Diane here. Can you believe it? The end of 2012. I am writing today so that I can say I wrote a December blog, because it's still December. By a hair. Which reminds me, I'd intended to color my hair during the holidays. The gray strands are not attractive. Kinda wiry and flyaway ...
Nothing like holding a First Annual Holiday Boutique in your neighborhood to discover a few things about yourself. And I like to follow Socrates' advice, Know Thyself. It tends to move you in a positive direction, once you gets over the humbling experience of thinking your uber-artsy Ocean-Themed Magnets would be the big seller, when in fact it was the whimsical Voodoo Dog Collection that stole the show.
So, I'm taking orders and Evy is chunking out the crocheted canines. And they are going like hot-cakes! (Er, hotdogs?) Custom-made to match your dog's breed and personality, three functional styles are offered:
1. Voodoo Pin Cushion. Popular with the dog-loving, sewing buffs (or possibly the boss-hating crowd).
2. Voodoo Ball Holder. Always searching for your dog's favorite ball? Now it has a home!
3. Voodoo Paperweight. A replica of your dog (in yarn, so maybe replica is too strong a word) can sit atop the pile of papers on your desk.
Evy is having fun making the dogs, and has even branched out into crocheting cats--Hello Kitty included. See the pics above and, of course, contact us for more info on these and any other items of interest. Evy is going to focus on crocheted goodies right now, including scarves and hats, but don't worry, she has not forsaken her painting.
As for me, I'm still freelance writing and teaching art and journalism in an after-school program here on the Central Coast. Check out Modern Serenity, an awesome green-living website with lots of great articles and ideas, including a few of my contributions. click here
My latest thing is writing chapbooks, which are perfect for flash fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction. I'm also working diligently on my children's books. It's all so much fun. The art, the writing, the teaching--the living on the Central Coast. All, except the graying hair. And I've got a date with Clairol that'll take care of that.
Enjoy!
Diane
Artwork by Evy Morelli
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Find Me on Teachers Pay Teachers
Diane here. I just signed up on a great website called Teachers Pay Teachers. There, you can find (and buy) my lesson plans, including Ruthless Readers plays. I'll be adding new lessons on a regular basis, in language arts, social science, and art. All your "Artsandletters" needs in one place! It's easy, it's painless.
Being a retired teacher never felt so good!
Uno Arts Storefront
Being a retired teacher never felt so good!
Uno Arts Storefront
Sunday, September 23, 2012
How to be a Working Writer--Your Writer's Voice
From "How to be a Working Writer" by Diane Smith
Your Writer's Voice
Want
to be like me? No, I don't mean short and constipated. I mean,
write like me, in my particular style. If you do, and we'll
discuss your sanity later, here's how you do it.
First,
you step into the shower. Next, you get out, because you've
forgotten the shampoo and conditioner. Now, step back in, armed with
the hair products of your choice. (It doesn't matter what they
are—when dry, your hair will have the same scraggly look
regardless.) Turn the water on again, full blast. It comes out in
the usual dribble.
Now
scream. That's right, let go with a big-ass shriek. The water is
freezing! And it has only slightly more force than an elementary
school drinking fountain. Despite the fact that multiple guys have
come to the house to check the plumbing and they all say the same
thing, “Huh. You've got plenty of pressure …”
And
that's the most important factor: you must be under lots of pressure
in your life in order to truly write like me. Let's
assume you are. Under tremendous pressure. Mostly self-imposed, but
no matter. Anyway, back to you standing in the shower, which is not
exactly the stress-reducer you'd hoped for. The water has finally
warmed up to tepid, and you are fully lathered from head to toe.
That
is the precise moment when the PERFECT story premise comes to you.
And because you have the memory of a gnat, you know you won't
remember the premise after the shower. That will be a good 10 to 15
minutes in the future. By that time, your mind will have gone
through many changes.
List
of mind changes (oh yeah, I do a lot of list-making in my writing):
a.
Crap, I forgot to bring my cell phone into the bathroom. I'll bet
I've missed an important call.
b.
Will my husband be annoyed with me because I used his razor?
c.
The mold growing in the corners of the shower looks kinda scary.
d.
Ha ha, one of my 4th graders said Ny-a-GARR-a
Falls yesterday! I should write that down.
e.
I really like Taco Bell burritos.
f.
Is a burrito a small burro and therefore made of donkey?
