Everywhere water.
River water undercuts trees.
Steam rises, flowering in frost.
Clouds ripple across the sky.
Snow mantles the ground.
And that is but one image.
Ice chunks. Blowing snow. Sastrugi. Frozen waterfalls.
Rock carved by streams and glaciers.
Trees, leaves, even the spiky desert plants
Arise from water
As do we.
Even the sand,
Shaped by the wind in utter dryness
Was once rounded by water.
® Sue Ann Bowling; written durning Summer Arts Festival 2011
This morning started with Peggy taking us to the art gallery in the Fine Arts Center. Here we saw an exhibition of photographs which we were encouraged to use as inspiration for our writing. The electricity went out just about at the end of our stay, so it was lucky our next session was the outdoor exercise with Jonny Gray.
Here we again focused on acting things out. (Jonny, to be honest, I was fighting hypoglycemia during this lesson, and while I know it was concerned with acting out and timing, my brain wasn’t quite up to speed and I need some help on this class.)
The electricity was still not on by the time of Frank’s class, so we met on the library porch where we discussed exposition, coming back to action to keep the reader, and using dialog to show character and situation. By then the power was back on and we had our lunch break.
Afternoon was again spent on the planned class book. This included final design of our pages, though not their execution.
A rope as the rim of a well
Frank started the morning, and today concentrated mostly on fiction. He pointed out that there is a distance from the author to the narrator, and from the narrator to the subject, From the reader’s point of view, he sees the narrator and may catch a glimpse of the author.
Jonny had us do an exercise using common objects—a piece of fabric, rope, a stool, a bucket, and a stick and use them to represent other objects. We were then divided into groups of four or five and each given one of the objects, which we had to make represent two different things, with a transition between them. Finally, we were all asked to become part of one of the scenes.
A stool as a crown
Jeanne handed out a poem, “A Story” by Philip Levine. The poem is superficially about a house, specifically a kitchen, but it evokes the family who lived there and the change from forest to a subdivision. Jeanne asked us to write something — poem or prose –about a room and the objects in it, using the wild word “fish.”
Margo and Peggy used the afternoon to move forward on the class book. We each had to read aloud the pieces we were contributing, helping Peggy and Jonny decide what order the pieces should be in. We discussed a title for the book. Then we practiced the embellishment of the pages, using a card the same size as the finished pages. We are each expected to do our own page, all 30 or 40 copies of it. We also worked on page layouts.
Remember the text goes to DateLine for printing over the weekend, so tomorrow is the last chance to make any changes in layout. Also, those who have signed up for individual conferences need to get their work in tomorrow.
Frank emphasized we should take our bluebook (or a pocket notebook) wherever we go. Again, the goal is to find material for an essay, but it may not be the essay you are first thinking of.
He then got into fiction, and assigned us to write about 150 words abut our characters by tomorrow.
In contrast to essays, fiction requires a willing suspension of disbelief. Partly, this requires that the story is self consistent, even if it is not consistent with the real world. Dialog can be used widely, but let the characters rule. They decide the ending. He recommended we look at The Complete Short Stories of Flannery O’Conner.
You can use flashbacks to clarify how your characters got into the situation they’re in, and use surprise within the limits of the story’s world.
Another recommendation: Ordinary Wolves by Seth Cantor, especially as a guide to using material on real people.
Jonny again took us outdoors, and divided us into groups of 4 or 5. Each group had to pick three words and present each of them in a tableau, which the rest then guessed. (Ours ere geese flying, a dog team and a rhubarb plant. The rhubarb was generally seen as a tree.)
We then had to combine our tableaus into one.
Margo introduced us to more on pochoir after lunch. We are supposed to put our text—no more than 150 words total—into the template she sent us, using 11 point Calibri (not on my Mac.) Margo and the other instructors will print it out and if necessary let us have it on a flash drive (bring.) We started doing the pochoir by planning the image shapes on tracing paper. The shapes were then transferred to drafting vellum with a sharp pencil. We need to bring an envelope to store our stencils.
We will be using gouache paint, which is water-based so dried paint on an a palette can be rejuvenated by adding a very little bit of water. We need to use separate brushes for mixing colors and actual application of paint. The paint should be very dry, and is applied with near-vertical movement of a stiff brush. Near vertical, but with a slight movement toward the center of the stencil to avoid paint under the stencil. Between colors, we need to wash the brush in water and dry it thoroughly with a paper towel.
“The taker always ends by hating the giver.” Dorothy Sayers, Have His Carcase. Peter to Harriett, as he explains that he understands her reluctance to accept his aid when she is entangled in a second murder case.
“Third-class musicians are a nuisance.” Dorothy Sayers, Strong Poison. Miss Murchison, explaining why she became a secretary rather than a musician.
“Even a little boredom might be welcome by way of change from alarms.” Dorothy Sayers, Gaudy Night. Harriet is brooding in her rooms, after a day of instruction on how to defend herself against an attacker..
