10 Things Making Me Happy

It’s been such a beautiful start to fall, and before I left for Utah and points west, I put together a photo list of some things that made me happy that week.  I'd gotten a little frazzled finishing my artist talk for the book reading, and I had a million things to do to get ready for the two week trip.  I thought it would be good to slow down and pay attention to the things that made me smile.

1.  The bookmark I made for my Dad a looong time ago, found in my family’s dictionary (which I finally unpacked and made a good spot for).  Yeah, ok, it made me sad too, but mostly it made me happy.  I love that my Dad wrote the date on everything he saved, because now I don’t have to guess when I glued that heart to the popsicle stick.

2.  Another “finally:" I'm starting to hang up some of my parents’ artwork on my own walls. I grew up looking at all these beautiful prints and paintings and it’s good to see them again.

3.  My newly planted anemones, blooming before hunkering down for the winter.  I think they are my favorite flower.  

4.  The Champ is in the air again!  I learned to fly in this magic plane, and now I own it! (Well, part of it, but more about that in another post.)

5.  Very tiny pinecones that made their way to the patio.

6.  Morning glories winding their way through the patio doors.  They’re on the north wall, and it took all season for them to get up the gumption to flower.  Note to self: plant them in more places next spring.

7.  Waking up with Miss Kid.  Under a down quilt.  Snuggly!

8.  Last tomatoes of the season.

9.  A sense of accomplishment!  I finished up my artist talk for my book reading out in Utah. 

10.  First bath of the season. Need I say more?

So what's making you happy these days? 

"Flying Adventures" Debut

I’m pretty excited.  A few posts ago (you can read it here) I wrote about getting back to work on my Flying Adventures book.  Yes it’s been kind of a long and rough road getting this thing back on my project table, but this week is the debut of my reading and artist talk at Snow College in Utah and I thought it was time to finally start talking about my plans for the book.  I’ve been worried I’m going to jinx things if I start talking about it before I’ve gotten some exhibits/readings/successes under my belt, but I realize it’s time. Life is short!

To catch everyone up, here’s the nutshell version of the book’s history, and where I’m taking it next...

Soooo... I taught myself how to bookbind and made The Flying Adventures of Two Candy Cane Pen Friends as a gift for a friend after an adventure we had (Read a bit about that HERE.) (Or read the entire book HERE.)

At some point I realized this was going to be more than just a gift as it had turned into a huge project.  I made myself a copy too, and wondered how to share it with others.  Publishing seemed logical, but I had no idea how to publish a book, especially a not-very-mainstream one like this. So I scanned the pages & put it on my website, and also made a 40 page abridged version -- my zine -- to sell & give away. 

Things sort of fizzled after that.   Life was more important than the book for a while.  My parents died, and I’d been helping my brother take care of them.

Some encouraging news, though! … I received an Individual Excellence Award from the Ohio Arts Council for my work on the book.  This pepped me up again.  Then Chronicle Books wanted to see it!  Off it went:

Sadly, it was returned with a note: “Very charming, but we don’t see a place for it in our catalog at this time.”  I was pretty crushed.  If Chronicle - the king of quirky books - didn’t want it, what chance did it have?

Photo-friends I was with this winter said, “Hey! Your book hasn’t seen its day in the sun!  Find another way to get it out there!”   

So I thought of all the places & ways I might be able to bring the book to others.  Because, in the end, that’s what it’s about: connecting a project with people who will really love to see it.

I realized I was actually grateful that Chronicle hadn’t taken it.  It wasn’t ready to go out into the world as-is.  It had been a gift for my friend, not really intended for a larger audience.  So I am making a new book and then bringing it to others in more than one way:  I’ll offer “illustrated readings,” where I’ll read the book and project pages in a slideshow.  I’ll frame pages and create an exhibit so viewers can literally walk through the book.  I’ll self-publish a new zine.  I’ll partner with art & community centers, schools, and museums to offer workshops and availability as an artist-in-residence as I work on new book editions. I’ll bring it to the aviation community.  Who knows what other opportunities will come up?

One thing at a time. I took an inspiring workshop with bookbinding wizard Jace Graf of Cloverleaf Studio in Austin, Texas.  I left with all sorts of new ideas for how I might want to approach printing and binding and presentation.

Then later this year I spent a week at a friend's house and reworked the book layout.

