My blog has been dormant since my birthday weekend, but the past two weeks have been anything but filled with lazy, idle moments. I am working full time at my day job for which I earn a steady regular income that pays for my hobbiz (a word I coined to describe my writing and drawing). I need to be able to buy the supplies I require to do both, so that's why I work, to support the fun things in life that I do. John's income pays for everything else he and I need.
Anyway, the big art, literature, and music festival, Articulture, is coming up this Saturday, May 4th,here in Westfield. This year I am appearing as both an author and an artist. This is only my third appearance as an artist (PumpkinFest last October, Shop Small last November being the first and second). I just began drawing in pen & ink again last September for International Art Drop Day. I drew two black squirrels, Rail Walker and Sitting Pretty, reprising my black squirrel art from 1999-2000, the black squirrel silhouette I drew at that time still gracing The Black Squirrel line of t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, and gifts. We kept it quiet that I drew the silhouette back then, but I also drew four realistic squirrels in pen & ink. My former boss for whom I drew the silhouette for his merchandise line owns one original. My best friend, Darlene, owns another. Now the squirrel is out of the bag that I am the artist who drew that black squirrel, but now I am the artist who has my own line of closer to realistic black squirrel drawings. I call my line of squirrels BicycleCity Black Squirrels. My hometown is the home of Pope and Columbia bicycles.
So, I am scrambling to get all the art together in additional to making sure I have some books to sell. I have one new book since last year's event. In the past I've had up to three new books self published, but a combination of things slowed me down or diverted my energy since Articulture last year. I am doing way more than I should be doing, but don't have the heart to slow down just yet. (Or maybe it's just I don't have the common sense to slow down my rapid pace...)
I have a few new drawings down that will debut at Articulture, and have decided that I can let some original art go, for a reasonable price, so I have room for more art....and books.
I have made sure that Blue Umbrella Books has a good supply of pen & ink BicycleCity Black Squirrel prints, and BicycleCity Artworks wildlife, domestic animal, and birds pen and ink art prints as Westfield stands on the brink of celebrating its 350th anniversary of its founding in 1669. The month of May is going to be big here, and the bookstore is nestled right in the heart of downtown, across the street from the green where the massive birthday cake constructed for the event sits.
I have a speaking engagement at the Westfield Senior Center to talk about my books and my art. That will be on May 8th.
The WhipCity Wordsmiths meet on May 18th.
I'm a board member of Artworks of Westfield, the nonprofit group that sponsors Articulture. I'll also be representing the group during the event...three hats, one head.
I love what I do. I love this event. I've been passing out small posters to advertise the event and spread the word.
And I've been cleaning my house and preparing for a visit from my best friend, Carol. We met in college freshman year, were roomies sophomore year until we both transferred to different colleges, but we stayed friends. Many, many years later, we are still best of friends. She's coming to visit and to attend Articulture and help me out that day. My house was in a state of chaos after Kelly's moving out April 13th, and subsequent trips back and forth to sort through what's left of hers- what to keep, what to let go.
A co-worker has asked for a killer clown story. I don't write horror (The Monster in Me and The Hanging Man being my first and second attempts at it), but thought, for her, I'd take a stab at it. I've bounced a couple chilling ideas off fellow author and bookstore owner Russell Atwood and he's liked them so far. Now I need to bounce a few things off horror author, fellow Wordsmith, and friend Tom Deady because I'm interested in his opinion. Anything to do with clowns is scary for me since I have a clown phobia (a little better with age, but I was terrified of clowns when I was a child. I still get a weird feeling when I see one...when I was a kid I actually ran into the house and hid in my closet when a convertible full of clowns pulled onto our street. They were handing out Pepsi balloons and coupons for Pepsi...but still...I was scared of them!)
And I found a book at Barnes & Noble when I went with Kelly the Saturday night before Easter, the Magician's Lie by Greer Macallister, that I can't put down, although I've been forced to in order to sleep, eat, and go to work....but still, I am thoroughly enjoying it when I do find time to read.
Still debating what books are going to Articulture. I know White Bishop Among the Pawns will be one as there are a few people following that series. butterscotch has always been a favorite of mine, a collection of stories in which people struggle to find their way in sometimes unusual circumstances. So has Life, Death, Love, Cats & Dogs, an anthology of stories in which dogs and cats play a role in uniting couples. Life Skills and My Magical Life are also favorites of mine. Jazz.the talking, snarky cat with the heart of gold in My Magical Life is one of my all time favorite characters created. His origin was Jazz, a snarky, wisecracking, lascivious, misbehaving cat in a story, Final Respects, I wrote in the mid 1980's to entertain my co-workers in the campus police department where I was working at the time. I wrote a lot of satire back then. We'll see what goes with me as I'm packing the car on Thursday...
And tonight,the intriguing offer to sit in the front window of the bookstore and write a story...hmmm...life just jumped up a notch up on the crazy but fun thing to do meter.
Looking forward to what May brings into my world!
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