A Love Story

People need love.  We should all agree with that, but how do you express love? 

There are expressions of love that I am so touched by.  People living in poverty welcoming strangers into their home, sharing a meal, or giving of themselves to aid someone.  That touches my heart.  I think, wow.  If I had less, would I be more generous?

A transient couple I met and counseled for months, was staying with relatives in a rough apartment complex.  Before they relocated again, in search of work, they came to my office to say their goodbyes.  After many hugs, the gentleman took out of his pocket a disposable pen.  It was his farewell gift for the help I had given them, and the friendship I'd offered. 

Through the years, I've thought about their generosity.  In the U.S., the gift of a cheap pen for services offered might be laughed at, but to the undocumented immigrant couple, it had precious value. 

It's possible that I was touched by the gift, because I'm an immigrant, too.  Although I did not come to the United States impoverished, I am able to empathize with their struggles.  Or, perhaps It's because I'm a writer and an artist, whose favorite tool is a pen. 

Do you have a love story to tell?

In some impoverished places, something as simple as a pen is a gift well received.

People Are Surprising

People make me smile, laugh, shake my head in amazement, and cry.  They can also frighten, but I'll skip that one.

The dear people I know are so very different from each other.

My friend Denny is a sensitive sympathetic soul.  She loves cute animal.  She emails and texts cute animal photos with warm fuzzy sayings and so on.  You know the type. 

 

Recently, she moved into an apartment.  It became infested with roaches when her neighbors fumigated.  The day I visited, the roaches came out to greet me.  Even the fresh pot of coffee she made had roaches floating about.  Ugh!

How could I help my dear friend?  I offered to bring her a cup of D.E. (diatomaceous earth) powder to sprinkle around her home.  "It's organic and environmentally friendly", I explained.  "It consists of the fossilized remains of microscopic shells. It kills any creature with  an exoskeleton, because it works by dehydrating insects when they ingest or absorb it."

She looked aghast.  Oh no, she could never use something that would cause roaches to suffer.  Oh how awful.

Really?  I was surprised.  Roaches carry disease.  They chew into plastic, cardboard, and clothes.  They pollute our food and water supply.  Yuch!

I suppose that didn't matter to her.  Perhaps, she was thinking they were one of God's creatures - which they are.

Amazing, but true.

Digital Painting on the Ipad

I ordered a couple of online videos from Folio Academy http://folioacademy.com/store.html?category=g  for Christmas.  I had heard Will Terry willterry.blogspot.com had some really good videos on digital art.

Digital Painting in Photoshop
Digital Painting in Photoshop Part 2
Beginning Photoshop
How to Illustrate Children's Books

I learned about his classes through an online buddy.  She had purchased his videos and found them helpful.  You can see some of Terry's work on YouTube .  He's impressive.  Terry likes to sketch with his fingers on his Ipad and transfer the image to his computer where he finishes.  He finishes his work using Photoshop 5.

After watching a couple of videos, I started sketching on my Ipad using SketchBook X (Express).  I couldn't resist adding color to my finger sketches.  This is a great way to review what I've been learning from Terry. 

I like to work while my guys are watching boring manly stuff on TV.  You know- football, zombies/horror/shoot 'em up movies, the stock market recap.... 

ZZZZZ  - ZZZZZZZZ - ZZZZZZZZZZZZ - ZZZZZZZ - ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ - ZZZZZZZZ

Just typing it in is putting me to sleep.  Okay, so maybe this stuff isn't manly. It just brain numbing boring. 
 Here is an unfinished doodle.  I liked playing with symmetry.  It took me a just few hours (as you can tell) to get to this stage. 














Here's my second doodle.  I  experimented with hues, tints, and grays.  Can't do too much with a free app.

About the image:
Yes, the chin is flat and the chest looks like part of the face.  Think folded paper doll, if you must. lol 




Grab your Ipad.  Have some fun.  Give digital painting a try.

Stranger Danger - Can we protect ourselves from the Adam Lanza mentality?

CNN blog "Dec 14, 2012 · 20 children, six adults and the shooter are dead after shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, on Friday..."

I work at multiple schools.  We, as teachers teach the children "Stranger Danger" (SD) drills to let them know the steps they must follow when there is a possible threat.  SD is a weak defense.  This is how it's done.