And
so on. It should be pretty obvious by this point that my writing voice is
a series of non sequiturs. Because that's how I see life—a series
of random events that make no sense most of the time. If you adopt
my writing style, you'll find that while it is rarely marketable, it
is somehow freeing. It's like unclogging a clogged drain. And god
knows, I could use some unclogging. Hence, my penchant for Taco Bell
burritos.
Enjoy, and happy writing!
Summer is officially over today. The last time we posted was in June. We get the irony that September 6 was "Fight Procrastination Day."
Bloggers who post on a daily basis, or even a weekly basis, have our utmost respect. They must be super-disciplined, or really exhausted. Either way, it's amazing.
Our hectic summer ends with the Cuesta College Writers Conference, and this year's program was another successful one. Nothing is more inspiring and confidence-building than events like these. Certain folks are just fun to hang with. That list includes writers, animal lovers, and musicians. They seem to have an attitude of "Not only am I gonna stop and smell the roses, but I'm gonna do it with my dog and my iTunes, and then I'm gonna write about it." Thank you, Cuesta College and SLO-Nightwriters!
What's New:
*Evy has a new little book, "Oriental Brush and Verse," which is a combination of her simple techniques in Sumi-e painting and her own original haiku. She discovered that haiku is very much like painting--both activities are meditative and the results can be very satisfying. And they don't eat up your time! A bonus! Contact Evy for questions about painting and information about obtaining her booklet.
*Diane printed her three volumes of "Ruthless Readers of the Central Coast do Aesop," a collection of Aesop's fables done in play format, updated and infused with humor. They're part of a series of Middle Grade Readers suitable for reading and performing in both small and large groups. Diane continues this labor of love, including scripts in the areas of American Folklore, Fairytales, Greek Myths, Norse Myths, Egyptian Myths and Jataka Tales. Eventually, she has plans to tackle such biggies as Beowulf and Gilgamesh. She's crazy like that. If you are a teacher and need a play adaptation of a piece of literature, contact Diane. The library of literature taking up space in her brain is a terrible thing to waste.
*Diane also put together a pocket book called "Editor in my Pocket." It's a culmination of all the cheat-sheets she provided for her students over the years, including helpful hints about grammar, spelling, punctuation and such. It even includes an impressively long list of "Other Ways to Say Said." Ask her about how you can get the book or have one custom made with your own photo as the cover. (Hers is her dog.)
Enjoy your "roses" (and hope for rain)!
Bloggers who post on a daily basis, or even a weekly basis, have our utmost respect. They must be super-disciplined, or really exhausted. Either way, it's amazing.
Our hectic summer ends with the Cuesta College Writers Conference, and this year's program was another successful one. Nothing is more inspiring and confidence-building than events like these. Certain folks are just fun to hang with. That list includes writers, animal lovers, and musicians. They seem to have an attitude of "Not only am I gonna stop and smell the roses, but I'm gonna do it with my dog and my iTunes, and then I'm gonna write about it." Thank you, Cuesta College and SLO-Nightwriters!
What's New:
*Evy has a new little book, "Oriental Brush and Verse," which is a combination of her simple techniques in Sumi-e painting and her own original haiku. She discovered that haiku is very much like painting--both activities are meditative and the results can be very satisfying. And they don't eat up your time! A bonus! Contact Evy for questions about painting and information about obtaining her booklet.
*Diane printed her three volumes of "Ruthless Readers of the Central Coast do Aesop," a collection of Aesop's fables done in play format, updated and infused with humor. They're part of a series of Middle Grade Readers suitable for reading and performing in both small and large groups. Diane continues this labor of love, including scripts in the areas of American Folklore, Fairytales, Greek Myths, Norse Myths, Egyptian Myths and Jataka Tales. Eventually, she has plans to tackle such biggies as Beowulf and Gilgamesh. She's crazy like that. If you are a teacher and need a play adaptation of a piece of literature, contact Diane. The library of literature taking up space in her brain is a terrible thing to waste.
*Diane also put together a pocket book called "Editor in my Pocket." It's a culmination of all the cheat-sheets she provided for her students over the years, including helpful hints about grammar, spelling, punctuation and such. It even includes an impressively long list of "Other Ways to Say Said." Ask her about how you can get the book or have one custom made with your own photo as the cover. (Hers is her dog.)
Enjoy your "roses" (and hope for rain)!
