And everything in between. A lagoon, a pond, a river, or a stream. Water flows. It is the uniter. It joins the earth with the air and tames the fire. Earth is the body of our planet but water is her blood.
I am on Patreon.
Friday, October 30, 2015
Right and Left Part III
And everything in between. A lagoon, a pond, a river, or a stream. Water flows. It is the uniter. It joins the earth with the air and tames the fire. Earth is the body of our planet but water is her blood.
I am on Patreon.
Thursday, October 29, 2015
It's a Writer's Life for Me!
When you read a writer's short biography on the back of a book have you ever noticed that there are rarely "boring" lives described there? Writers write, but we also live. Without living there really isn't anything to write about.
My biography would be something like:
Born in 1969, Dawn came home on Christmas Eve. Thankfully her mother stopped her sister from throwing her away and thus she lived. At the age of two Death tried harder, but from burns to scarlatina to chicken pox to stinky sinus steak she won with the aid of her family. This was also the time where her family picked up the habit, or maybe hobby?, of breeding and showing dogs. Dawn raised Dachshunds and ducked bullies until she went to college and sucked at studying. As an adult Dawn has traveled the Midwest, okay she moved from Kansas to Missouri, to Michigan, to Illinois; but it counts! She has created her own family while adoring the one she was born into as well. When cancer knocked on the door she kicked it out and turned the baby room into a rec room. She has recently been dealing with chronic illness, but in living a life long dream and moving to the Southwest she will be moving beyond that. Dawn owns and creates stone art with her family via Shadoe Stones and also paints, creates artistic photography and writes poetry because sleep is for wimps; happy, healthy, well rested wimps, but wimps nonetheless.
What would your bio look like? I know there are things I want to add to mine. I am planning on getting my massage license in Arizona and going to UofA to get a degree there. The degree I am looking at requires travel over seas and Switzerland is a trip I would love to take. I want to travel all over the country and the world. I want to be published not just in my writing but in my photography as well. I want to sell art and spend time with my family. I want to be happy. Live your bio every day; make your life what you want to see on the back of a book some day!
Patreon helps content creators create!
Patreon helps content creators create!
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Right and Left Part II
I am on Patreon.
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Tumbling Rocks!
One of the things I picked up again when we started Shadoe Stones that I have loved my entire life is rock tumbling. It is not a fast process but the results are often unexpected and stunning. After we have moved I will go ahead and take you through the process with rough stones so that you can see what happens and how long it can take, but for now let me lay a little knowledge on you.
First off here is a kit for a beginner that I can recommend. While the price looks steep, please remember that we are talking about a system that is throwing rocks around the inside of it for close to a month or even more through all of the stages. You are going to want something that can hold up to it. On top of that this is a kit with the "polishing" compounds needed to make the rocks look good too.
One thing to remember when either purchasing or finding your rough rocks to tumble is how "hard" they are. If you have ever heard that diamond is the "sharpest" rock there is, then you have a basic start on the "Mohs Scale." A stone's Mohs number tells you how fragile it is. You should tumble stones in the same basic range together. One of the wonderful parts of tumbling is watching a rough stone turn into a polished tumbled stone. Tumbling breaks off the parts that aren't the specific stone you are working for and turns those into more grist for the mill.
A great way to find the Mohs number for stones is to look it up here where they also show you how to test an unknown stone for what it's number is. Where do you order stones to tumble? Ebay is a good source if you are interested in small batches or you can simply look outside. If you start wanting to tumble larger quantities I would recommend finding a local rock hound club and letting them help you with finding local stones. You can start your search for local groups to help you or your children here.
We will revisit tumbling after the move when I have my area set up. Remember that stones lay around forever so this is a hobby that takes time and requires patience. Please visit Patreon if you love what I do so I can keep doing it!
First off here is a kit for a beginner that I can recommend. While the price looks steep, please remember that we are talking about a system that is throwing rocks around the inside of it for close to a month or even more through all of the stages. You are going to want something that can hold up to it. On top of that this is a kit with the "polishing" compounds needed to make the rocks look good too.
