF7QjHk17d6hyqhNm7_Y/s1600/twinkle-little-star-pinkney.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I started looking at some of my favourite children’s books….. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Twinkle, Twinkle,
Little Star by Jerry Pinkney<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Day the Crayons
Quit by Drew Daywalt,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Pirate Cruncher by
Jonny Duddle,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Orange Pear Apple
Bear by Emily Gravett,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And then I looked at Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>which describes how <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Farmer Brown's cows have gotten a hold of a
typewriter, and now equipped with the means with which they can express
themselves, the cows demand electric blankets forthwith. Farmer Brown demurs
(by throwing a small fit) so the cows join up with the chickens in demanding blankets
for the chickens as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They do this
by leaving a note on the barn door “no milk, no eggs.” Farmer Brown is so tired
of not having any eggs or milk because of the animals being on strike, he decides
to give in to their requests, only to have the ducks demand a diving board for
the pond.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We love this story – my kids love the repetitiveness of the words “Click
clack – MOO.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Click Clack –MOO.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I chuckle every time I read “Duck was a
neutral party so de delivered the ultimatum.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjllWTcf838pnMp8h4X6WpVr3rqk2tY8lEX0SZevkmuqYWSNL4sQ6YgUhIPvsNbjmfC_kddJTWWDbb_7lF_owiR8g70SP1RzBcvHd1wISCBQzDDyVTo5lVcwXaN_qyOKb5O0s8KcEIZ7KI/s1600/11162011135250662pm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjllWTcf838pnMp8h4X6WpVr3rqk2tY8lEX0SZevkmuqYWSNL4sQ6YgUhIPvsNbjmfC_kddJTWWDbb_7lF_owiR8g70SP1RzBcvHd1wISCBQzDDyVTo5lVcwXaN_qyOKb5O0s8KcEIZ7KI/s1600/11162011135250662pm.jpg" height="250" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So as I’m looking at prices – I got distracted by the comments readers
leave about the books they read.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Turns out not everyone finds this book as
charming as we do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One reviewer (Jory
Hansen) rants about how the author takes “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">her
readers for fools</i>” objecting to talking/typing cows,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and goes on to say that in purchasing this
book “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">you've got to be downright stupid,
and even that's a stretch. I would most definitely not recommend this book to
any parent, unless for some reason you want your children to grow up believing
in talking cows and cow strikes that result in milk shortages and whatnot</i>. “<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Clearly this reviewer has never heard of the
term FICTION.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hesitate to think what he/she
would think of shoes sailing through the night sky and fishing for stars under
the benevolent gaze of the laughing/singing moon. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Another reviewer felt the book was unacceptable union propaganda, and
suggested that Farmer Brown <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>should have turned
the ungrateful, inefficient and pampered cows into hamburger and drumsticks and
replaced them with more appreciative, hardworking, and efficient cows and
chickens. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">At this point I gave up on humanity in general and figured people would
either purchase my book or they won’t and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>quit worrying about it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Let me know if you want me to pre-order you a copy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><em>Many people, other than the authors, contribute to the </em></span><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><em>
making of a book, from
the first person who had the bright idea of alphabetic writing through the
inventor of movable type to the lumberjacks who felled the trees that were
pulped for its printing. It is not customary to acknowledge the trees
themselves, though their commitment is total</em>. ~Forsyth and Rada, <i>Machine
Learning</i></span><br />
<br />RiverWalkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319217788146789713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322860018513289271.post-28454909185218467092014-09-11T14:34:00.001-07:002014-09-11T14:34:54.865-07:00Back in the Cube Farm
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Seasons have turned once again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A year has passed since I left work to look
after my second little peanut.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s
been a year filled with joys and family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But now after a summer of warmth and chaos the rains are returning and I’ve
dropped my kids off into the care of another so that I can return to the
cubicle where I earn the money to pay the daycare I wouldn’t need if I were not
working. It’s a vicious cycle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The leaves are turning; the moisture is creeping further out
of the hollows where it retreats in the summer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>My DH has moved to our new home, and I am left to mop up until I can
join him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hit the ground
running each morning, in a frantic flight to make sure the kids are clean
enough that no one will start asking questions and dressed sufficiently for the
weather, to pack lunches and stuff breakfast into distracted eaters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I grab a stack of clean diapers, throw them
in the day pack along with some spare clothes and hope that daycare is forgiving
if I’ve forgotten something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I drive
across town and drop them off before planting myself in a small beige square
where I spend the best of the waking hours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I take a big breath when I go and pick up the kids as the scramble
begins again with food prep, and clean up, baths and bedtime routines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I let escape a silent prayer each night that
THIS will be the night they sleep through the night (it hasn’t happened yet)…. And
I hope they fall asleep soon enough to give me a few moments silence in which
