Appalachian Morning

Birds in Our Yard

2012-01-18T22:09:00.000-05:00

When the trees release their leaves, birds are soon visible to me in a new way, stark against grey branches or a blue sky. Last year my husband bought me a zoom lens, so that I could take better photos of these beautiful creatures. Our home is within the city limits of Athens, Ohio (USA), a small town that doubles in size from September through May when students at Ohio University fill the sidewalks, roads, and restaurants. Athens County is in the Appalachian Foothills; the hills begin just north of town and become steeper as one approaches the city, which is somewhat bordered by the Hocking River and near to a variety of steep hills, cliffs, forests, caves, and lakes. It seems to me a great home for wild- and not-so-wild-life. I know we certainly love it here and having dreamed of living near woods for many years, as I did when a child; I never get tired of walking out our backdoor and looking for something to photograph. Oftentimes that something has wings!

These photos are from various times of the year.

The red-tailed hawk, above, was watching the sunrise this past Sunday morning. He turned to look at me, and I looked back, letting him know the two little dogs in the yard are "Mine! Mine! Mine! … but you are a handsome bird."

We've had a ton of crows in our woods lately. If you want to hear a crow convention that took place at sunrise last week, click on this YouTube link (and see our woods).

Here I was practicing my manual focus skills on a moving target.

The crow below is looking in the opposite direction of the hawk shown earlier. I think they were ignoring each other.

I love this bird.

One morning I was ~~hardly~~hard at work, and heard something right outside my window. I peaked out and here was Mrs. Cardinal building her nest in a precarious place (because we were about to have our house painted.) I moved the nest before she put too much work into it, or had laid any eggs.

What intrigued me about this little fella is how his movements were so similar to that of my parrot, Gracie.

Last year, I tried to capture a close-up of this yellow-bellied sapsucker, but my efforts did not result in the photo I wanted. This past Sunday I was more successful (see photo above and two photos below), thanks to the new zoom lens and the bird deciding to peck at the tree in the middle of our back patio.

Look how he blends in…

Here is his action shot!

Below is the photo from last year...

I love cardinals.

My favorite wildlife, Tyler! These two photos were taken last year. He is STILL waiting for a good snowfall for this year.

My Memories Scrapbooking Software -- and a chance to help The Art of Autism!

2012-01-09T14:10:00.000-05:00

INTRODUCTION:

Recently, I received an email from My Memories asking if I would like their digital scrapbooking software for free in exchange for blogging about their product one time. It was the first time I have ever been offered anything for free in exchange for a blog post. I thought about it for 10 seconds and said yes, here's why: I switched from a PC to a Mac last June and haven't yet installed a good Mac-friendly scrapbook program on my laptop yet. And I've got over 8,800 photos in this little baby. They want to be organized. They want to be remembered.

So, I said yes and downloaded the software. Then decided I would do a "Year in Review" book and see how it worked.

MY PAST EXPERIENCE WITH DIGITAL SCRAPBOOKING SOFTWARE:
But first, a look back at software I've used to date.

CREATIVE MEMORIES: I regularly attend Creative Memories workshops and LOVE them and their products. Creative Memories makes products for traditional scrapbooking and digital scrapbooking. I love their colors, designs, choices, and catalogs. As a graphic designer, I find their designs and presentations the most pleasing and professional. So, I haven't been inclined to switch teams, until a problem happened last summer…

Having created a wonderful 72-page scrapbook of for my mother's birthday in 2010 using Creative Memories StoryBook (for PC) software (click on this LINK for a free trial download), I had some experience with the process. I had it printed as a hardcover book by Creative Memories and it was beautiful! My mom was thrilled. Here are some sample pages:

A DISAPPOINTING TURN OF EVENTS: When I switched to a Mac last June, I went back to Creative Memories to get the Mac version of StoryBook Plus, aka sbcStudio. I started on a project using a trial version, then when I was almost done, I found my 30-days had passed and I tried to sign on to purchase the software and could not! Alas, Creative Memories had decided to discontinue their Mac-version digital software program until further notice. (Today, I have gone to their site and it seems they still do not offer it for sale and have no notice about that on the product's page, so that if you click on "start" to learn more, nothing happens.)

I could not output my newly created sbcStorybook "Restaurant" scrapbook to PDF even to print at home. I was very irritated at the way this was handled and felt those with the trial version should have been given the opportunity to have anything they had in progress "unlocked" and able to be printed out at home or converted to PDF. I wanted this for Mark for Christmas, and ended up creating a traditional 8 x 8 book for him. Mark loved it, but I would have preferred it be in digital format so I could easily add it and customize it in the future.

ANCESTRY.COM: I went to THIS LINK and looked at comparison shopping of Mac-version scrapbooking software. But, instead, I got busy with Ancestry.com and finding out all about my family history and then found within Ancestry.com there is scrapbooking software. (Pros and cons with that, of course, but it was the best I had.) I made a 115-page scrapbook on our family history. (Here are two pages to give you an idea. It was more of a photo book with text explaining family history and history in general, rather than a scrapbook with fancy do-dads (though Ancestry.com does offer the do-dads. They have all sorts of papers and embellishments and such, but some of the elements (the embellishments, for instance) will only show up in lower resolution if printed out at home. You have to have Ancestry.com print out your "book" to have all of their graphic elements show up in high resolution. A definite business-attitude mistake, in my opinion.

iPHOTO: Then, I wanted to make a small scrapbook in memory of my friend who died. I made that one in iPhoto and it was not really a scrapbook, but a photo book. I had it printed as a paperback book and it came out really great. I gave a copy to my sister in December and she was pleased with the quality. It was printed by Apple, so I knew it would be top-knotch.

A NEW SOLUTION FROM MY MEMORIES:

I was still hoping Creative Memories would come back with their software for Macs. Then I received the email from My Memories's person, Liz:

My name is Liz and I work for a company called My Memories. We have an award winning digital scrapbook software that is extremely easy and fun to use. My Memories Suite is rated #1 by Amazon and TopTen Reviews. Using this software, anyone can create digital scrapbooks, photobooks, cards, calendars and gifts without having to buy expensive and complicated software programs.

I just ran into your blog and absolutely love it! I was wondering if you would like to host a My Memories Suite giveaway on your blog? We would love to give you 2 copies of our software ($80 value) for free! One copy is for your personal use and to review. The other is to give away on your site. Additionally, we will give you a personal $10 off promo code to share with followers and friends. Every time this code is used for our software, we will deposit $20 in your PayPal account! It is really that simple! Everyone could use an extra $100-$500 per month, right?

Well, of course everyone can. However, I've never really liked the idea of suggesting friends buy something when I'm going to get money for recommending a product.

But, I wanted the free software… (If you're interested in buying the software after reading my review, see the link, promo code, and my donation commitment, below.)

I downloaded the software and decided to try making a Year in Review book, 8 x 8 inches, with approximately 2 pages per month. Downloading the software was a breeze. Then I ran into a snafu: My Memories will not import photos directly from iPhoto. Liz said I could just copy the photos I wanted to use to a folder and then pull them from there into my scrapbook and then delete the duplicate photos when done, but I am one of those people who hate to do things twice or waste time. I didn't like this extra step…

But, I did what she suggested. One thing I noticed right off is that My Memories had more features (embellishments, patterns, etc.) available included with the software than Creative Memories seemed to back when I bought Storybook Plus for the PC. It also can include music, narration, and video… see this description from their site:

With over 1,500 papers, over 1,000 page elements, and over 30 album templates (including 10 new for v3), MyMemories Suite lets you hit the ground running with your very own scrapbook or photo album in a matter of minutes. It’s easy-to-use and affordable—and compatible with both Windows and Mac computers.

Personally, I prefer the designs and choices with Creative Memories, and will continue to use their products for my traditional scrapbooking, because I think they really are wonderful. But My Memories software is something all scrapbookers can try for quick easy projects at an affordable price.

Once I got into the software and found out my ability to work with what they offered (as far as papers and embellishments), I knew the My Memories Suite was a good value for scrapbooking customers. I found the software easy to use. I'd say within a few hours you'll be using it like an old pro. It had lots of cool options and I liked the way I could see all the pages running along the bottom of the screen, underneath the main page I was working on. Here is a screenshot:

There are a lot of good things about My Memories software:

It is easy to use.
It is affordable at $29.97.
It works on a Mac or a PC.
Liz Gardner offers great customer service.
There are many templates, papers, embellishments, etc. available in the basic software.

The only downsides I found were:

Not importing from iPhoto.
No ability to "print" as a PDF! I could only print to my home printer.
I could not save the pages as jpgs or PDFs.*

Here are a few of my pages for the Year in Review scrapbook (8 x 8) created with My Memories software.

LINK TO BUY, PROMO CODE, AND DONATION ON MY PART:
I figured out a way to ease my conscience. Here's what I'll do… My Memories Suite Version 3 costs $39.97. You also get $10 off using this promo code, making it $29.97. Here is the code:

STMMMS83551

When you purchase the software, MyMemories will pay me $20 commission.

When My Memories deposits commission money into my PayPal account (as Liz said), I will take said money and donate it to The Art of Autism's Campaign to help a project for artists with autism. I will do this with funds donated between today and June 2, 2012, my son Bryce Merlin's 31st birthday (he is one of the artists in the program and last October had his artwork in a gallery in SoHo thanks to The Art of Autism). Here is a LINK to the show in SoHo.

Here's a LINK for more about the fundraising campaign. (Since their campaign ends on 1/19, I will donate funds that come in between 1/19/2010 and 6/2/2012 directly to Debra Hosseini, founder, toward the program.)

ABOUT THE ART OF AUTISM:

The ART of AUTISM is a project that incorporates The ART of AUTISM book, art shows, live theatrical entertainment events, workshops, and films to shift consciousness and awareness regarding autism. We are committed to promoting talented artists on the autism spectrum and educating the general public. We support artists through mentorship, building resumes, portfolios, and direct work experience. Participants in past events report an improvement in self-esteem, executive functioning skills, media exposure and often a sense of community that they have never experienced before. Most importantly, they make friends and lifelong connections. The majority of money raised from the Art of Autism art sales goes directly to the artist. A portion also goes to a local nonprofit who hosts the show.

WANT A FREE COPY OF MY MEMORIES SOFTWARE?

Now, the astute among you will realize that Liz offered to give me TWO free copies of the software, one for myself and one as a giveaway. So, here goes… the first person to email me (art at janicephelps dot com) with their PayPal receipt for $20 to The Art of Autism's IndieGoGo Campaign between today and JANUARY 19th will be the one who gets the code for the free MyMemories Suite software.

Only one person can get the software for the $20 donation, but the rest of you, who might want the PC or MAC software from MyMemories.com can feel satisfied knowing that $20 of your $29.97 purchase ($39.97 minus the $10 discount, be sure to use the promo code above) will be donated to The Art of Autism (between today and June 2, 2012). Let's help these deserving artists reach their goals, just as we reach our "memory-keeping" goals. They'll have some help, you'll have some cool software for PC and/or Mac!

Here is more information on The Art of Autism:
Website: http://www.the-art-of-autism.com/
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheArtofAutism

Here are more tips from Liz at My Memories:

-If you’d like to link your followers to our Facebook, Twitter or blog, that would be great as well! They could even follow us for extra entries to the contest.
Blog- http://blog.mymemories.com/
Facebook- http://www.facebook.com/pages/MyMemories/140359372717593
Twitter- http://twitter.com/#!/mymemoriessuite

http://www.youtube.com/user/MyMemoriesSuite.

----
* You might be wondering how, then, I managed to save jpgs for this blogpost. Well, I took screenshots, then cropped to the size of the page, then saved as jpgs and PDFs. I knew how to get around their system, but it was time-consuming!

Vine Leaves Literary Journal -- ISSUE ONE!

2012-01-05T16:35:00.000-05:00

I am so pleased to share with you Vine Leaves Literary Journal, from the creative minds of Jessica Bell and Dawn Ius.

