Category: art

Tuesday tea party

I think that I am in a chatty mood. Tea parties are for chatting, right? Today I want to talk hobbies. What are some of yours, and do you think that a person can have too many? I honestly pick up a new one each year. I have writing, which is no longer a hobby but more of an occupation now. I have drawing and digital art. I have painting, both acrylic and recently obtained water colors. (I am still not certain how I feel about water colors). I have jewelry design and crafting. (I make some really adorable earrings.) I have resin crafting. I crochet, though badly. I am about to add bath bomb making as well. (It was my daughter’s birthday request. She wants to have a craft we can do together and she is interested in bath bombs.) Of course I have reading, but I really don’t see that as a hobby. I have gaming, both video games and tabletop. I run a biweekly game in D20 style. I have been running games since third edition D&D came out. Currently I run a mish mash of pathfinder and 3.5. I looked into fourth edition and yeah… It’s not for me. I have been looking at fifth. I’m not really impressed. I would love to hear your opinion.

I have been considering adding soap and candlemaking to my activities. I think it would be fun. I took a class 20 years ago in candlemaking. The teacher made it over complex. I remember that I enjoyed it though. I think that the new melt and pour soap bases and the inexpensive soy wax options make both activities easier for me to access. Now I just need to convince my boyfriend that I don’t have too many hobbies… Hmm he may be right though. What is your opinion? Is it possible to do too many crafts? I really want you to tell me about your hobbies, where is your passions?

Monday Madness

So I normally do Monday poetry… But I didn’t feel it this week. This week I wanted to be absolutely all over the place… Chat about phone wallpaper and fun nonsense. To be honest I have been needing a lighter tone the last few days. My mind has been in some weird places… New story ideas for Serena and she still has to finish the one she is working on. This week will be both of us settling in to write, and it scares me. I have been running away from the computer and writing since thanksgiving, letting the inner voice get to me. Poetry has happened. Poetry always will. It does not scare me as bad. I know that I have skill and talent there. The demons that eat at the mind there were slain a long time ago. The demons attached to the stories and the art… They still claw at the tender bits in the back of my mind.

See every artist, no matter what their medium is, faces those demons. That wee bit of our inner soul that tells us that we are not worthy. That we will never be enough. Some, like Vincent Van Gogh, fight with the demons and lose. Not because they were not amazing, but because the demons are strong. The call to art, to create, is unbearable. But not all create on the same level. I am no Van Gogh. But I sit and question if it matters? Can I create and just be Patricia Harris? Is that enough? Well I have decided that with my poetry, it is. Now I have to get to that point with each medium I use. Serena’s macabre tales, my own children’s stories, acrylic paints, resin and jewelry art, watercolor paints, digital art, and even simple pencil drawing. I seem to have an endless imagination. Just not the confidence to back it up.

And look at this… I was supposed to chat about lighter topics. I have two phones… One that is active and one that I use as a tablet… I change my wallpaper on both about once a month. How often do you change your background on your devices? Care to share your background? Here are mine.

I considered sharing my lockscreens, but as both devices are my grandsons pictures (2 boys, 2 devices) I don’t think I will. Though I am proud of both I limit who I share my boys with because of the bad people in the world. I share that with people I trust.

So, what are your demons about? And do you want to share your wallpaper?

Thursday art break

So the weather has me sick… And I just don’t have the energy for a full post. I hope to be back at it for Friday. All of the above is art I have done..

Teaser Tuesday

Well… My next Volume is Dream Drips. Give me a week and I should be sharing the link for Spilled Verse.

Choices.

So… I am 3 poems from finishing the writing of Spilled Verse. I am often in a crunch on the last five or the first five of any volume. Not that I should be, but it always has my anxiety going nuts in that ten poem stretch. Self doubt is the highest during those.

I have other issues that require attention at the beginning and end of a volume. Layout, editing, cover design and choosing a new title. That is where I am now. I have a list of “possibles” that I keep just for my poetry volumes. These are ones that I use to pick from.

My current list is nine long. It helps me to have options. I will likely be doing the cover reveal for my teaser Tuesday on my next volume.

Teaser Tuesday

So I was given permission from some of the authors in this anthology to give you a sneak peek into it. I will only be listing the ones who gave me permission.

Of course I am a part of it. (I did the cover and am helping to organize it.)

