It took me Friday and most of the weekend to get the next page done. In the end, it looks deceptively simple, probably because I hit so many dead ends on the way. Paraphrasing Thomas Edison, I now know of many ways not to print on tissue paper. In the end I figured it out and I've written it down so I can do it again, should I feel so inclined.
Another good outcome is that I mastered the art of creating photographic transfers using acrylic gel medium. It's not photo perfect, but it does make a great, largely transparent, image, and I've managed to reproduce a wedding photo for the next poem.
Wally's home some time tonight (1.30am, if past experience is anything to go by) and normal life will resume. I'm pleased with how the book is shaping up, if not with how long it's going to take. But this is my major project for this year. It's going to mean turning down some other opportunities and ignoring some of the other things I was trying to do last year. I've realised (and accepted) that I'm really bad at multi-tasking. If I have too much to do I get overwhelmed and don't do anything. So I'm dropping everything non-essential in favour of working on the books.
Easy to say when the year is in its infancy and hasn't really revved up yet.
Sunday, 15 January 2012
Wednesday, 11 January 2012
so slow...
OMG. I had all day (other than 2 hours when I went out for a haircut - lookin' good!) and still got only one page completed. Took ages to find and register online for some free stock images when I couldn't find what I wanted amongst my own photos; then the materials I was using wouldn't behave (well, didn't do what I was wanting and expecting); I spent ages with the hairdryer trying to speed things up; and then my gloss medium dried sticky and I had to create a non-stick barrier between pages that looked like it was exactly how I'd planned it. Oh, the artistic obstacles! (Puts back of hand to brow and sighs faintly but long-sufferingly.)
I really enjoyed the whole process. It's been so long since I've allowed myself to spend some actual time on art that I'd forgotten how caught up in it all I can get. Usually I'm looking for a quick fix, but today I was thorough, and the one page I completed is simple but effective, and I like how it turned out in the end. And I did get tomorrow's page started, if you can call 5 attempts at printing a poem out on several variations of an image without any of them working, a start.
Our giant dining table, for which I waited so long to bring home from my late parents' house, has disappeared beneath boxes of materials: stickers, paints, felt pens, stamps, scrapbooking paper, construction paper, tissue paper, hand-made paper, magazines, crayons, calligraphy pens, Sharpies, stencils, feathers, oil sticks, buttons, and art books. And it's not even the table I'm working on.
It feels awesome.
I really enjoyed the whole process. It's been so long since I've allowed myself to spend some actual time on art that I'd forgotten how caught up in it all I can get. Usually I'm looking for a quick fix, but today I was thorough, and the one page I completed is simple but effective, and I like how it turned out in the end. And I did get tomorrow's page started, if you can call 5 attempts at printing a poem out on several variations of an image without any of them working, a start.
Our giant dining table, for which I waited so long to bring home from my late parents' house, has disappeared beneath boxes of materials: stickers, paints, felt pens, stamps, scrapbooking paper, construction paper, tissue paper, hand-made paper, magazines, crayons, calligraphy pens, Sharpies, stencils, feathers, oil sticks, buttons, and art books. And it's not even the table I'm working on.
It feels awesome.
Tuesday, 10 January 2012
More progress
What a great day I had - up early-ish for a 3km run, and it wasn't raining. Did 4 hours' work answering emails and adding competitions and submission opportunities to the website while it rained. Sent some submissions to the Cha (Asian literary journal) 'Encounters' poetry competition. The last 2 sentences have a definite cause and effect relationship.
Did an hour on The Book - 2 more pages done. Spent some time in the garden after it stopped raining again. Did all the necessary reference checks and offered our empty apartment to the couple who really wanted it (yayy! Rent again). Talked to my Auckland phone buddy for half an hour. Watched last Thursday night's 'Chuck', as I forgot it was on last week.
Put like that, it doesn't seem like as much as it felt, but the time whizzed by and I felt like I had a productive and creative day. Thanks, Jen, for reminding me about Bach Flower Remedies - they've really helped me focus.
Sylvia's boyfriend arrived from Tauranga to stay with us for a couple of weeks. Having them in the house added a small portion of my daily conversational needs, before they went out to visit some friends.
I don't normally do a Tuesday Poem (Tuesdays come around far too often for me to keep up), but just because I feel like it, here's the poem I collaged and illustrated in The Book today:
Life is a Grocery Store
My father was a general manager,
stock-controller, check-out man –
a holistic server of people’s needs.