One thing to remember when either purchasing or finding your rough rocks to tumble is how "hard" they are. If you have ever heard that diamond is the "sharpest" rock there is, then you have a basic start on the "Mohs Scale." A stone's Mohs number tells you how fragile it is. You should tumble stones in the same basic range together. One of the wonderful parts of tumbling is watching a rough stone turn into a polished tumbled stone. Tumbling breaks off the parts that aren't the specific stone you are working for and turns those into more grist for the mill.
A great way to find the Mohs number for stones is to look it up here where they also show you how to test an unknown stone for what it's number is. Where do you order stones to tumble? Ebay is a good source if you are interested in small batches or you can simply look outside. If you start wanting to tumble larger quantities I would recommend finding a local rock hound club and letting them help you with finding local stones. You can start your search for local groups to help you or your children here.
We will revisit tumbling after the move when I have my area set up. Remember that stones lay around forever so this is a hobby that takes time and requires patience. Please visit Patreon if you love what I do so I can keep doing it!
Monday, October 26, 2015
Right and Left Part I
I have mentioned in the past my fascination with water. Water comes in many different forms, even when it is liquid. There is no more basic a way of showing that then to compare and contrast the oceans. I have only been lucky enough at this point in my life to have seen the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. As I was well into my 30s when I saw the Atlantic for the first time, you will understand that that makes me quite excited and eager to see more.
Our photos today are of "The Left Coast" the Pacific in all of it's glory. From ice to steam, water means life. Let it surround you. Don't just see it, feel it. The pounding of the waves. The push and pull of the tide. The subtle lapping of the pools on the beach. Water is. Take a moment today and just be there with it.
Love what you see? I am on Patreon.
Our photos today are of "The Left Coast" the Pacific in all of it's glory. From ice to steam, water means life. Let it surround you. Don't just see it, feel it. The pounding of the waves. The push and pull of the tide. The subtle lapping of the pools on the beach. Water is. Take a moment today and just be there with it.
Love what you see? I am on Patreon.
Friday, October 23, 2015
Working with Artists, Being an Artist
I am surrounded by artists. Even the cat tries to paint. It can be harrowing. The days when only one of us is creating can be just as bad as when only one of us isn't. We do things like go to art museums and critique the layout of the paintings on our rare days off of work. If one of us is completely stuck the other two vary between trying to help and tiptoeing around the fact that we are on a roll. Being an artist is the truest form of masochism I know. Being an artist in a family of non-artists would be worse, but being an artist in a family of artists is not masochism it's certified insanity!
The best thing to come from this? I am working in many mediums that I haven't for a very long time. From my writing to my painting and even some of my crafting I am doing things that a decade ago I had "given up" for that sake of making money. We have recently in this family had an epiphany: Money sucks. Say what? Money sucks. We need it. Paying the bills without it is very hard, but the way we go about getting it? Yeah it sucks. Even when you are doing something you love, the money part of it sucks. We have made a deal with ourselves to do the things we love, make the art we make and work the jobs we have to work. Money is a necessary evil, but it need not rule our lives. We are always in the process of trying to make our art that thing that brings us that necessary evil. It hurts to make that exchange. We firmly believe that we make things with owners, they just haven't found each other yet. When the two come together and it is money keeping them apart...yeah, money sucks.
We write, paint, photograph, craft, meld copper, create jewelry, sculpt, play instruments, write music, sing, and are slightly insane. Some we do extraordinarily well, some we are still working on. The hardest part? Using the term art to describe what we have made, determining that it is good enough to be sold, and then allowing a price commiserate to the effort and materials we put into it. I use a very simple formula for pricing: 250% of materials in the piece + $10-$25 per hour used to create it. The price per hour varies mostly because our skill level varies in our respective crafts. You want Crimson to play piano at your wedding then you are going to help pay for her equipment, training and her time. Did I just pull these numbers from nowhere? Nope. There is a logic to it. 100% of materials is the cost of the materials you are holding in the piece. The next 100% goes to replace those materials. 50% is in profit-although if the cost of materials has gone up that eats into the profit. Oh and the cost of the trip to the site, yeah that does the same, don't forget about the cost to set up. I think you get the idea. The pay per hour is simply paying the artist for the time they put into a piece. The amount that is paid depends upon the time they have been performing an art and their skill level. Crimson has a Masters in Music, Piano Performance. Her price per hour is actually significantly higher then is listed above. You get what you pay for.
