What does an artist do to strengthen artistic muscle?
Go outside, hike to the ocean, walk along the beach, and paint plein air
when the seasons give forth spectacular specimens for observation...
I'm not up to painting cicada portraits yet, but two of my students and I did get a chance to capture
the delphiniums plein air with water colors...that was transcendence.
While reading the delightful Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion before bed each night this summer, I've realized
how many times Beth Brower drops chewy morsels of literature manna for her readers.
One of these breadcrumbs is Ralph Waldo Emerson's essays. So...I've been dipping my toes into the pool of writing
by this early New England poet, writer, minister, lecturer, and philosopher rock star...and have raptured in passages that
resonate to my core with tingles of truth. Here's one such ruby from his pouch of gems:
"To speak truly, few adult persons can see nature. Most persons do not see the sun. At least they have a very superficial seeing. The sun illuminates only the eye of the man, but shines into the eye and the heart of the child.
The lover of nature is he whose inward and outward senses are still truly adjusted to each other; who has retained the spirit of infancy even into the era of manhood. His intercourse with heaven and earth, becomes part of his daily food. In the presence of nature, a wild delight runs through the man, in spite of real sorrows. Nature says,—he is my creature, and maugre all his impertinent griefs, he shall be glad with me.
Not the sun or the summer alone, but every hour and season yields its tribute of delight; for every hour and change corresponds to and authorizes a different state of the mind, from breathless noon to grimmest midnight. Nature is a setting that fits equally well a comic or a mourning piece. In good health, the air is a cordial of incredible virtue. Crossing a bare common, in snow puddles, at twilight, under a clouded sky, without having in my thoughts any occurrence of special good fortune, I have enjoyed a perfect exhilaration. I am glad to the brink of fear.
In the woods too, a man casts off his years, as the snake his slough, and at what period soever of life, is always a child. In the woods, is perpetual youth. Within these plantations of God, a decorum and sanctity reign, a perennial festival is dressed, and the guest sees not how he should tire of them in a thousand years. In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life,—no disgrace, no calamity, (leaving me my eyes,) which nature cannot repair. Standing on the bare ground,—my head bathed by the blithe air, and uplifted into infinite space,—all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eye-ball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of God."
(-Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nature, chapter 1)
"The greatest delight which the fields and woods minister, is the suggestion of an occult relation between man and the vegetable. I am not alone and unacknowledged. They nod to me, and I to them. The waving of the boughs in the storm, is new to me and old. It takes me by surprise, and yet is not unknown. Its effect is like that of a higher thought or a better emotion coming over me, when I deemed I was thinking justly or doing right." (-Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nature, chapter 1)
As we all settle into this new chapter of the fall season, I challenge us,
every one, to carve out time to escape daily into the natural world outside to recharge,
and become closer to the Creator's wonders that surround us.
Once the New England school year is underway over the next few weeks...I'll share glimpses of my current commissions and long-term projects...
Happy creating, friends!
• • • • • • • • • • • •
Today our creator's interview is with my once-upon-a-time-studio mate from college, later roommate in NYC, and life-long friend and buddy, Ms. Brizida Magro. As all of us in the BYU illustration program of 1999 knew, Brizida Magro was going places! Her eclectic, eccentric, and show-stopping style has always been an absolute pleasure to behold.
And if you're unfamiliar with Brizida's work, then tuck in that linen napkin over your shirt, and spread one over your lap as well, because you are in for one four-course meal of five start desserts! And Brizida's just getting started with her picture book career! Honestly, keep an eye on this one, guys--someday you'll be telling people you knew of her books from the very beginning...
Without further adieu, here's the interview...
ER: "Hello, Brizindinha! Such a pleasure to hear from you! For starters, please tell us who first contacted you about illustrating Let Me Call You Sweetheart?"
BzM: "The Editor at Greenwillow Books, Virginia Duncan, saw my portfolio in the Bright Agency website, and contacted my agent, Anne Amstrong. I was delighted about the inquiry. This was my first big job with a larger publisher. As soon as I read the manuscript, I fell in love with it right away."
ER: "What was your muse behind executing the illustration work for this project?"
BzM: "My sweetheart, Todd Moy, and my grandmother. They both have been key people in my life who bring out the best in me, and keep me inspired to be the best version of myself."
ER: "Um...so that little baby (above) eating the cookie in his footie pajamas--with the table cloth draped over his head--is sooo adorable! And so nonchalantly what babies are about. Who cares that I have a cloth caught on my head, I'm about to gum down a cookie! (Just needed to point that out...)
Brizida, your fresh, graphic illustration work in this book reminds me of our respective childhoods in the 70s. How much were you harking back to that feel for this innocent style? What essence were you honing-in on to capture? (Because whatever it was you were aiming for, you nailed it, girl!)"
BzM: "I am a child of the 70's. I must be stuck in that time period. I am inspired by children’s drawings and the carefree attitude and enjoyment they do it with. I love anything vintage and have my very own vintage children’s book collection. I am so inspired by the bold use of primary colors in vintage kids' books."
ER: "So, during college, remember how we used to (physically) pin-up loads of inspiration on our cubical walls? (Yes, you younger generation, the verb "pin" did come from a physical act. Hard to believe, but we did only use tangible pushpins at one time to pin things...)I still follow that habit today with a little cork board in my own small studio space. In fact, I have some of YOUR work—your hand-painted cat jack-o'-lantern with the dainty fangs—pinned up to delight my creative mind year-round. Do you do still keep an old-school cork-board of inspiration as well?"
BzM: "I have pinned some works I did for an instagram challenge called ink droplets. I love these images because I feel they were a key turning point to hone in my creative voice. It helps me live my truth day after day when I am in the studio creating."
ER: (Ha ha! Readers, check out that actual pushpin that's hanging the cat head...)
ER: "Who are three picture book illustrators today, who most influence your work?"
BzM: "I love Olle Eksel (Swedish Designer and Illustrator), or Paul Rand. And I love any books by Planeta Tangerina (a Portuguese Publisher) as they are so wacky and graphic. And anything by Lane Smith such as The Stinky Cheese Man."
ER: "That's so fun! What fantastic inspirations! Reminds me of when we were doing our internships in New York our junior years, and the bunch of us visited Lane Smith and John Scieska in their studio (Lane Smith pictured below) above the book shop where I later clerked at Books of Wonder.
Lane and John had walls lined with books (floor to ceiling)--and one ping-pong table in the center of their work space. They said they played a match whenever they were inspirationally-challenged. And we all thought, 'Hmmm...the life of a writer and illustrator doesn't look too bad.' Little did we all know back then how much hard work goes into any creative endeavor! Good thing we didn't know then, or we'd have all chosen to be something more practical like accountants (well, not some of us...ha ha!)."
ER: "What life lesson has been a painfully-stretching one for you as an artist and creator?"
BzM: "Learning my truth as an artist and staying the track without self-doubt creeping in. Social media is great to build community but can also be harmful for comparing and feeling less than what you are."
ER: "Tell us a little about your childhood in Portugal, please? (What fascinated you? What did you love to play and do?)"
BzM: "I loved being raised by my grandmother. She fostered in me the love of making, She was a wonderful "maker." She loved to bake, garden, crochet and take care of me and my sister. I was lucky because growing up in the 70’s we would go to my grandmother’s house in the country and she would just let us run free.
There are many vineyards and fruit trees. I just remember running around with friends and grazing delicious fruits and building twig shelters. My dad was an immigrant in Australia. We did not see him often but we would write back and forth and I started a postcard collection. I was fascinated with traveling the world some day."
ER: "Such an incredible childhood! And is that tin of buttons your grandmother's?"
