JacketFlap connects you to the work of more than 200,000 authors, illustrators, publishers and other creators of books for Children and Young Adults. The site is updated daily with information about every book, author, illustrator, and publisher in the children's / young adult book industry. Members include published authors and illustrators, librarians, agents, editors, publicists, booksellers, publishers and fans. Join now (it's free).
Login or Register for free to create your own customized page of blog posts from your favorite blogs. You can also add blogs by clicking the "Add to MyJacketFlap" links next to the blog name in each post.
Blog Posts by Tag
In the past 30 days
Blog Posts by Date
Click days in this calendar to see posts by day or month
I've mentioned before how much I enjoy creativity. And seeing people be creative in their own field is doubly exciting if it's not a field I typically work in. So here's a snippet from a very talented guy, Josh Wilson. I got to see him in concert last weekend and and love some of the unique ways he blends his many musical talents with technology to give it that little extra spice.
How do you suppose an author could make use of multiple appearances? :)
0 Comments on A full band (Josh Wilson) as of 1/1/1900
I have always maintained that I learn more in watching an artist at work than any number of lessons or self-help books can give. So I was very excited that a friend of mine, 'Livvy' Schemanski, put together a video that showed the progress of one of her gorgeous wildlife paintings. How exciting to see this painting come to life on the canvas!
I have stood in front of this painting many times and marveled at her skill. Olivia has a depth of knowledge in the art realm that is simply astounding. Technical skill, creative insights, a wealth of experience, a fun sense of humor and a generous heart to go along with it have taught me a lot since I was fortunate enough to meet her years ago. Enjoy!
(If you want to see some of my work in progress, you can find it at my Val's Imagination blog. Not as dramatic but hopefully helpful all the same.)
0 Comments on A painting's progress (Olivia "Livvy" Schemanski) as of 2/14/2011 12:09:00 PM
I will confess that I am one of those that enjoys the smell of books. Real, paper, bound-with- glue books. Leather and hand-stitching books. So this, of course, caught my interest:
I love that there are those that can categorize the odors in and on books. Each classification brought a distinct aroma with it. That smell of 'literary dust' is an intrinsic part of literacy to me. And I love the link with other people that feel the same way.
(But please don't bother to buy me a can of "Smell of Books". I thank you.)
0 Comments on Robert Gray: Memory & the 'Smell of Books' as of 2/4/2011 4:22:00 PM
What did you do to close out the old year and ring in the new?
I was at a friend's house, playing games, laughing and generally having a great time. I also tried sushi for the first time. Which made me realize I might share something with this character --
Happy New Year! Let's dream big and see what happens!
P.s. Want to dress your own penguin? He's available at ValerieCoulman.com.
0 Comments on Happy New Year! as of 1/5/2011 8:54:00 AM
I came across a quote recently that, to me, stands among the brilliant statements of a writing career:
Ruthlessness with one's own copy remains the mark of a professional, because you have to stab yourself in the back.- Paul Collins, How to Write Like A Victorian
Collins was writing about the first "how-to" writing book, written in the 1890s, and how it's advice is very similar to the tips writers receive today. It is somewhat ironic that the writer, Sherwin Cody, really didn't have a track record of writing fiction, but he blazed a trail of Victorian writers into that pernicious field of fiction.
Collins point is an excellent one. It is no surprise that the title editors and agents always encourage writers to pick up is "Self-editing for Fiction Writers." (BTW, did you know SEFFW is on Facebook now?) The ability to take a firm stand with one's own work is really one of the marks of the writers that have the best chance of succeeding in publishing. The other, sometimes, is the combination of nerve and nose that Cody demonstrated in the late 1800s. (See the full article here - it's a good read.)
While you ponder that, here's a very funny look at the writer not willing to mess with his own work. Maybe you'll recognize him.
0 Comments on Self-murder and other editing tools as of 12/24/2010 9:07:00 AM
A new play is opening on December 9th. It's called "An American Xmas" and is a comedic look at many of the accepted but contradictory attitudes taken towards Christmas.
As I mentioned before, I get to be involved through set design, costume selections and decor for these events. It's a great group to work with and the end result is always something exciting!
This year, I also got to have some artwork be part of the poster and promotion for the event. It's just more and more fun every year!
