Halfway There and Little Time For Art

I ♥ Art

I haven't had much time for Photography or Art since participating in the NaNoWriMo project this month which is the downside to trying to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. But, I've been pouring my creative self into the story and have now hit 25,000 words! I'm half-way there to being declared a winner! Yesterday I spent all day at a Panera Bread having a "write-in" with a lovely English lass from Yorkshire named Sam. We are both writing Mainstream Fiction and have discovered our lead characters have very similar personalities. We really hit it off (how could I not just love someone from my favorite place in the whole world?) and hope to hook up again for another day of creative energy exchange. So, like I said, not much time for art. Since November 1st, I've only had the one photography outing with Lita and have only done two artsy things: I sketched a book-page Big Ben that will be made into note cards and for sale in my Etsy shop and I added a figure to my "people" sketchbook. 

 Big Ben Sings a Song

Love Yourself

I did manage to make a trip to the Library for an upcoming Exploration task which will be posted up here this weekend and *another* stop at Barnes and Noble. I know, I know...book addict. But, I had a 25% off coupon! It had to be used, right? ;)

Wordless Wednesday: Dance with the Ghosts Upon the Dawn

Dance with the Ghosts Upon the Dawn

There's a stain on my notebook where my coffee cup was...

Whoohoo! One week of writing for the National Novel Writing Month is done! As planned, I did a coffee series this week. I took a photo of my coffee cup every morning as I sat down to write. Here is the series and what went on with my writing each of the days.

Coffee with Mary

The first day was exciting. I was filled with anticipation the whole month before, itching to get my story started. At the suggestion of a friend, I aimed for 2,000 words a day instead of the 1,667 needed. This would give me a nice cushion for those days when life interrupts and writing has to take a back seat. My coffee this morning was Nabob 100% Columbian with hot cream and served in a mug with Mary Poppins. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! I wrote 2,142 words today! 

A Bit of Fairy Dust Goes a Long Way

Day two was the hardest of the week. I had reread what I wrote on day one and thought some of it was crap. I really wanted to go back and fix things, to edit. But November isn't about editing. If you edit now, you'll never finish. I went onto the NaNoWriMo website and discovered a whole bunch of other participants who thought they were writing crap. Good, I feel so much better now! With some help from Tinkerbell and a cup of European Master Lorenzo Crema coffee with cream, I wrote 1,828 words. I fell short of the 2,000 daily goal. Perhaps I needed more fairy dust. :)

I ♥ Coffee

Day three was emotional for me. The story was becoming very personal. I'm writing fiction, yet my truths are popping up all over the place. The story was taking on a life of it's own. When I went to process the coffee pics at the end of the day I discovered the cream was in the shape of a heart. It really went with how I felt during that days writing. I was beginning to fall in love with my story, with my characters. I had the same type of coffee as the day before but my word count was so much better at 2,108 words. It was a good day!

Welcome to Neverland

Day four was interesting. I had characters who were to be there only in passing, but one character I wanted to see again. I was mesmerized by him. Another character demanded to be introduced earlier in the story. I've promised him a move to the front but he'll have to wait until December.:) My coffee this morning was Seattle's Best Breakfast Blend and it was in a cup featuring Peter Pan. How appropriate because I feel lost in my own Neverland, becoming obsessed with my characters and where they are going. I did more obsessing than writing however as I only reached 1,862 words. 

Wired for Writing

My horoscope on day five read: Today you are the creator of your future, and your only limits are the boundaries of your imagination. Today enjoy the process of creating as you make your future a work of art. I don't know if it was the cosmos or the cup of Seattle's Best in a Tigger mug wtih the word "Wired!" on the back, but today was a great day for writing. The story really took off and characters kept surprising me. I was intrigued today. So much so that I wrote 4,066 words! How I managed to do that I have no idea because I had fifty eBay auctions that ended today as well and had to send out invoices. Whew!

 Feelin' Dopey

Day six had a fallout from the day before. Because I was so wired the previous day, my sleep was affected. It was a Creative Saturday and I was meeting Lita for a day of shooting, eating, bookstores and sharing our lives. I was really looking forward to getting out but I knew to get the word count in I would have to get up earlier than usual. When I know I have to get up early, I can't seem to sleep. I felt very Dopey in the morning and so when I went to make a cup of coffee, I purposely chose this cup filled once again with Seattle's Best.

Being with Lita is always inspiring and I was thrilled to be able to share the story with her. We discovered that one of my characters is in a very similar place to where she is. I have to keep writing now so she can figure out where she's going to end up! 