Just as I was finishing it up and clearing off the table, I received an email from a photo friend/art professor at Snow College in Utah, asking if I’d like to be on their fall calendar of visiting artists.  Ever since then I’ve been hard at work on my reading & artist talk.

It’s finally ready to go!  At first I thought I’d just run through a “how I made this book” chronology, but I wanted it to be better than that.  I’m hoping to inspire people to think outside the box when it comes to getting a project out into the world.

After I’m back from Utah -- and a trip to Seattle to take some other photographs for the book -- I’ve got studio work to do!  I have to start testing out papers, both for the new book and for the exhibit.  I've got a whole stack of samples to get through:

The Greater Columbus Arts Council awarded me a grant to help me purchase a printer, for which I am ever so grateful. I’ve also found shadowbox frames which will be perfect for showcasing book pages in a three-dimensional format. 

And - Yes! - my new business cards came!  I’m excited to finally be able to hand out a card that represents more of what I do.  

Well, I'm off to the great wide-open West! I have never spent any time in Utah and I can't wait to see more than the view from the airport.  Come along for the ride on Instagram & FB...

Nice Haul!

Whenever I visit my brother in Florida I always plan a meet-up with a good friend of mine.  We try out a new spot for lunch and then find something interesting to do or a place to visit that’s new to at least one of us.  We cheated a little this time and went to a restaurant we’d been to before — the Salt and Sweet — but they have such delicious peirogies that it’s hard NOT to go there every time. 
  
Before I got to town I did some Googling to see if Melbourne had any used bookstores.  I thought a little browsing might be fun.  We’ve got great used bookshops in Columbus, but I’d never thought to look for any near my brother (Which is odd considering I visit often enough!).  I managed to find a few, and Nu2U Books on Aurora got really great reviews and was even close to the restaurant.  Who knew?

When we pulled into the parking lot I was skeptical;  it looked like it was in a storage unit and didn’t seem very big but — wow — when we walked in we were swallowed up.  I was most impressed!  We lost track of time.

The owner’s granddaughter made all these great signs extolling the wonders of reading…

… as well as giving us fair warning of the impending doom:

(I was already afflicted.)

It always makes me happy to see bookstores — especially used ones! — doing well.  While we were there, all kinds of people came in to browse, buy, & swap.  Dave, the owner, explained their simple pricing structure: $3 hardcovers and $1 paperbacks.  “We want to make it easy for people to read,” he said.  He told us how he started selling books out of the back of his car and that things kind of snowballed from there.  Nice. 

Like I need more books, buuuut… 

I left with Cormac McCarthy’s The Road (I borrowed & read my brother’s copy but wanted one for my own shelf.), First You Build a Cloud (I’d read KC Cole’s The Universe and the Teacup and just loved it.), and The Proficient Pilot (Barry Schiff’s aviation classic, which will be great for helping me get my piloting groove back).

I also couldn’t resist this copy of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.  I seem to have started a little collection of Alice books without realizing it.  I am such a nut for old illustrated books and I just couldn’t let this one — printed in 1897 — stay on the shelf.

Bonus: free handmade bookmarks!  

I took the middle one... it color coordinates nicely, wouldn't you agree?

On the way out to the car we noticed Fat Cat Thrift across the parking lot.  I was lured over by these two little Mexican ceramic sinks that were sitting outside the door. I’ve been on the lookout for something unique that could become a birdbath for one of my gardens and at $10 it was a bargain. In the end I chose not to get one (they were a little too deep), but the store owner noticed my Miz Mooz art deco shoes and waved me inside.  “I think I’ve got a perfect pair of shoes for you…”  I wasn’t hopeful as I so rarely find thrift store shoes that fit - I’m a size 6 - but it turned out to be a Cinderella day!  Snagged a great scarf and purse too.

All in all, nice haul!  And two great new spots to add to my “What I like about Melbourne” list.  I should start exploring more in Columbus too; it’s sooo easy to get stuck going to the same places all the time.  What great finds have you stumbled upon while exploring your own town?

Nu2u Books - 2624 Aurora Road, Melbourne FL . (910) 429-4843 . Hours: Tue - Sat 12-6pm . Cash only.  ||  Fat Cat Thrift & Vintage - 2632 Aurora Road, Melbourne FL . (321) 544-6914 . Hours: Tue - Sat 12-5pm