If you're in the neighborhood, you're invited to come to "An American Xmas"!
0 Comments on An American Xmas - an invitation as of 1/1/1900
"The book will destroy the edifice." - Dom Claude, in The Hunchback of Notre-Dame
My husband has lately been reading Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and pointed out a passage to me that tied up with a current train of thought I'd been having. It's a long passage so I'll skip around a little but the gist of it is the thought that the Gutenberg press threatened the art of architecture:
"When the legends of primitive races became so numerous, and their reciting was so confused that the stories were about to be lost, people began to transcribe these memories in the most visible, the most lasting, and at the same time the most natural medium. Every tradition was sealed under a monument."
This practice, says Hugo, eventually gave rise to the elaborate architecture of the cathedral and castle. But with the printing press, those same ideas were not captured in words, not in images. Hugo writes:
"Here was a premonition that human thought had advanced, and, in changing, was about to change its mode of expression, that the important ideas of each new generation would be recorded in a new way, that the book of stone, so solid and so enduring, was about to be supplanted by the paper book, which would become more enduring still. In this respect, the vague formula of the archdeacon had a second meaning: That one art would dethrone another art. It meant: Printing will destroy architecture."
It brought to mind the many discussions on the future of publishing in the light of digital publishing. It seems that one was seen as a threat to the other, with both points of view pointing at the other and saying that the end was coming. Obviously, with hindsight, architecture hasn't been done away with. It has changed and modified its look with the trends of the cultures it represents. Perhaps it has become more functional. But it has still carried on with a purpose and with the artistry of those that practice it. A book can't provide shelter like a building can and a building can still express a concept, a thought, an idea even if not as graphically as it once did with its murals and carved edifices.
I suspect traditional publishing will carry on the same way. Not at odds with digital possibilities but with standing as a monument to the ideas and artistry of its kind to be practiced with an old and new purpose unique to itself. Let's see how it works out.
*all excerpts from Book V, chapter 2 "This Will Kill That"
0 Comments on "Printing will destroy architecture" as of 1/1/1900
IN FLANDERS FIELDS by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918) Canadian Army
In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie, In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.
Lately, I've been reading Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? by Seth Godin, and have been both challenged and intrigued by his perspective. Although his expertise is generally considered to be in the hi-tech industry, I've been benefiting from taking him literally when he uses the terms "art" and "artist" to apply to the work done in any (or every) industry.
Here's some snippets that, in the words of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot, "have given me furiously to think":
"Artists don't think outside the box, because outside the box there's a vacuum ... Artists think along the edges of the box, because that's where things get done. That's where the audience is, that's where the means of priduction are available, and that's where you can make an impact." (pg. 102)
A readily available analogy for this concept is in writing. Writers introduce new concepts, new characters and new worlds but they do it inside the framework of written communication - grammar, plot, sentence structure and so on. Their creative efforts or art rely on the framework of the known. If a writer suddenly abandoned all rules of grammar and just threw words in any order or any tense onto the page, chances are very good that his/her intent would be lost. There would be no idea communicated, except in a purely visual sense. But even the visual arts follow certain conventions that give their work impact, to find that point of contact with their viewer.
Godin's addressing the idea that art must meet reality in order to truly accomplish it's purpose. In order to make an impact, it first has to make it out the door. He quotes Steve Jobs "Real artists ship" as the basic concept of impact.
Now, I've known this for sometime on a personal level - I produce better and more consistently when I have a deadline. Am I always 100% satisfied with what I've produced? No. But if my satisfaction is the key to moving it out, it will never get out. Let's face it, I can putz with a comma or an area of shading forever. The ship date keeps me focused.
Here's Godin's challenge:
"The only purpose of starting is to finish, and while the projects we do are never really finished, they must ship ... Shipping is the collision between your work and the outside world." (pg. 103)
And it eventually becomes part of the process.
"When you first adopt the discipline of shipping, your work will appear to suffer. There's no doubt that another hour, day, or week would have added some needed polish. But over time -- rather quickly, actually -- you'll see that shipping becomes part of the art and shipping makes it work." (pg. 103)
That's the edge of the box. It means you can't rest on the direction of someone else for your daily involvement in your craft. It means paying attention to each step. Walking the edges of the box take balance, discipline and dedication. But creating on the edge of the box also means that your work can be both satisfying and have the impact you intend. And that's the point at which you become indispensable.