Beachy Girls

I didn't get home until nearly six in the evening and I had only written a few hundred words in the morning. I was so tired. Even though I was inspired by the day, writing was not what I wanted to do. The evening session of writing started out very slow and a bit all over the place but soon I was back in the flow and ended up writing 2,070 words. A good nights sleep was my reward.

Minnie Morning

Even though the clock moved back an hour today, I knew that day seven would be a challenge as it was the first day of writing that I would have my husband home all day. Pair that with football and I knew I would be struggling to find the time to write. I got up early, fixed a cup of Seattle's Best with cream and wrote a few hundred words before Charlie was up. As expected, both he and football were a big distraction for me. I had to write in short bursts, between football plays, printing shipping labels for all the auctions, spending time with Charlie and doing laundry. Eventually, all those short burst added up to 2,005 words! Yay! One week complete. Now, let's hope I can keep the pace up for week two!

Exploration #11: Differences

Exploration #11: Differences

Collect multiples of one thing (such as leaves, stones, shells, seeds,etc.).

Lay them out in front of you. Observe them in detail. List the differences you see.

I have a huge collection of seashells that I have collected over the last 12 years from Sanibel Island. My favorite shell is the Scallop so it seemed like a good subject for this Exploration task. After laying them all out, the thought of writing the differences down on paper didn't appeal to me since it seems like I've been writing non-stop with my NaNoWriMo project. But, really looking at the detail and documenting the differences can only help my writing because, after all, the details are everything. :)

The most obvious difference is size. Scallops come in all sizes. Many people don't know that shells grow just like any other creature. So, if you find a really tiny scallop and then a large scallop, well, the tiny one is much younger in age. This selection of scallops are only thirty plucked randomly from a glass container of hundreds. I rarely have matching pairs. The sizes show here I would classify as tiny, small, medium and large. I've never found one that I would call jumbo.

Color is the next obvious difference. Scallops can range in a variety of colors but most that you find on Sanibel are in a range of pinks and magentas. I'm always thrilled when I find one colored with orange. Grey is pretty common but dark grey and black are rare. Yellow is rare as well, although you may find a hint of it in just about all scallops, a pure yellow one is a treat. In this selection we have the following colors: Rust, pink, magenta, white, orange, peach, yellow, grey, black, red, maroon and beige.
Some have bands of color running horizontally while other shells prefer to run the colors vertically. One shell is edged in a tiny black line that upon closer inspection, looks like lace trim. :)

Shape is not so obvious. At first glance they all look to be sporting the same shape. But if you were to handle them and look closely, you would find that it is not true at all. While most are just slightly rounded, a few are extremely domed. And although rare, some are completely flat like the one in the fourth row all the way to the left. It is a complete shell with no missing pieces yet it's totally flat. How it got that way I have no idea. I think it's really old and has been in the sea for ages, worn flat by sand, sea and time.

Hinges. The hinges connect the bivalve shells. Most have one side larger than the other, usually the right side. Hmmm...like in human life, lefties are more uncommon. Some of the hinges are sharp and come to a point while others are rounded and dull.

Textures vary from those that have been worn smooth from the sea while others maintain a rough texture. Most are dull and don't shine unless I polish. The ones that have had the texture worn a bit smooth definetely have more shine. I picked each one up and no two felt alike. It was strange. Like a fingerprint, they each were unique. The undersides were all different as well, although less so than the outer shell. Most have a brown spot where the scallop resided before...being eaten? Some of the color may show through to the underside but most are slick white. The inside is smooth and shiny with very little texture.
All are beautiful. I love shells. Enjoy these images I have taken over the years:

 Coquina Clam shells, also known as the Butterfly shell

 Hidden Pearl, the tip of a Florida Fighting Conch Shell

 Sanibel Island, the island of shells

 One

 Sand+Sea+Sun+Shell=Bokeh

The shells of Sanibel

 Scallop

Seashells in a Seashell

 The beginnings of a collection

 Tulip Shell

Washed Over

Colors and Patterns of the Scallops

"I have the worlds largest collection of seashells. I keep it on all the beaches of the world...perhaps you've seen it." ~Stephen Wright

Wordless Wednesday: Mexican Sunflower

Mexican Sunflower

So it begins: Writing a Novel in 30 days!