BzM: "Yes, those were her buttons--and the earrings were...the only ones she ever had."
ER: "I have to say, I'm amazed. As I have a similar ointment tin of my maternal grandma's--full of buttons from the 1930's on. Is this an artist thing to collect one's grandmother's buttons? Either way, buttons are such a physical connection to years and decades of life lived, and tiny links to someone we admire more with each passing year of understanding gained."
ER: "Such an incredible childhood! And is that tin of buttons your grandmother's?"
BzM: "Yes, those were her buttons--and the earrings were...the only ones she ever had."
ER: "I have to say, I'm amazed. As I have a similar ointment tin of my maternal grandma's--full of buttons from the 1930's on. Is this an artist thing to collect one's grandmother's buttons? Either way, buttons are such a physical connection to years and decades of life lived, and tiny links to someone we admire more with each passing year of understanding gained."
ER: "Brizida, when do you first remember thinking you wanted to illustrate picture books?"
BzM: "When I was in college at Brigham Young University. It did take me a couple decades to finally be ready to make a kid's book. It’s never too late to begin and sometimes it’s a slow process to get to some of those dreams and goals. If it’s a path we are meant to walk I believe it will come get you. Right around the time I started building a portfolio for Children’s Books I read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. That book was a great source of inspiration for pursuing your dreams and living your truth."
ER: "Okay, okay...I'll stop avoiding the reading of The Alchemist then. Ha ha--maybe it's just that Coelho is Portuguese, and we both have that Portuguese connection, but that book's been sitting in my basket of books-to-read by my nightstand for a decade now. I re-shelve it (every year or so), then come across it again, and put it back in the basket. Then there's always something more pressing to read. But now that you said you were jump-started by it. I'm going to do it. I'll report back to you by the end of 2023 what I thought about the book, Brizida."
ER: "What did you draw as a child? Do you have any of those drawings you can share with us?"
BzM: "I have not had any drawings [from my childhood] here in the US . I remember even then, I loved cut paper. I did love to cut things out of magazines. Like many creators I was drawing from a young age."
ER: "Do you listen to podcasts? If so, what are your favorites?"
BzM: "I loved listening to the Michele Obama podcast. She inspires me so much as someone who is trying to make the world a better place. I love listening to a climbing podcast called Training Beta, and most recently listening to Oliver Twist on Audio Book while I paint."
ER: "In which countries have you lived or taught? How have they influenced your style for the better?"
BzM: "I once lived in three different countries in three years. I taught Design at a College in Monterrey Mexico, and that was an amazing experience. I had the opportunity to travel to southern Mexico for the Day of the Dead Celebrations, and I fell in love with the vibrant colors and carefree papier mache figurines of the brightly colored alebrijes (fantastical creatures). Morocco is another place I had the chance to travel for a month and I felt so inspired by their bright colors and their rich culture of berber rug weaving."
ER: "What is one of the most memorable things you’ve ever seen on your travels that might someday make it into your artwork, or already has?"
BzM: "Some of the traditions of my motherland of Portugal. Even though I have been in the US twenty-eight years, there is always a piece of my heart that stays back at home. I would love to make books that share the traditions of Portugal, such as the art of tile that is all over the buildings and old stacking houses in the Lisbon facades.
Other inspirations are: cod fish, the symbolism of the swallows, fresh baked bread dipped in olive oil at the diner table, olden-day farmers that worked the fields and drove wagons, the harvest of the grapes for making wine, eating fresh sardines and roasted bell peppers in the summertime, and the backyards filled with fruit trees of humble Portuguese homes."
ER: "I dropped-in some favorite photos from my time serving as a missionary in dreamy Portugal (above) showing the stunning cobalt azulejos. What’s your favorite thing about your rich Portuguese heritage, Brizida?"
BzM: "How crazy we are about eating our dried cod fish." 🙂
ER: "100%! But it's such a versatile fish, and is the ultimate comfort food served as bacalhau com natas. (Like our cheesy Utahn funeral potatoes, but served with cod and Mediterranean olives mixed in, right?)
Changing gears, whose advice or mentorship do you constantly hear in your subconscious?"
BzM: "My professors at Brigham Young University such as Richard Hull, Robert Barrett and Ralph Barksdale;
their encouraging words and a bit of tough love was highly influential. Sacrifices must be made to achieve our dreams."
ER: "Yeah, I can still remember hearing Brother Barksdale's booming voice saying, 'Painting's all about shape-making, folks!'" Those three were an amazingly-patient, encouraging team. I think of their examples so often, they'll never know how much. College professors have such great influence on so many generations!"
ER: "This is a bit off-topic, but as we'll each face the end of our creative time here on earth someday, what do you think heaven will be like?"
BzM: "I will be able to climb up any wall without having fear hold me back and make any art without worrying about the end result and of course get to share such a place with my loved ones and maybe eat Portuguese pastries without worrying about gaining weight."
ER: "Pasteis de nata (those of you unfamiliar with Portuguese pastries, think crème brûlée baked in a phyllo crust with cinnamon sprinkled atop...) that could actually be good for you?! Ha ha! Among many things, I'm hoping heaven will be more time spent with extended family, and creating worlds with the sensation much like the "flow zone" an artist gets caught up in when creating here--time seeming to stand still."
ER: "Winding down the interview, what new projects can you talk about?"
BzM: "I am working on some very fun books. One about a Gift and Box that go on a journey through the postoffice that is slated to come out later this year around Christmas time. The Book will be published by Knof."
I also have a book launch in the UK and later in the US and its lovely story about the journey of a little boy learning how to ride his bike. That book will publish with Walker Books UK."
ER: "Oh, Brizida, those books will be lovely! I can hardly wait to see what magical spin you weave into the stories with your luminous illustrations! So, how can readers look you up and find your artwork online?"
I have an instagram account
https://www.instagram.com/sweetbeyond/?hl=en
Here is my website
https://sweetbeyond.com/
Fantastic! Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us, Brizida!
(As a fun side note to you readers, as I type this, Brizida's flying to NYC, to attend the Society for Children's Book Writer's and Illustrator's Conference of 2023! EEEK! She won the portfolio showcase award last year--along with Shamar Justice--and was gifted admission to this year's event! Wahoo! Can't wait to hear about the fun connections she makes there...
As our kids struggle with the weight of knowing about so many sorrows and burdens throughout the world right now (earthquakes, threats of war, droughts, suffering, divisiveness), reading picture books together even for ten minutes a day, gives us a few minutes of grounding, connection, and regrouping. I'm so grateful for hopeful people, like Brizida Magro, who continue to press forward with light and hope to brighten our complex world, and remind our future generation how to love.
Go make someone's day, my reading sweethearts!
-Emily
P.S. If you'd like a chance at winning a signed copy of Let Me Call You Sweetheart, share you favorite term of endearment on my facebook or instagram posts about this interview, and I'll enter your name in the drawing. You're going to love this gentle gem...
••••••••••••••••••
And don't forget if you're needing an escape into someone else's journey
in another corner of the world (say, the Tibetan mountains...),
ask your local librarian to order in
Karma of the Sun
for a riveting read...
And if you need some relaxing children's lit titles to escape anxiety or connect with the small people you love over a great read-aloud, look into the BOOK REVIEW, "We Read to Know We're not Alone." Remember to comment with your favorite book recommendation for fellow readers at the end so we can all share the wealth of exceptional stories that bring
comfort and coziness during the months ahead.
• Author Interview with Brandon Boey •
Check out Brandon's author page on Amazon.
Brandon, my friend! Thank you so much for being willing to answer a few questions about your consistent writing habits and how you worked tirelessly to make Karma of the Sun a reality!