Vine Leaves seeks to fill a gap that is overlooked by other journals. From its home page:

The world of literature nowadays is so diverse, open-minded and thriving in experimental works, that there doesn’t seem to be any single form of written art missing from it ... you would think. But there is.

The vignette.

It’s rare for a literary magazine to accept the "vignette" as a publishable piece of literature. Why? Because it is not a “proper story.” We beg to differ.

So, what is a vignette?

"Vignette" is a word that originally meant "something that may be written on a vine-leaf." It’s a snapshot in words. It differs from flash fiction or a short story in that its aim doesn’t lie within the traditional realms of structure or plot. Instead, the vignette focuses on one element, mood, character, setting or object. It's descriptive, excellent for character or theme exploration and wordplay. Through a vignette, you create an atmosphere.

Vine Leaves, will entwine you in atmosphere; wrap you in a world where literature ferments and then matures …

Jessica is the author of String Bridge, a novel about a woman's desire to return to her musical roots, and Twisted Velvet Chains, a collection of poetry. Jessica produced an original CD "sound track" to go with String Bridge. She also maintains a hugely successful blog. Just this week, she learned she'll be hosting the Annual Steinbeck Festival in Ithaca (not NY, the island of… Jessica is an Australian living in Greece). And now she and Dawn have given other writers (and illustrators) a venue for their work. After earning a degree in journalism, Dawn ventured into corporate communications, marketing, and public relations and currently co-owns Bridge Social Media. (She writes as well!)

I'm happy to say that one of my illustrations and one of my photographs were accepted into the first issue as was one of my husband, Mark's, poems. I'm not going to post my inclusions here, because I'd really like you to visit the online journal and see for yourself what is in it. The issue comes out Friday, January 6th, 2012! Here's the link again: www.vineleavesliteraryjournal.com

~ Janice

PS: Some of my friends will be in this first issue, so it will be very special to me. Their complete bios and website links are accessible through Vine Leave's website.

Angela Felsted
Glynis Smy
J.R.McRae
Laurel Garver
Madeline Sharples
Mark Van Aken Williams
Matthew MacNish
Michelle Davidson Argyle
Nicole Ducleroir
Sheri Larsen
Stephen Parrish

Favorite Animal Videos -- Watch and Smile!

2011-12-31T16:08:00.000-05:00

My New Year's gift to you, dear friends. Here are some videos from YouTube to make you smile.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Janice

Small Towns, Farm Towns on Dec. 26

2011-12-30T17:51:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year! It seems like just yesterday I was making an effort to remember to write (or type) 2011 instead of 2010. Now, here we are again. When I was a child, a year seemed like, oh, I don't know, like three years seem now. One day at a time, right?

Well, I don't have much else to say about the New Year, except that today is the anniversary of my scary CT-scan dye terror. You can read more here, if you are curious. And, I do want to wish you a Happy New Year. And share with you my photos from the day after Christmas, earlier this week. After taking Bryce back to his home, I took some photos in Washington Court House and then checked the map and decided to take a different route from the Chillicothe to Logan, Ohio, portion of my drive home. Here are scenes from my ride… and a map showing (in red) the route I took from Washington Court House to Chillicothe to Logan to Athens.

For photos of the route from Athens to Chillicothe to Washington Court House (purple route) then home via Washington Court House to Lancaster to Athens (blue route) CLICK HERE. And for another trip of just the blue route in wintertime, CLICK HERE.

Washington Court House, Ohio

Here is the same house as it appeared Dec. 18, 2010.

Back to this week...

Chillicothe, Ohio

Sign for Kinnikinnick, Ohio

Near Adelphi, Ohio

Recipes Restaurant, Adelphi, Ohio (Hocking Hills area)

At the end of the parking lot of Recipes Restaurant

I wonder if this post office is on the list for closings...

Nelsonville, Ohio

Comfort and Joy, Christmas 2011

2011-12-26T21:29:00.001-05:00

Christmas is over but until January 2nd, the holiday is not, is it? I am taking a light work week this week and am looking forward to some reading, a nap (or two), delving into the two beautiful watercolor botanical illustration books my son, Jesse, gave to me, watching "Islands at War" on Netflix, or visiting the magnificent "The Art Museum" a huge, beautiful, well-organized book of art from cavemen to the 21st century. Jeepers, I have a lot of wonderful things on my list for the coming week.

But first, a look back on our holiday season, which began when my son, Jesse, called to let me know about the new addition to his family… meet Larry (aka "Mr. Paws"). I am so happy Larry has found his forever home.

Below, you can see our Christmas card pile, including a lovely card with doves from my friend, Janis, and a lovely original drawing card from the talented artist Marion Pack of England.

Bryce completed the Beavis & Butthead drawing tee-shirt transfer project and off we went to visit Flo Clark, who is supportive and interested in all things creative. (See this previous post on her artwork, and here on her dog, Daisy, who passed away earlier this year.) It was lovely to sit with Flo and visit in her son's beautiful sunroom. Bryce wore his decorated shoes.

Farley was worrying about her Christmas present. She realizes, because of her uncanny ability to add and subtract and also smell, that it is not under the tree. Hmmm…

Meanwhile… Bryce was hard at work on a small scrapbook for a relative.

Below you can see a wooden plane ornament, made years ago by my father. Like many families, we have several handmade ornaments and decorations that hold special family memories.

Later in the week, I had lunch with my friend and her daughter, then took her daughter to the mall shopping. It was my first time shopping in the mall with a young teenage girl (or any age teenage girl). What fun! My feet hurt! What fun! It was a very special Christmas treat for me!

Fast forward to this past weekend…

Bryce enjoyed spending time in my art room on Christmas Eve working to enhance the Beavis & Butthead t-shirt with fabric paint while watching a DVD his brother had sent to him for Christmas.

While Bryce was painting, and Mark was watching football, I was making our family's traditional Christmas wreath bread. This bread was made by my mother and served with grapefruit on Christmas morning when I was a child... (and still is, she was making hers the same day, only 1800 miles away).

Mom has always made some to give to friends and neighbors and for the last several years I have as well. This time I made a double batch and ended up with 5 wreaths. So, after they were done Bryce and I got in the car and visited some friends.

One of our friends that we visited is a senior citizen who is a better baker/cook than I and probably has twice the energy. She is of Greek ancestry and her home is so beautiful, and was decorated with Santas, angels, trees and many sparkling lights. Bryce declared it "just how I'd want my own home to look, if I had a house of my own." That's high praise. I knew he would love seeing her home. (I wish I'd taken my camera or phone into the house to take some photos!)

At some point, Bryce asked me to take a photo (of the scene below) and email it to Grandma. I did and Grandma replied that this was one of her favorite poses too (with Jackie for a nap). I love having a mother in her ninth decade who emails back and forth sending photos and messages, reading blogs, and following our family's activities as well as any teenager.

On Christmas Eve night I made a huge pan of lasagna and then took Bryce to an historic church downtown to hear the son of a friend of mine sing. He is an opera singer and has been in residence at the Sarasota (FL) Opera. We loved the music, and I loved hearing Bryce belt out "The First Noel."

This is the scene that greeted me and my cup of coffee on Christmas morning. Farley still does not smell a present for her. That is because I have put it up on the mantle so she would not try to open it before 10 a.m. (You'll notice the gingerbread men my mother made for my sons back when they were small children, in the early 1980s.)

10:00 a.m.

Finally, it is time to open presents!

Here is Bryce looking at the family history scrapbook. Back in June, I started researching our family history on Ancestry.com and supplemented it with other searches. I put the information in a 3-ring binder for my sons and my mom (115 pages). It was a wonderful way to spend evenings and weekends and I'm so glad I took the time and had the tools to assemble this information. I learned a lot about history and Bryce will hopefully understand that many many generations before him made the choices they did and the sacrifices as well, to help their descendants have a better life.

Bryce was so happy to receive a Michael Jackson poster, "This Is It" book, and MJ bobble-head figure!

Tyler, ever wanting to be a proper gentleman, sits waiting for a present he might enjoy.

But first… Gracie eyes her Christmas present!

Lucky me! I received some wonderful books. My youngest son sent me three books on my Amazon wish list (2 on botanical art) and Mark surprised me with The Art Museum, below. I received additional very special presents, for which I'm so thankful, including a teddy bear, a DVD I'd wanted, an upside down planter, and handmade soap and a handmade scarf. I am so happy on Christmas day that I can hardly stand it!

Finally! Time for Farley, Tyler, and Jackie's present!

At supper we enjoyed turkey, dressing, green beans, mashed potatoes, and cranberries. It was a Thanksgiving-Christmas! Then Bryce and I took Tyler, Farley, and Jackie for a ride in the car to see Christmas lights in our beautiful college town of Athens, Ohio.

We also talked with our Florida relatives on the phone and with Jesse and Ashley and also Mark's dad in Shaker Heights. We missed them all very much, but are thankful for all the ways we can keep in touch until we are together again.

If you missed my Christmas wish for you, please visit THIS LINK.

Enjoy the rest of your holiday week, if you have the time to do so. If not, take heart… New Year's is right around the corner!

Merry (insert your hopes here) Christmas!

2011-12-23T06:51:00.002-05:00

Our parrot, Gracie, is mesmerized by Christmas.

"Merry Christmas." I've been saying it all week. Sometimes I say "Happy Holidays." Next week it'll be "Happy New Year." What does it mean to be merry?

Merriam-Webster: 1. archaic : giving pleasure (delightful) 2. full of gaiety or high spirits (mirthful) 3. marked by festivity or gaiety 4. quick, brisk (a merry pace)
Macmillan: 1. British informal: slightly drunk 2. old-fashioned: happy and lively
American Heritage: 1. full of high-spirited gaiety; jolly 2. marked by or offering fun and gaiety; festive 3. archaic: delightful; entertaining 4. brisk
Collins English Dictionary 1. cheerful; jolly 2. very funny; hilarious 3. Brit. informal slightly drunk 4. archaic delightful
Farlex Trivia Dictionary "First meant 'peaceful' or 'pleasant,' which is what it first meant in "Merry Christmas."

When I wish you a "Merry Christmas" I am wishing you this:

Photo taken from our kitchen window.

"I hope that this season and this day are what you wish them to be this year. If you need family and friends around you (not fighting) and children opening presents (in a happy, light-hearted, non-demanding way) and good food (that is lovingly prepared, artfully presented, or economically delivered), then that is what I wish for you.

"If you dream of a day to reflect on tradition (religious or family or country), to count your blessings, to remember past holidays (with everything noted in previous paragraph)…then that is what I wish for you.

"If you wish an end to commercialism, an end to the hectic feeling of not measuring up to a media-driven image of holiday perfection, an end to the pressure to believe (or do) something that doesn't fit (your brain, heart, family), the hope of an end to personal hardships (financial, medical, or emotional)…then that is what I wish for you."

When I wish someone a Merry Christmas or a Happy Holiday, I mean to include not exclude. In our culture here in southeast Ohio, this is a rather typical thing to say. I am also happy to say "Happy Kwanzaa" or "Happy Chanukah" or "Happy New Year," or "Have a good day." I am open to learning new ways to wish goodwill to others.

I would rather be thought old-fashioned by a person with a heart "two sizes too small" than hard-hearted by a person whose heart might be lonely, challenged, or breaking. I have nothing to prove at Christmas time and this is a wonderful thing. I am free to make this holiday what I need it to be, (without any "shoulds" internally or externally imposed) and to let my hope for this time of year evolve as I grow, drawing on the traditions and memories and "peaceful and pleasant" associations that have led me to appreciate this season. I can also set others to go all out with "high-spirited gaiety" or ignore the day altogether.

I suppose at the heart of what I wish for those I love and those I meet is that they will have what they need to create the December 25th -- and all that poor day seems burdened to hold -- that will do their heart and soul and spirit the most good.