National Novel Writing Month begins today and as an official participant I will be attempting, along with other nutters from around the world, to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. I'm not a writer but I love to write and I love participating in projects like this one. I enjoy partaking in life, surrounded by like-minded creative souls. I'll be tracking my progress here on my blog so be sure to check back often to see how I'm doing with my word count. If you see that I'm falling behind, leave a comment with words of encouragement! You can check the little counter I've posted on the top right of this blog. With all the busy photography obligations I have this month, it will be a challenge to complete it and be an official "winner". But I will sure be giving it my all! 

Creative Saturday: Inspirations

Inspiration can come from anywhere, at anytime. Sometimes, inspiration is found close to home and other times it can be found in far flung places across the globe. Often, where Lita and I are concerned, the combination of being together and a bookstore usually leads us down a path strewn with creative ideas and little inspirations that tug at our sleeves, begging to be realized.

We met in the morning and headed out to our first bookstore. We found inspiration before we even stepped a foot into the store. Right outside was a small photo booth with black curtains that enticed us to climb in and be silly.

Approaching the bookstore, we are like two wide-eyed children outside a candy shoppe, drooling with delight over all the bright colored goodies stacked on the shelves. What will we find? Or more correctly, what will find us?  We have a method to our madness...usually we hit up the magazine section first. Looking for goodies in the Computer, Photography, Craft and Art sections. Our most favorite magazines for inspiration are the ones by Stampington & Company including Digital Studios, Somerset Life, Somerset Studio, Art Journaling and Artful Blogger to name a few. Just browse a few pages of any one of these magazines and I guarantee you will be rushing home with a head full of creative ideas. Today Lita and I both picked up the new Somerset Life. From the pages, we each picked a project that we would like as our Christmas gift. Lita will make the one I picked and I'll make the one she picked. We will interpret the project in our own way and at Christmas, we will exchange them as our gifts to each other. What fun!

Our lunch today was another place to gather inspiration. We chatted about our ideas, talked about our recent creative projects. Even the tables, dressed to perfection gave inspiration. I even took pics of the bathroom wall, made up of tiny little marble rectangles.

After lunch, we headed to our second bookstore, Barnes and Noble. We found a bonanza of new books in the Arts and Crafts section. While browsing this section, I found 4 very strange books stuck together, stashed among the books on journaling and mixed media:

What kind of personality was carrying these four books around? Why did they suddenly stash them in the Arts & Crafts section? What the hell were they doing in that section anyways? Are they still roaming around the store? Watching us? Seeing what we would do when we came across them? Probably didn't expect me to lay them all out and take a picture! It was just too interesting to resist! After the picture taking, I hurriedly stashed them back into the piles of craft books. Needless to say, it gave us quite the belly laugh!

Surprisingly, there were a few new books in the Photography section which has inspired us to make plans for an upcoming Photo Safari which I'm already so excited for! And, I've been inspired to do a photo series this week...one picture everyday of the same thing...I think I'm going to do my morning coffee. I'll post the whole series at the end of the week. Who knows what that will lead to...maybe a new inspiration will come from the coffee series. Ya just never know!

My inspirational haul included: The Crafter's Devotional which is full of 365 days of tips, tricks and techniques for unlocking the creative spirit. I haven't decided if I will start this book right away or wait until January 1st and make the book my 2011 project. The Big-Ass Book of Crafts I got this mainly for some of the photography projects but also just because the name makes me giggle. inner Excavation is subtitled Exploring Your Self through Photography, Poetry and Mixed Media. Three of my favorite things! Oh, I had to have!

Book + Art is about handcrafting artist's books. Something I've not done but find fascinating. I also picked up a Victorian Designs clip art book. This has a CD that includes all these great copy-right free images that I will be using via Photoshop. I love all the Dover clip art books! And, finally the Somerset Life magazine mentioned above.

We also found inspiration at a huge costume store that opened near my house. It's only open for Halloween and will pack up and be gone by next week. When we create our digital art in Photoshop one of the things that always frustrates us is trying to change hair color, especially Lita's dark hair to blonde. We were digging on all the wigs we found in the store:

Lita as a blonde, with lots and lots of curls!

This one is called "Trailer Park Trophy Wife Wig"

Are you kidding me? Hilarious!

Laura as a brunette goddess, purchased for an upcoming photo shoot with Perseus. :)

I hope you, dear reader, will spend some time in a bookstore or library near you. Browse the books, feel the paper, marvel at the covers. I promise you will find some inspiration hidden there, on the shelves, between the pages. 

If minds are truly alive they will seek out books, for books are the human race recounting its memorable experiences, confronting its problems, searching for solutions, drawing the blueprints of it futures.- Harry A. Overstreet