to collect my own thoughts – but they rarely do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlor6MTny0nRvWHhVK71upYpgK-8Wpe-S1WCEWC3uk0kp7-TiTHZEJufCTl05ZKBCRM9InhsQxi5wfUT5YRpVCDIfy3N0PdoQra5l9OThzphrwmK08lfjQbCvB2uBbhcSVkOj1sP8jNBQ/s1600/506241.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlor6MTny0nRvWHhVK71upYpgK-8Wpe-S1WCEWC3uk0kp7-TiTHZEJufCTl05ZKBCRM9InhsQxi5wfUT5YRpVCDIfy3N0PdoQra5l9OThzphrwmK08lfjQbCvB2uBbhcSVkOj1sP8jNBQ/s1600/506241.jpg" height="320" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was optimistic when we moved during the summer
months.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I kept with me my paints, and
paper, fabric and sewing machine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But so
far I’ve not managed to do much in the way of art or craft.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have however committed myself to the
annual craft fair. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The goal is to have
copies of my book available for any and all who wish a copy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This along with my spice packets, calendars
filled with my art and the usual art cards and prints.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope it will go well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But in thinking about this fair I’ve decided
I want to get back in to seed packets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve
been inspired by photos of vintage seeds …<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I think I’ll stick with the easy to grow – sunflowers, poppies, sweet
peas and nasturtiums, Hyacinth Bean, Gourds, Pumpkins, radishes, and zinnias…. Compared
with perennials, trees, evergreens and the rest, seeds are a real bargain. For
less than the price of one potted perennial, you have potentially hundreds of
plants rattling around in a packet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Besides
I’m really excited about painting vegetables these days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Expanding beyond the blue tones I’ve been
working with for the past two years of illustrating Wynken, Blynken and Nod.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But if you are a fan of the Blue – I’m taking pre-orders for
the book! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
RiverWalkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319217788146789713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322860018513289271.post-25973023272531410932014-08-12T22:07:00.000-07:002014-09-11T14:37:22.798-07:00velco, goldfish, and a proof!<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjhHAmYOqNW_NorvGncIr0G4_ioL_kCIEjRQoGpw7tsNBXSaQxwdUXjbOgq4gVV3sGdwQdKXN-faG9vA9iJPJykJSXicK8QGKp1SxjQVIfnvvZsi0hGk_naHxpG6liRrlWJwca7xc4Ias/s1600/DSC_0636.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjhHAmYOqNW_NorvGncIr0G4_ioL_kCIEjRQoGpw7tsNBXSaQxwdUXjbOgq4gVV3sGdwQdKXN-faG9vA9iJPJykJSXicK8QGKp1SxjQVIfnvvZsi0hGk_naHxpG6liRrlWJwca7xc4Ias/s1600/DSC_0636.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The days fly by and time passes in the blink of an eye. I try to remind myself to make the most of
each day as it happens but they seem to woosh by in such a hurry. I am in no hurry. The excitement of each day is here and now
and I feel as if I am in the thick of it.
I have moved out of my home, my possessions are in a container parked
somewhere, my new home will be mine at the end of the week. In the mean time, I’ve been camping, I wrote a final exam for an
electrocardiography course I was taking, I’ve taken my little Peanut to
Children’s Hospital for some rather severe allergies to milk and eggs (he now
has an epi-pen for those just in case times), and now I’m living in a hotel –
it’s a temporary arrangement. The whole
thing is a bit surreal….. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I drove with my two small children for miles and miles and
miles and miles on my own. We stopped a
lot. In no particular order - here are a few things I’ve learned about
travelling alone with very young children.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"> *
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Before setting out on a long car trip with
children, many parents pack freshly cut carrots and celery. These would come in
handy if a hungry deer wanders up to your car at a stop sign - carseats are
places where goldfish crackers go to die
- when driving long distances
nutrition goes out the window – if gold fish crackers keep them happy – provide
endless supplies of goldfish crackers .. Lollies that take time to chew and
have the ability to fuse the jaw together are also particularly useful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;">*<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->public toilets are scary places – and for toddlers
they are positively terrifying. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;">*<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->be thankful for Velcro - As well as saving valuable time, now I can
hear the sound of my son taking off his shoes which gives me three extra
seconds to activate the safety locks on the back seat windows right before he
hurls them out of the car and onto the freeway.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;">*<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->every community has a playground…. I am slowly
getting intimately acquainted with ALL of them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;">*<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->a personal listening device with a set of ear
buds or headphones so your child can keep his music to himself can easily save
you a fortune in therapy later.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;">*<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->if the baby falls asleep, inevitably the toddler
wakes him up with an enthusiastic rendition of “<b><i>Dingle Dingle Wittow Star</i></b>”
which he can’t be reprimanded for because he’s cute and he didn’t mean to wake
his brother. <i>Just breathe.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;">*<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->take breaks where there is a toilet but away
from any venue that has too many desirable items available to purchase. Like
alcohol.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;">*<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->estimate the travel time, then double it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;">*<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->it all ends with the game “everyone look out the
window and be quiet” while Mum tries to remain calm and delete swear words from
her internal dialogue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">But we’ve made it so far, and there are really only 2 or 3
more days to driving to go. Then I can
look forward to a year of single parenting, a small one bedroom apartment, and
the printing of my book!!! Oh yeah!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I got the first proof (digital copy only) back from the
designer that is putting the text into the artwork. This is really so exciting. I’m requesting a few edits, but I’m pretty
happy with it. Extremely excited to be
at this stage in the process!!!</span></div>