Christmas Day is almost here. From our home to yours…Merry Christmas!

With Tyler, who loves Christmas Day.

PS: Mark and I have received many wonderful, beautiful cards this year and we treasure each one. For the first year ever I have had to forego printed cards due to chronic tendonitis in my writing hand, (which is now, thankfully, nearly healed). I hope this post will serve as a Christmas card of sorts to those of you who mean so much to me. And if I have lived the spirit of Christmas all year long, then you know who you are. Thank you for making my life wonderful.

Washington Courthouse & Chillicothe, Ohio

2011-12-07T19:56:00.002-05:00

Washington Court House, Ohio

Well…it was another day driving from Athens, Ohio, to Washington Court House, Ohio, and I was on the look-out for something interesting to photograph… even though the leaves are gone, the amber waves of grain are gone, the brilliant snow and blue skies are not here yet, and spring is so far away I don't even want to think about it. There was not a single interesting farm vehicle lumbering down the road. (If you want to see past sunny and snowy scenes of this same area, click HERE and/or HERE.)

Washington Court House is located west of Columbus, Ohio. We live in Southern Ohio, though, so I approach it from the south, taking the Appalachian Highway west toward Cincinnati, but cutting up on Rt. 35 at Jackson to Chillicothe and then to Washington Court House (thus named due to the Revolutionary War heroes who settled there, and were loyal to George Washington).

There are many beautiful old homes, new homes, and wonderful new school buildings there. Chillicothe is located a bit farther south. I usually zip past it on my way from one place to another, but today I decided to get off the highway and see what the downtown looked like. It'd been a while since I'd seen it.

I was drawn to the old things today…

But I am also continually amazed by the smoke (?) pouring out of a factory of some sort in Chillicothe (you'll notice it too in a photo at the links noted in paragraph one). Today I wanted to see it up close and, boy, was I surprised to find it is just a block away from a school. Kids coming out of school see the white smoke just floating all around. I don't know what it is, but I put my car's air intake setting on "inside air" when I was there, just in case. I mean, it's got to be okay, right? But, jeepers, there were clouds of "stuff" coming out of there. I was wishing Erin Brockovich was in the car with me to tell me if I needed to worry….

Okay, enough editorializing… here are the photos!

In Washington Court House, I stopped to take a photo of this cool truck, which was at a junkyard, and noticed something through the trees.

Here's the junkyard from my car.

Here's my favorite photo of the day! Taken with Hipstamatic "Jimmy" lens on iPhone.

Which do you prefer: the photo taken with my Canon of the truck or the photo taken with the Histamatic iPhone app?

This shape, above, intrigued me.

I liked this view above because in the distance is what seems to be an abandoned school, from the 1960s, perhaps (they have two beautiful new schools in town. And then there's this even older building in the foreground. Both discarded from different decades.

So, here I am approaching the smokestacks. The school is just down the road here, to the left of the stacks.

I pulled up alongside the front of the administration building. There was a loading dock just past it and there were a few guys on their way to work.

I wanted to see if I could get a good photo from another side of town, and when I pulled over to take the photo below, this image above was just out the car window to my right. I really like old textures. This reminded me of the institution door on the cover of "My Beginning."

Letting go of my fascination with factories, I headed toward the "downtown" and noticed this house….

Here is a little trump l'oiel! Also, about the only people I saw on the street at 3:30 in the afternoon.

Here is a shot of downtown Chillicothe.

I didn't know what a "New System" bakery was, especially since it had another sign that said it had been in business for 90 years. It required a photograph. I required a peanut butter cookie. It led me to doubt the new system.

Since the New System Bakery told me they could not sell me coffee but would give me coffee but it was probably "old" having been made "two hours at least" earlier; I had to stop at Krispy Kreme where I did NOT buy anything but a cup of coffee; and it was pretty good. I liked the windows in this place.

Right by Krispy Kreme is the Mission for Christ led by Pastor Vickie somebody.

I took this photo for my husband, Mark.

Creation of a Book Cover: String Bridge by Jessica Bell

2011-11-11T00:00:00.041-05:00

Note: Read this blog post and learn how you can win a free signed print!

Today I'd like to share with you the process used to create the cover of String Bridge a novel by Jessica Bell, published by Lucky Press.* But first, here is a synopsis of the book:

Greek cuisine, smog and domestic drudgery was not the life Australian musician, Melody, was expecting when she married a Greek music promoter and settled in Athens, Greece. Keen to play in her new shoes, though, Melody trades her guitar for a 'proper' career and her music for motherhood. That is, until she can bear it no longer and plots a return to the stage––and the person she used to be. However, the obstacles she faces along the way are nothing compared to the tragedy that awaits, and she realizes she's been seeking fulfillment in the wrong place.

The topics in this book include: music, performance, marriage, male-female roles within modern Greek society (the setting is Greece; the author is an Australian living in Athens, Greece), rock 'n roll, motherhood, corporate life and work, putting one's dreams aside for one's family, mother-daughter relationships, friendship and loss. Jessica Bell is a poet and musician. A collection of her poetry was released earlier this year under the title Twisted Velvet Chains.

Simultaneously with the release of String Bridge (in ebook and paperback form) is the release of a soundtrack for the novel entitled "Melody Hill: On the Other Side." The songs are written and performed by the author. Soundmag wrote:

A piece totally dreamy, literally and figuratively, with incredible melodies and a voice kataplitiki over an acoustic guitar to inspire. Emotional flare-ups by Jessica Bell, excellent intonation and expression, and an avant garde philosophy. …a wonderful musical journey.

The first time I visited Jessica Bell's website, about a year ago, she had a mock-up of her novel's cover there, it featured a photograph of a guitar resting in a corner. In fact, the original title of her manuscript as communicated to me in September of 2010 was "Dead in the Corner of My Bedroom." Since this seemed a more likely title for a mystery novel, which String Bridge is not, discussions ensued about a new title and String Bridge was the winner. (The main character was originally named Jane and her husband was named Max. Jane and Max were changed to Melody and Alex.)

Originally, I envisioned a simple ink drawing of a guitar, very linear and spontaneous, with a line that would run from the cursive letters of the title to the guitar in the corner. Yet when I drew this it seemed a little stark considering the vivid prose and pulsating emotional life of the main character, Melody.

I then started drawing the guitar with black and blue ink. Here is the first result:

For some reason I can't remember now, I first envisioned the cover in pastels and presented this to the author. I followed it up with two more versions, essentially the same but with different cursive writing on "String Bridge."

Jessica liked the cover but asked if it would remain "sketchy." That got me to thinkin'…

But first, an explanation of process: In a book as multilayered as Jessica's, I suspected it would take some time to get the cover right. I wasn't worried because I knew as we worked through the process the right cover would emerge, like a sweet surprise, from all the back and forth and musings and questions. Here was my answer, on March 15, 2011, to her question:

"yes, the idea was that it [the guitar] would be sketchy. The whole thing is sort of Picasso-y. But, if you think it looks weird…then let's just stare at it for a week or so and see what else my brain comes up with. It's a process… …The only other way I could see this would be with bold shapes of color for the guitar to match the background shapes. Sort of like Matisse's cut-out figures. I'll muse on it a bit…"

Jessica had no idea that Mark and I have several cut-outs by Matisse (prints!) over our couch. So, it was surprising when she sent me a link to an image by Matisse adding "How gorgeous is this piece!!!" I told her a print of it was in our home. I then tweaked the guitar sketch further:

I liked the roughness of combining a drawing with tools in Photoshop. Some of the look of the guitar above is derived at by layering multiple drawings on top of each other, treating each layer slightly differently, then combining all layers.

Then Jessica, being a very creative person herself across multiple disciplines, asked "What do you think of adding some loose pieces of paper scattered on the floor with scribbles of lyrics on them?"

I liked the idea, asked for some scribbly notes scanned and emailed to me and soon received several pieces by email including the following:

Now, as we were each, in Athens, Ohio, USA and Athens, Greece, musing on the pastel cover, Jessica sent me the following note on March 16th, always respectful of my creative process but nudging me to "get" her character of Melody a bit more accurately: "…[could you try] to alter the colour a bit. I really don't think a pastel blue fits Melody's character. Could you make the blue a little bit darker and more muddy? Do you know what I mean?"

Yes, I did! The more I was learning about the book, about Melody and about Jessica Bell, the more I saw that the pastel color was not going to fly.

Jessica also provided some color samples by emailing me the following and suggested "Cordoba Blue." (At this point you might wonder what I am even doing as a cover designer, but I liked collaborating with the author who, after all, knows her book and characters much better than I. This is something that I can do as a small publisher. There are many things I cannot do, but this I can do. I love it!)

The official color of Cordoba Blue is
color web: 71adcb
CMYK: 55/19/12/0
Pantone: 7458C
RGB: 113/172/203

I then sent this bolder version of the cover to Jessica and she "LOVE!"ed it. She also "LUUUURRRRRVE IT!!!!" (which might be an Australian thing, I'm not sure, but her enthusiasm was inspiring!)

On March 16, I wondered and sent this note to Jessica: "I am not sure about it…just went and took a nap and looked at it again… I love the body. I like your color of blue. I could take or leave the pages on the floor. I am not sure about the 'neck'….I think we are closer but not there yet!" Jessica told me again that she was "in love with it." I agreed to stare at it more, but was preoccupied as our dog, Farley, had had major surgery on her back leg in February, required six weeks in a crate, and was still hobbling on three legs... and I was a bit stressed out. Here I am giving her some "mom love."

Jessica, Dawn (her publicist), and S. (her significant other) all loved the cover and Jessica loved the colors and guitar. I said I wanted to "fuss some more." I added black to the strings, black dots to the bridge and red to the keys and bridge. I also added a heart and added a section of darker blue at the top right of the background. The title was reduced in size slightly.

Jessica loved it and asked me to add "Tessa's" name to the bottom of the "I love Mommy" drawing so that it didn't look like the main character, Melody, had written it. I was happy to do that change. Also, I needed to change "Mommy" to "Mummy."

I made those changes and off went galleys to various parts of the world (Australia and England and India and Canada, oh my!) with the cover image above on the front.

Time went by…

Farley's leg healed…

Jessica worked on the CD…

Reviews came in!

I added Magdalena Ball's review on the front cover as well as a note about the CD, completed the rest of the cover and off to print! Here is the final version of the cover. Here is a snippet from Ms. Ball's review: "Jessica Bell's String Bridge is a powerful debut from a promising writer, full of music, metaphor, and just a hint of magic. "

WIN A FREE SIGNED PRINT OF THE GUITAR IMAGE FROM STRING BRIDGE!

Today, November 11, 2011, is Amazon Chart Rush day for String Bridge. Click on the Amazon link to purchase. If you do purchase a printed copy of the book, I will send you a free gift. A beautiful print out of the guitar image above on Epson Presentation Matte Paper, 44 lb, 8.5 x 11, signed and dated.

Note: This offer is limited to purchases made by U.S. residents on Amazon.com on November 11, 2011 ONLY and is limited to the first 15 folks to email the proper Amazon receipt.

What you need to do to get your free gift...

Purchase a copy of String Bridge using the link below:

Email to me (queries@janicephelps.com) a copy of your receipt dated Nov. 11, 2011 with Amazon showing the purchase. Be sure that on the Amazon receipt or within the body of the email, I am informed as to your mailing address. I will mail you the signed print of the guitar within 1 month; please allow time for mail delivery.

* I am the founder and publisher of Lucky Press, a traditional publishing company. Jessica submitted her query and manuscript to Lucky Press and I was the one who made the decision to publish it. I also design covers for other publishers and self-publishing authors as well as illustrate children's books. My graphic design website is: www.janicephelps.com

Learn more:
Link to String Bridge on Amazon.
Link to String Bridge on Barnes and Noble.
Buy from an independent bookstore using the following link to String Bridge: Shop Indie Bookstores

I have made the guitar image available on various items like T-shirts, Kindle/Nook/iPad/laptop covers, and more at www.cafepress.com/janicephelps.