Step out and ship it.
0 Comments on The edge of the box as of 10/28/2010 12:43:00 PM
I'm not a big TV watcher. Have a few shows on DVD that I prefer to watch over and over again, but while traveling last summer, I finally watched an episode of Holmes on Homes. Even where I'm living, I kept hearing, "Don't you know who he is? He's from CANADA!"
Oh.
I thoroughly enjoyed the show and that night I learned what a scupper is - at least related to a home roof. Then I also learned it's actually a boating term. A "scupper" is a drain on a boat.
Which led to this fascinating bit of information - "If you're 'up to your scuppers' you're about to sink..."
It's been a busy time here at my desk. Lots of writing, not enough art, and general business taking up much of my day. There are moments I do indeed feel "up to my scuppers"!
But then that phrase makes me laugh out loud, and I return to the writing waiting for me.
“They seem to regard books for children with the same tolerant tenderness with which nearly any adult regards a child. Most of us assume there is something good in every child; the critics go on from this to assume there is something good in every book written for a child. It is not a sound theory.”
I've been cleaning and sorting through my studio the past few weeks. And will be tackling the closets soon. But today, I sat down and did the same with my computer desktop, not just the physical one.
And I threw out 1500 words.
I know I may miss having words like pastiche and lugubrious and senectitude tucked away for a rainy day but sometimes we just have to prioritize.
School is back in session across most of the nation, or will be next week, for students. And as I think about the year ahead, I still smile about how the year ended for me and an elementary school that I was visiting.
I'd had a week together with a wonderful elementary school in state and it was our last day. Plans were to finish our writing/art projects in several classrooms and then the day would end with a short session with the parents, an ice cream social and a book signing while the parents got a chance to tour around and see what their students had worked to produce. And, as usual, some of the students had done an exceptional job.
So the day began. 8:20 am and I was five minutes in the first session of the morning and - BLINK- the lights went out. Just like that.
It had been raining all week. A steady but strong constant curtain of rain that kept me largely building-bound in a town I was excited to explore. As it turns out, this school is built on the edge of a marsh and one of the big cottonwoods that bordered the marsh had enough of the rain and fell. Snapping a power pole in the process.
Because it is a marsh, the standard equipment couldn't get to the pole to replace it and the crews had to wait for equipment to come up the freeway from another town. The school and the surrounding neighborhood would be in the dark all day. I was told that normally, the procedure would have been to notify parents and let students go home.
But there were two problems with that plan. 1 - the phone lines at the school went out with the power. Everyone would have had to break out their cell phones which would leave the students rather at large while messages, etc were left around town. And 2 - the administrators that would make the let-them-go decisions were in emergency budget meetings.
So the remarkable staff did what all enterprising and resourceful teachers do. They carried on.
We read by open windows, drew in courtyard rimmed hallways, painted by the light of flashlights and toted water for our painters up the stairs to the better-lit atria in the library. Volunteer-manned lanterns marked the darkest corners of the hallways and restrooms were restricted to the ones with available lighting.
It was a fabulous day! The students really seemed to enjoy the toss-up in routine and still carried on with their work in an almost carnival atmosphere. The staff and parent volunteers laughed and joked and told stories as we figured out the worst of the disruptions. And the principal smiled right along with them, I hope with a measure of pride in how well her school responded to the day in the dark.
My hat is off to Bohemia Elementary for a day of fun and adventure! And maybe I'll make it back for some ice cream some day after all.
I have the privilege of regularly being involved in stage decor as I've mentioned severaltimes in the past. We love to do it fun, innovative and as cheap as possible.
This week, the challenge was to create a giant journal. Boy, did I have fun! The best part, though, was making the giant pencil. It's 7 1/2 feet tall and made up pretty much entirely of foam and duct tape. The pencil body is painted foam core, and the "eraser" is duct tape formed over poster paper and a foam plate.
Best part it, it is so lightweight that when the AC comes on, the pencil moves and looks like it's writing!