As several of you readers know, Brandon Boey is a Maine lawyer, family man, and newly-published author. What some of you bookworms and outdoor enthusiasts may not know, is that his wife, Cristina Boey, and I climbed Mount Katahdin together in 2020, under the training guidance of our fit friend Kari Lane. As Kari leapt over four foot boulders and encouraged us on, Cristina and I kept putting one foot in front of the other. Until eventually, we scaled the summit at Baxter Peak!
As I take my morning walks now with Mr. Teds each day, I often equate in my mind, the analogy of climbing a mountain to writing a book. You can't think too much about the ten-hour climb up a steep ascent before you (or the months--or even years for some of us slow-pokes--it takes to flesh out a solid plot line), or you'd turn away, shaking your head and making a bee-line in the opposite direction. Right?
At times on the Katahdin trail, we'd look around and think, "What the blazes were the park rangers thinking?! The blue markers follow the rock straight up!
One can only comprehend stepping over the big boulder right in the immediate path, and following those blue trail markers one handhold, one rock, one foot placement, at a time. Then the next. And then the next. And soon, you look down, and your'e 5,269 feet above base camp.
It's so similar with tackling the writing of a book. Just one page, one chapter, one draft at a time. Day after day--even if it's only fifteen minutes of writing time each chunk.
Right now, I'm only just beyond the foot hills of my first book, not even near to the tree line of its second draft. In fact, I'm back-tracking to flesh-out the outline. I've got to fill-in any plot holes before diving into the second draft. Any friends doing NaNoWriMo to knock out a book idea, or get through a draft of their novel this fall?
Looking at the trail markers, or examples of friends who've reached the summit (getting their own books published!) is a huge boost! Seeing my friend Brandon land an agent, secure a book deal with CamCat Books, and now prepare for the release of the story he's worked on for a decade+ gives me so much hope! It can be done, even amidst busy family life!
Stopping to catch our breath--we would've celebrated if we'd known we were just about to crest the tree line for spectacular views!
So for your viewing fun, and as Brandon's book is set on the Tibetan plateau of the Himalayan Mountains, you fellow hikers and naturalists might enjoy a glimpse of Christina, Kari's and my hike over Katahdin--sprinkled throughout Brandon's interview responses with photos below.
Put on your metaphorical hiking boots--'cause here we go!
The road I ran to build up endurance the spring before joining Kari and Cristina to train.
ER: "Brandon, when you started writing Karma of the Sun a decade ago, what was the very first spark-of-an-idea that made you think, 'I want to write a book about this!'?"
BYKB: "The story came from an inexplicable picture I had one day of a teenage boy heading toward a hollowed-out mountain city that had grown into its shape through natural forces, sort of a primordial temple and sanctuary. At the same time, I became familiar with the eastern traditions about Mount Meru, Shambhala, and Mount Kailash—and the amazing legends that surround them—and I saw this connection between the two and thought, 'Somebody should write about this!'"
Cristina, starting our training with some gorgeous flat hikes along a favorite local cliff walk...
ER: "How old were you when you first knew you wanted to be an author?"
BYKB: "It was really the first thing I remember ever wanting to be."
Kari hikes down the rocks to turn right around and hike right back up! Let's just say, our quads were burning!
ER: "So cool. And what has been the most discouraging point in your writing journey thus far?"
BYKB: "Once, after I had been working on a project for about four years, I suddenly had a moment of objectivity where I realized the thing was terrible. No, this wasn’t a moment of self-deprecation or self-criticism; it was complete clarity—it was no good and the kind of thing where I knew I was writing it into the ground. To continue any further would have felt like taking a perfectly good story and ruining it for another writer. So, after years of work and sacrifice by myself and Cristina, I just knew it was time to quit. Not just the book, but trying to be a novelist. I had a family, a job, and other things that required my attention. It was time to accept the facts. I was devastated, but then something happened.
As soon as I made the decision to call it quits—and I was completely serious about it—it was like I had passed a test in my mind. I had crossed the Rubicon to becoming what I had feared so much, which was a failed author. I had proven to myself something that I didn’t even know that I needed to know—that I cared more about the work than about being published. Everything changed after that. I did scrap that entire manuscript, years of work, but what I got in return was worth far more: I knew what kind of writer I wanted to be, and because I had already failed, I was no longer afraid of failing anymore. Because I was already a failure, I was completely free. So it was the most discouraging as well as most liberating thing on my writing journey."
An unexpected attraction (in Millinocket, Maine--the town next to base camp) which
Kari, Cristina, and I wondered at the afternoon before our hike...
Kari, Cristina, and I wondered at the afternoon before our hike...
ER: "Conversely, how about the most exciting peak in your new author career?"
BYKB: "The peaks are the same as the three hurdles to becoming a traditionally-published author: completing the manuscript, attracting an agent, and getting a book deal. Each was an amazing moment of celebration!"
ER: "Brandon, I'm just curious...with so much hard work and then finally reaching your lifelong goals, how did you highlight these 'peak moments'?"
BYKB: "...With Martinelli's, making boisterous and exuberant toasts. We keep bottles of the sparkling cider around the house to celebrate fun things, accomplishments, and special occasions. Both when we got an agent and the book deal were definitely nights we popped the cork."
Reaching the first peak on the journey of publishing a book! A shot of the Boey family on the day Brandon received an offer of representation from literary agent ICM.
ER: "Your expressions in that photo say it all. And how has your training and experience as a lawyer affected your writing style?"
BYKB: "Great question. The biggest thing I think is the discipline of legal writing. There is a lot of writing that lawyers do. It’s just a part of the job, and there’s no such thing as writer’s block as an excuse not to work. Some of the tools of the trade that are helpful to a legal writer are just as helpful for a fiction writer. But the flip side is that legal writing is very analytical and structured, and after a day of legal work, it is sometimes hard to get into the mode of stream of consciousness and prose without some effort. It’s a constant tug-of-war and I would not be surprised if it did affect my writing!"
Exhilaration at leaving the dense woods behind us. Cool mountain air and skies!
ER: "In percentages, how much lawyer are you, and how much author?"
BYKB: "All of both! I love the practice of law, which I do think is the perfect vocation for me. At the same time, writing is a passion that I would do even if I never got paid for it. There was a wise person that once told me that the question is not which, but how—as in how do I do both?"
ER: "Have you always had a young adult audience in mind for your story, or did it morph at any point?"
BYKB: "I think I write the kind of books that I like to read, so I did not really set out with a particular market or audience in mind. The protagonist is young adult age, but the themes and style are adult. I don’t know, maybe I had hoped for a true crossover book?"
ER: "If your almost-to-be-published writing self could go back in time, sit down the longing-to-be-published Brandon, and school him in the secrets to finishing a manuscript, what would your advice be?"
BYKB: "I think the message would be the same as what he was already telling himself. That, and to keep doing what you’re doing! I would, however, go back and tell my younger self to read more. It’s not that I didn’t already read a lot, but if I had known how busy life would get, I would have soaked up as much as I could while I had the time."
ER: "Oh, so true. Avid reading translates into solid writing! And did you always enjoy creative writing in school, or did you only discover its pleasures after formal education?"
BYKB: "In school, it was always my favorite class, along with art and literature. As far as the act of creative writing—yes, I have always been writing: short stories, poetry, screenplays, stage plays, articles, essays—all of it!"
ER: "What top three books-for-enjoyment have been the greatest influence on your creative life?"
BYKB: "I’m glad you said three, because it would have been hard to pick just one. The Dark Is Rising, by Susan Cooper. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger. and A Passage to India, by E.M. Forster."