My mother cut cheese, bagged flour
and weighed onions –
maintenance tasks out the back.
Sometimes Mum filled in at the counter,
protecting the till while Dad
made weekly deliveries.
The Grocer had a car.
In Newtown everyone knew
everyone else – and their business:
“The Grocers have another daughter”
(The Queen has had another son).
Feelings were kept on the top shelf
where children couldn’t reach them.
First published in the whole wide world ed. Vivienne Jepson, The NZ Poetry Society, Wgtn, 2000. (That singleton line in the middle is supposed to be offset to the right, but I can't figure out how to make it behave.)
Tomorrow's my writing day, so I'll get 4 hours (or more, if it's going well and the garden is too wet to get into) of working on The Book. Gotta ramp up the production speed.
Did an hour on The Book - 2 more pages done. Spent some time in the garden after it stopped raining again. Did all the necessary reference checks and offered our empty apartment to the couple who really wanted it (yayy! Rent again). Talked to my Auckland phone buddy for half an hour. Watched last Thursday night's 'Chuck', as I forgot it was on last week.
Put like that, it doesn't seem like as much as it felt, but the time whizzed by and I felt like I had a productive and creative day. Thanks, Jen, for reminding me about Bach Flower Remedies - they've really helped me focus.
Sylvia's boyfriend arrived from Tauranga to stay with us for a couple of weeks. Having them in the house added a small portion of my daily conversational needs, before they went out to visit some friends.
I don't normally do a Tuesday Poem (Tuesdays come around far too often for me to keep up), but just because I feel like it, here's the poem I collaged and illustrated in The Book today:
Life is a Grocery Store
My father was a general manager,
stock-controller, check-out man –
a holistic server of people’s needs.
My mother cut cheese, bagged flour
and weighed onions –
maintenance tasks out the back.
Sometimes Mum filled in at the counter,
protecting the till while Dad
made weekly deliveries.
The Grocer had a car.
In Newtown everyone knew
everyone else – and their business:
“The Grocers have another daughter”
(The Queen has had another son).
Feelings were kept on the top shelf
where children couldn’t reach them.
First published in the whole wide world ed. Vivienne Jepson, The NZ Poetry Society, Wgtn, 2000. (That singleton line in the middle is supposed to be offset to the right, but I can't figure out how to make it behave.)
Tomorrow's my writing day, so I'll get 4 hours (or more, if it's going well and the garden is too wet to get into) of working on The Book. Gotta ramp up the production speed.
Monday, 9 January 2012
Progress!
Even though I started work again today, I managed an hour on the collection. I added one poem to Book 1, and then spent ages trying to get just the right photo (without the flash distorting it) of the image I'm using for the "Family" section title page. I'm not confident with editing photos on the computer (beyond cropping and resizing), so I guess it's all part of the learning curve. By the time I get to Book 7 I'll be a whiz. I hope I can keep it up, I really do. I'm trying to make it fun, and not all learning curves, but I'm also experienced enough to know that art can be frustrating. I simply remind myself that any creative project looks like the remains of Scarlett's breakfast (ie after puking but before eating it again) in the middle of the creative process. Been there, done that, know I can get out of the dip.
Can't believe how much I've got done today overall. Only 6 more sleeps before Wally comes back from hunting, takes over the bed and requires feeding. I like days that aren't interrupted by meals.
Can't believe how much I've got done today overall. Only 6 more sleeps before Wally comes back from hunting, takes over the bed and requires feeding. I like days that aren't interrupted by meals.
Sunday, 8 January 2012
Forgive me internet, for I have sinned. It's been 6 months since my last blog post.
Inspired by watching 'Julie & Julia' on tele tonight, I am thinking maybe I'll make a record of my attempt to publish my poetry collection. I missed the December deadline, of course, else why would I need to such a prompt? I could excuse myself by claiming it's because I had to pick up production of the NZPS anthology after the poor editor had a seemingly endless series of obstacles, but to be fair I didn't have to do that until October. I was well past the point of no return in my lack of application to the collection by then. No, all I can do is sigh and quote from the January 1st page of my Forbes Success Calendar (now several years old, and being scrolled through again as I hate to waste a good thing): "The gist of New Year's day is: try again." (Attributed to Frank Crane, though I saw it somewhere else recently, with a different credit - can't remember who.)