I recently went on a family vacation that covered a lot of territory. We never specifically planned to take in any galleries or art exhibits but one of the things I noticed is the way art kept popping up through the "regularly scheduled" activities. It was my pleasure this year to discover (or become reacquainted with) some talented artists and their work.
My first encounter was in Saskatoon, SK. The Circle Park Mall has made a number of display cases along the mall and in one of them I found Jackie Miller's cityscapes. They were bold, colorful and had the occasional flair for taking an unusual angle. I enjoyed them thoroughly.
Another unexpected intro to an artist showed up at the National Auto Museum, in Reno, NV. Throughout the museum was displayed the work of Robert Cinkel, a Reno artist commissioned by the National Auto Museum to depict autos in their historical context in an exhibit called "Even in Africa". His work is delightful and made an already unique museum an unforgettable experience. (Of course, I liked the period clothing, too.)
If you're near any of these art opportunities, I'd encourage to you to find them and enjoy them. And keep your eyes open. Who knows what treasures may be waiting along the road this summer?
I've mentioned before that I love creativity in promotion. Lately, the "thing" seems to be book trailers. And so many authors are creating book trailers - some compelling, some fun, some odd and some - well - slightly painful. I think they serve their purpose, but for the most part, I don't think many of them have the advantage of novelty that they used to. Don't get me wrong - video book trailers have taken their place on the list of marketing essentials, but they are rather like author websites - much of a muchness.
But here's a GREAT book trailer! It's fresh, funny and he invents a word too! Enjoy...
I like crossword puzzles. It's part of my morning routine and my understanding husband lets me have the weekday ones (he gets the NYTimes Sunday puzzle). So on a school visit early this month, I grabbed a local paper, found the puzzle ... and I was in it!
Okay, it wasn't me personally - but it was still my name. And it made me wonder - what do I really consider success? Do I want to be so commonly known that my name really is a crossword clue someday?
I actually found at least part of my answer later that day. As I walked down the hallway of the school I was visiting, I heard whispers following me down the hall - "It's the author lady!", "Hi, Valerie!", "I like your books..." And the smiles and the laughter and the hugs and the funny ideas and creative surprises continued on all day.
I've been immersed lately in business writing. It's been filling all my spare moments and then some.
Apart from the fact that it pays well, I consider it a whetstone for my writing - it keeps me sharp and it keeps my editorial knife keen. In fact, it makes me practice this adage:
I generally try not to post two in a row (two videos, two writing prompts, etc) but this is too fantastic to pass up on. I hope it puts a grin in your day.
0 Comments on Author action figures as of 1/1/1900
As an artist that works fairly often with acrylic paints, the need to be able to walk away from my work for awhile has presented some problems. Once out of the tube/jar/bottle, acrylic paints dry. Ironic, isn't it?
Where this really becomes a problem is when I've mixed a batch of custom color and then have to put the painting aside for awhile. I know, I know, where's my dedication to the craft? But, hey, life happens.
I've tried a few different products that are supposed to help prolong the open life of acrylic paints. Some were inadequate. Unless I'd mixed WAY too much of a color and could peel the skin off to reach fresh paint underneath, they simply didn't do the job.
One product that's pretty good is the Premier Sta-Wet Palette By Masterson. It did a very nice job of keeping the paints fresh for up to 3 weeks. But the depth of the palette meant they had to be pretty small portions of paint. And as time went along, the moisture level in the palette made the edges of the paint dollops get rather watery and begin to run into each other. And after three weeks, the paints were still wet but were starting to smell funky.
A last issue I had is that the papers for the Masterson palette were very difficult to find in my area. Plenty of sponges available but no paper. I did find though, that freezer paper would work in a pinch.
Then I found two better (and much cheaper) option.
Number 1:
It began in a workshop by Jeannie St. John Taylor, when she showed us how she used the lids of margarine tube (or whipped topping tubs) as her palettes for small dabs of color. If she needed to save a color for a while, she simply popped the top of the tub back onto the lid and, presto, an air tight seal. If it had to be extended, she gave the paint a short mist of water and closed it up again.