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RiverWalkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319217788146789713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322860018513289271.post-2915318058212480822014-06-28T23:15:00.000-07:002014-07-01T07:49:55.101-07:00Going to Print! I spoke once, back in 2012 [<a href="http://riverwalkerarts.blogspot.ca/2012/05/confessions-of-bibliophile.html" target="_blank">here</a>] about books, and how I always had this thought that one day I would like to illustrate a children’s book. I quoted Toni Morrison who said “If there's a book you really want to read but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.”. I admitted my limitations and confessed the importance of establishing goals so long as you don't let them deprive you of interesting detours. By the fall I’d done a few paintings. A year later I was still working on it. I’d stalled out for a while, and had another baby. I think my art improved. I’d discarded a number of attempts. I’d even painted on the back of some of the ones I didn’t like (watercolour is expensive – upwards of $15 for a single sheet of paper). <br />
<br />
I’m now two years from beginning my journey and I’ve just sent off my artwork to a company that will help me get through the self-publishing process. In other words I’ve decided to publish this work independent of a publishing house. In the past, self-published authors had to spend considerable amounts of money preparing a book for publication, and to purchase bulk copies of their title and find a place to store them. Print-On-Demand technology means that I, via numerous, accessible global distribution channels like Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Chapters, etc., can have a book printed– virtually world-wide – only when an order has been placed. Voila! Putting your book for sale on Amazon feels like dropping a single grain into a bag of rice. So while this book will likely never make enough money to even cover the costs of getting the paintings digitized, let alone set up fees etc. the point is I’m taking my own advice.... you know those things you've always wanted to do..... you should do them... here I am... <br />
<br />
I’ve received some praise.. I wonder how much is lip service and how much is real. The best was from the folks I’ve hired to help me get my paintings into digital format suitable for printing....<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ4ifherkAyMN9pnxywyw7BTneAHe7wzldNwe3HXZY-QSougF_2ih8hmFx8epRttk-UoRJoH0tBLKcbbAByv2z0xFlazcBc8h955hfDB7H5rBN1XK2_G83NNuZskTToHZOd5dxtvsLGzU/s1600/prototype.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ4ifherkAyMN9pnxywyw7BTneAHe7wzldNwe3HXZY-QSougF_2ih8hmFx8epRttk-UoRJoH0tBLKcbbAByv2z0xFlazcBc8h955hfDB7H5rBN1XK2_G83NNuZskTToHZOd5dxtvsLGzU/s1600/prototype.jpg" height="261" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva'; font-size: 13.5pt;">Watercolour</span><span style="font-family: Unkempt, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 13.5pt;">© RiverWalker Arts</span></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: center;">
<i>“I received your illustrations this morning! They are absolutely gorgeous. I can't even tell you the response I have received. Every single person who has laid eyes on them has had wonderful things to say. Multiple times I have had people ask what professional illustrator sent them in. Just gorgeous.” ~ H.S.</i></blockquote>
<br />
Wynken, Blynken and Nod is about a Journey. The Poem written by Eugene Field and published in 1889 is about three little fishermen who sail off in a wooden shoe to fish among the stars in the night sky. It is a dream, it is a lullaby, it is a gentle pull into the mysteries of bedtime stories. The Journey for me is the series I am painting. I’m doing it for myself, I’m doing it for the children in my life, I’m doing it because I can.... and all things going as planned there will be a book... a real tangible vanity published book to read, to sell, to admire and market – in time for Christmas craft fair season. (I only ever do one craft fair a year.... but still it’s how I put myself out there in my community).<br />
<br />
You’ll be able to order one too, I’ll sign it if you want. It will be for sale on Amazon... so I’m told. Stay tuned.<br />
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RiverWalkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319217788146789713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322860018513289271.post-45736090590484495862014-06-04T20:20:00.002-07:002014-06-04T20:23:56.629-07:00Beets<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #f2dbdb; font-family: "Rockwell","serif"; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themetint: 51;">Ok. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #f2dbdb; font-family: "Rockwell","serif"; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themetint: 51;">So this is the deal. My I have a dirty little secret. A time waster. Which is awful because I REALLY don’t have
time to just sit and let time disappear in a flash. I
have kids to pay attention to, I have school work to get done, a book to
publish... oh and did I mention I just sold my house and bought a new one so I’ve
got moving to do too. And in case you
didn’t know.. Kids take up a LOT of time.
Anyway.. my time waster – my dirty little defragment the brain
activity - PINTEREST.
(I know..... Please don’t judge me).
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlKzQUf5jNQrm46bRSkZhDhD-SRSliQK7AZupX4MQE-AxaN6mmoA5liGxGOajUtsOQomno3Dhyphenhypheno8F-mypKzNo3wYd_tAZtcoR1hwNkoRpQbM7URZhDbTSUH_egTGRqwDtg50TMWAOkUlg/s1600/3c65ee3bec4f90110c26d07c0a4f4c7a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlKzQUf5jNQrm46bRSkZhDhD-SRSliQK7AZupX4MQE-AxaN6mmoA5liGxGOajUtsOQomno3Dhyphenhypheno8F-mypKzNo3wYd_tAZtcoR1hwNkoRpQbM7URZhDbTSUH_egTGRqwDtg50TMWAOkUlg/s1600/3c65ee3bec4f90110c26d07c0a4f4c7a.jpg" height="249" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f2dbdb; font-family: "Rockwell","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themetint: 51;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #f2dbdb;">“What’s for Dinner?” by </span><span style="color: #f2dbdb;">Sandra K White</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #f2dbdb; font-family: "Rockwell","serif"; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themetint: 51;">I often seek inspirational art on
Pinterest, (along with toddler activities, toddler crafts, quilting techniques
and crockpot recipes.) One day I came across
Sandra K White’s “What’s for Dinner?”
watercolour. (<a href="http://www.sandrakwhite.com/2010/04/whats-for-dinner/"><span style="color: #f2dbdb; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themetint: 51;">http://www.sandrakwhite.com/2010/04/whats-for-dinner/</span></a>) It
spoke to me. It sang to me. I NEEDED to paint BEETS! (I’m not even sure her painting has beets,
they might be turnips, or giant radishes.... all I saw was beets) .<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Rockwell","serif"; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themetint: 51;"><span style="color: #f2dbdb;">I became somewhat obsessed. I’ve been painting variations of Wynken,
Blynken and Nod for two years and little else.