Anyway, I'm up to Day 1008 of my weight loss programme, which, though slowing down as I near my goal weight, has been remarkably successful and aided significantly by my conscientiously recording the details every day, so surely the same principle should work for publishing. Today I sent out a submission of 3 poems to Shot Glass Journal. They are all poems that will be in the collection, so I thought I'd give them a go before they are published and go out of circulation.
So, where am I up to? The first draft has been gone through quite thoroughly by the wonderfully kind Kerry Popplewell. She was one of my English lecturers at Vic a zillion years ago and when I asked her to cast her experienced eye over the ms. she replied that it was like asking Walt Whitman to comment on Emily Dickinson. In any event, she generously made annotations on the poems and offered many suggestions for improving them. I've followed many of her suggestions, and I'm grateful that some of the poems have ended up much tighter as a result. The ones she wanted change in that I couldn't see a way round, I've dropped altogether, so it's a bit shorter as well.
I have almost finished the preparation stage (ie ripping, glueing and gesso'ing) for 7 altered books in which I will hand-write and illustrate the collection. Most of the gesso job took place during the Rugby World Cup, as I watched every game and was sitting around a lot.
I've printed out the poems and arranged the pages in the first book, which now has a title page, publishing details and the Contents. The printed out pages were just to see how they fitted in the available space in the book, and to show me where I needed to do fancy tricks like adding pages and inserting boxes and that sort of thing.
I have an ISBN number, which is actually surprisingly exciting, and a definite push to get a move on. When you apply for your number the form asks you for a projected publishing date, and I put March, so that's another little incentive.
I've registered at PrintStop, which has a fantastic self-publishing system of templates and limited run printing at ridiculously reasonable cost, so I can get the printed copies done at any time. What's holding me up is my total inability to work out how to design a cover. The template required is in InDesign, my arch-nemesis. I'm going to need help.
So that's where I'm up to. If I want to post a little something each night before bedtime, I'm going to have to do a little bit on the books each day, aren't I. Baby steps; I'm good at those.
Inspired by watching 'Julie & Julia' on tele tonight, I am thinking maybe I'll make a record of my attempt to publish my poetry collection. I missed the December deadline, of course, else why would I need to such a prompt? I could excuse myself by claiming it's because I had to pick up production of the NZPS anthology after the poor editor had a seemingly endless series of obstacles, but to be fair I didn't have to do that until October. I was well past the point of no return in my lack of application to the collection by then. No, all I can do is sigh and quote from the January 1st page of my Forbes Success Calendar (now several years old, and being scrolled through again as I hate to waste a good thing): "The gist of New Year's day is: try again." (Attributed to Frank Crane, though I saw it somewhere else recently, with a different credit - can't remember who.)
Anyway, I'm up to Day 1008 of my weight loss programme, which, though slowing down as I near my goal weight, has been remarkably successful and aided significantly by my conscientiously recording the details every day, so surely the same principle should work for publishing. Today I sent out a submission of 3 poems to Shot Glass Journal. They are all poems that will be in the collection, so I thought I'd give them a go before they are published and go out of circulation.
So, where am I up to? The first draft has been gone through quite thoroughly by the wonderfully kind Kerry Popplewell. She was one of my English lecturers at Vic a zillion years ago and when I asked her to cast her experienced eye over the ms. she replied that it was like asking Walt Whitman to comment on Emily Dickinson. In any event, she generously made annotations on the poems and offered many suggestions for improving them. I've followed many of her suggestions, and I'm grateful that some of the poems have ended up much tighter as a result. The ones she wanted change in that I couldn't see a way round, I've dropped altogether, so it's a bit shorter as well.
I have almost finished the preparation stage (ie ripping, glueing and gesso'ing) for 7 altered books in which I will hand-write and illustrate the collection. Most of the gesso job took place during the Rugby World Cup, as I watched every game and was sitting around a lot.
I've printed out the poems and arranged the pages in the first book, which now has a title page, publishing details and the Contents. The printed out pages were just to see how they fitted in the available space in the book, and to show me where I needed to do fancy tricks like adding pages and inserting boxes and that sort of thing.
I have an ISBN number, which is actually surprisingly exciting, and a definite push to get a move on. When you apply for your number the form asks you for a projected publishing date, and I put March, so that's another little incentive.
