Under Lavender Skies

Today I wanted to talk about writing, each component of writing, and how I have been working and improving on my own.   When writing, three different components come to mind.  Researching, also called outlining or preparing, writing, and editing or revising.   R e s e a r c h Non-writers don't realize how much of writing is not really writing but instead researching.  Even for fiction writers,  research is important.  A few weeks ago I researched types of doors and the layout of a mansion in the span of two minutes.  This part of writing is especially true, though, when writing historical fiction.  I haven't shared any of my historical fiction short stories because I am quite nervous about just missing the mark and getting the history wrong.       W r i t e Just write!  Sometimes I find that I have more motivation to research and edit then to actually write.  I love learning about certain historical events a...

Here is my most recent short story, please read and enjoy! Koy I stared out the small rectangular window at the parade of children that clambered by the mansion after school one Friday afternoon.  Day after day I watch them routinely travel the same path back to parks and houses, to continue their eventful, purposeful lives.  On this particular day, I sensed something different.  It was the week before school ended for the summer and they wouldn’t be walking the path every day anymore.  I spotted whispering and pointing among the group and it gave me hope, for a second, that a few children would visit the lonely mansion in the middle of the busy street.   ____________________________________________________________________________ Ezra Jackson and I stumbled over the uneven gravel, ahead of the group, moving back home.  We only have one week of school and I just can’t wait until we don’t need to visit this messed up street, one that comes with annoya...

Have you ever heard of the 10,000-hour rule?  It is a simple idea and practically explained in the name.  The 10,000-hour rule states that to master one's craft you must spend 10,000 hours working on it.  It says that 10,000 is almost like a perfect number to work on a painting, or music or writing, or anything else.  A man name Malcolm Gladwell popularized this idea in this book Outliers and this idea has been debunked multiple times.     In theory, this rule makes sense but when you really think about it, it is an almost self-deprecating rule.  It is saying that if you are not good at something it's your own fault.  You should have just practiced more and worked more.  Now I am not saying that practice is unimportant, you must practice to get better but practice isn't everything and practice does not always make perfect.  Malcolm Gladwell's idea came from a 1993 study of violinists and pianists which found that on average mus...

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about different journals that I have used and enjoyed.  Today I want to talk about bullet journaling.  Bullet journaling has gotten quite big over the years and almost everyone knows something about bullet journaling these days.  One of my favorite parts about bullet journaling is how personable it can be.  You can make it as complicated or as simple as you like.  If you look up bullet journaling you will get lots of videos of extremely artistic journals.  I think that is wonderful because that is what those people like, however, if art is not your thing or even mixing art with your planning is not your thing then there are so many other ways to do it.  I have gone through lots of trial and error with my bullet journaling to find what I enjoy seeing when I open my journal.  Three words I would use to describe my journal are: simple, pretty, and usable.   If you were to look at how bullet journaling began you...

My interest in art and painting, as you all could have guessed from the last three posts, has recently grown.  I just finished my first large oil painting (canvas size 16 x 20) a couple of days ago.  Look familiar?   I loved the whole process of this painting and I learned so much about oil painting through it.  However, I have actually done quite a bit more acrylic paintings, like this next one, for several reasons.   To start, these two types of paints are so different! They almost can't be compared.  I am going to talk about the differences, my experiences with both of them, and which one might work best for you.   Drying Time   Oil paints are made up of oil and pigment.  They are thick and a paint thinner is used to make the paint go over the canvas easier especially for the background of paintings.   Acrylic paint is a fast-drying paint of pigment suspended in acrylic polymer emulsion.    And right there, on...

I think the best way for me to end this mini-series about Impressionism art is to talk about Post-Impressionism.  While I researched more and more about Impressionism and Post-Impressionism and their differences I found it increasingly harder to explain.  Here are two definitions I have found online.   "Post-Impressionism is a term used to describe the reaction in the 1880s against Impressionism. It was led by Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, and Georges Seurat. The Post-Impressionists rejected Impressionism’s concern with the spontaneous and naturalistic rendering of light and color. Instead, they favored an emphasis on more symbolic content, formal order, and structure. " -Oxford Art Online- https://www.oxfordartonline.com/page/impressionism-and-post-impressionism/impressionism-and-postimpressionism#:~:text=Post%2DImpressionism%20is%20a%20term,in%20the%201880s%20against%20Impressionism.&text=The%20Post%2DImpressionists%20rejected%20Impressionism's,...

Today I wanted to continue the theme of talking about art, artists, and specifically Impressionist artists by talking about Mary Cassatt.  Cassatt is most well known for her paintings of mothers with children and for portraying motherhood thorough her art.  Most Impressionist artists focused on landscape pieces and this is where Mary Cassatt is different.  If you don't recognize the name Mary Cassatt, you will probably recognize some of her popular pieces. So without further adieu, here are a couple.  The Little Girl in a Blue Armchair In the Loge Lydia Reading the Morning Paper (No. 1) The Child's Bath When I began researching more about Mary Cassatt I actually found some facts that I thought were really interesting.   Interesting fact No. 1: Mary Cassatt was good friends with Edgar Degas.  Degas and Cassatt (Monet too!) were both a part of the Impressionistic movement and worked together painting and learning about art.   I have not talked ...

Like many things througho ut  history , art has progressed and changed.  Art is a broad term, and today I am  writing  only on physical  art such as painting and drawing.  I believe all the 'greats' earned that title  because they started something new and different and maybe even outrageous at that time.  They each had a type of art that they focused on that set them apart from other artists at their time.  The first artist I will be writing about is Claude Monet .  I mentioned Monet in one of my short stories and included a picture of one of his pieces titled "Dusk in Venice."  Claude Monet was a French painter who lived from 1840 to 1926.  He was one of the founders of the impressionistic movement.   Impressionism falls under the broader term of modern art.   Modern art is not a style of art. Rather, Modern Art is a movement of art created in a certain period.  All art created roughly between th...

Most of you know I love writing short stories and I have posted three on here over the past couple of weeks.  I have also written a handful of poems in the past.  I posted some of my favorite poems, poets, and one of my own but today I would like to share more original poems with you all.   My Original Poems: Peace Peace is the quiet drumming of rain In the early morning dawn Peace is feeling no pain Or the dew on the soft green lawn Peace is none but all to gain So, for now, all I feel is peace What is peace to me? A book open on my lap A nice hot cup of tea A sweet warm furry cat A soft blanket, too, you see Peace for some is falling asleep at night And waking up early for others Some its getting the day just right Or when your finally under the covers And peace is getting bad things far far out of sight Peace is the feeling of hope Everyone knows it is great So don't just sit around and mope  There is no time left to waste Peace may not be  The same for ...