Seeing a piece you have made with the price tag determined by the above variable is both great and scary. You KNOW in your soul that it could have, should have been better; that it isn't worth the tag the price is written on. At the same time you KNOW that it is a stunning example of your work, quite possibly the best thing you have ever done, and way under priced. That is the dichotomy of being an artist. We support each other through that and giggle at the anxiety. We then turn around, a day later (or less), and do it ourselves. There is no relief from the thought that you might not be good enough and the thought you are doing amazing things. They are both in your head doing battle throughout every piece you create. It is calming them down and making them work for you that makes each piece worth it to the new owner.
Pictures of our gorgeous copper and gemstone bonsai on display at an event; because, everybody likes pictures.
The best thing to come from this? I am working in many mediums that I haven't for a very long time. From my writing to my painting and even some of my crafting I am doing things that a decade ago I had "given up" for that sake of making money. We have recently in this family had an epiphany: Money sucks. Say what? Money sucks. We need it. Paying the bills without it is very hard, but the way we go about getting it? Yeah it sucks. Even when you are doing something you love, the money part of it sucks. We have made a deal with ourselves to do the things we love, make the art we make and work the jobs we have to work. Money is a necessary evil, but it need not rule our lives. We are always in the process of trying to make our art that thing that brings us that necessary evil. It hurts to make that exchange. We firmly believe that we make things with owners, they just haven't found each other yet. When the two come together and it is money keeping them apart...yeah, money sucks.
We write, paint, photograph, craft, meld copper, create jewelry, sculpt, play instruments, write music, sing, and are slightly insane. Some we do extraordinarily well, some we are still working on. The hardest part? Using the term art to describe what we have made, determining that it is good enough to be sold, and then allowing a price commiserate to the effort and materials we put into it. I use a very simple formula for pricing: 250% of materials in the piece + $10-$25 per hour used to create it. The price per hour varies mostly because our skill level varies in our respective crafts. You want Crimson to play piano at your wedding then you are going to help pay for her equipment, training and her time. Did I just pull these numbers from nowhere? Nope. There is a logic to it. 100% of materials is the cost of the materials you are holding in the piece. The next 100% goes to replace those materials. 50% is in profit-although if the cost of materials has gone up that eats into the profit. Oh and the cost of the trip to the site, yeah that does the same, don't forget about the cost to set up. I think you get the idea. The pay per hour is simply paying the artist for the time they put into a piece. The amount that is paid depends upon the time they have been performing an art and their skill level. Crimson has a Masters in Music, Piano Performance. Her price per hour is actually significantly higher then is listed above. You get what you pay for.
Seeing a piece you have made with the price tag determined by the above variable is both great and scary. You KNOW in your soul that it could have, should have been better; that it isn't worth the tag the price is written on. At the same time you KNOW that it is a stunning example of your work, quite possibly the best thing you have ever done, and way under priced. That is the dichotomy of being an artist. We support each other through that and giggle at the anxiety. We then turn around, a day later (or less), and do it ourselves. There is no relief from the thought that you might not be good enough and the thought you are doing amazing things. They are both in your head doing battle throughout every piece you create. It is calming them down and making them work for you that makes each piece worth it to the new owner.
Pictures of our gorgeous copper and gemstone bonsai on display at an event; because, everybody likes pictures.
Love what I am doing and want to see more? I am now on Patreon.
Thursday, October 22, 2015
Did someone say Research?