ER: "Oh, oh, oh! Brandon! That is so cool! The Dark Is Rising has got to be in my top ten faves! I wonder if Susan Cooper has any idea how many writers she's inspired by that series...And, I've always wanted to read The Catcher in the Rye, but've been hesitant about approaching it--for several reasons. However, one of my favorite people named her son Holden, after the protagonist. So if two friends I greatly admire both love the book, guess I'd better finally put it back on the nightstand list, hmm? ('In the mouth of two or three witnesses,' right?)
Okay...what was the first MAGIC book that unlocked READING JOY for you as a child?"
BYKB: "As a young child, it was The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats. For some reason it captured my imagination but also invoked a strange emotion which I had not experienced from a book before--which was melancholy. That ability to affect emotion left an impression. When I was in grade school, it was probably The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis."
ER: "I completely empathize with the swooning over both of those books. And I remember that sense of melancholy affecting me too--at the age of maybe three. I was lying on the shag carpet of my friend's bedroom, listening to a crackly recording (from a vinyl record on a Fisher•Price player) of Virginia Lee Burton's The Little House.
That day, my soul was transported with empathy for that little displaced home in the story, and the melancholy it emoted with a need for belonging and a sense of overwhelming love for my family. And my relationship with picture books began."
ER: "Though I never did read the Narnia books as a child--only discovered them as the therapy I needed as a new mom two decades later...
How has your cultural background shaped your writing voice or style?"
BYKB: "Growing up as a 'third culture kid,' I often had the perspective of an outsider: someone who was adaptable but never fully at home. Looking back, I think it was a great perspective as a budding writer, and great training for someone trying to make sense of the world. Similar to the fluid cultural background, I also moved around a lot, never more than three years in one place, so I think a lot of my writing tries to grasp the transitoriness of life."
ER: "Where were some of those places you lived during your adolescence?"
BYKB: "Various places in the USA (where I was born--California): Texas, Virginia, New York, Utah, as well as Asia, Singapore, Shanghai, and Taiwan. And a brief period in London. I think that's it."
Kari, our fearless leader.
ER: "That's it?!!! Just those few little places, eh? Ha ha. Such an incredible conglomeration of life experience!
Considering what diverse childhoods you and your wife had, how have your combined memories steeped the world-building of your book with specific detail of region or place?"
BYKB: "I feel like they're straining to come out. It’s hard to explain, but it feels like a big traveler’s bag that has gotten very full, and the only way to unpack the accumulated sights and experiences is to write about them and get them out there. My next book is a big part of that."
ER: "That's it?!!! Just those few little places, eh? Ha ha. Such an incredible conglomeration of life experience!
Considering what diverse childhoods you and your wife had, how have your combined memories steeped the world-building of your book with specific detail of region or place?"
BYKB: "I feel like they're straining to come out. It’s hard to explain, but it feels like a big traveler’s bag that has gotten very full, and the only way to unpack the accumulated sights and experiences is to write about them and get them out there. My next book is a big part of that."
ER: "Okay, Brandon, the next few questions are for your wife…
'Cristina...what is the hardest aspect of being married to a writer?'"
CB: "The work I’ve done of mothering five children--many times, traveling internationally by myself. When Brandon had time off, I would go to visit family in Romania, China, or Utah, and we’d have him stay home, not worrying about work or taking care of the kids, so he could have time to work on the book..."
CB: "I'd think, 'Okay, I’m going to the aquarium with friends, so I can give Brandon time alone' (while at the same time doing something fun with the kids!). When my friend from Utah would come to town, I'd take a trip to Acadia, or to Boston, so Brandon could just focus on his book."
On Cristina's last international trip with the kids in 2019, the baby stroller didn't arrive at the end of their flight when it should have. So the flexible flight attendants of KLM Airlines (seen two photos up, and directly above) jumped right in to help her transport the four kids and luggage to their next stop. Never without adventures when traveling with children!
CB: "I always had Brandon and his book in my mind, to give him opportunities. He'd get to think and think about it, and the time to sit down and get everything out. When I took those road trips, even for two hour stretches--time set aside, every trip by myself with the kids is when he made progress with his book."
CB: "That is my contribution. I took one child to Romania with me, then two, then three, then four to visit my parents by myself. But, really, it was my pleasure to do these trips, and I loved knowing that I could help Brandon.
On my trips to Romania, I loved calling home and talking to him, and learning about the progress of the book."
ER: "Whew! Cristina, that contribution is remarkable! I remember being gobsmacked at the time of those trips, not knowing why you were traveling internationally as a lone parent. But truly, you and Brandon have come up with an amazing method of figuring out how to make a book happen together, up the steep slope, while raising your busy family. The two of you are simply unstoppable..."
ER: "Writing does take uninterrupted time to think in peace. To create alone. Which is why sometimes it feels impossible for mothers to write, as until kids are in school, there's always someone, a toddler in our laps--slamming on the keyboard, or needing to be snuggled or fed, or napped. And obviously a child comes first--they are the living, breathing heroes and heroine in our real-life stories. But a writer's mind is always escaping reality from washing dishes or loading laundry, and thinking (Walter Mitty-style) on its fictional characters..."
ER: "More thoughts to tack on to what you said, Cristina...When I was a younger mom myself (I'm now 'Old Mom' status...), I never wanted to run from my kids, right? Or prioritize other things over them. (But sometimes, like most mothers I'm guessing, I used to lock myself in the bathroom for ten-minute sanity breaks--if the kids were anesthetized by a movie or playing happily together--to hide away and make a phone call to a friend, or my mom uninterrupted."
My arms are hairy, but not THAT hairy. My brother's strong and gentle arms cradling his niece--Matt's and my youngest here.
ER: "But finding time to write while mothering babies almost felt impossible for me, unless I carved away sleep time late at night or early in the morning before the adorable baby time-bomb would wake. But that's when I was most exhausted. It was always a struggle with weighing sleep or writing--and often I'd just read instead (as writing-in-training) while snuggling or feeding babies as that nourished both of us.
But I always knew I'd regret not having a gaggle of children, much more than I would ever regret not writing something people may, or may not, ever read. Babies are everything--vital to the eternities. Books--could be hit or miss. (It's just that those of us who want to write them can't stop thinking about our ideas until we have them down in print. Right, Brandon?)"
ER: "So, Cristina, for you to give Brandon--a super-involved parent also--some alone time, when you're such a busy mom yourself, is a selfless gift of love. And he's made excellent use of that gift of time--crafting a book that will be a treasure for your children and all of your posterity."
ER: "Conversely, Cristina, what is the best aspect of being coupled with a writer for a husband?"
CB: "The nice part of being married to a writer, is that I learn a lot about what it takes to write a book—-the character arc, protagonists, antagonists....Seeing books from a writer’s perspective."
CB: "It's kind of exciting to see for myself how the characters evolve. I studied psychology, so when Brandon would have a problem with one of his characters, that closeness we have as a couple--while discussing his book--was really useful. It was just so interesting for me to help--challenging my mind to talk things over until the character [arc] evolved.
Every time we took road trips to VT, CT, or weekend getaways, we'd spend part of the time in the car playing games. Then when everyone was asleep, we'd talk about the book. Brandon would tell me about the story. Our discussions have changed through the last ten years. At first, the story was taking place in America. Now it's taking place in the Himalayas. Basically, I was able to see how the book evolved, how Brandon evolved, as a writer, and how the characters evolved."
CB: "After that last trip to Romania I took with the kids in June of 2019, that was really the final big push to giving Brandon the time he needed to wrap things up. The February after that was when he got the representation of an agent with ICM, and a book offer...
I always knew that the little I could do to help him would go a long way, because he's so focused and appreciative of any free and uninterrupted time he gets to write. When I gave him the gift of time, not only was he grateful, but he maximized it to the fullest."