I’ve gone through enough </span><u><span style="color: #fce5cd;">“</span><a href="http://www.winsornewton.com/resource-centre/product-articles/spotlight-on-colour-winsor-blue/"><span style="color: #cfe2f3;">Winsor Blue</span></a><span style="color: #fce5cd;">”</span></u><span style="color: #f2dbdb;">
to last a lifetime, specifically </span><u><span style="color: #cfe2f3;">:</span> <span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><a href="http://www.winsornewton.com/products/water-colours/artists-water-colour/colour-chart/winsor-blue-%28green-shade%29/">Artists' Water
Colour: Winsor Blue (Green Shade)</a> </span><span style="color: #cfe2f3;">.</span></u></span><span style="color: #f2dbdb; font-family: "Rockwell","serif"; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themetint: 51;"> So the thought of lusciously vibrant oranges
and rich deep reds had me positively humming with anticipation. I really needed to wipe all that blue off the
palette. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #f2dbdb; font-family: "Rockwell","serif"; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themetint: 51;">Finally. With a little cooperation
from some sleeping children I managed to squeeze in enough time for this: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhplwbvoUtcoiZfyhyQfe8aL6SGJ_Pp3Yqd4u5UjC2PwDLv8TD5ku2ijtfCQseGcE3DkSQMwD2FKQU8UC5iz0xJFstkMxZiJLY0Ac_NVpbH_SoeRIOUb80L_ZJaHn5lSz1oshs_p-0JAbo/s1600/beets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhplwbvoUtcoiZfyhyQfe8aL6SGJ_Pp3Yqd4u5UjC2PwDLv8TD5ku2ijtfCQseGcE3DkSQMwD2FKQU8UC5iz0xJFstkMxZiJLY0Ac_NVpbH_SoeRIOUb80L_ZJaHn5lSz1oshs_p-0JAbo/s1600/beets.jpg" height="320" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #f2f2f2; font-family: Papyrus; mso-themecolor: background1; mso-themeshade: 242;">dug up from the garden ..... Basic research has shown beets may protect
against liver disease, lower blood pressure and have an effect on mechanisms of
cardiovascular disease.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #f2f2f2; font-family: Papyrus; mso-themecolor: background1; mso-themeshade: 242;">11x 15 inch Watercolour on 140lbs cold press cotton rag paper<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 18px; line-height: 22px; text-indent: -0.46666666865348816px;">© RiverWalker Arts</span></td></tr>
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<br />
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<span style="color: #f2dbdb; font-family: "Rockwell","serif"; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themetint: 51;">Thank you Sandra for the inspiration....</span></div>
<br />
<o:p></o:p>RiverWalkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319217788146789713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322860018513289271.post-67011136676330228142014-04-30T11:24:00.001-07:002014-04-30T11:24:39.284-07:00a for sale sign and a lack of good books.There is a forsale sign on my lawn, and I scramble daily to keep up with the cleanliness required to “stage” a house. Turns out that not many people like to see my dirty dishes on the counters, or toothpaste on the mirrors.... it’s apparently not good for allowing people to visualize the home as their own. I try not to do anything like fry bacon on days when people are coming to look... a house that smells like bacon grease is apparently as bad as one that smells of microwaved popcorn or boiled cabbage. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWGkS-7GC40a5zlkSdK6sYp_SwTbBgqmC3VPOUTejRPbSpEJh9NyJ0yHlXXPhdWMUEWJ9X8Dyw2NFqDkYh3s1Wun1MV0AIXjUkW6gmh-dducqHjjrqYw1v9eEvPT6WzFY9vzSgDO-Wgbs/s1600/DSC_2511.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWGkS-7GC40a5zlkSdK6sYp_SwTbBgqmC3VPOUTejRPbSpEJh9NyJ0yHlXXPhdWMUEWJ9X8Dyw2NFqDkYh3s1Wun1MV0AIXjUkW6gmh-dducqHjjrqYw1v9eEvPT6WzFY9vzSgDO-Wgbs/s1600/DSC_2511.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
My two year old is a one man wrecking crew who charges through the house on his little feet, legs pumping as fast as they can go terrorizing the dog, and dragging behind a tape measure. My little 7 month old peanut, is learning about food, and seem to be able to spread the stuff in a 3 foot radius of himself while simultaneously sucking on it, and spitting it out. Every time someone comes to look at the place I’m terrified they will get a wiff of wet dog or dirty diaper and it will turn them off because they will think it’s permeated the house, and not just that I haven’t done diaper laundry in a few days.<br />
<br />
Before I had kids I used to work full time, go out for dinner occasionally, exercise religiously, paint, read novels, and try intricate recipes in the kitchen. I haven’t been out for dinner with my husband for 3 years, my exercise consists of chasing after Chicken Little and carrying kids around on my hips, my kitchen time is down to whatever I can throw in the crockpot in the least amount of time and this year I’ve read exactly one book that wasn’t found in the baby section. <br />
<br />
I started keeping track of the books I read years and years ago, I’m such a nerd I even have spreadsheet. I averages 14-18 novels a year. Some were inane drivel designed for quick consumption and mindless entertainment, others more profound. When I was off work with my first baby, I doubled my reading, as I rocked in the rocking chair, chicken little snoring on my chest. Now I read three or four children’s books at bedtime, and in the morning. Often repeating the same one over and over.... the one book I’ve just finished reading cover to cover, geared for the adult audience - Medical Terminology Systems by<br />
Barbara A. Gylys. Which is essentially 700 pages of lists upon lists of words, suffixes, prefixes, describing, body parts, tests and diseases. It is the first course on my journey to re-educate myself for employability in a new town. One far away from the Ocean where the 6 years of schooling I already have applies. <br />
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I have however tried to keep with Painting, it’s the most therapeutic
of all my pastimes, and so here I present to you – a bit of seasonal
solitude....</div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';">Watercolour<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Papyrus;">© RiverWalker Arts</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: BlackChancery;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: BlackChancery;">There is a privacy about it which no other season gives you.... In spring, summer and fall people sort of have an open season on each other; only in the winter, in the country, can you have longer, quiet stretches when you can savour belonging to yourself. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Unkempt; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.17599868774414px;">
<span style="font-family: BlackChancery;">~Ruth Stout</span></div>
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</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<br />RiverWalkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319217788146789713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322860018513289271.post-40939716847149891542014-03-06T14:10:00.000-08:002014-03-06T14:10:08.922-08:00drowning in alphabet soup<span style="color: #ead1dc;"><br /></span>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: #ead1dc;">I
have little boys. Not girls – and I don’t
know what they are like. But I can tell you boys play hard and they play dirty
and they like trucks. When presented
with a room filled with dolls and kitchen sets, and books and ponies and Barbies
and all manner of really great gender
neutral toys, Chicken Little who is 2
will gravitate to the trucks, the trains and the airplanes. He likes to drive his trucks on his hands and
knees in the dirt. The mud. The snow.