Jessica Bell's blog: http://www.thealliterativeallomorph.blogspot.com/
Jessica Bell's website: http://www.jessicacbell.com/

Lucky Press: www.luckypress.com/jessicabell.com

Book Trailer on YouTube.com: http://youtu.be/Rv-hRMA0kqQ

Jessica's CD is available online in more than 150 on line distribution points worldwide (iTunes, we7.com, Amazon, Bleep, Juno, HMV, etc). See all points where you can buy here http://awal.com/services/distribution/

Artism Autism: Our Trip to New York City

2011-11-01T09:59:00.002-04:00

Last week was a fun, busy, and exciting week for our family.

My son, Bryce Merlin's, artwork was accepted into the Artism Autism show at the Soho Gallery for Digital Arts, curated by Debra Hosseini.

Artwork by many artists (from several countries) was included in the show. My husband, Mark, and I were happy to have the opportunity to drive to New York City and stay for several days. Jesse joined us, arriving from Philadelphia, so it was a family time as well. As Bryce's last (and only other) trip to NYC occurred on September 9 - 12, 2001 (see past blog post), it was extra sweet to take him there once again. (I had been back twice, in 2002 with Jesse and 2009 with Mark.)

Below is Bryce's self-portait, one of his two drawings accepted into the show.

Bryce is very interested in hair styles and often braids his hair. For a long time, he has wanted to have his hair professionally braided. So, as a special surprise, he and I went to Attractions Hair Salon in Athens the day before our trip and Vanessa braided Bryce's hair. She took great care and we were amazed at how even and perfect Bryce's braids looked when she finished, about an hour and a half later!

We celebrated by going to the diner across the street from the hair salon for lunch.

Later in the day we took Farley, Tyler, Jackie and Gracie to the vet's for boarding. Bryce got to see where our three dogs and one parrot stay when we are out of town and the good care they receive at "doggy camp."

The next morning (a Wednesday) Bryce, Mark and I left Athens about 7:30 a.m. for New York City. It was a cool, rainy day. It rained most of the way through Pennsylvania. But finally, about 7 p.m., just after dark, we arrived in NYC. Here is a photo of the Lincoln Tunnel. I have a bit of claustrophobia and taking photos helps to keep my mind off being in a tunnel! (Taken using the Hipstamatic app for iPhone.)

For some reason it took us twelve hours to drive from Athens to NYC. We had gone through a lot of heavy rain and made a few stops; and when we arrived on the outskirts of the city the traffic getting into the Lincoln Tunnel was really backed up. When we finally arrived in the city my mind felt a bit like the photo below!

But, I got a second wind and started see what I could take a photo of out the car window as Mark drove to the hotel.

I thought it would be very unusual to have the following scene be one's school crossing. Where we live there are more deer crossings than school crossings.

Bryce loves the lights and signs and energy of New York City.

We arrived at Hotel Elysee and had dinner at Cellini Restaurant. Bryce discovered he likes veal parmesan, having had a sample of Mark's dinner. His own choice was spaghetti and meatballs.

After a good night's sleep in our suite, we had breakfast at the hotel and then left on our first adventure... to see the Statue of Liberty. Ten years ago, on September 11, 2001, Bryce asked to see "the most beautiful lady in America" but our plans to see the statue from the observation area at the top of the World Trade Center were not to be. Now, at last, Bryce would see Lady Liberty for himself.

But first, Bryce's first ever ride in a taxi.

There was a very long line waiting to get on the ferry. It was still raining and was also cold. Umbrellas were everywhere as we waited in a serpentine line and then went through security, an example of organized chaos as potential visitors removed belts, jewelry, cell phones and all manner of metal from their persons and made their way through metal detectors. Whew! I was glad to be through that.

Once on the ferry, Bryce pointed out that it was his first ever ride on a big boat where you could feel the rocking motion. He looked a bit worried at first, but was A-OK. I was glad I'd brought the plastic poncho that had been in my car's glove compartment for, well, for the last two cars I've owned. I had brought it along and we covered the wet seat with it and were able to sit down. We were on the top of the three-deck ferry.

Here she is, coming into view!

Even with the rain and the cold and the mist, she was magnificent! As it turned out, the next day, October 28, 2011, was the Statue of Liberty's 125th birthday.

After our ferry ride, we were ready for hot coffee and lunch. So it was back into a taxi and on to Katz's Delicatessen. Mark has been to New York many times and knows the best places to eat!

Bryce ordered a soft salami sandwich with Swiss cheese. He liked it when the owner stopped by, asked where we were from, and explained that the deli had been founded in 1888.

Bryce noticed the salami hanging on the wall and thought we should purchase one to bring home for our Pekingese, Tyler. I told him we couldn't but that he could take a photo of the salami, so I handed him my camera and here is the result...

We knew that Jesse would be arriving soon, so called and asked him if we could bring a sandwich back to the hotel for him too. While it was being made, Bryce and I enjoyed splitting a piece of New York cheesecake. Yummy!

It was wonderful to see Jesse! We had a good visit, a rest and shower and then it was off to the Soho Gallery for Digital Arts. Here is a photo of Jesse and Bryce outside the entrance. The sign says "ARS Spectrum: The Artistic Autistic." It was to be a four-day event, though we were only able to stay for two days. The artwork will be up until November 5th.

Inside the gallery we saw the many large video screens which displayed artwork in a rotating fashion; about every several minutes a new piece of art would appear on the screen. Most of the works (prints) were priced at $95, with half going to the artist and half going to benefit a school for children with autism. John Ordover is the owner of the gallery.

Debra Hosseini and Bryce at the opening night of the Artism Autism show at the SoHo Gallery for Digital Arts. Debra is also the author of "The Art of Autism" (see cover below), which is available on Amazon or from www.artismtoday.com. A second edition of the book will be available soon and some of Bryce's work will be included!

FYI: Debra's son, Kevin Hosseini is a prolific painter who has been featured in film, newspaper and art books. His art is on display in many venues across the United States. In April 2011, Kevin was part of a

Neurodiversity Exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art of the Ukraine.

The photo below shows another work of Bryce's that appeared in the show. The gallery walls were white, but the lighting was subdued and I did not use a flash.

The photo below is of Bryce and his stepdad, Mark Williams.

Here is Bryce's self-portrait in the show.

Here is Joel Anderson's drawing of the Statue of Liberty.

After the show, we went to Gallagher's NY Prime Steakhouse. Here is a whole lot of steak, aging...

It was great being together at the restaurant, but our meal would have been more enjoyable if we hadn't been seated next to a large party of businessmen (and one woman) celebrating some event with many toasts and loud talking and laughing as they yelled from one end of the long table to another. (sigh) It was hard for me to hear, for us to hear, and I imagine also for Bryce as he wears a hearing aid that makes all sound come in at the same level.

Here are the staff… Gallagher's has been around since 1927 and the walls are covered with photographs.

Here is Jesse in the photo below; it was wonderful being together. (Jesse is the developer for Sidecar and is also on the continuing education faculty of Moore College of Art & Design and has been active in the Philly music scene as a DJ for several years and as a founding member of Stakeout Music.)

Below is a photo taken that evening after dinner, and you can see it is still cloudy and rainy.

We returned to our hotel and watched exciting Game 6 of the World Series.

The next day, Friday, we headed off to see the de Kooning exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art. Bryce was able to see the de Kooning exhibit and the wonderful, expressive colors, lines and shapes within his work. It was tiring for him, though, and Mark sat with him in view of Andrew Wyeth's Christina's World, while Jesse and I explored the fifth floor galleries.

It was wonderful to walk with Jesse through rooms full of famous paintings I'd previously seen only in books and prints: Picasso, Leger, Hopper, Wyeth, Van Gogh…

We only touched the surface of the masterpieces there for all to see. It was bittersweet to walk out when part of me wanted to stay there all day just taking it all in. But I told myself MoMa will be there when I return for a more leisurely stroll through her many wonderful galleries. If you'd like to explore the museum, but can't make it to New York, check out this link for a virtual tour.

For lunch, Mark took us to a wonderful restaurant, Papillon. Bryce enjoyed a big bowl of macaroni and cheese and I caught his Impressionistic-like reflection in a foiled mirror. The white lines at the top are fake spider webs, which were part of the decorations for Halloween.

After lunch, we returned to the hotel for a rest, then made our way to SoHo for dinner and a performance event at SGDA gallery.

We had a lovely dinner at Blue Ribbon. The table was small for the four of us, but the service, atmosphere, and food were all wonderful. Bryce enjoyed the ribs and chicken wing appetizers that he was able to grill over a flame right at the table. I loved the Shrimp Provencal. (Here's their menu.)

"Brothers, chefs and restaurateurs Bruce and Eric Bromberg have set culinary trends and ignited passions for almost 20 years, most notably as founders and guiding forces behind the Blue Ribbon Restaurants Group. In their early twenties, Bruce and Eric Bromberg each attended Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, graduating with the highest honors with Eric holding the distinction of being the first American to teach classes at the prestigious school."

After dinner, we walked down the street to the gallery. Keri Bowers of Normal Films (co-director with Taylor Cross of the film "Normal People Scare Me") organizes performances by talented children and adults on the autism spectrum. We went downstairs in the gallery to a performance area and were happy to have the opportunity to see talents beyond visual arts as folks on the autism spectrum performed. There were comedians, pianists, singers… Sybelle Silverphoenix sang "Bad Reputation"; Taylor Cross performed a wonderful monologue. Amy Gravino (who you will see in the film link above) recently attained her master's degree, and she read a short story about a first french kiss. It was an outstanding piece of writing. In the film (from a few years ago) she stated she wanted to be a writer… Amy, you really are a very good writer! Tom Ryan played the guitar and sang two original songs: the first was called "The Hard Way." The second, I didn't catch the title, but as Mark pointed out later, if it was professionally produced it would be at the top of the charts. I agree!

The sound system was challenging and there were more people than chairs, but the latter is a good thing and I'm sure the former will be improved upon. I had tears in my eyes more than once and when I looked at Bryce he was intently watching and listening to everything.

We returned to our hotel with many happy memories of the day and evening…and to watch the last game in the World Series before heading off to dreamland and the next day's drive back to Ohio. But first, a word from the meteorologist. A BIG SNOW STORM was headed our way! We said our goodbyes to Jesse (sigh and sniffle on my part) and the next morning quickly packed up and headed out. Leaving New York City was easier than getting in had been a few days earlier, and soon we were in New Jersey and then Pennsylvania and here is what it looked like on our drive through Pennsylvania.

When one has their own business, albeit a small business (Lucky Press), snafus come up even while you're on vacation. That's why iPhones and iPads were invented. I was able to check email, check problems on Amazon, check in with an anxious author who was looking forward to a Nov. 1st book launch and finding Amazon had the wrong cover image up!… I was able to check the GPS to see where on the PA turnpike our car was… and able to take the photo below and upload it to Facebook. (I was doing all these fun things while Mark was driving. He's from Cleveland and is not fazed by snowy weather. I, on the other hand, spent 17 years in Florida and am not happy to drive in the snow.)

Are you curious about Lucky Press's book launch, which takes place TODAY? Here is a link for more information on Jessica Bell's wonderful book (and accompanying CD soundtrack), String Bridge.

We were happy to enter Ohio and find the sun shining through clouds, the trees in the last glorious colors of autumn and a light rain starting as we made our way to Marietta where we stopped for dinner. Then it was past the lights of various power plants on Rt 7 as we headed to Athens. Of course, as soon as we were near our fair city, home of Ohio University, we noticed several police cars pulling people over… Lucky for me (as I was now driving) I was utilizing the cruise control feature on Mark's car!