CB: "Every road trip, Brandon looked forward to the time when everyone was asleep, to discuss the book. If something was missing in the story, he would tell me about it. After every road trip, the book would get better.
I don’t remember a single road trip, in the last ten years, when we haven’t discussed the book--even on a short trip to Boston. Really, it's the perfect time to talk about story. We're driving, everyone’s [kept] busy. There's something about road trips--seeing scenery--that’s very helpful."
ER: "This is so fascinating, Cristina! I've had some very similar experiences. When my sister-in-law, Amelia Kynaston (look her up on Wordpress here:), and I both discovered we had the unquenchable desire to write thirteen or so years ago, Matt's parents took their three daughters and seven daughters-in-law on a road trip through Maine (my first introduction to northern New England as an adult), and then on another trip years later through Maine again, and up to Prince Edward Island... "
ER: "...On both occasions, this dear sister-in-law, Amelia, and I sat and talked shop of creative writing while we drove the long stretches up through Maine and into Canada. We discussed everything, and worked out all the nitty-gritty details of the plots we were crafting. We even tortured our family into sitting and listening to chapters of our shabby writing! (Oh, dreadful day that must have been for them! I profusely apologize in retrospect!)"
ER: "...On both occasions, this dear sister-in-law, Amelia, and I sat and talked shop of creative writing while we drove the long stretches up through Maine and into Canada. We discussed everything, and worked out all the nitty-gritty details of the plots we were crafting. We even tortured our family into sitting and listening to chapters of our shabby writing! (Oh, dreadful day that must have been for them! I profusely apologize in retrospect!)"
ER: "Now I never want to show anyone my writing...The more I learn about creative writing, the less I want to divulge my own stuff.) Seriously, the work I shared was truly hideous. But our sisters, and my in-laws, were so patiently-indulgent. I blush to think on it now. Ugh! *Squirm!*
But I guess there has to be a squishing about of the ugly clay at first--to sculpt away the negative space and leave the finished, polished subject, right? A working-out of details bounced-off a cogent sounding board. It brings the story to life to share it with someone you trust, and get verbal feedback from a respected brainiac reader you love--to find out if your idea is ridiculous, or makes sense."
ER: "So, Cristina, now that you’re starting your own soap-making business, Symphony Soaps (see a cool video of Cristina slicing up luscious bars of soap on her facebook site here:) how does Brandon support you as the tables turn?"
CB: "Brandon has been very encouraging! I love making the soaps—my mother gave me the idea. I grew up always using homemade soap in Romania. Then when my mom came to America to visit us, she saw me using store-bought stuff and said, 'What are you doing, not making your own soap?' And I thought, 'Why am I not making my own bread, soup, pie crust, soap?' Something so easy to do as making soap--but so intimidating...My mom was like, 'Nope, let’s make it.' She was here when Anica was born. So we did it together. I get so many ideas of how to make it from my garden. Like right now, I'm making pumpkin soap--for Halloween. It really helps that Brandon loves my homemade soap too. And his lawyer’s background, from his job, has been very helpful in starting a business."
Looking back up, from Knife's Edge, to the heart-pounding descent we'd just lowered ourselves over. And capturing a shot of some wonderful new friends we made just before the summit of Baxter Peak. "Why did I wear shorts??" I remember one of them saying--sliding down over those rough boulders.
CB: "I think Brandon is a brilliant writer and hard worker, and I love his determination to write this book and become a published author."
ER: "Thanks so much, Cristina! I loved hearing your perspective on the creation of Brandon's story!
Brandon, returning to you. If airline tickets weren't so ludicrously-expensive right now, and you could travel anywhere on earth, where would it be? And why?"
BYKB: "Travel [is] a big part of my life. I've been to nearly 40 countries, so at this point I think I'd go visit Singapore, as it is an ancestral home. Plus, I really miss the Singaporean food!"
ER: "So fun! And if you could traverse time and space, into which era would you delve in history?"
BYKB: "The era of the construction of the Pyramids of Giza."
ER: "On a different route, which bedtime stories or books do your kids request most?"
BYKB: "Right now, they want me to read Karma of the Sun aloud to them, but I told them the audiobook will do it more justice."
ER: "How does being a dad of five kids influence your writing?"
BYKB: "It’s a big part of my life now, so it’s a big part of my writing. I've realized that so many of my novels and poetry have to do with themes of the parent-child relationship. In KARMA OF THE SUN, a son just wants to see his father, one last time, who's been missing for ten years, The book deals with the void that this leaves, but as the boy embarks on this journey to find out what happened to his father, the process of following in his father’s footsteps begins to fill him with meaning."
ER: "Well, Brandon, thanks so much for humoring all of my nosy questions! It was a delight to have an excuse to connect with you and Cristina! The rest of us can't wait to read Karma of the Sun in January, and attend your first signing in our area! Which is when, and where?"
BYKB: "The ones in the area are:
- Author event at Blue Hill Library & Blue Hill Books (Blue Hill, ME) on Thursday, Jan. 19 at 6:30 PM.
- Author event at Copper Dog Books (Beverly, MA) on Friday, Jan. 20 at 6:00 PM.
- Book signing at Sherman’s of Falmouth (Falmouth, ME) on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM.
- Book launch event at Falmouth Memorial (Falmouth, ME) Library on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 2:00 – 3:30 PM.
- Book signing at Bibliophile Bookshop Maine (South Portland, ME) Saturday, Jan. 28 at 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM.
- Book signing at Sherman’s of Damariscotta (Damariscotta, ME) on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 1:00 – 3:00 PM."
Well, Brandon, I've pre-ordered my hard copy of Karma of the Sun, on Amazon. This will be one especially cozy, happy Chinese New Year--full of the best reading--for everyone this January! Thanks again to both you and Cristina for not giving up on your writing dream.
And, reader friends, if you want to enter to win a signed copy of
Karma of the Sun on January 17, 2023, put your answers to this quick multiple-choice quiz in the comments below, and we'll enter your name into a drawing for your swag from CamCat Books! Best of luck!
Quiz:
1) What is Brandon's favorite children's picture book?
a) Clever Jack Takes the Cake, by Candace Fleming
b) Lost on a Mountain in Maine, by Don Fendler
c) The Snowy Day, by Ezra Jack Keats
2) What food is Brandon missing?
a) Singaporean
b) Chinese
c) Romanian
3) When did Brandon make the most progress on his book?
a) After the birth of their fifth child.
b) After each road trip his family took together.
c) After hearing back from his agent, ICM?
Follow the link to comment and enter the drawing HERE.
Looking forward to comparing notes with you after reading Brandon's book! Tchao, Reader Friends!
-Emily
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Last spring, I made a goal to watch the sun rise over the Atlantic. I invited members of my family to join me. But because the bold sun wants to gloat in our windows at 4:45a.m. around the summer solstice, that dream felt foolish and impossible--imagine waking teenagers (at least the ones not already waking early for jobs) before six a.m. on a day off when they want to sleep-in until eight. Ha! Not happening!
But I still couldn't let my wish to watch the sun rise over the sea go...so I tucked it into my back pocket...
Around that same time, my family needed a light at the end of the never-ending-high-school-homework-tunnel--to pull us through to the end of the academic year. So we made a plan to save up for one final road trip all together before our oldest would fly-the-coop for two years this autumn to serve a mission for our church. We needed one last big family hurrah while my kids were all still at home.
Around that same time, my family needed a light at the end of the never-ending-high-school-homework-tunnel--to pull us through to the end of the academic year. So we made a plan to save up for one final road trip all together before our oldest would fly-the-coop for two years this autumn to serve a mission for our church. We needed one last big family hurrah while my kids were all still at home.