Just keeping up with laundry is a challenge – especially when you also
have to make sure you run a load of diapers ever other day for the Peanut. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: #ead1dc;">Between
keeping up with a two year old, keeping the dog hair to a dull roar, and making sure everyone is fed, and clothed,
and generally clean enough to keep social services from the door it’s a full
time job. That free time I have between
2 and 6 in the morning is often taken up with nursing the baby, taking the two
year old pee, and trying to catch a few moments of shut eye. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #ead1dc;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Art
is sanity for me. Creativity. There are
simply not enough hours in a day to do it.
I have so many projects I want to pursue. Quilting and quiet books, maybe by the time I am
a grandmother I will have made a quiet book.
But right now I’m lucky if I can squeeze in a spare moment to doodle in
my sketch book. I said I was going to “art
journal” and it </span><span style="font-size: 15px;">hasn't</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> really happened. But
I did stop being afraid to sketch in my sketch book – to leave half finished
ideas, to scratch out words and images in a haphazard scrawl. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: #ead1dc;">So
as if I were not busy enough with life I decided to take up a correspondence course. No – not art related . Human Anatomy and Physiology – a medical terminology
sort of affair. – mostly because I’m
crazy .
I can think of no good other reason for it. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: #ead1dc;">Now....
I've got in excess of 300 flash cards and I feel like I’m drowning in alphabet
soup. I've got hundreds of abbreviations for words there aren't enough tiles in
a scrabble game to spell, my kids can’t
understand a word I say .... <br />
<br />
and really.. who calls it a sphygmometer anyway???<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: #ead1dc;">So
when I bogged myself down last night and all I could see was letters swirling
on the page. I got out the paint and thought I’d see if I could tap into some
other part of my brain. Maybe it would
refresh the soul? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: #ead1dc;">Here
is an evening’s play. Done with a
sleeping babe in my lap, and a dog shedding at my feet, amid a sea of medical
terminology flash cards.... </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcRHvT92p-Jdjq6pAdt8T_CwnzMktrsQP5lXz5-GsXMZpVkwHLjM2LzDdzMW1P4NhIBhjEVmbfV30M_GWg3aHkCYunwhFMXDoA_EqrID7Rec4t9onCINA7IRgJva3gw3BH1uEO2CroBsQ/s1600/DSC_2147.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcRHvT92p-Jdjq6pAdt8T_CwnzMktrsQP5lXz5-GsXMZpVkwHLjM2LzDdzMW1P4NhIBhjEVmbfV30M_GWg3aHkCYunwhFMXDoA_EqrID7Rec4t9onCINA7IRgJva3gw3BH1uEO2CroBsQ/s1600/DSC_2147.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
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</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: #999999;">Northern
Lights over Lucy. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 11.0pt;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: #999999;">Original Watercolour</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: #999999;"> ©RiverWalker Arts </span></span></div>
<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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RiverWalkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319217788146789713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322860018513289271.post-50247353193954447152014-02-14T21:05:00.001-08:002014-02-14T21:05:22.602-08:00A rumor without a leg to stand on will get around some other way.<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #e5dfec; font-family: Ebrima; mso-themecolor: accent4; mso-themetint: 51;">I live in a small town, on a dark wet and cold little
island. In this isolated little place
where people don’t seem to be able to get outside and do enough physical
activity in the sun, people turn to rumours.
Sure maybe it happens in other towns too, but here it seems to be particularly
virulent. The rumours here are not only
prolific but they seem to metastasize on their own and sneak into every corner
of the community. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #e5dfec; font-family: Ebrima; mso-themecolor: accent4; mso-themetint: 51;">The grains of truth are small – and somehow people I don’t even know are
coming up to me in the grocery store and telling me that I’ll like working for
Michelle at the hospital....
(apparently I applied for a job
there - (I didn’t by the way)). Others
are asking me what we are asking for our house.... (um – it’s not for sale –
but I suppose for the right price almost anything material is for sale – would you
like to make me an offer I can’t refuse?).
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #e5dfec; font-family: Ebrima; mso-themecolor: accent4; mso-themetint: 51;">The whole process has given me some interesting
insights into just how fast, how far and how wide rumours travel. Maybe
it’s just I don’t get out much anymore to squash the rumours? What can I say my days are pretty full. But I did manage to get out last night... a
fun little jaunt. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #e5dfec; font-family: Ebrima; mso-themecolor: accent4; mso-themetint: 51;">The North Coast Immigrant and Multicultural Services
Society is hosting a series of free workshops to celebrate diversity in our
community – I decided to partake... we were supposed to focus on what brought
us here, or our journey to this place... this little island in the mist. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #e5dfec; font-family: Ebrima;">My evening in a white room, with overhead florescent lights, bare walls and a concrete floor amounted to this- a desperate reach for colour!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Pmkbyy6OaVyTdLgyYMOIsS2VgMeCtyLHyhJWo9pWw8f_RhNkhIVbUPGL5pHaj5WRm-1M9ndBiTHfFP_TLVjUvR-Klo9vRoOe85RNV9c8jFtmlqaqjTA0PIJV4a1GbfGE9g82aYrdk8M/s1600/DSC_1811.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Pmkbyy6OaVyTdLgyYMOIsS2VgMeCtyLHyhJWo9pWw8f_RhNkhIVbUPGL5pHaj5WRm-1M9ndBiTHfFP_TLVjUvR-Klo9vRoOe85RNV9c8jFtmlqaqjTA0PIJV4a1GbfGE9g82aYrdk8M/s1600/DSC_1811.jpg" height="320" width="319" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #e5dfec; font-family: Ebrima; mso-themecolor: accent4; mso-themetint: 51;">Why an Octopus?? Well it was really a long journey...