Researching for a new piece of writing can be as simple as looking at a map and as complicated as using the map. When traveling to the place you are writing about isn't possible it's time to turn to what others have written. While I use the internet I also know that about 50% of what is on the internet is crap with no basis in fact and no reference to reality. Why do I say this? Because the "I read it on the internet so it must be true" meme is based in that reality. Without the capability to follow the logic in some form of annotation such as footnotes or a bibliography question your source be it in print, face to face contact or on the internet. Wikipedia by the way is not a good source. Why does everyone from your English teacher to me say that? Because anyone can and will update Wikipedia; this gives it questionable content.
My favorite place to verify what I find on a Google search that doesn't have a backstory to it? Right back on Google. If all of the "facts" lead right back to the original author then sadly it's time to start over. Without independent verification the facts are not real. Unless you are writing Science Fiction or Alternative History it's best to have your facts straight.
Why do you (or I) do all of this? To make our story more believable. If you are writing about Christmas in Australia you should probably know it happens in the middle of their summer not winter. It hurts the believably of a story for it to have a glaring error that isn't explained. If in your AH Australia is now in the Northern Hemisphere it would make since for Australia to have Christmas in winter, in our world not so much.
I have a new and excellent source for my research: The Oxford Press, combine this with your local interlibrary loan program and you are going to know everything about EVERYTHING! Currently I am researching for my NaNoWriMo book "Live" and I am reading about Ancient Egypt, China and Greece; Medicine, Farming and Preaching; New Orleans, Mexico City, and London. The background I give myself now will fill my book with authentic details so that when the story happens people are following it and thinking about it.
If you do know something to be true or you are an expert in a field then, of course, you don't need to research it...or do you? Sometimes double checking your facts doesn't hurt. My family has bred and shown dogs for over 40 years. My Mother worked as a vet tech for a significant portion of that time. If I am working on a story about dogs there are going to be parts I can and will write about with complete confidence. Those parts do not need to be double checked, I KNOW them. Then there are the parts I know, or think I do. If there is even a little bit of uncertainty then you should double check your facts.
Here's a great thing about fiction that turns all of what I have written on it's ear: It's NOT supposed to be true. If a fact doesn't align with your story AND you can give a plausible reason in your story that it is not true in your world then who cares? If you don't have a plausible reason but it doesn't jar the story then who cares? Just remember that the person who cares could be a reader or worse a publisher.
My favorite place to verify what I find on a Google search that doesn't have a backstory to it? Right back on Google. If all of the "facts" lead right back to the original author then sadly it's time to start over. Without independent verification the facts are not real. Unless you are writing Science Fiction or Alternative History it's best to have your facts straight.
Why do you (or I) do all of this? To make our story more believable. If you are writing about Christmas in Australia you should probably know it happens in the middle of their summer not winter. It hurts the believably of a story for it to have a glaring error that isn't explained. If in your AH Australia is now in the Northern Hemisphere it would make since for Australia to have Christmas in winter, in our world not so much.
I have a new and excellent source for my research: The Oxford Press, combine this with your local interlibrary loan program and you are going to know everything about EVERYTHING! Currently I am researching for my NaNoWriMo book "Live" and I am reading about Ancient Egypt, China and Greece; Medicine, Farming and Preaching; New Orleans, Mexico City, and London. The background I give myself now will fill my book with authentic details so that when the story happens people are following it and thinking about it.
If you do know something to be true or you are an expert in a field then, of course, you don't need to research it...or do you? Sometimes double checking your facts doesn't hurt. My family has bred and shown dogs for over 40 years. My Mother worked as a vet tech for a significant portion of that time. If I am working on a story about dogs there are going to be parts I can and will write about with complete confidence. Those parts do not need to be double checked, I KNOW them. Then there are the parts I know, or think I do. If there is even a little bit of uncertainty then you should double check your facts.
Here's a great thing about fiction that turns all of what I have written on it's ear: It's NOT supposed to be true. If a fact doesn't align with your story AND you can give a plausible reason in your story that it is not true in your world then who cares? If you don't have a plausible reason but it doesn't jar the story then who cares? Just remember that the person who cares could be a reader or worse a publisher.
Love what I am doing and want to see more? I am now on Patreon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)