So for several months, planning ahead, and thinking on a glimmer-of-a-camping-trip-to-come was enough to put a lilt in each person's step--we were going to the Anne of Green Gables land of Prince Edward Island! As it turned out, running over the red sands through the warm maritime waters as a family will forever now be a golden memory I'll take from my long-term RAM and just hold in my hands for warmth when the interminable days of winter homework loom over us again.
Well, we just pulled in from that adventure last week, about thirty-six hours before school started. Looking back, I'm so very grateful we could hold on to that gift of hope--something to look forward to for all those soggy months last spring when a few of us struggled with some difficult battles. Just thinking about such a delightful future journey to L.M. Montgomery country made all the difference for the female contingent of my family last spring when the muddy days in Maine felt monotonous with work and mental burdens.
Green Gables, with the Haunted Wood, Lovers' Lane--even a crock where a mouse could drown in pudding sauce.
Sometimes, prospects of things we love (dates with one's spouse, favorite books on-hold at the library, brand new titles by a favorite author coming out, trips like P.E.I. or Grandma's house for my clan--or Disneyland or London for yours--even family movie nights and walks with one's friends scheduled-in) waiting for us at the end of a long sojourn, are enough to be the dangling carrot to lift our shaggy heads out of a funk.
Cavendish Beach with my Matthew.
So what ever happened to that wish of mine to see the sunrise over the Atlantic with my kids? Well, on the last day of our P.E.I. campout, I crept out of our tent just before dawn. I didn't think anyone else wanted to venture from the warmth of their sleeping bags, but I whispered out an invite just in case before zipping up the tent door.
Walking over the gravel softly, so as not to wake our camper neighbors, I made my way to the coast a hundred yards off. Just in time to catch the fiery orb of sunshine creep up over the ocean horizon. And as it was glowing there for all the world to wake, other members of my family began materializing. HOORAY!!! We made it. Together. I couldn't help thinking...
...What a wonderful world. God is so good. He loves us so much.
The Lord made this world for US--where we can enjoy incandescent moments as families, that instill hope and bring peace to sustain us through the slogs of compost duty, physics assignments, dead car batteries, and even tragedy or great life disappointments. When the world feels overwhelming, and mixed-up, we can remember we get to experience the dismal, mundane, and even ugly--together--so we also have something to compare it with when we reach the glorious bits that will be eternal.
Things to look forward to!
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Hey, busy, creative friends! So, yes, I may be absolutely out-of-control in many areas of my life (Talk about absentmindedness...YIKES!), but meal-planning can't be one of them. I may always burn the last batch of cookies, but having meals planned in advance makes hours of creative time (during the day) possible.
Most importantly, planning makes family dinner happen every night, which is a MUST for me around our home. Having meals pre-planned and ready to go brings us together for a quieter time to talk. (Not that the conversation is always brilliant, but at least the time allotment for connection is there.) Besides, dinner gives me structure as an artist.
Since most of you friends could probably school me in meal-planning, please ADD to the conversation by sharing what works for you in the comments at the end of the BLOG page here! I would love to know!
This planner's mainly for newish moms who haven't had to cook for families much yet, and suddenly don't have time to themselves to even blink anymore.
As a newer mom, it often felt for me like a wrestling match every single day--trying to get dinner ready on-time before blood sugar levels plummeted. Finally, about ten years ago, my savvy friend (and professional hand-letterer), Kristen Nichols, of https://letteritwrite.square.site/ showed me how meal planning could feel more in-control. She helped me see how meal-prep could even be a cool challenge with shopping frugally, and stocking the kitchen with every ingredient you'd need for the next week's recipes. So that when four o'clock rolled around, there wouldn't be that dreaded question, "What's for dinner, Mommy?" The cook would already know. Imagine! Yes, sounds like I'm re-inventing the wheel. But the planning out of the whole week's menu really did feel revolutionary to this pantser artist.
So I took many of her clever ideas, and morphed them into a planner that works just right for my family. As each family's unique, maybe this will just be the springboard for you to dive into an even better idea for your own clan..
So, if you also need all the help you can get, like me, to put meals on the table for your own family (giving you have more time to write, paint, build, work, or create in whatever way you do), click here to download your own, free, printable meal planner.
Once you've printed out your copy, follow the simple steps below to fill it in:
How to Use the Build-a-Meal-Menu-Planner:
1) Fill in the week's dates across the top of your planner.
(Do any of you have matching "oven-burn" scars on your forearms? Ha ha!)
2) Secure meal planner paper to a clip board (providing a writable surface for the grocery store, and safe-keeping through your week).
3) Gather recipes you and your family are craving recently. List them in the "Breakfast," "Lunch" or "Dinner" columns at bottom right...
Hint: Loose recipes kept in plastic sleeves (binder-style) are handy--just pull them out, and clip them under your meal planner on the clip board for quick meal prep all week...Easy peasy! Then snap them back into the binder on day seven. This way, you have your recipes at the grocery store, and at the counter for dinner prep all week long. If using a cookbook, just write the title's initials and pg. # next to the meal's name on your calendar portion...
4) List the shopping ingredients needed from each recipe in the bottom left quadrant of the grocery list on the planner.
5) Snag your calendar. Slot-in each of the meals you already listed onto the calendar part (top half) of your planner. Consider which afternoons or evenings will be busiest. Opt for simpler meals on those days (e.g. chicken nuggets, leftovers, or a freezer dinner, etc.)
Hint A: Drawing a bubble next to each food on the grocery list makes checking off items easy to see what's stilled needed while shopping. You may want to draw a concentric "double-bubble" next to items you're unsure of having on-hand. (For example, on the list below, if it's uncertain as to whether there's fish sauce in the food storage, just circle that bubble again, then finish your list. (Don't get up and leave your planning session to check your cupboards or fridge, or you may never come back if you're as distract-able as I am...) Just go check all the double-circled items after finishing your planning...
Hint A: Drawing a bubble next to each food on the grocery list makes checking off items easy to see what's stilled needed while shopping. You may want to draw a concentric "double-bubble" next to items you're unsure of having on-hand. (For example, on the list below, if it's uncertain as to whether there's fish sauce in the food storage, just circle that bubble again, then finish your list. (Don't get up and leave your planning session to check your cupboards or fridge, or you may never come back if you're as distract-able as I am...) Just go check all the double-circled items after finishing your planning...
Hint A: If an evening appointment crops up on the calendar during the week (DREAD!) on a day when you're planning a more time-intensive meal, no fear! Just draw an arrow over two meals you can quickly swap, and you're set...
Hint: The large "B," "L," and "D" letters in the blue circles at the left just stand for: "Breakfast, Lunch" and "Dinner." I didn't highlight a letter for "Dessert" in the last bottom row beneath the dinner menu, as unfortunately, none of us needs reminding for that...Ha!
That's it! I hope these directions make sense. If any of you have your own incredible methods of meal planning, please leave a comment at the end of the BLOG page to fill-in the rest of us in on what works best with your family! (We can all benefit from YOU(!) to carve out more time to create and serve each other and our crews...)
Best of luck in planning, shopping, preparing, and EATING your favorite family dinners together in peace. (Parents want peace...Aaaah.)
Happy creating!
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That's it! I hope these directions make sense. If any of you have your own incredible methods of meal planning, please leave a comment at the end of the BLOG page to fill-in the rest of us in on what works best with your family! (We can all benefit from YOU(!) to carve out more time to create and serve each other and our crews...)
Best of luck in planning, shopping, preparing, and EATING your favorite family dinners together in peace. (Parents want peace...Aaaah.)
Happy creating!
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Music Artist Interview with Justin Roberts...