but I think at the end of the day it was fish... and more specifically
invertebrates – crabs, octopi, shrimp, clams and the things that crawl in the
sea, not the ones that swim - that brought me here. I came for 4 months, and stayed for 9 years –
where the future will take me has yet to be determined. What will take me there, is also a mystery. and the rumours it will create remain to be gossiped about....<br /></span><span style="color: #e5dfec; font-family: Ebrima; mso-themecolor: accent4; mso-themetint: 51;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #f2dbdb; font-family: "Brush Script"; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themetint: 51;">When you are in trouble, people who
call to sympathize are really looking for the particulars. </span><span style="color: #f2dbdb; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themetint: 51;"> ~</span><span style="color: #f2dbdb; font-family: Tangerine; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themetint: 51;">Edgar Watson Howe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
RiverWalkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319217788146789713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322860018513289271.post-65575753299193169822014-01-23T21:16:00.000-08:002014-01-23T21:16:19.396-08:00Title Page January isn’t the most depressing month, but this year it is in the running. The weather station on the top of city hall tells me that we’ve already had 200mm of rain this month and today is one of those days where the darkness presses close, the thick grey clouds hang low and everything oozes with moisture and wetness. There is a damp smell that seems to smother everything, the smell of rot and earth. The moss is saturated and the sucking mud below seems to be swallowing up the town. A film of dark green algae stains what isn’t covered in spongy moss, my house, my car, my windows.... <br />
<br />
Art projects tend to languish in this kind of depressing weather, and yet folks seem to be getting anxious to see when my book will finally hit print. It’s a funny thing – maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned it so soon – it’s been a long time in the making. I’ve really enjoyed it. But with 16 spreads, title page, cover etc – it’s a big project. That being said – I’m getting there. I think I’m down to the last painting or so. The most recent being the title page –<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1I7RnzJ6cWN9XsCZPEGf1GoIRS9GPD4F3r4XrDYn7lLIqIycj5JY3Qd-dUFeWGdGlCWedXurLBKUv5O34q7t-tQgfeXQEe5kBKAMXRnRGwuQ104AqXOKfvbjYkhmcVu-zS-fBwhzdwvo/s1600/wynken1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1I7RnzJ6cWN9XsCZPEGf1GoIRS9GPD4F3r4XrDYn7lLIqIycj5JY3Qd-dUFeWGdGlCWedXurLBKUv5O34q7t-tQgfeXQEe5kBKAMXRnRGwuQ104AqXOKfvbjYkhmcVu-zS-fBwhzdwvo/s1600/wynken1.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 11.0pt;">Title
Page <br />
Original Watercolour<br />
©RiverWalker Arts <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
Now the big question will be how to publish this thing. It’s not like you can just knock on a publishers door and say – hey I’ve got this thing finished – wanna publish it for me?<br />
<br />
Apparently the children's book market is extremely competitive, and profit margins tend to be small even for successful books. Further- many publishing houses won't look twice at your book without the solicitation of a literary agent- and there are plenty of bad agents and scammers in the game. Then the other bit of news I received is that publishers don’t like finished artworks – but rather I’m told a package sent to a publisher should include a covering letter the text and a copy of the storyboard of rough drawings, in colour or black and white, and copies of one or two pieces (maximum) of finished artwork for the book... If you send them something too finished, it’s then more difficult for them to intervene editorially, so they might be inclined to reject the submission out of hand rather than look any further at it.<br />
<br />
*sigh* <br />
<br />
So where does this leave me?? Well. Possibly self publishing on blurb.com?<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
RiverWalkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319217788146789713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322860018513289271.post-55808603615218083262014-01-04T22:31:00.001-08:002014-01-05T13:35:27.740-08:00and all the sweet serenity of books<div class="MsoNormal">
Children will test
you, challenge you, bring you to tears, crack you up, and make you forget what
you urgently had to do. They'll shatter the life you knew into a million
pieces. Then they'll put it back together, like a stained-glass window, into
something infinitely more complicated and beautiful.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Looking after a two
year old, and an infant is pretty much a full time affair. I don’t get much
time to sit here and type, or to paint beautiful pictures or even pretty
horrible ones. My dog gets walked much less
and when I look outside through my front window it is through a film of dog
slobber, toddler drool and wee sticky fingerprints. Everything is slightly tacky with the
curiosity of being two, and smells a bit like the sweet-sour milky vomit of an
infant. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Having children does
however give one an excuse to buy hundreds of lovely books, to listen joyfully
to the crack of paper when you first open the pages, and to forever-after try
patiently to teach your children to be gentle as the books slowly become worn,
dog-eared and loved from repeated storytelling and readings. Sometimes the
words are poetic and stay with you and other times you have memorized the
entire story and it runs around in your head when you are not sleeping at night
and you wonder when it will finally be replaced by a new favourite so you can
stop reading it over and over and over and over and over again. But for me the marvel has been a new
appreciation for the glorious illustrators and the images they create. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3cOL_8CZpj1XP1eHX0lnEb4bxK9dm1IuPtQc0GV5fxt37MlxiBAP-aLwIyG4I1BWq_kBVt5PyhPIErefEgCyct5BfOLJwn_P_S0BHFnkJ93pePhViwHOODFnMwv1i_Hr2m0QphhDx2aM/s1600/mouse_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3cOL_8CZpj1XP1eHX0lnEb4bxK9dm1IuPtQc0GV5fxt37MlxiBAP-aLwIyG4I1BWq_kBVt5PyhPIErefEgCyct5BfOLJwn_P_S0BHFnkJ93pePhViwHOODFnMwv1i_Hr2m0QphhDx2aM/s320/mouse_1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Illustration by Don Wood</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A standard
children’s book at 32 pages long is a whole collection of works of art, and I
can tell you from the depths of my book shelves (oh yes I just bought another
one to house all those books!) that some
of those illustrations represent the most marvellously wonderful and
breathtaking works of art ever created.