I borrowed this idea and bought some cheap food storage containers at a local dollar store. The clear containers were much better for me so I could see what colors I had on the go. I use the lids for the palette and the "tops" for rinse water as I paint. When it's time to stop, I simply rinse the "top", then snap it over the lid. The little bit of moisture left from the rinse keeps the paint fresh for up to four weeks (depending on the size of the paint dab). If I don't get back to them in time, it doesn't solve my color dilemma but I simply peel the paint off and save the dried, flexible paint drops for use in an abstract later.
One drawback to my particular system to note: the colored lids can affect your color perception as you paint. I test on my background so it's never been a huge dilemma but you can see how it might become one.
Number 2:
For large paintings, I still needed something that would hold a generous amount of paint but really hadn't found a good option yet. But then, in preparing for a large live painting session, I grabbed a deli-type container on the way out the door. It seemed like a good all-in-one option for big amounts of paint and having some rinse water nearby
0 Comments on Paint savers as of 5/6/2010 10:40:00 AM
Etta Wilson has been posting about poetry this week and it brought back to mind one of my favorite poems of all time. So bear with me and enjoy:
"ELEGY WRITTEN IN A COUNTRY CHURCH-YARD"
The curfew tolls the knell of parting day, The lowing herd winds slowly o'er the lea, The ploughman homeward plods his weary way, And leaves the world to darkness and to me.
Now fades the glimmering landscape on the sight, And all the air a solemn stillness holds, Save where the beetle wheels his droning flight, And drowsy tinklings lull the distant folds:
Save that from yonder ivy-mantled tower The moping owl does to the moon complain Of such as, wandering near her secret bower, Molest her ancient solitary reign.
Beneath those rugged elms, that yew-tree's shade, Where heaves the turf in many a mouldering heap, Each in his narrow cell for ever laid, The rude Forefathers of the hamlet sleep.
The breezy call of incense-breathing morn, The swallow twittering from the straw-built shed, The cock's shrill clarion, or the echoing horn, No more shall rouse them from their lowly bed.
For them no more the blazing hearth shall burn, Or busy housewife ply her evening care: No children run to lisp their sire's return, Or climb his knees the envied kiss to share,
Oft did the harvest to their sickle yield, Their furrow oft the stubborn glebe has broke; How jocund did they drive their team afield! How bow'd the woods beneath their sturdy stroke!
Let not Ambition mock their useful toil, Their homely joys, and destiny obscure; Nor Grandeur hear with a disdainful smile The short and simple annals of the Poor.
The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power, And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave, Awaits alike th' inevitable hour:- The paths of glory lead but to the grave.
Nor you, ye Proud, impute to these the fault If Memory o'er their tomb no trophies raise, Where through the long-drawn aisle and fretted vault The pealing anthem swells the note of praise.
Can storied urn or animated bust Back to its mansion call the fleeting breath? Can Honour's voice provoke the silent dust, Or Flattery soothe the dull cold ear of Death?
Perhaps in this neglected spot is laid Some heart once pregnant with celestial fire; Hands, that the rod of empire might have sway'd, Or waked to ecstasy the living lyre:
But Knowledge to their eyes her ample page, Rich with the spoils of time, did ne'er unroll; Chill Penury repress'd their noble rage, And froze the genial current of the soul.
Full many a gem of purest ray serene The dark unfathom'd caves of ocean bear: Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, And waste its sweetness on the desert air.
Some village-Hampden, that with dauntless breast The little tyrant of his fields withstood, Some mute inglorious Milton here may rest, Some Cromwell, guiltless of his country's blood.
Th' applause of list'ning senates to command, The threats of pain and ruin to despise, To scatter plenty o'er a smiling land, And read their history in a nation's eyes,
Their lot forbad: nor circumscribed alone Their growing virtues, but their crimes confined; Forbad to wade through slaughter to a throne, And shut the gates of mercy on mankind,
The struggling pangs of conscious truth to hide, To quench the blushes of ingenuous shame, Or heap t
0 Comments on Thomas Grey's "Elegy Written in a Country Church-Yard" as of 1/1/1900
. It did a very nice job of keeping the paints fresh for up to 3 weeks. But the depth of the palette meant they had to be pretty small portions of paint. And as time went along, the moisture level in the palette made the edges of the paint dollops get rather watery and begin to run into each other. And after three weeks, the paints were still wet but were starting to smell funky.
A COUNTRY CHURCH-YARD"