For anyone just checking in who may have missed the Justin Roberts interview, check out the blog here to peruse a Q & A with THE Paul McCartney of the children's music world-- four-time Grammy nominee, Justin Roberts!
So my sister, Cryssy, texted me cross-country a few months ago out of the blue, saying:
"I've been listening to Justin Roberts...all week. His music reminds me of heaven."
What is it about Justin Roberts' music that lightens the soul? Justin sings about simple truths of life. Like the ecstasy found when a parent helps a child learn to ride a bike. And the flying independence that child feels when the training wheels are taken off.
Justin's lyrics remind us of the simple stuff--the nuts and bolts that make up the essence of this mortal journey. And those elements are why we're here on earth--to gain experience as we figure out how to get along together as parents and children, friends and neighbors, brothers and sisters. To have love at home, and peace on earth, and all that jazz. Basic stuff, right? Yeaaaaah. Not always so easy to execute for my family, at least. Yet sheer joy happens when it is achieved--if only sporadically for an hour or two a day. We are here to have growth and joy. And to me, that's what Justin Roberts' music celebrates.
So, get yourself comfy on your favorite sofa, and follow this link for the Q & A with the incomparable, Mr. Justin Roberts!
• Summer Lino Cuts •
I wanted to try a new medium to loosen up, let myself make mistakes with impunity, and jump back into art again after this cozy but challenging year of homeschooling. I'm so grateful to my friend, Christa Mecham, for reintroducing me to lino cuts. You can see Christa's lovely greeting cards here: www.cardsbychrista.com/
And the series of luna moth prints I did to highlight fresh prospects around the bend as we come out of this pandemic...
And the series of luna moth prints I did to highlight fresh prospects around the bend as we come out of this pandemic...
Hope Rising
18x18," $50 (hand-printed, limited edition run of 40 numbered prints). E-mail me at [email protected] for an order.
18x18," $50 (hand-printed, limited edition run of 40 numbered prints). E-mail me at [email protected] for an order.
Emerald Flight
(female luna moths), 18x18," $50 (handmade, limited edition run of 40 numbered prints).
(female luna moths), 18x18," $50 (handmade, limited edition run of 40 numbered prints).
A New Day
18x18," $50 (hand-printed, limited edition run of 40 prints). E-mail me at [email protected] for an order.
18x18," $50 (hand-printed, limited edition run of 40 prints). E-mail me at [email protected] for an order.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
And more exciting news...
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
And more exciting news...
A Mini Q. & A. with Kevin Hawkes below! (*Happy jig...*)
But first, I must share the delight at having a very special butterfly friend alight at our home a week or so ago--via bicycle delivery from Kevin Hawkes himself--an original painting, Madame Butterfly, (as Karen Hawkes affectionately calls her)...
Any local Mainers recognize this parking lot? ;)
There is a backstory...several years ago my writing group (Hey, J and M!) and a bunch of creative friends (Hi, K and C!) visited Kevin's studio for a tour and discussion of his illustration work. I was bowled-over by his luminous paintings, and this one in particular, was so striking, so radiant, and just kicking about the studio so nonchalantly (amidst myriad other pieces), that I had to ask the Hawkes duo about it.
I couldn't help myself...I told Kevin if he ever considered selling this glowing gem, to please let me know! And I hoped my husband Matt and I could consider snatching it up if they ever did. I crossed my fingers but didn't hold my breath...
Lo, and behold(!), years later, and a month or so ago, Karen e-mailed and said they were ready to send Ms. Butterfly off on her own into the big, wide world. EEK! So my husband and I decided we'd snag Ms. B. as an early birthday present for 2020.
Well, I think this year definitely needs a little brightening, don't you? And though it feels very much like an indulgence to buy a piece of artwork when there are so many needs all over the world (and in my own home where things are getting broken at a faster pace than we can fix them), if we don't ever collect art when it's available, we'll never do it. Period.
And I'm an artist--fueled and inspired by artwork. Art simply brings joy in remembering what makes life wondrous, even deeply meaningful--especially in dark or uncertain times. Madame Butterfly reminds me of the year we moved to Maine in 2015--to give our kids room to roam the woods and play as siblings. An area in which to SLOOOW down.
We woke up a few days after settling in to our new place, to find that one of us had accidentally left the garage light on all night, which attracted moths all over the garage door (see below).
The kids gasped and called out to the others to, "Come, see!" We were witnesses to a moth convention--a "Mothcon" of sorts. There was literally a rainbow variety of shape and color. Gauzy-winged friends arrayed the garage entry. I felt chills at the wonder of the Lord's creations. And was so grateful to experience such a surreal moment with my children. I hope they remember it too.
Madame Butterfly reminds me of that day. When some days are full of discouraging drudgery (broken lamps, refrigerators that stop working, loads of laundry that someone forgot to change over, kids who don't want to do their allotted chores, etc., we can glance at the entrancing Madame Butterfly, and remember that there are also days of the extraordinary--marriages, births, birthdays, milestones, slow accomplishments and the fulfilling of dreams, that come and go when we least expect them. Life is remarkable at times. We just have to endure the regular days to get to exhilarating ones.
So we'll hang Madame Butterfly on our wall to bring a smile to everyone who passes by her for the remainder of this strange year of 2020. And I'll gladly have another birthday this fall if it means welcoming an original Kevin Hawkes creation into our home.
The Aphrodite Fritillary we've been spotting this summer around the milkweed.
So you know what I'll be doing before September...building a frame for that little portrait to live in--on the wall just inside our front entry way. Isn't she lovely? Isn't she wonderful? (Queue the Stevie Wonder music...)
Now a treat for you gentle readers--a Mini Q. & A. with the prolific and incredible Kevin Hawkes!
(E.R.)Q: Kevin, what was the impetus for creating such a unique, whimsical portrait?
(K.H.)A: The inspiration for this piece came years ago when I was working as a portrait painter in Boston. I came to understand that there was a lot of the unseen going on behind every portrait, especially the women who seemed to wear multiple hats daily. I began to think of them as wearing masks of sorts.
(E.R.) Q: How did you achieve such vibrancy with Madame Butterfly?
(K.H.) A: The vibrant color is from applied layers of pure transparent acrylic color over white background.
(E.R.) Q: Who is this Madame X of illustration?
(K.H.) A: The woman is of my own imagination but could be any of us who hides a serious interior behind a colorful facade!
(E.R.) Q:What projects are you most excited about working on currently?
(K.H.) A: I am currently finishing a book by Wade Bradford entitled There's a Dodo on the Wedding Cake which I am excited about. Also, my newest title out this fall, The Hannukah Magic of Nate Gadol, by Arthur Levine is a fun read. I'm also launching a series of surreal Maine landscapes this month and hoping to find an interested gallery to join me in that. So...plenty of stuff on my plate!
(E.R.)Q: Kevin, what was the impetus for creating such a unique, whimsical portrait?
(K.H.)A: The inspiration for this piece came years ago when I was working as a portrait painter in Boston. I came to understand that there was a lot of the unseen going on behind every portrait, especially the women who seemed to wear multiple hats daily. I began to think of them as wearing masks of sorts.
(E.R.) Q: How did you achieve such vibrancy with Madame Butterfly?
(K.H.) A: The vibrant color is from applied layers of pure transparent acrylic color over white background.
(E.R.) Q: Who is this Madame X of illustration?
(K.H.) A: The woman is of my own imagination but could be any of us who hides a serious interior behind a colorful facade!
(E.R.) Q:What projects are you most excited about working on currently?