A message is sent over the loudspeaker alerting us of possible danger in or surrounding our school building. 

We account for our children.  Some may be in another location i.e., restroom, nurse's station, office, other classroom.  We hope they are being sheltered by another staff member.

We look up and down the hall to see if there are any stray children about.  These, we harbor in our rooms.

We lock our doors.

We cover any glass adjacent to our doors with paper.  This is so that the intruder can not look in.

Then, we instruct our students to huddle down quietly in the dark until the danger passes.


What's wrong with "Stranger Danger":

Our door locks need to be checked regularly to make sure they lock easily.  It's not uncommon for a teacher to waste minutes having to jiggle the key to get her door to lock or unlock.  Sometimes, the locks don't work at all.

Covering glass adjacent to classroom doors.  Imagine having to tape paper over the glass while your students are at a heightened level of excitement/panic.  Some schools have classrooms with large walls of glass.

We are not instructed to barricade the door or use any type of door jamming device.  A gunman can break into a classroom, if he really wants to.  The lock can be broken or shot off.  Violent persons sometimes have a revenge mentally.  They want pay back for some ill will that has been done to them. 

The "Stranger Danger" method needs to be revamped.  



Via Colori Street Painting 2012 

As our population increases, the chances of mass murders will increase.  There will naturally be greater loss of life at each incident, too. 

Two thoughts have been mulling around in my head:

     I agree, something needs to be done about the mentally unstable persons in our communities.  Perhaps, some type of daily computer monitoring.  But, let's take a step back and recognize that caregivers and others in contact with the mentally ill are most responsible.  I don't know what Adam Lanza's (mass killer) mother did to help her son.  I don't know what steps she took to help him.  Being a single parent of a child with mental issues is taxing.  Perhaps, she was doing the best she could, but that's the problem.  Those who knew Adam's issues and let things slide are at fault, if there is anyone whom we must point out.  Point out we must.  Not for revenge.  Not to appease our feelings.  Simply to try to change every one's thinking and actions - to educate, so that murders and suicides decrease.

    Gun enthusiasts must treat their privilege to bear arms with greater caution.  I think of how those in the medical profession must safeguard and be accountable for the powerful medicines they prescribe.  Other professionals, those who deal with dangerous tools, weapons, etc. are required to take measures to keep these instruments out of the hands of others.  These individuals face fines, prison time, and possible loss of license.  Why aren't civilians who own weapons held as accountable?  Perhaps if Nancy Lanza, gun enthusiast and mother of mass murderer Adam Lanza, had taken rigorous measures to store her weapons, twenty-eight people would still be alive today.

(I know there is more to say.  These are my elementary thoughts on a sensitive issue.)

    

A Toddler for Grammie

Thanksgiving week I became a "Grammie" or grandmother.  Not an official grandmother.  The U.S. government has to approve of my daughter and son-in-law as adoptive parents first.

Although these new parents had sent me a few video clips and pictures, of a rambunctious 23 month old they had parented for a week, I wasn't sure what he would be like.

This is my daughter's rabbit "Stew".

Kids are like fingerprints.  Each one is different from another.  I had 4 toddlers of my own. They came about two years apart.  My baby girl was quiet, sweet, and cautious.  Think baby bunny.

Baby boy #1 was more active than a kernel in a sizzling pan .  I nicknamed him sponge because he guzzled water like an elephant.  He was loud, daring, and independent.  Think grizzly bear.

Baby boy #2  liked to say yes when he really meant no.   Singing, daydreaming, and making art with just about anything was one way to describe him.  A free spirit, I think.

Baby boy #3 was thoughtful, soft spoken, and gentle.  A girl magnet, even as a toddler.  I called him "little man".

Now they're adults, and here was my first Thanksgiving with my first grand baby.     

My grand baby is a little boy.  He's cautious with strangers, but after he gets to know them, he's ready to give the biggest  bear cub hug and smoochie kiss East of Texas.

My first grand baby.

He loves to growl "no" at the strangest times.  He's a runner, jumper, and shouter.  His smiles give so much they are incredible to describe.  Oh, he's as active as a cup of kernels in a sizzling pot.  His eating?  Well, he eats and drinks more than three hungry toddlers at a late lunch.  He's love warmed by sunshine.

