books

Sharing the Story Behind the Story

/ still a dreamer / 8 Comments

Saturday, July 8th, I was in the Author’s Tent at the annual Tinicum Arts Festival from 2-4 p.m. with my picture book, Where Do Butterflies Go at Night? One of the purposes of the event, of course, is to promote my book.

However, part of the fun of being there is to chat with customers about the story itself. Visitors are interested to know about how I came up with the idea for Butterflies, and what was my creative process in writing the story. People are often interested in the book journey itself, from concept to print, and what’s involved in an author being at an event talking to them right then!

I think exchanges such as these are truly a part of what makes publishing a book so interesting and worthwhile. We always go to events hoping for sales, and that’s an important motivation, but why this book sprang from our hearts and minds is very important, too. It’s nice to know others want to know that.

Pictured above is a fellow author, an entomologist and engineer, Chris Alice Kratzer, whose book is The Social Wasps of North America. The festival plan was for one adult and one children’s author to share the tent for two hours, and Chris was a delight. To Hannie, the Author’s Tent event organizer, and the Tinicum Civic Association for inviting me to participate – thank you!!

School Assemblies with “Butterflies”

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I was invited by Principal Melissa Goad (below right) to give a presentation on June 15th at Patrick McGaheran Elementary School – a talk on butterflies and a reading of “Where Do Butterflies Go at Night?”

I was a little anxious in anticipation. This would be my first experience with groups this large – three assembles of 120 kids each, pre-K through 2nd grade. I put a tremendous amount of time into the preparation, not only modifying my talk for a large group, but also learning Power Point, and creating my first slide show ever.

It paid off! I knew my material, and the talk improved with each presentation as I relaxed, became more spontaneous, and got used to using a mic and managing the presentation on my laptop while talking.

The school had really prepared well for me, too. They had gotten books and had read them to all the students in advance. I worked with a wonderful PTA liaison, Kelly (above left) who’d put so much together before I even got there, and had another assistant, Stacy (above right), to help me while I read aloud.

The students had been building a butterfly habitat in their garden-like courtyard, and were very excited to learn more about butterflies and be read to. It turned out to be so much fun. Children today know much more than we did at that stage in our education, and I loved taking their questions. They were shy in asking, but had very relevant points they wanted to know. I could have spent half the time with them just doing Q and A!

I breathed a deep breath when we were done; it went well! 360 small children were more well-behaved and eager to be involved than I had anticipated – whew! – and we all learned a lot. Thanks to all at Patrick McGaheran School!

My New Website – Tada!

/ still a dreamer / 6 Comments

To be truthful, this is long overdue; however, I am just so happy and so grateful that it is here and up now.

With the new site, I can better share with you the work that I do, and even how some of it may help you! I’m thinking of graphic design, self-publishing, or art projects.

It’s all so shiny and new!! Please take a look and thank you for checking out my new website.

Missing Writing

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The fact is, I write every day – I journal – but I miss writing. I want to say “real writing”, the kind that isn’t just one’s personal ups and downs, the efforts to figure things out, the daydreams and fantasies. (Because none of that is real, right? Haha.)

Maybe a year ago, needing to become more active on social media to promote my children’s book, I discovered Instagram. I love IG because it feeds the visual aspects of my heart, my mind, my soul in a very different way than writing does. So I’ve been hunkered down over there for a bit. (Please come visit me on Instagram @jeannebalsam )

An extremely simple example of AI art using Midjourney and the prompt “A swimming pool filled with stars on a moonlit night.” Image courtesy Wikipedia

And what have I found? A community of children’s book people, an immense amount of positivity, and an endless treasure trove of art that is firing up my brain. Some of it is illustration, some is videos/reels, but a great source of fascination is the AI art (Artificial Intelligence) – see above. People using programs such as Midjourney are creating often fantastical images, but to my mind, I see magic.

I love that in every way – art, writing, music – and it seems that some magic is calling to me. I want to be where the magic is, for it to take me and my art to some new, unexpected places. It sparkles.

Still, I miss writing. I feel like I am being readied for some new union between word and image. After being absent for a bit, I also miss my friends here on WP who inspire me, too. (But I’m getting to you …)

Where is your magic? Is it dancing? Is it calling you?

A little inspiration of late – 51 minutes of uninterrupted beautiful music that fills me with dreams. Maybe you, too.

Where We’re Going

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More and more I realize how everything we choose is moving us forward on our path. Whether it’s who we meet, what we read, what we listen to, where we go, what we dream about … it’s all moving us forward and serving our mental, spiritual, and emotional evolution.

For example, this month, I have committed to Inktober, an October challenge to create a new pen and ink drawing each day and post it on Instagram. I am sharing four with you, but I have faithfully drawn every day. I’m using this to get my creativity going, to get the feeling of what it’s like to draw on a regular basis, plus I love pen and ink. There are things I plan to do, and Inktober appeared to me. Right on time.

I have been trying to see more art, and have finally been able to get back to Grounds for Sculpture, a 42-acre outdoor museum for contemporary sculpture and arboretum. I’ll share a few of the beautiful pieces i saw …

And when I can’t get out to see art, I am finding it online, especially on Instagram. Instagram, of all social media, is highly visual and a great fit for me as an artist, photographer, and illustrator. But it has also been a constant source of positive and inspiring messages that uplift my mind and spirit, and I try to share them with whoever stops in and visits me. If interested, I am @jeannebalsam.

In reading, we also grow. I have picked up four books recently, and left off on three – I chose them at one time, but they are not where I am now. The fourth, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, is written in letters back and forth between characters in the years following WWII, and about how life was affected in the Channel Islands by the German occupation. It’s rich and funny and heartfelt, and also about how reading connects us all. It received unanimous glowing reviews. Go look; it’s excellent.

And music – finding and listening to new, all that speaks to me now. Music is so healing, whether music for meditation or Indie/pop, whatever it is, keep music in your life. And dancing … mostly in the kitchen, to my phone. It makes me happy. Tried it?

When I don’t post for a while, it does become an epistle, so I’ll leave you here with the thought to remember to feed your life well in all you do. And also a video – Dancing with My Phone. This is from HYBS, a duo you will see in the odd (and inexplicable to me) Christmas moment. I hope it makes you smile … and turn up your phone.