(K.H.) A: I am currently finishing a book by Wade Bradford entitled There's a Dodo on the Wedding Cake which I am excited about. Also, my newest title out this fall, The Hannukah Magic of Nate Gadol, by Arthur Levine is a fun read. I'm also launching a series of surreal Maine landscapes this month and hoping to find an interested gallery to join me in that. So...plenty of stuff on my plate!
Illustration from Kevin Hawkes'
Velma Gratch and the Way Cool Butterfly.
Thank you, immensely, Karen and Kevin, for making the world a more magical, enchanting place! Look for Kevin's more-than-forty books for children and children's hearts (in adult bodies) in a library near you--including (the New York Times bestseller, and my personal favorite) The Library Lion, Weslandia, Wicked Big Toddlah, Remy and Lulu, Imagine That! How Dr. Seuss Wrote the Cat in the Hat, and Velma Gratch & the Way Cool Butterfly.
Or, snoop at-will on his website: https://www.kevinhawkes.com/
Another Painting-in-a-Day Challenge...
Matt set up this time lapse video while we were watching a day of general conference for our church last spring. This makes it look like the easiest twenty-nine seconds of a cake walk ever. Ha ha. I wish! My entire body was tense by the end of the twelve-hour stint. Those shoulder muscles twanged for days.
But regardless of my inexperience and lack of confidence, every painting process is an extraordinary adventure! The fire weed blossoms didn't turn out as nicely as the original blooms looked (on a cousins/sisters' trip to Prince Edward Island six years ago), they never do, right? But if you want to see the larger version of the piece, click here to jump to the Oil Painting Gallery.
The Four-hour Challenge? Maybe Sixteen...
The prospect of painting makes me giddy. I love it! But it's also tedious, and takes time to set up the model, mix and match the colors to skin tones, and fabrics, and still find enough day light hours leftover to have the sun illuminate the subject after all the fuss. I'll admit, all of these elements (on top of stopping to feed oneself, and one's family) make for some burning in the shoulders. But seeing a rough sketch change and morph into a developed painting is so thrilling. More than anything, painting is just absolutely satisfying--watching a favorite subject appear that wasn't on the canvas hours before.
Recently, I signed up for a free month of Bluprint. No, Bluprint has no idea I'm doing this (being the teensy ant in the termite mound of the art world that I am), so they did not endorse my free advertising on their behalf. Bluprint is just the only way possible to watch the series "Portrait Artist of the Year." Have you seen this cool sensation?
Sky Arts invites thousands of artist throughout the UK to submit their own self portraits (created in any medium) for the acceptance of a panel of three judges. Only a handful of artists are selected to paint a model in four hours. My husband and one of my daughters challenged me to paint a portrait in the same narrow window of time. I accepted the test, a little nervous to prove myself to them, as four hours is no time at all in which to wrap-up a painting in oils. (Especially after just getting back into the rhythm after a sixteen year hiatus...)
So I set up my model--that very daughter who was timing me--along with her inquisitive pet bunny, Jack. And having watched a few episodes of the show with me, my daughter clicked the timer on her watch and said, "Artist you may now begin!" Off I went--in a mad flurry of pigments and stubby, cheap brushes. At the half way point, when I was feeling I'd hardly just begun, my daughter's timer went off again, and she said, "Artist, you are now half way there!"
"No! I can't be!" The searing pain in my shoulders was settling--I could've fried eggs on my trapezius muscles! And then after what felt like only thirty more minutes, Micah announced (in a slightly British impersonation of Joan Bakewell): "Artist, your four hours is up. Put your brushes down!" WHEW!!! So after four hours of painting nonstop, this is only as far as I progressed (ha ha!):
Recently, I signed up for a free month of Bluprint. No, Bluprint has no idea I'm doing this (being the teensy ant in the termite mound of the art world that I am), so they did not endorse my free advertising on their behalf. Bluprint is just the only way possible to watch the series "Portrait Artist of the Year." Have you seen this cool sensation?
Sky Arts invites thousands of artist throughout the UK to submit their own self portraits (created in any medium) for the acceptance of a panel of three judges. Only a handful of artists are selected to paint a model in four hours. My husband and one of my daughters challenged me to paint a portrait in the same narrow window of time. I accepted the test, a little nervous to prove myself to them, as four hours is no time at all in which to wrap-up a painting in oils. (Especially after just getting back into the rhythm after a sixteen year hiatus...)
So I set up my model--that very daughter who was timing me--along with her inquisitive pet bunny, Jack. And having watched a few episodes of the show with me, my daughter clicked the timer on her watch and said, "Artist you may now begin!" Off I went--in a mad flurry of pigments and stubby, cheap brushes. At the half way point, when I was feeling I'd hardly just begun, my daughter's timer went off again, and she said, "Artist, you are now half way there!"
"No! I can't be!" The searing pain in my shoulders was settling--I could've fried eggs on my trapezius muscles! And then after what felt like only thirty more minutes, Micah announced (in a slightly British impersonation of Joan Bakewell): "Artist, your four hours is up. Put your brushes down!" WHEW!!! So after four hours of painting nonstop, this is only as far as I progressed (ha ha!):
No face! But no worries. My husband and daughter were understanding. But I felt so determined to finish the portrait in one day. So I foolishly threw a few precious hours of sleep out the window (all while needing to get up at 5 with teens the next morning--UGH!), and felt at least a little better to complete the painting in one day--sixteen hours total. Oh well! Four times longer than the Portrait Artist of the Year painters. Doh! I've got a ways to go with practicing speed and proficiency!
So my goal is to complete at least two portraits a week until I can achieve a finished piece in four hours. Two friends have agreed to let me paint them in the coming weeks, and I'll be hounding more of you good people to pose, over the months and years. So maybe soon, I'll have more delightful portraits to post.
Here's a progression of shots of making the painting. The first one is staining the canvas with a nice middle-tone brown liquid made of two parts mineral spirits to one part Holbein Titanium white and burnt umber (so as to judge the color spectrum more clearly on the canvas).
Next it's time to arrange the model while my canvas is warming/drying in the oven (I try to avoid baking canvases except for when I forget to stain them the day before! EEK! Don't try this at home, folks. *Head shake...*). Then we arrange the pose by using a computer monitor with an enlarged photo, a printed copy of the photographed model taped to the easel, and the patient model in front of me for quick reference for an hour or so while I mix colors. Also below, you'll see a progression of shots as the piece was being painted, and as more color fills the pallet to block in areas of detail:
So my goal is to complete at least two portraits a week until I can achieve a finished piece in four hours. Two friends have agreed to let me paint them in the coming weeks, and I'll be hounding more of you good people to pose, over the months and years. So maybe soon, I'll have more delightful portraits to post.
Here's a progression of shots of making the painting. The first one is staining the canvas with a nice middle-tone brown liquid made of two parts mineral spirits to one part Holbein Titanium white and burnt umber (so as to judge the color spectrum more clearly on the canvas).
Next it's time to arrange the model while my canvas is warming/drying in the oven (I try to avoid baking canvases except for when I forget to stain them the day before! EEK! Don't try this at home, folks. *Head shake...*). Then we arrange the pose by using a computer monitor with an enlarged photo, a printed copy of the photographed model taped to the easel, and the patient model in front of me for quick reference for an hour or so while I mix colors. Also below, you'll see a progression of shots as the piece was being painted, and as more color fills the pallet to block in areas of detail:
At the end of the four hours, I hadn't even reached the face yet. But that, my dear friends, is the pièce de résistance--getting to the dessert after the meal--saving the focus of the painting for last. Anyway, here's the finished piece after sixteen hours. Painting my daughter was a blast! And she actually liked the end result. Next time I'll go with less garish colors for the back drop, and just do a head study. Anyway, that's the process of living and learning. Now back to work for all of us!