Author – website – title of story – and teaser blurb if they had it ready.

Keep it in mind that they are mostly still writing it. We are expecting a summer release. This is not in any order other than the order of my personal notes.

1.) Jess Reece – Author – Scrydan Woods –

An ancient forest.
A cursed object.
A ghastly offering.

Do you dare to enter the Scrydan Woods?

2.) Serena Mossgraves – Author – Rowan –

Can a tree really end the world? Faeries fighting for the world against the darkness and themselves.

3.)Cyn A Snow – Author

4.) Tish Macwebber – Author (under construction) – Sweet Nothings – Clara spent her days working in a bakery, as a cashier. One day, she decided to go to her local craft store to buy some supplies for a new project. It was soon apparent that she was dabbling in something that was turning out to be a little more than she expected.The next time you try a new craft or hobby, Clara recommends for you to do all the proper research to make sure there are no strings attached…

5.) Micheal Walters – Author – Fey Food Fight

6.) D. Gabrielle Jensen – Author

7.) Deedra Nicole – Author & Editing – Mermaid Pearls

8.) Herschel Pilcher III

9.) Finn O’Malley – Author – Hidden Shadows – No one belonged in the Realm of Hidden Shadows, least of all the King of Air Faeries. Aeolus must retrieve the Air element to fulfill a magical destiny 100 years in the future, but at what cost? The King faces a daunting task of destroying a friendship and crossing murky lines of Dark magic to save what might be lost forever.

We may be considering new stories for it, I am not sure.

So far the stories look like they are going to be an amazing read. Please show these amazing artists some love and visit their pages. I will definitely be keeping you updated as we get closer to release.

Thursday truths

Ok. I was too lazy yesterday to do a review. So I think that I will discuss my art studio… The store is Here. I plan today to put some of my paintings in there for sale.

A friend and fellow writer was showcasing my studio for her newsletter. She asked me to please update my logo as it was not what she felt fit me. There is so much history in my logo. The first was designed by someone who I loved dearly. She was not a good thing for me. So I needed to cut the ties. My friend Kelly, editor at Xterraweb, helped me design a new one. I always thought logos were supposed to be sorta bland, professional symbols. So that was what we made. She gave me exactly what I asked for.

Well we come back to today… My friend who is doing the newsletter Jess Reece comes to me and says… You deserve a logo that expresses the colorful creativity of your soul!

Do you have any idea how that felt? Incredibly freeing. I found myself wondering why I had not designed it already? I love designing graphics.

So I did it. And I love it. Maybe I had to be prodded into it…But I really do love the new logo.

Have you ever been in that position? Tell me about your truth.

Tech Tuesday

I adjusted the schedule for to give myself options. Thursday reviews from now on will be books only. I have two options for each day and I may adjust further.

Today I am going to talk about the Canva app. The website is wonderful, but this is one occasion when I truly prefer the app. Available for android here. To be honest I don’t know if it is available for Apple as I don’t like the way Apple products work. (But those of you who like Apple, check the appstore and let us know)

It has the base social media image templates. It also has cover design templates. Options for adding graphics, text, or multiple pictures. There are free use pictures, subscription pictures (a monthly fee opens up the use of), and pay for use pictures. The app itself is free.

This is how I have been doing the graphics for my poems and my book cover designs. I enjoy the creative options that Canva offers. I highly recommend it for any graphic design needs. Anything from a flyer or brochure to a book or cd cover. It is loaded with options.

Patreon Scheduled

https://www.patreon.com/posts/23671035

Want to support me doing art and writing? Want a chance at a handwritten poem or one of my paintings? Join me on Patreon!

Scheduled snafus

So my schedule is thrown to the winds from the holidays. I apologize. I will be back on Monday (yes I realize it is New Years Day.) I want to get back on track. 2019 is going to be a busy year for me. I have a childrens book that will release in 2019, At least three poetry volumes will also release. Serena is going to be in an anthology and is hoping for her second book in the zombie series to release. I will be doing more with my art, and updates will be going up on Patreon (pattimouse) about that. Add to that this blog, the possible ezines, and other fun stuff. I will update you as I know dates and such. Thank you for continuing to read my simple blogs.

Also I will be continuing with world building for a couple of weeks. Fridays. Then I will start a series of character building posts. Not sure what I will work on after that.