MORE INFORMATION:

The Art of Autism Exhibit will run from November 4 – 6 at the Good Purpose Gallery in Lee, Massachusetts. (Click here for more information.)
Friend Bryce Merlin, artist, on Facebook.
See Bryce's work on T-shirts and more at Cafe Press.
Friend Appalachian Morning on Facebook.
Friend Keri Bowers on Facebook.
Friend The Art of Autism on Facebook.
Friend the SoHo Gallery for Digital Arts on Facebook.
Friend Kevin Hosseini on Facebook.
Subscribe to Appalachian Morning Creativity Blog

Pay It Forward Blogfest - Oct. 14, 2011

2011-10-14T08:14:00.001-04:00

Today, I'd like to share with you links to 3 of my favorite blogs. Thank you, Jessica Bell, for mentioning Appalachian Morning on your blog and Matthew MacNish for the info on how to participate in this Pay It Forward Blogfest.

Note: I love every one of the Lucky Press authors' blogs, so in the interest of fairness am excluding them from consideration on the list below, as well as any of my wonderful freelance clients. If you want to see their blogs, you can find the complete list at this link and freelance clients under "client list" or "references" at this link.

1. Art-related blog: Drawn "Your daily source of inspiration for illustration, animation, cartooning, and comic art." This blog was responsible for my recent purchase of the entire set of Famous Artist School books on ebay!

2. Photography-related: CyberKen "Here you will find easy-to-understand articles and videos about inexpensive and in most cases free tools for Web productivity." I love the way Thomas C. Davis explains things and offers tips.

3. Writing/Book-related: Rachel Simon The author of "The Story of Beautiful Girl," "The House on Teacher's Lane," and "Riding the Bus with My Sister," shares generously with published-writers-to-be, readers, and people interested in the disabilities and sibling communities about writing, marketing, speaking, disabilities, and basically the ins and outs of a busy, successful writer's life. Rachel's blog is inspirational and informative.

The Art of Autism and a NYC Show!

2011-09-22T08:58:00.001-04:00

"Fast Food" by Bryce Merlin

Self-Portrait by Bryce Merlin

We are excited as our family plans to meet in NYC at the SoHo Digital Arts Gallery for "The Art of Autism" show on October 27, 2011 (6-9 pm) and a special performance event and film showing on the 28th. My son, Bryce Merlin (age 30), has had four drawings accepted into the show, organized by Debra Hosseini, author of "Artism: The Art of Autism," SoHo Digital Arts Gallery, and Keri Bowers of Normal Films. Other wonderful artists will be there as well, from the U.S. and other countries such as Israel and Morocco.

Like everyone on the face of the earth, Bryce has experienced challenges. He has strengths and weaknesses, dreams, and ideas. He is himself and all that brings, surprising those he meets with his creativity, persistence, and approach. Bryce also faces obvious hurdles as he navigates through life in yellow glasses, yellow hearing aid, yellow shoes and a hand-painted T-shirt featuring Sponge Bob Squarepants. He is friendly, verbal, and colorful. (We are in discussion on what to wear while in New York. Since his only other visit there was on September 9 - 12, 2001, this 10-year anniversary visit is going to be extra special to our family.)

Here is more information on the gallery show/event and Outsider Art:

Artism: The Art of Autism
By Debra Hosseini

ARTISM: The Art of Autism

Opening Reception Thursday, October 27th, 2011 6pm – 9pm

SoHo Gallery for Digital Art

138 Sullivan St., New York, NY 10012

(212) 228-2810

About The Art of Autism and Debra Hosseini

Visit Debra's page on Facebook

Artism: The Art of Autism compiled by Debra Hosseini, edited by Rosa Martinez, Ph.D, with a foreword by Karen Simmons, CEO of Autism Today and Keri Bowers, film producer. This book features 54 artists on the autism spectrum and essays by Dr. Darold Treffert, Stephen Shore, and Colin Zimbleman on autism and art.

About the Special Performance Event on Oct. 28, 2011:

Keri Bowers of Normal Films

“The Art of Autism is a multi-city tour featuring performers on the autism spectrum - bands, dance, comedy, monologues, artists.”

Friday, October 28: 6-10 p.m. at The SoHo Gallery for Digital Art

About the Gallery:

"SoHo Gallery for Digital Art is dedicated to re-establishing SoHo as an international center for the development of new artistic forms, concepts and ideas.” John Ordover, owner. Learn more here.

About Bryce Merlin:

In 2005, Bryce received a grant from the Ohio Arts Council toward production of a book of his stories and artwork: Notes from Ohio. It is 64 pages and available on Amazon for $6, with all sales revenue going directly to Bryce.

“To say that this book is inspiring is an understatement. I was moved to tears by Bryce's faith, passion and desire to give hope to others. The book is filled with a collage of captivating stories told directly from Bryce's big heart. You will find adventure, love and even laughter through his experiences. In addition to his essays, Bryce shares his artwork and photos of he and his family celebrating life. Notes from Ohio is a touching, heartfelt read that is guaranteed to lift anyone's spirits! Bryce is a beacon of hope for young people everywhere.”

~Melissa Kline, author of young adult fiction, My Beginning

About Outsider Art:

“Learning about Outsider Art” (June 2009)

“Michael Jackson Drawings” (July 2009)

Links to My Favorite Outsider Art Links (on My Delicious)

"Mom" by Bryce Merlin

A Pumpkin Is Frightened, a Person Dies

2011-09-18T17:07:00.001-04:00

Last October a writers' group on Facebook gave a prompt for a story that began with a pumpkin. I wrote a few lines and that prompt planted a seed and a few days later I learned of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), held every November. I decided to participate and a few paragraphs about a pumpkin that witnessed a suicide became the start of the first draft of "The Memory Tree" a novel about two brothers, a robbery, and the Athens Lunatic Asylum. I reached the NaNoWriMo goal of 50,000 words within 30 days, but then the story languished on my computer. Recently, I began looking closer at three novels I had in various stages of completion, trying to discern which to finish and submit, after a lot of work, to an agent. In looking at the following paragraphs as they are in "The Memory Tree," I am not sure if they will make the final cut, because the book takes place in 1939-1941 and this scene is from the mid 1990s.

Last night I read it again and thought, well, maybe it can be a story for the blog and so I offer it here. In memory of Allie Dickinson, who died much too soon.

PUMPKIN

by Janice Phelps Williams

A woman called Erin picked me and four other pumpkins off the back of a truck one Saturday morning, loaded us into the trunk of her car, and off we went to her home, a house that smelled like cinnamon, cigarette smoke, and hot cider. There were a lot of decorations as well as stencils, knives, markers, candles. The dining room table was covered with a vinyl cloth and music filled the house.

After a bath in the sink, Erin dried me with a kitchen towel and placed me on the wooden table next to the others, ready for my destiny. Her hands were strong and I felt like something good was happening to me.

Soon, I had a mouth, eyes, a nose, a lid, a candle. When the candle was lit, late in the evening when the party was well underway, the scent of warm pumpkin wafted through the dining room and into the living room where Erin had hidden a gun under the fish tank there. It was her spare gun and you might wonder why a woman needs one gun, let alone a spare. But she did, she needed it for something.

The next morning when the guests had gone home and Erin's boots laid on their sides over the register in the kitchen floor, warm, gas-heated air drying bits of pumpkin pulp on one heel, Erin slept fitfully on the couch.

She drank too much Black Velvet, always. Though recently she'd tried her best to quit altogether. There were not enough cigarettes to smoke that desire away. Her favorite place to be was a neighborhood bar with a small dance floor where she wooed other women with her attentive blue eyes. Everything would be wonderful for a few months, maybe even a year, then "hell in a hand basket" was an appropriate cliche for the relationship's turn. There were a lot of empty baskets in Erin's closet.

Her wood frame two-story house, ninety years old but renovated and quaint, had windows that faced the Ridges, a hill above the town where the state mental hospital had been built in the late 1800s. In winter she could see the top of the buildings there, silent now since the asylum had closed years earlier. I couldn't see all this from the front porch, and that is where I was placed.

When Halloween had come and gone, Erin kept celebrating with friends, then alone. She drank on Sunday and on Monday called off work. She called in on Tuesday, and I think it was a good job she had too...said there was a family emergency. Said she needed to use a few of her vacation days.

Wednesday night she went down to the liquor store and bought two more bottles of Black Velvet and two six-packs of beer, then came home and called her niece in Illinois, a college friend in Sedona, and Liz. I could hear her voice through the window, talking on the phone.

At two a.m. the candle that had burned inside of me all evening was finally spent and extinguished itself in the tiny foil cup at its bottom; my face went dark and I, too, went to sleep until the plopping sound of the Dispatch woke me in the morning of my last day as a jack o’lantern.

I had been surprised that morning by the woman who delivered the newspaper each day, and I liked watching for her. She's light-skinned and fat and wears a pink sweatshirt and a turquoise crocheted cap. I think she looks like a happy icing-with-sprinkles donut, her rusty old Honda sputtering along the street. That's when I wake up and start looking forward to the entire day and the lighting of my candle at night.

Anyway, about nine in the morning I started to wonder if Erin was going to miss work again. There were no sounds at all from inside the house. Then a white car pulled up to the curb and two policemen got out.

"We'll just knock on the door and make sure she's all right," said one.

"Seems a bit silly. Checking on a woman for being drunk," said the other.

"Yeah, but her friend said there was a gunshot."

I heard them pounding on the front door, then one peeked into the living room window. He noticed the antique instruments hanging on the wall, then Erin sprawled out on the couch.

"Ms. Stewart?" he yelled tapping on the window. "Ms. Stewart, I need you to come to the door."

It took her a while, but she made her way to the wooden door. It was the original door to this house and last year she'd lovingly refinished it. Polished and warm, it was the entrance to every room in her house, literally and metaphorically. Oh, how smart I am for a pumpkin, you might wonder. If a pumpkin cannot speak in October, or November such as it is now, then there is no magic anywhere anymore.

"Ma'am, we got a call from one of your friends and just wanted to check and make sure everything is okay. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine, you can see that can't ya?" Erin didn't sound like the woman who picked me out of the pumpkins; like the woman who gave the carving party; like the woman, even, she'd been the night before. When I was carved out to be a jack o'lantern, a light was put inside of me and I glowed, realizing my true destiny at last. But Erin sounded as if she'd had her insides carved out as well, with no illumination, no destiny, no future to look forward to. I know, now, this is the sound of hopelessness.

"Your friend suggested you might want to check into the mental health center for a few days. She's concerned about your safety. Are you a danger to yourself or others?"

"No, I'm not. It's not against the law to have a drink is it? Get the hell off my porch!" The wooden door slammed hard, a window pane cracked. The wooden slats on the front porch floor shook a bit and my vine-topped cap jiggled slightly.

"What do you want to do now?" one cop said.

"Not much we can do; she's got a right to be wasted. Let’s go."

Nothing was making sense to me and a weird feeling seemed to sprout within the little of me there was left inside. A feeling of fear and dread.

Around noon a car pulled up. I recognized the car because it was Erin's friend from the pumpkin-carving party. Stacey had a man with her, someone I'd never seen before. She also had a key to the front door and soon they were inside, then I heard voices. Erin's voice, slurred then angry. Then soft talking.

"Erin, we're worried about you. We love you. Please, let us take you to the hospital for some help. Just for a few days, just to be safe. Please."

"I'mrrrr okay," Erin said.

"No, you're not okay. It's not safe for you to stay here by yourself. You need help, please...you are my best friend, please let me help you."

"Go awwwaayh."

"Erin," the man's voice said. "You know you need to do this. You need help, just go with us this one time. Trust us, okay."

This talk went on quite a while. Two calm voices pleading, Erin's slurred voice saying no. Louder voices.

"Okay, I'll go," Erin finally said. "Let me take care of a few things. I think I need some coffee . . ."

"I'll make it for you, you get ready," Stacey said. She went into the kitchen, the warm, inviting kitchen where we'd had our Halloween time just a few weeks earlier. The scene of so much fun.