I'm back home now, and I miss him.  Grandpa does, too.  My grand baby is 1,040 miles away.  He gives his new mommie and pappi blissful happiness, wet sloppy diapers, and much to think about. 

I can't wait to see him again; being a patient "Grammie" is tough.
 

Via Colori Houston 2012 Participating Artist

Tomorrow I will be participating in Via Colori's 7th Annual Houston Street Painting Festival.  The artists and sponsors of this festival help raise awareness for those who are hearing and speech impaired.  Every year, hundreds of thousands of dollars are raised to help support the work that the staff of the Center for Hearing and Speech (CHS) do.  One of the most important things they do is help kids prepare to enter Kindergarten. CHS has its own school for children 18 months to pre-K age. 

I've been preparing for this event for weeks.  Practicing my art on my rough canvas (the driveway) with pastel sticks that wash off easily with water. 

 



I began with a digital image I had made months ago.  I liked the color and pattern of the worms and thought I would enjoy blending my new pastels to make the varied colors of the waves.



These characters are the Texas Eight Pointed Forester. 
They are vacationing in the Texas Gulf.

The last time I worked on murals, I was in high school.  So, I wanted to practice, practice, practice.  I'm glad I did.  As I worked, I discovered I needed a list of things I would have never thought of unless, I was actually working on the mural.

I discovered:
-  Making a grid drawing was too time consuming.  I was worn out before I began to fill in the    design.  I needed tracing paper and a document projector for magnification.
-  The sun zapped my strength.  I should work before 1:00 PM and after 4:00PM, if possible.
-  I must wear clothing that won't drag and smear my work as I lean over.  Must get a hat.
-  Rubbing the pastels into rough cement hurt my fingers.  I bought stencil sponges on wooden sticks.  These I used to blend and spread the pastels.
-  I need a chair for resting breaks.
-  A damp washcloth helps keep me, and my materials, clean.  
-  I should start at the top and finish each section before starting on the waves.
-  My water drops need a template to be perfectly round.  The hardware store has washers in varied sizes.



  

Finished Pastel Mural 4'x4'

Original Artwork




 

Ready? Well...

 

I received a beautiful T-shirt advertising the festival.  I washed it and tried it on for comfort.  The neck was too snug so, I snipped.  The shirt was too long so, I snip-snipped.  The sleeves were too long; I folded them under.  Then, I took out my sewing needle and thread.  I sewed.  I took out my crochet stick and yarn and added trim.

 

Gosh, I guess I'm ready. 

Learning From the Masters

A writer would do well to study the writings of famous authors of past generations.  Often, these writings are categorized as Classics.  Classics are timeless stories made vivid by the unique style and creative word of the author.   One may purchase these stories inexpensively at resale shops.  However, there is another way to explore the Classics, and it's free through Librivox. 

My youngest son introduced me to the free Audiobooks' app for Librivox.  Librivox's mission is to record every book that is considered to be in the public domain.  The books are recorded by volunteers.  Currently, volunteers have recorded 5,000+ books in nearly two dozen languages.

Librivox has enriched my life as a writer and added a welcomed amount of pleasure to it.   Every evening, as I stroll about my neighborhood, I listen to a story.  I make note of the pace of the story, how it unfolds, and how the author tempts his readers to read on.  I am always amazed at how talented these authors were. 

These masters were gifted at their craft.  They knew how to manipulate their readers' emotions.   Even a century later, they can manipulate mine.  I love those special times when the suspense is so thrilling I can't bear to hear more.  My senses tell me that my heart is beating rapidly, my pace has quickened, and I'm getting goose bumps.  Oh, how glad I am to be walking after dark, when no one can see my facial expressions.    

Listening to stories by master authors has been the equivalent to taking an excellent writing course.  I am learning from the masters how to develop a story, set pace, and draw the reader in.  It excites me to know that I can improve my craft simply by listening to stories. 

Below, I have listed a few stories I have enjoyed through Librivox.

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON

THE INVISIBLE MAN

TARZAN OF THE APES

THE SECRET GARDEN

I hope you will find Librivox beneficial to your writing craft, too.