I've registered at PrintStop, which has a fantastic self-publishing system of templates and limited run printing at ridiculously reasonable cost, so I can get the printed copies done at any time. What's holding me up is my total inability to work out how to design a cover. The template required is in InDesign, my arch-nemesis. I'm going to need help.
So that's where I'm up to. If I want to post a little something each night before bedtime, I'm going to have to do a little bit on the books each day, aren't I. Baby steps; I'm good at those.
Sunday, 19 June 2011
Update
15 June has passed, and I managed two-thirds of the planned activity for that deadline - I've got the manuscript with 2 readers who will offer me their considered opinions. I did ask a third person by the deadline, but the email bounced and I had to find an alternative address.
I'm not making much progress on the books. My father's house has sold and settlement is on Friday 24th, so I've been away from home a lot, selling things on Trade Me, having a garage sale at the house, and packing up everything that's left. One more trip tomorrow, an appointment with the lawyer on Tuesday, and handover on Friday. Then it's all over and I can get on with life again.
I'm not making much progress on the books. My father's house has sold and settlement is on Friday 24th, so I've been away from home a lot, selling things on Trade Me, having a garage sale at the house, and packing up everything that's left. One more trip tomorrow, an appointment with the lawyer on Tuesday, and handover on Friday. Then it's all over and I can get on with life again.
Tuesday, 7 June 2011
Progress report
Just back from being a member of the last ever team to win the quiz at the Black Harp, which is closing down to remake itself in a "modern concept". Fortunately, the nerdy and extremely good-natured quizmaster Andrew, of Quizit, is moving to The Occidental, so all is well. I will miss my monthly dinner of Eton Mess, but no doubt The Occidental will have a suitable dessert I can replace it with.
The Poetry Society competition entries were down this year, due largely to a reduction from our usual Christchurch entrants. The judge of the junior haiku will have an easy time of it especially. Never mind. It did mean I got all the poems recorded, coded and mixed for sending away before Queens Birthday Weekend, and I actually had a holiday. Nice.
So I've done some more work on the books I'm altering - more tearing and glueing, but not much painting yet. Still preparing them for the art work. That's what I'll do at nights - there really isn't anything on tv to keep me from it, other than comedies and House on Sundays and Misfits on Thursdays. And the rugby of course, but the Hurricanes have been a little disappointing. Some of the books I'm recycling have beautiful paper and others are crap. The main pre-requisite is that they're hardback, so a bit of variety in the quality is to be expected.
I'm having a hard time deciding who to ask to read the ms. for me. I need to think of people who know me enough to be bothered, but not enough that they'll steer clear of hurting my feelings rather than offering genuine feedback. Difficult line, really.
Now I've had my cup of tea I'll get on with some more prep work. I'd like to write tomorrow, Wednesday being my nominal writing day, but work's got so behind while I've been doing the competition, and I've got tax records to update so I can get our returns in on time, and all the other things that conspire to prevent me from being the consistent writer I'd like to be. I've decided to start by writing one poem before I do anything else, and that will have to do me for this week.
The Poetry Society competition entries were down this year, due largely to a reduction from our usual Christchurch entrants. The judge of the junior haiku will have an easy time of it especially. Never mind. It did mean I got all the poems recorded, coded and mixed for sending away before Queens Birthday Weekend, and I actually had a holiday. Nice.
So I've done some more work on the books I'm altering - more tearing and glueing, but not much painting yet. Still preparing them for the art work. That's what I'll do at nights - there really isn't anything on tv to keep me from it, other than comedies and House on Sundays and Misfits on Thursdays. And the rugby of course, but the Hurricanes have been a little disappointing. Some of the books I'm recycling have beautiful paper and others are crap. The main pre-requisite is that they're hardback, so a bit of variety in the quality is to be expected.
I'm having a hard time deciding who to ask to read the ms. for me. I need to think of people who know me enough to be bothered, but not enough that they'll steer clear of hurting my feelings rather than offering genuine feedback. Difficult line, really.
Now I've had my cup of tea I'll get on with some more prep work. I'd like to write tomorrow, Wednesday being my nominal writing day, but work's got so behind while I've been doing the competition, and I've got tax records to update so I can get our returns in on time, and all the other things that conspire to prevent me from being the consistent writer I'd like to be. I've decided to start by writing one poem before I do anything else, and that will have to do me for this week.
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