Monday, June 11, 2012
Going from Blahhhg to BLOG!
It's June, school's out, and we've re-cuped--as in recuperated. At the risk of sounding like we're full of excuses, the following explains our hiatus from blogging:
1. Diane recovered from her dental work marathon.
2. Evy started her own dental work marathon.
3. Diane's "little job" at the elementary school turned into a BIG job--multiple classes in poetry, reader's theater, journalism, and art. She also coordinated and taught peer mentoring at both the middle school and the high school. (SUMMER ART CLASSES OFFERED AT Nipomo Recreation Summer Schedule).
4. Evy has several oriental brush pieces in a local gallery (PAINTINGS ON SALE AT Five Cities Gallery).
5. Another writing group added to our schedule. Besides "Long Story Short," a flash critique group run by Diane, we attend "Just Us," a critique group for the children's genre. (JOIN AT SLO-Nightwriters).
6. And finally, we'd really like to spiffy-up our blog. You know, make it more interesting. So ...
Thank you to our many friends and supporters, for hanging in there while our New and Improved Blog undergoes a little makeover. Stay tuned for more cool stuff than you can shake a stick at, including new artwork and short stories we'd like to share with you.
Enjoy!
Evy and Diane
P. S. As a little preview, here's Diane's interview with the editor of Leodegraunce (READ AT Leodegraunce Author Interview).
Friday, November 4, 2011
UnoArts Finds New Roots
Ever have one of those years? You know, when you move to a new town, your life changes focus, and you get three root canals done? No? Well, I have!
An opportunity arose this spring when I turned a corner and found myself writing for a new market: this time, short fiction. I promptly got published twice--I mean, I got paid for it--and won a writing award.
Well, at first I was elated, then I panicked. I thought, If I'm going to pursue this fiction-writing business, I'll need a constant flow of material to write about. So I accepted a new position in a neighboring town in which I spend 8 hours a week teaching 4th through 6th graders how to write stories and poems. Yeah, yeah, I was an English teacher in my former life, but that was for middle and high school kids. This is a whole new world.
... of hurt. These little ruggers are ruthless! First of all, unlike me, they are armed. They're equipped with energy. And they have no inhibitions. They look at me, all wide-eyed, and say mean things like: "Are you old? Like 30 or 40 or something?" I have to bite my tongue, or else I might respond with "Why you little whipper-snapper!" and REALLY show my age.
As a result of all this material-gathering for my fledgling fiction-writing career, I am sleeping less and grinding my teeth more. Hence, the dental problems. I really did have three--count 'em THREE--root canals. This coastal paradise we moved to a year ago has everything, but it can't cure lousy teeth. I do like my dentist though; you gotta love a dentist who has surfboards in his waiting room.
Aloha! from Diane
(The pic is me and my Lillian Dean Writing Award for Short Story. It really is an honor and I'm grateful. I will be posting some short pieces written by both me and my mom, Evy. Stay tuned ...)
An opportunity arose this spring when I turned a corner and found myself writing for a new market: this time, short fiction. I promptly got published twice--I mean, I got paid for it--and won a writing award.
Well, at first I was elated, then I panicked. I thought, If I'm going to pursue this fiction-writing business, I'll need a constant flow of material to write about. So I accepted a new position in a neighboring town in which I spend 8 hours a week teaching 4th through 6th graders how to write stories and poems. Yeah, yeah, I was an English teacher in my former life, but that was for middle and high school kids. This is a whole new world.
... of hurt. These little ruggers are ruthless! First of all, unlike me, they are armed. They're equipped with energy. And they have no inhibitions. They look at me, all wide-eyed, and say mean things like: "Are you old? Like 30 or 40 or something?" I have to bite my tongue, or else I might respond with "Why you little whipper-snapper!" and REALLY show my age.
As a result of all this material-gathering for my fledgling fiction-writing career, I am sleeping less and grinding my teeth more. Hence, the dental problems. I really did have three--count 'em THREE--root canals. This coastal paradise we moved to a year ago has everything, but it can't cure lousy teeth. I do like my dentist though; you gotta love a dentist who has surfboards in his waiting room.
Aloha! from Diane
(The pic is me and my Lillian Dean Writing Award for Short Story. It really is an honor and I'm grateful. I will be posting some short pieces written by both me and my mom, Evy. Stay tuned ...)
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