This might be lost on my 3 month old Peanut, but as I read “<a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Little-Mouse-Ripe-Strawberry-Hungry/dp/0859530124/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1388871716&sr=1-1">The
Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear</a>” for the
bagillionth time I started to really LOOK at the illustrations, the details,
the brushstrokes, the pencil lines the art of it all. <i><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">(This is a book that
one should always have on hand just in
case there is a storytime emergency and one needs to read aloud).</span></i></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD4qs4Nhqjxsps8auzyMxt3A1Z0Wi170JucOHgIKE84CC2iQUJuIACdjFa4PBiUsNyt8KaMJyDcu5ZIdUhkv1TIBWRBXoXOTgQsA51SxDX6F9JVD0Rwfq8VNjf0xlxRTfcjljJ3oyvf3s/s1600/LittleMouse2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD4qs4Nhqjxsps8auzyMxt3A1Z0Wi170JucOHgIKE84CC2iQUJuIACdjFa4PBiUsNyt8KaMJyDcu5ZIdUhkv1TIBWRBXoXOTgQsA51SxDX6F9JVD0Rwfq8VNjf0xlxRTfcjljJ3oyvf3s/s320/LittleMouse2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Illustration by Don Wood</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With my own project slowly slumping along in the background
with another year passing me by I have come to regard these illustrators as
something like heroes of the art world.
May I recommend some for your viewing pleasure? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p><br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Quiltmakers-Journey-Jeff-Brumbeau/dp/0439512190/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1388872121&sr=1-1&keywords=quiltmaker%27s+journey"><b>The
Quiltmaker's Journey</b></a> by Jeff Brumbeau and illustrated by Gail de
Marcken</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Twinkle-Little-Star-Jerry-Pinkney/dp/0316056960/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1388872157&sr=1-2&keywords=twinkle+twinkle+little+star"><b>Twinkle,
Twinkle, Little Star</b></a> illustrated by Jerry Pinkney</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Tell-Me-Dragon-Jackie-Morris/dp/184507534X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1388872177&sr=1-1&keywords=jackie+morris"><b>Tell
Me a Dragon</b></a> written and illustrated by Jackie Morris</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Everywhere-Babies-lap-board-book/dp/0547510748/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1388872382&sr=1-2&keywords=everywhere+babies">Everywhere
Babies</a> </b>by Susan Meyers and illustrated Marla Frazee</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1841481181?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwgoodco-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1841481181&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2">The
Wild Swans</a></b> written by Hans Christian Andersen, adapted by Naomi
Lewis and illustrated by Yvonne Gilbert </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/0316367958?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwgoodco-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0316367958&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2">Saint
George and the Dragon </a></b> by Margaret Hodges and illustrated by Trina
Schart Hyman </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Sleeping-Beauty-K-Y-Craft/dp/1587171201/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1388875748&sr=1-1&keywords=sleeping+beauty++K.+Y.+Craft"><b>Sleeping
Beauty</b></a> illustrated by K. Y. Craft</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Dinotopia-Land-Apart-Time-Anniversary/dp/1606600222/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1388875984&sr=1-6"><b>Dinotopia:
A Land Apart from Time</b></a> written and illustrated by James Gurney</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Were-Riding-Caravan-Adventure-Silk/dp/184686108X">We're
Riding on a Caravan</a></b> by Laurie Krebs and illustrated by Helen
Cann </div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Ashanti-Zulu-Traditions-Margaret-Musgrove/dp/0140546049/ref=sr_1_16?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1388876310&sr=1-16"><b>Ashanti
to Zulu: African Traditions</b></a> by Margaret Musgrove and illustrated
by Diane Dillon <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Home-Christmas-Jan-Brett/dp/0399256539/ref=sr_1_sc_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1388891389&sr=8-3-spell&keywords=jann+brett"><b>Home
for Christmas</b></a> written and illustrated by Jan Brett <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Arthur-Spiderwicks-Field-Fantastical-Around/dp/1416960953/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1388891813&sr=1-3"><b>Arthur
Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You</b></a> by
Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Flotsam-David-Wiesner/dp/0618194576/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1388892582&sr=8-3&keywords=David+Wiesner"><b>Flotsam</b></a> written
and illustrated by David Wiesner<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh179Xq2Fa0Q7f4tw0kynaMVVXcqWdN3NpPgCr6wXWb4E3S-CG3MkLyl1O_mIL-RqcWhBNwPl2kWSOYoTf5OJvE03kK_Jhr9KGtZYUDVSpgn1bXkcMtK7wTlYm_TxQDKFBVFmPLZ5RNFOk/s1600/52497148.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh179Xq2Fa0Q7f4tw0kynaMVVXcqWdN3NpPgCr6wXWb4E3S-CG3MkLyl1O_mIL-RqcWhBNwPl2kWSOYoTf5OJvE03kK_Jhr9KGtZYUDVSpgn1bXkcMtK7wTlYm_TxQDKFBVFmPLZ5RNFOk/s400/52497148.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: #888888; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;">The Wild Swans by Anne Yvonne Gilbert</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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These are not just children’s stories they are collections
of art – worthy of the libraries of all people young and old. Since I can
only draw from my own personal knowledge and tastes, and I know there are
scores upon scores of gorgeous children’s books out there (thank goodness), be
sure to add any other favorites of yours to my list in the comments!</div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: BlackChancery;">I would be most