The man followed her into the kitchen, I guess, because the living room was silent now. I didn't see Erin go over to her aquarium to feed her fish, but I heard about it later. She opened the cabinet door underneath the tank and retrieved her gun. Soon, the front door opened and she came out onto the porch, her steps determined and quick.

Across the wooden floorboards and down the concrete steps to the walk that led to more steps and the sidewalk. By that time the man had opened the front door as well. "Stacey!" he called to the woman inside. "She's got a gun!" He could see it held tightly in Erin's hand against her hip as an old woman would clutch her vinyl purse close to her, keeping it from would-be snatchers.

Cowboy boots on, Erin stepped off the curb and into the street, which ended abruptly before a wooded area.

"Erin! Come on back, let's talk!" the man called out.

"Erin! Erin! Come back, come here, where're you going?" Stacey, who had run out the front door, called, her voice shrill and anxious, the heels of her leather boots sticking in the grass as she hurried toward her friend.

Erin turned and pointed the gun at the man. "Stay back," she said. Then, very quickly and right in front of my triangle eyes, she put the gun to her head and pulled the trigger. Her body crumpled and twitched on the asphalt like a rabbit Mr. Boyd shot on the farm, then gave to his wife to make a Sunday stew.

Stacey wailed and cried and held her friend's head in her lap. The man muttered and swore and yelled and pulled a phone from his pocket to call for help. But it was too late, she was gone, her spirit lifting quickly above the street, above the trees, above my point of view. Higher and higher it went until it merged with the gray clouds and became a part of them in a way that would forever bring to Stacey's mind thoughts of gray November days.

I knew my candle would never be lit again and sadness replaced every happy memory I had cherished. Sorrow and shock and grief went through me, around me, under me and within. My spirit caved in on itself, like an old hotel imploding, all sense of former revelry extinguished in a burst of dust and brokenness.

The couple who lived across the street hurried out to see if they could help. They'd been invited to a party Erin had held during the OSU-Michigan football game last year and were hoping to attend this year as well. Their youngest son had recently left home for the University of Pennsylvania, and they were having trouble adjusting to an empty home. Erin had a diverse group of friends and the Mason's enjoyed themselves. But now here she was on the street, still. What the hell?

Mr. Mason went to the man's side just as a police car pulled up, then an ambulance. A paramedic rushed to Erin's body and confirmed what everyone knew. She was dead. So was I, but I'm only a small pumpkin and can be thrown out in the trash, forgotten immediately and soon rotting in a landfill, my dreams of Halloween and my light gone forever.

My last thought was the memory of being held in Erin’s hands. I felt this mixture of wonder and safety and destiny as she carried me from the table at the farmers’ market to the back of her car, those first moments suspended in the air, like a bird or a cloud, feeling lighter than I ever had. Anything could happen.

# # #

Note:

“Pumpkin” is a work of fiction, but is based on the suicide of a friend of mine, a woman who shot herself in front of her brother and best friend, in the street, just as the fictional Erin did. It was a horrible event and her death was mourned by many, many friends who loved her and her enthusiasm for Halloween and pumpkin carving.

The publishing company I founded, Lucky Press, published a book this year by a poet whose adult son, suffering from bipolar disorder, committed suicide. Madeline Sharples’ memoir is “Leaving the Hall Light On” and you can find it at Amazon and at other online and in-store booksellers.

You may hear Paul Sharples wonderful jazz piano music at THIS LINK.

Madeline Sharples will be participating in a fund-raising walk/run for Didi Hirsch Mental Health Center in Los Angeles, California Sept. 25, 2011. Here is A LINK for more information or to make a donation to help those who suffer from depression and mental illness .

DICTIONEERIE

2011-09-15T07:41:00.005-04:00

Years ago, before Blogger, Google, Facebook, Open Salon, and Twitter… before I owned a cell phone, an HD TV, a Kindle, a Nook, and a laptop… before I owned a COMPUTER… I had the idea for a cartoon series that would highlight unfamiliar words. I would call it "Dictioneerie."

I didn't need present-day technology to give me a short attention span… within a week I had gone onto other bright ideas (immersion in the book business was still a ways off). But, since I have a difficult time throwing away any piece of paper, a file folder has traveled with me from Florida to Columbus to Athens… and now, thanks to the remarkable miracle of scanners and the Internet, I present to you a few frames of Dictioneerie!

Dancing after September 11th

2011-09-09T08:48:00.004-04:00

This will be an unusually short post for me today because I have to go out and about and do a lot of things, some responsible things, a few fun things, and along with those activities will come the process of remembering and giving thanks for life.

It is important to honor those who died on September 11th; to remember them, to mourn them, to celebrate them. I did not lose a loved one on 9/11. I can only muse on our family's luck that day, the thankfulness I feel for the decade since, and the empathy I feel for those who must think 9/11 was both "last week" and a lifetime ago.

I was in NYC on 9/11 with my sister, Joan Phelps, and my son, Bryce. You can read a post I wrote about that day AT THIS LINK.

When Osama bin Laden was found and killed this year, I thought more about those who died on 9/11. The blogpost I wrote this past May on that event "Justice on May 1" is AT THIS LINK.

The photo above was taken on Sept. 9, 2001. Bryce is looking at a souvenir he's just bought and Joan is in the photo too. We had gone to NYC to meet with Publisher's Weekly and to see Michael Jackson's 30th anniversary concert on 9/10. The concert was incredible and you can get a sense of the sounds and excitement at this YouTube clip.

Here is Bryce earlier in the day, on 9/10/01 in Central Park.

A week after 9/11, we were back in Ohio and the nursing home where Bryce lives has an annual Sept. family cook-out with an Elvis impersonator. Joan and I were there and in 10 days we'd gone from Michael Jackson in Madison Square Garden to the sorrow and shock of 9/11 to a week of nonstop terror attack coverage to a small parking lot in Ohio where we were invited to dance. We did and this photo captures that moment.

This week a wonderful opportunity arose for Bryce; 4 of his drawings have been accepted into a show on The Art of Autism in the Soho Gallery of Digital Arts in NYC on October 27, 2011 and running for 3 weeks. We are taking him there, his second trip to NYC, and so different than our first. I'm going to visit him today and tell him about the show, about our upcoming trip, about how life holds suffering and sadness but also joy and surprise and love. (I will post more about this event soon.)

As you move through the coming days, if sorrow wraps itself around your heart, I hope you will be able to come through the other side of that sorrow and find a sprout of happiness that can grow within you to become a future that will honor life and those who now exist only through our choices and memories.

"A poem as lovely…"

2011-08-23T13:30:00.026-04:00

(Note: This blog post may also be found at www.appalachianmorning.blogspot.com.)

The older I get the more I love trees and the more photographs I seem to take of them. They crop up everywhere, these photos of trees. When I travel, I notice the architecture, the artwork, the people, the climate, the food -- but what I notice most of all are the trees.

When winter presses glaring whiteness against every window in our house, it is the trees I notice first -- their ink-like branch-strokes creating veins and arteries against the light grey February sky or their ice-covered bark holding on against weight and gravity or snapping like gunshots in the woods behind our place. (See photo below of the view from our kitchen window in the wintertime.)

When I remember being a little girl, my happiest afternoons were summers spent in the shade of a tall tree, on a blanket, playing with dolls. Here I am at age 10 picking oranges from the tree in my grandparents' yard in Bradenton, Florida.

In high school, my parents and I moved into a new house in northeastern Ohio, right on the Pennsylvania border, and my dad promptly set about transplanting small trees from nearby woods into our yard. By the time I was off to college, he had quite a nice, park-like backyard. He and Mom would rest in the hammock there, looking up at the trees. Here is Dad in 1982, with my eldest child, Bryce…introducing him to the joys of lawn care.

When I was nineteen and everything seemed to be before me, I stood at the top of Blanket Hill at Kent State and roll…roll...rolled down the leaf-strewn grass, passing trees who were teenagers also.

As a young mother in Sarasota, Florida, I took my sons, an old sheet, and some snacks and off we would go to the grounds of the Ringling Mansion. (Now, you can't just drive back to the grounds and wander aimlessly, but then you could.) There was a huge banyan tree there and that's where we'd sit and look out at the Intracoastal Waterway, the sail- and motorboats passing by, the pink stone facade of John Ringling's house so near we could almost pretend it was our house too. Here is a photo of us there, in 1984! Jesse is on the left and Bryce is on the right.

I went through a period of years where I didn't think much about trees; there were more pressing matters and, after all, trees always seem to be around when you get back to noticing them. They are patient that way. Eventually, though, I ended up back in Ohio in an old two-story house with a bedroom window that looked right out onto the boughs of a huge maple tree. When we moved there in March 1999, nothing much was happening, leaf-wise, but soon the buds, then leaves appeared, and then the morning bird sounds broke through the silence of cold winter nights, and I loved it so much that I knelt beside the open window at dusk, my heart filled with thankfulness at all the good that was in my life, even though when I look back on it now, I realize life was more than a little difficult. Maybe that's why the steadfast beauty of a big tree meant so much.

So, here are some of my tree photos, in no particular order. There will be subsequent tree posts, because I have so many photos and continue to take even more. At one time I kept an album of tree photos, thinking one day I would do a large painting and all these photos would come in handy. But now I just want the photos, and in many cases the stories that go with the trees that are in them.

AUTUMN

The bright tree above is what we see out of our kitchen window in the fall. There is our bird feeder with the visiting goldfinches.

Above is the view of the road at the top of our street. I drive this way to go to the post office to pick up business mail. Ah…what a pleasant drive!

WINTER

I feel sad when the beautiful autumn leaves fall to the ground, wither and die. The trees seem so stoic…they know what is coming. They are ready. I am not.

In our backyard, in the winter, the bare trees reveal the most beautiful sunrises I've ever seen (below).

On the same morning I was standing out in the backyard in my robe, camera in hand, taking the photo above, I began to hear loud scurrying sounds among the branches. This tree, below, was acting as an early morning freeway system for a slew of squirrels who were chasing each other along the thicker branches, as if they'd already been hyped up on coffee for an hour or so.

Sometimes in the winter, I can look up to the skylight in our kitchen and see the blue sky and the silvery branches of a tall tree covered with ice. I dwell in a wonderland.

Years ago, the year the Tsunami hit Indonesia, we had an ice storm in Ohio. It was just after Christmas, and I had a very simple point-and-shoot camera at that time. After taking my son, Bryce, back to his home, I stopped to take many photos of the frozen trees. The photo below is not "Photoshopped" this is exactly how it (and many others) came out that day. When I got home, I learned of the tsunami. So, these photos also remind me of how beautiful, but how cruel and random the natural world can be.

I like the photo below of the woods in our backyard because it looks like something scary might happen at any minute…but not too frightening, just a little bit frightening…and then you drink hot chocolate with marshmallows!

You'll think less of my intellectual capabilities when you hear a story about the photo above. One day I noticed many robins flying to this tree, which is near our front door. All morning long, they came, landing on the branches, then flying to nearby trees, then back to the branches. Dozens of them. I thought it was some weird bird thing. Perhaps they'd been confused by a recent snowstorm… What was going on? Then I noticed all the berries were gone.

DUH!

Some trees are meant to decorate our homes. Here is Gracie admiring a tree that comes once every year and lives inside of our house. It is not a real tree, but she still seems to like it!
Above: Here is another photo taken the day of the ice storm. I wonder if the ground has what is called "hoarfrost" on it…? I should look that up!

SPRING

I love the way trees look when their leaves are just starting to emerge. They remind me of lace…like a Victorian beauty in fancy, somewhat transparent layers of pale fabric. I love seeing the branches through the tender, young leaves.

Perhaps I am easy to impress, but thinking about all the wonderful things trees can do and be fills me with wonder: flowers, fruit, nuts, shade, wood to use in hundreds of ways… And they live for hundreds of years!

Sometimes, you can find beautiful trees in unexpected places. The pink flowering tree below was located right next to the voice box at a busy drive-thru in a commercial area. Always keep a camera in your car, and you'll be surprised how many photo opportunities present themselves!

SUMMER

It seems some weird time trick to me, the time period when trees seem to have a few small leaves then suddenly all the leaves are out and summer is here. One time we went away for a few days and returned to find summer had returned full force. I am always a bit surprised by summer in southern Ohio. I think it is going to be a bit cooler and more comfortable than it is. But, before you know it, heat and humidity descend and my Florida relatives are telling me it is cooler in Bradenton than in Athens. The trees do their best to offer shade, but it's still hot, and I confess to looking at trees through the window much more than seems right.

Here is little Tyler, above, letting me know he loves the outdoors and can lead me right to the best places.

Guess where this tree, above, is at? (see below for answer)

Here is our backyard in the summertime. Everything is green, green, green. Strangely enough, while I love trees, green is not my favorite color. I even feel at times it is a bit oppressive and claustrophobic. I can only go so far into these woods without feeling too closed in. I prefer to walk here in the spring and fall.

My father loved to plant trees. In the yard where I grew up, he planted several trees in the front yard. (Actually, he planted them when I was just a baby.) There are photos of me as a girl with these trees. Last year, my mother and I drove back to see the house and yard and, yowzah!, the trees were humongous. They hid the entire front of the house. This (above) is a view from down the street of our old front yard (past the stop sign) and you can see four of the tall trees my father planted fifty years, or so, ago. At every house we had lived in we saw the trees my father had planted. I wrote a blog article about it, and you can read it here and see more photos: http://appalachianmorning.blogspot.com/2010/07/at-each-home-towering-tree.html

Mark and I went to New Orleans earlier this year, and the lovely tree above lives in the Garden District.

In New Orleans, we ate at the Court of Two Sisters, which had a delightful outdoor patio. There were many table umbrellas, but in one area over a fountain, the trees provided a natural canopy (above).
In the photo above, you can see a tree that lives along the Athens (OH) bike trail, right near the Ohio University football stadium (in background). This isn't a very good photo, but I love the shape of this tree.
Here is Ash Cave in Logan, Ohio. I like the graceful trees that keep it company, provide shade for visitors, and also add soft, green foliage to contrast with the hard, large expanses of rock.

One morning I was working at my desk and looked out the window and this is what I saw.

In the remaining days of summer, grab a camera and take a few photographs of trees. Email them to me at "art at janicephelps dot com" and I will share them on a future blog post.

And where was the mystery photo taken? St. Lucia!

Gravestones, Butterflies, and Soup!

2011-08-18T08:40:00.035-04:00

Photographs are taking an ever-more important place in my life; perhaps they are in yours as well. I'm talking about photographs that I've taken of events, people, and scenes in my life--for better or worse, they are the "proof of life" for me.

Four things have led to this increased documentation: 1) my husband bought me a great camera for Christmas in 2009; 2) my son, Jesse, has a similar camera and shares tips with me; 3) I began attending a workshop once a month where several women get together to work on scrapbooks and talk photos and family; 4) there is so much to see in the world and I want to remember the scenes, events, and people who are so important to me.

I now take photos on my Canon Rebel, iPhone, a small Cannon Powershot that I keep in my purse, and a Diana+ camera. When we go on vacation, I want to take them all! The room I save by bringing my books on an e-reader is now lost to cameras… hmmmm….

Anyway, this morning I went through and picked out a few of my favorite photos thus far this year. They aren't necessarily the best photos, but they are the ones that have meaning for me. Here they are with short descriptions…

In February, Jesse visited and, when out for a drive, we stopped at a small cemetery that held the remains of soldiers of the American Revolution, War of 1812, and Civil War. It was very meaningful to me to take photos there with my son. Later in the year, I joined ancestry.com and began researching our family history. This has been a wonderful project, full of interesting surprises.

In 2010, Mark and I ate at L'Albatross in University Circle area of Cleveland, Ohio. I had squash soup and it was the best soup I'd ever had in my whole life. So delicious that at the performance of the Cleveland Orchestra later that night, I kept thinking about the soup. I longed to have more! So, this past February I found a recipe and made squash soup and, yes, it was every bit as good. This was also during Jesse's visit and he advised me to take photos of food from the side, a little above the side, rather than straight down. It was a very helpful tip!

Jesse recommended Joe McNally's book to me, and I purchased LIFE Guide to Digital Photography and learned to adjust the F-stop and ISO settings, and turn off the flash. I also got better at setting up the tripod.

I love trees and luckily have scores of them nearby to look at and photograph. I liked the thinner trunk winding against this stronger trunk, and the photo looks better in black and white.

On a very cold March day, this little bird waited patiently for his turn at the bird feeder. After taking several blurry photos, I broke down and got out the tripod and told myself I just must use it straight away next time, and get quick at setting it up, like those soldiers who can assemble their rifles in a few seconds!

Another tree photo: I love the way the branches look like lace against the sky. This is my favorite tree in our yard.

Before the leaves returned to our trees, we went to New Orleans. I had recently learned I could take photos from the plane! Here is one using the "fish eye" option on the Powershot.

One of my favorite photos from New Orleans. I can look at this and immediately remember everything about being at Cafe Du Monde!

In New Orleans I purchased several toy horses. I love the way they look here on the hotel windowsill.

In Cleveland, near Beachwood, we stopped at sunrise to get gas. I like the emptiness of the scene above.

Just before spring, one of my favorite local restaurants burnt to the ground: The Coffee Cup, in Nelsonville, Ohio. It had been around for decades. These dishes sat outside for many weeks and I stopped one day and took a photo.

Our parrot, Gracie, loves to watch soccer. We had a great time watching the Women's World Cup this year.

Twice a month I pass through central Ohio where the land is quite flat and dotted with these huge pylons. I've taken photos of them in many seasons. A friend on Facebook asked for pylon photos from around the world for a boy who collects them. I sent this one. I then learned that there are many people who are enthusiastic about pylons. Who knew?!
I love to take photos of trees. This photo means something special to me because it is one offshoot of a much larger tree, which fell recently during a storm. That's why there are so few branches on the near side of this trunk; the other tree was right there. This tree still stands, hopeful and flexible. I also read "A Widow's Story" by Joyce Carol Oates this year and this tree reminds me of her.

I learned from Jesse and Kim Austin about the Hipstamatic app for iPhone. Here is a photo, above, of Mary B's in Parkersburg, WV.

I also learned that when I can't get the camera to do something I want it to do, that I likely haven't learned enough about the settings, such as the sports setting. It enabled me to capture this butterfly's fast moving wings. I was so entranced with the many photos I took of her, that it was only yesterday I realized she is injured; part of her left wing is missing!

The photo above was taken on my last drive across central Ohio on an overcast Saturday morning. There are still 4 months left to the year, and many more photos to take!

Have a great weekend,

Janice

All There Is To See: Museum Photographs

2011-08-14T08:03:00.029-04:00

Last night at dinner, Mark and I were discussing cities we would like to visit in the future. Mark has done extensive traveling throughout his life, I have not. We would like to take one real vacation each year (in addition to "staycations" which I also like), and I'm a planner, so…

Some on our brainstorming list: Edinburgh, Scotland; San Juan, Puerto Rico (again); Buenos Aires, Argentina (again for him, first time for me); Washington DC (again); Atlanta (again, Mark lived there for a while); San Francisco (neither of us have been to California, how can that be!); somewhere in Ireland; London (again for Mark), and also our regular trip each year to Philadelphia and a nod to NYC where we have visited separately and together in the past.

So, we were talking about the pros and cons of various places and how we would like to spend our time while away. I said I would like to visit the National Gallery of Art again as well as the Museum of Modern Art in Buenos Aires (they just had a 15 million dollar rennovation) and also the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC.

I got to thinking about the museums I've visited and photos taken, and thought it would be fun to share them with you. (I always ask for permission, or a definition of the museum's rules, before taking photos.) I'm sorry I don't know the artist or date on some of these pieces, but perhaps you will enjoy seeing them anyway.

METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, NEW YORK

Above: Paul Klee

Above: Marc Chagall

Above: Balthus. French, 1908-2001. "Lelia Caetani, 1935" Oil on canvas

Above: Jean Dubuffet. French, 1901-1985 "Woman Grinding Coffee" 1945

(Plaster, oil and tar with sand on canvas)

Above: Charles Demuth (1883-1935)

"The Figure 5 in Gold"

PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART

Claude Monet

MUSEUM OF ART: CANTON, OHIO

PENN MUSEUM: UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA MUSEUM OF ARCHEOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY, PHILADELPHIA, PA.

The Endearing Katydid

2011-08-08T05:00:00.002-04:00

One afternoon last week, Mark said there was a katydid on the sliding glass door in his office. Well, it took no convincing at all for me to leave the fascinating world of small publishing to investigate a large bug that masquerades as a green leaf. Little did I know, how endearing this little creature would seem to be.

I grabbed my "big" camera, a Canon EOS Digital Rebel (nothing fancy to you photographers out there, I'm sure, but the best camera I've ever owned…I am in love with it), and scuttled into "Shakes, Shivers, and Dithers' " domain, parking myself on the floor in front of the glass.

Katydid had no idea she was there to teach me the finer points of the "M" setting on my camera and how to use f-stop and ISO more effectively, without losing my cool. There was no way to get what I wanted without fussing extensively with the settings, and then when I did get the light right (what did people do before digital cameras?) I had issues with the focus. And then I remembered the manual focus switch near the lens, which my son, Jesse, had shown me on his last visit. (I wish I'd remembered that a week earlier when trying to get a good shot of a spider web…)

(Photo 1) Here you can see Katydid and her (or his?) shadow. I like how you can see her wings and how much they resemble a green leaf. From what I've read, I think this is a young katydid because the back legs are not that long in relationship to the length of her body. Maybe this is why she was not at all afraid of me…I continued to snap photos...

(Photo 2) When I figured out the right setting, I got the background (above) dark and I started to see the incredible detail in Katydid's underside.

(Photo 3) Later, I took one of the full body shots and enlarged it on my computer. Voila, a portrait!

(Photo 4) When I saw the photo above on my monitor, I thought Katydid definitely shows some talent for acting. This looks like a pose from "A Chorus Line."

(Photo 5) This is my very favorite photo of all…. the happy katydid.

I ended up taking 76 photos in all, over a period of about 15-25 minutes (I lost track of time). Twelve of them came out pretty well. (see settings below)

The most incredible part of this surprise experience, to me, was how I felt…as if this creature was happy to connect with me, to show me her stuff, to stay there while I looked at her, a big black camera in front of my own face; while her's was so open and friendly.

The next morning, I woke up early as usual and went into the family room and there on the wall, near the ceiling, was a katydid. "How did you get in here?" I asked. She was still sleeping.

I left the light off and the two little dogs snoring happily on the couch; then after the sun rose, grabbed a plastic container and transported my favorite bug outside. "You need to be out here with all the trees," I said, as she flew out and floated to the ground. I hope she found her way back into the woods.

I purchased a children's book: "The Secret Lives of Backyard Bugs" by Judy Burris and Wayne Richards. Here's what I learned:

Grasshoppers, katydids, and crickets are all members of the same order of insects: Orthoptera.
Insects in this order go through "incomplete metamorphasis."
Adult katydids can fly and jump, like grasshoppers, but also they can sing the unmistakable Katy-did-Katy-didn't song (during summer months).
On rare occasions, they are bright pink.

Photo 1: ISO 1600 55 mm f/5.6 1/500

Photo 2: ISO 1600 55 mm f/5.6 1/400

Photo 3: ISO 1600 55mm f/5.6 1/160

Photo 4: ISO 1600 55mm f/5.6 1/100

Photo 5: ISO 1600 55mm f/5.6 1/100

"Earth, Water, Sky" A Song for Japan

2011-08-06T13:30:00.000-04:00

On this, the 66th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, by the United States, I wish I had a poem or essay or something intelligent to say on the matter. But, all I am today is feeling…feeling the sound, the ash, the shock, the grief--of families forever ruptured and touched by grief.