content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating
consists mostly of building enough bookshelves.</span> ~<span style="font-family: "Brush Script";">Anna
Quindlen</span></span></div>
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RiverWalkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319217788146789713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322860018513289271.post-14128089413810393762013-11-18T18:06:00.000-08:002013-11-18T18:08:48.463-08:00A Craft Fair and a Christmas Card<div class="MsoNormal">
The snow fell... it got slushy... then froze solid. The
world is patchy and white. The children squeal and run with mittens
trailing from coat sleeves. It is still November but the cold has brought
about an early Christmas spirit despite the perpetual grumblings about
weather. If it is not too hot, or too rainy then it’s too cold and what
is this white stuff anyway. </div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKP4pCTh6VPTlsK2NMyHi9O9XWCYOWj2s6j3vrOiDPI8PCSi5FUQ0114Hnf73IFPtrAiptm7oWK3i4hZFqiJvEnIBm6h3SbtZY7NPPVIUEoaoXUkGCtkJMiaI7_O1WDlYgWXS5XtoE_dw/s1600/lp+(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKP4pCTh6VPTlsK2NMyHi9O9XWCYOWj2s6j3vrOiDPI8PCSi5FUQ0114Hnf73IFPtrAiptm7oWK3i4hZFqiJvEnIBm6h3SbtZY7NPPVIUEoaoXUkGCtkJMiaI7_O1WDlYgWXS5XtoE_dw/s320/lp+(3).jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 31.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Papyrus;">Brush each salmon fillet with 1/2 teaspoon of oil </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Papyrus;">Squeeze lime juice over salmon then</span><span style="font-family: Papyrus;"> rub contents</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Papyrus;"> of spice packet to completely coat the fish; </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 11pt;">Grill
the salmon, flesh side down, until charred.</span></div>
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</tbody></table>
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Saturday was the Annual Kaien Island Craft Fair. A 38 year tradition. A busy day for all involved. Crafters and vendors alike, poured into the local
gym an annual community event took place.
It is a social event as much as anything. A celebration of crafts, a community social
event, an opportunity to shop local and support local artisans, a Herculean
effort to organize and a good time had by all.</div>
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I sold reproductions of my art, cards, and the most popular
item – spice packets. A2 Sized Envelopes
( 146mm x 110 mm) Printed with reproductions of Original Artworks of RiverWalker
Arts and filled with an assortment of delicious Spices and easy to follow
Recipes for their use. Perfect Stocking Stuffers or ideal hostess gifts. Space
on the back for a stamp and address - mail them like a postcard to your favourite
folks away.</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixp9XUN2_z_-l62LWZa6RNtTOC6Hx0qyFwGAlcvhesjUs4Bu8XuVCrwA_PQ9lVuG3XjgMgYwMdv70RthA6EDtA7oQ8mAiA3W3hLvpMmzzB_pHTGfPUp2KMzj7iYHQLh68x1-r2G1O3F9c/s1600/lp+(15).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixp9XUN2_z_-l62LWZa6RNtTOC6Hx0qyFwGAlcvhesjUs4Bu8XuVCrwA_PQ9lVuG3XjgMgYwMdv70RthA6EDtA7oQ8mAiA3W3hLvpMmzzB_pHTGfPUp2KMzj7iYHQLh68x1-r2G1O3F9c/s320/lp+(15).jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Gently simmer 750 ml. (1 bottle) red wine, 1/4 to 1/2
cup sugar (to taste)<br /> and whole packet of mulling spice for up to 20 minutes.
<br />Remove the spice packet and serve the wine hot in mugs </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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For 8 hours I watched the crowds, talked with folks,
socialized and had a great day.<span style="background: black; color: #dddddd; font-family: "Chaparral Pro","serif"; font-size: 15.0pt;"> </span>By 5pm I was exhausted, and glad that I
don’t work in the retail business. </div>
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For my next project.... This white stuff has got me
thinking about my annual Christmas card. A tradition I started in 1990
with a lopsided candle ringed with pine boughs and bits of holly. Since
then I have put out a different card each year... what might 2013 bring? I don’t know. I have little inspiration for
this as I think the part of my brain devoted to art is stuck in a Dutch
lullaby. Birds? Reindeer? Snowmen ?
Hockey? Wreaths? Stockings?
Nutcrackers? It’s a dilemma... but I’ve
got to start soon or I’ll never get them printed in time! </div>
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Here is a peek at a past Christmas Card: </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO5LUh_TQikT5JHVZ3rLQNYDH6LcSsobwC-UCOh4-SEoniUA7F_R2AgzCCGaJZOVFGgdNQApa1eR-hw1o2I0l8SE8uuSCW-q7iUtRLuFRpidvjVNMH3iG_n9Ulq3ccM0DQWsceu1PTEJU/s1600/christmas+tree+hunt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO5LUh_TQikT5JHVZ3rLQNYDH6LcSsobwC-UCOh4-SEoniUA7F_R2AgzCCGaJZOVFGgdNQApa1eR-hw1o2I0l8SE8uuSCW-q7iUtRLuFRpidvjVNMH3iG_n9Ulq3ccM0DQWsceu1PTEJU/s400/christmas+tree+hunt.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Unkempt; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0in 11.4pt 10pt 9pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 17pt; line-height: 26px;">“When the Snow Flies”<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';">Watercolour<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Papyrus;">© RiverWalker Arts</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: BlackChancery;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The lake is frozen over and the ground is deep with snow.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: BlackChancery;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">We are children once again.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: BlackChancery;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Brew me a cup on this winter’s eve and hold me near<br />For the frosty winds do howl and the glittering snow does fly.</span></span></div>
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RiverWalkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319217788146789713noreply@blogger.com0