I think of a hymn that goes "…but other lands, have sunlight to and clover, and skies are everywhere as blue as mine. Oh hear my prayer, thou God of all the nations, a song of peace for their land and for mine."

So, while I have nothing to offer about the events of 66 years ago, I can offer this…

This past March, after the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, I wrote this song while driving in my car through the flat farmland and rolling forests of Ohio. Later, I picked up my guitar for the first time in 15 years or so, grabbed my laptop, and made a recording. It is very rough (I haven't sung in 15 years either) and will likely stay that way for, wisely, I gave up any ambitions of being a singer long ago. Still, it meant a lot to me to work through my feelings via music and I appreciate your listening. (Note: this appeared on Lucky Press's blog in March, but I hadn't put it here yet.)

Photos: All but four of the photos (two stormy sea photos, one with the silhouette of a bird flying, and one with clouds and tiny birds flying high, which are from a stock photo agency) were taken by me.

Please consider a contribution to a reputable charity to help the people of Japan. You can find a list on Charity Navigator at THIS LINK.

Flowers, and the Memory of Flowers

2011-08-04T05:00:00.000-04:00

When I see beautiful flowers adorning a neighbor's yard...or my yard as luck would have it…here is what I remember: kneeling down in the cool northeastern Ohio grass next to my "aunt" Wanda. She was really my cousin, hence the quotations, but I was about five and she was about 45 so to me she was my aunt. I can clearly remember one day, kneeling next to her, putting those bulbs in the ground. Then we went for a walk down the street with my favorite toy, a stuffed monkey I'd named Joe. Each of us holding one of Joe's plastic hands. I am sure there was lemonade and cookies involved at some point.

Below is a photo from 1970 (photographers of photo at left and below, unknown.) Aunt Wanda is sharing a blanket with me, with my parents on the right. When my children were born in 1981 and 1983, Aunt Wanda was there to be a part of their childhood memories as well. A registered nurse, Wanda once told me her dream job would have been to be an editor.

Here are some photos for you today. Some of these were taken in Mark's and my yard and some were taken at a friend's yard. I work out of a home office, so it is great to be able to take a short break, pick up the camera, and go outside and shoot when the light is just right.

Enjoy!

Birth of a Book Cover: Norah

2011-08-01T05:00:00.001-04:00

There was some interest in a previous blog I wrote on creating the book cover for Melissa Kline's young adult sci-fi novel, My Beginning. So, I decided to repost this article, which originally appeared on Lucky Press's blog.

* * *

I love creating illustrations for book covers, but there are some interesting common moments that happen in nearly every case. First, I have a vague idea of what the cover might look like. This idea germinates with the input of the publisher and author (In this case, Lucky Press is the publisher, so I wore two hats, publisher and designer. Cynthia Neale's input regarding historical costume and Norah's personality was vital.)

Second, I am sure that implementing that vision will be too difficult for me to accomplish. Three, I figure out (well, okay, I wake up one morning and have a good guess) how I might be able to create the cover. Four, I begin the process and worry again that it's not what I want it to be. Five, everything clicks and I finish it (which usually coincides with arrival of deadline).

1. You can read a synopsis of Norah at this link, but basically it is about an Irish immigrant, Norah McCabe, whose family lives in Five Points in New York City in the second half of the 1800s. Norah is in her early twenties, strong-minded and creative. She owns her own used-clothing shop, and takes cast-offs from wealthy women and resells them. She also dreams of being a journalist -- there is no stopping Norah from reaching her dreams.

We wanted a cover that would capture Norah's strength, her love of fine clothes, and the "feeling" of that period in NYC's history. I asked the author, Cynthia Neale, to send me any documentation she might have on dresses Norah might have worn (though Norah is a fictional character, accurate historical details were most important to the author as she wrote her book). Cynthia sent me a book of historical costumes, noting the images correlating to Norah's generation; I also found some costume images, from museums, online (see photo at left).

2. In the meantime, I also looked at photographs available from stock photo agencies. There was one photo that I liked very much, but the woman's face was not right for Norah. I also looked at images of women in period costumes, but they all looked very posed. Here are some images we came across (available from Superstock Images):

3. I did come up with an idea using one of the images from Superstock, but, again, the author did not feel the image was quite right and, after all, she knows her character best!

Here is an early idea for the cover.

4. Also, I needed to familiarize myself with Five Points; so I visited websites and came across these photos.

5. I played around with using an image of a woman plus an image of Five Points…

Above is a rough "sketch," but I wanted to see how the cover might look with a city view behind it.

6. We also looked at a lot of covers on Amazon, noting what appealed to us. I was surprised to find how many bookcovers do not show the woman's face!

7. Eventually, though, we decided to see what an original drawing might look like. I decided to use Cynthia's costume images as the basis for an illustration. The dress I referred to was yellow, and had roses on it, but no shamrocks. I decided to change the design of the pattern on the dress and add shamrocks. I also altered the details of the dress slightly. I drew the dress in pencil, then did the lines in ink with a Micro Pen, .005 and .01 thickness nib. I then added watercolors to the drawing, which was done on smooth Bristol paper. (Yes, I am a cover designer as well as the founder and publisher of Lucky Press. This allows me to be involved in the production process of a title in a wonderful way, and I love this opportunity to design a cover. If a cover is not quite right for my skills, then I engage the services of another designer. We all have different strengths and areas of focus.)

This shows the drawing as it originally was created. Although I didn't think we'd use Norah's face, I wanted to draw it. The author noticed the chin "wasn't quite right" (and I agreed). I altered the chin/jawline slightly. Also, as you see below, I cropped the illustration and flipped it.

8. I didn't want the cover to appear "pastel" though, because the book is gritty, dark in some places, and while there are some romance, love, and light moments, it really is a struggle for Norah to find her way and she is surrounded by people with ulterior motives. I didn't want the book cover to indicate a light romance. I wanted it to be strong. So, the illustration was imported into Photoshop and treated with art filters.

Here is the drawing, scanned and imported into Photoshop, and treated with filters.

9. When I was satisfied with the look of the drawing, I then turned toward the title, subtitle, and author's name. There was some tweaking of the fonts and voila! a book cover for Norah!

Norah is available from online booksellers and through your local chain or independent bookstore. If you love Ireland and/or stories of strong women characters, you will love Cynthia Neale's Norah.

10. Still to be done before printing: adding a hyphen in "19th Century"... But this is a small thing. Next, we will work on the back cover and spine, as well as adding in a snippet of this wonderful review from Feathered Quill:

"This is not a tame, peaceful read. Although there are certainly beautiful scenes of corseted females in their finery traversing the streets of New York City, those same streets are also filled with vicious, violent people desperately trying to feed their families. Norah's life is upsetting in many ways and the twists and turns that happen to her do, indeed, include angry people who are truly out for themselves. However, this story is filled with so much intrigue, mystery, and beauty, that you'll cling to every word while watching Norah grow into a strong, courageous, and brilliant woman, who ends up truly proud of her Irish blood."

Visit the author's website: www.cynthianeale.com

Here is Norah on Amazon. (available in hardcover and paperback).

View the book trailer, below.

Pets and Language

2011-07-27T00:00:00.002-04:00

Jackie, December 2009

The following post originally appeared online in 2004. I'm pairing it now with some photographs of the wonderful dogs (and birds) in my family's life. Enjoy!

The media is all abuzz about new science findings regarding dogs who "are much smarter than scientists have thought." Thousands of dollars of research might have been saved, had they spent anytime at my home, or observing the lives of many of my friends who also have dogs. Here's what I could have told scientists, for free:

Dogs know when you are happy, sad, busy, angry, worried, ill, and in love.
They know when you mean it, don't mean it, aren't sure if you mean it, and are consulting dog behavior books to find out if you should mean it.
Dogs know that exercise is good for you.
Dogs know that high-protein diets make them happier.
They can find their way around the neighborhood and communicate with the neighbors.
They understand that mail comes six days a week and sometimes what's in the mail is worth yelling about it.
Dogs realize that fashion isn't important.
Dogs are comfortable with all their body parts and the body parts of those they love.
Dogs are not afraid of other dogs bigger than themselves. In fact, the smaller the dog, I've found, the more emphatic they are to express their bravery.
Dogs can tell who is naughty and who is nice.

Those of us who love animals are glad they are finally getting the respect they deserve.

My sister Joyce with Susie, circa 1974. Susie was my wonderful pet through junior high and high school. She died when I was in college. (Photo by Woodrow Phelps)

My mother with her dog, Brownie, circa 1936.

"The Best Dog in the World," Buster. Buster was a rescued dog from the Bishop Animal Shelter in Bradenton, Florida. He was the dog my sons grew up with. 1991 - 2003

Tyler, 2011.

My sister, Joan, has two very smart African grey parrots. Koby, 2008.

Beautiful Maximillian pionus Gracie, 2010.

Note: You can view a rather silly video on YouTube of Gracie taking a shower at THIS LINK.

Pretty Girl Farley, was Mark's dog until we married. Now she's mine too. She is so cuddly and soft, fast and smart as can be. This past year she had major knee surgery, but she's doing well now. Farley was a rescued dog and a real gem! Below, is a drawing I did of Farley shortly after we met.

Goffins cockatoo, Bailey. Sadly, she died in 2006, a few weeks after I received a contract to write "Open Your Heart with Pets: Mastering Life through Love of Animals" (Dreamtime Publishing, 2007).

Bailey helping my son Bryce with a puzzle.

This handsome 30-something Amazon parrot is Jake. Jake was a rescued parrot who now lives a happy life of retirement in North Carolina. Jake was the parrot with a dozen "Hellos!" (Bored "hello" for when the phone rang. Friendly "hello" for when someone new visited. Seductive, think Joey on "Friends", "helllloooo..." for if I ever walked up to his cage half-dressed.)

Here I am with my first dog, Joey, in the early 1960s. (Photo by Woodrow Phelps)

Do not dismiss the humble teddy bear hamster as a pet. Timmy spent most of his life in a cage, but loved to sit on my knee and watch television. His short life ended in 2001. (Photo by Sonja Beal)

Above is the last photo taken of our Pomeranian Sable who died in 2004 at age 13. Before she became ill, Sable had long fur and looked like a little black bear. She drew curious glances when riding around town in my car.

Dogs with dark faces are difficult to photograph. This photo was taken by my sister Joyce and is of her dog Oscar. Oscar died not too long ago and Joyce rescued Hayley, a big dog who now enjoys a good home and keeps our mother company during the day. (See photo below by Joyce Phelps).

Animals are not just a part of my personal life, but of my work life as well…

From Still Her Spirit Sings by Robert W. Kurkela. Bob's loving dog Spirit was mostly black, but I altered his appearance a bit to fit the format of the book. I came to love the character of Spirit after working with Bob and Kidzpoetz Publishing on this book.

Above and below are drawings from They Called Me Beautiful. (I self-published the retelling of the classic story Beautiful Joe with illustrations under a pen name.) Above, you can see the children who rescued Joe from the hands of a cruel master. Below is Joe's friend, Dandy.

Cool Photos for Hot Days

2011-07-23T21:22:00.004-04:00

It is my pleasure to share with you some of my photographs of water. Keep cool, everyone. And don't forget to pay extra attention to the needs of your pets during this heat wave.

St. Kitts

Sunset, Eastern Caribbean

St. Croix

Our dog, Tyler, on Drummond Island, Michigan

Bradenton Beach, Anna Maria Island, Florida

Old Man's Cave in the Hocking Hills of Southeastern, Ohio

Rose Lake, Southern Ohio

Marblehead, on Lake Erie (Ohio)

Ash Cave, Hocking Hills, Ohio