“There is a limit to the number of eggs hat can be spun by human hands.” Dorothy Sayers, Strong Poison. Part of Miss Murchison’s history, referring specifically to the financier whose machinations came crashing down about his ears, leaving her without a job. Written in 1930, but all too timely today.
“I can’t be sorry for anything. I’ve forgotten how.” Dorothy Sayers, Busman’s Honeymoon. Part of a conversation Harriet is having with Peter in the churchyard after he says she might say she is sorry for how long she resisted him.
“You’ll never become a professional till you learn to do a little work.” Dorothy Sayers, Whose Body? Charles Parker (policeman) scolding Lord Peter on his somewhat cavalier attitude to detection.
“The younger they are, the easier they take to free fall.” Bowling. Homecoming. Derik’s comment after a birthday party for a two-year-old in a free-fall gym.
Pochoir is a refined stencil-based technique employed to create prints or to add color to pre-existing prints. It was most popular from the late 19th century through the 1930’s with its center of activity in Paris. Pochoir was primarily used to create prints devoted to fashion, patterns, and architectural design and is most often associated with Art Nouveau and Art Deco. The use of stencils dates back to as early as 500 C.E. and was also used in Europe from the 1500’s onward to decorate playing cards, postcards and to create simple prints. It was, however, the increase in popularity of Japanese prints in the middle of the 19th century that spurred the refinement of the use of stencils culminating in the development of pochoir. At the peak of its popularity in the early 20th century, there were as many as thirty graphic design studios in France, each employing up to 600 workers.
Pochoir begins with analysis of the composition, including color tones and densities, of a color image. Numerous stencils were designed as a means of reproducing an image. A craftsman known as a découpeur would cut stencils with a straight-edged knife. The stencils were originally made of aluminum, copper, or zinc but eventually the material of choice was either celluloid or plastic. Along with this transition of stencil materials, there was a shift away from the use of watercolor towards the broad, soft, opaque layers of gouache. The technique was further refined in an effort to create the most vivid, accurately colored reproductions. Stencils created by the découpeur would be passed on to the coloristes. The coloristes applied the pigments using a variety of different brushes and methods of paint application to create the finished pochoir print.
This will be a short post I’ll fill out later. Jeanne is appearing tonight at the Alaska Writers’ Guild meeting at 7, so I’m putting this in at the Writing Center — without my computer glasses.
Jeanne Clark
Margo handed out sheets on which we are to write a few lines and use them to practice design tomorrow.
Jeanne had us writing Cinquain poems, a syllabic form with 22 syllables and 5 lines, broken up as 2,4,6,8,2. Just to make it more interesting, the topic had to be from our blue book theme, and we ad to write using the wild word “fall.”
Jonny had us go outside, to the circular plaza that was once a fountain (fountains and Alaska winters don’t mix.) Here he had us spread out and move, filling in any empty spaces we saw, while continuing to walk. Next we had occasionally to make eye contact with another person and circle them, still trying to spread ourselves evenly. The final exercise was aimed at creating a focus. One person would be or indicate the focus, others
Space filling exercise
would reinforce that focus. For this I really need the pictures — I “indicated the focus” by aiming the camera, but I also actually took pictures, some of which are shown.
Peggy gave us two class exercises. The first was to write a paragraph, guided by one she showed us from Where Rivers Change Direction by Mark Spragg. Then she gave us several poems from The Ink Dark Moon by Izumi Shikibu and asked us to write a short poem changing a stereotype into something fresh.
Frank had us identify our blue book topic. Some people (not me) actually had several entries. I did some for Jeanne’s exercise this morning, but haven’t copied them over yet. He then contrasted essays: a basically not-linear of branching form
Focus exercise
that needs pruning, though it may have a sense of movement — and fiction, which has some sort of conflict at its heart. Our homework was to come up with two characters in inherent conflict. He gave us several examples from Flannery O’Connor and the class came up with more.
Jonny Gray, our new faculty member.
We started out with announcements and introductions.Peggy told us that class members would read at the Bear Gallery September 3. She also mentioned the Wrangell-St. Elias Poetry Workshop, and urged us (at least the poets among us) to attend. She introduced the instructors, most of whom were pictured earlier, but Jonny Gray was a new face.
We’re meeting in an underground room this year, but a large one for a change.
Jonny Gray had us meet one another, introducing ourselves with an object and a gesture to go with our names. I have to admit I leaned a lot of objects and gestures (fabric, aardvaark, alabaster and chocolate among them) but I’m still not sure I can tie in names and faces. He recommended a book: Writing for Social Scientists, by Howard S. Becker and urged us to treat writing as play and not be afraid to be a fool. The final exercise was to tell two truths and once lie about ourselves, without saying which was which.
Room for Creative Writing class, Summer Arts Festival 2011
Jeanne had us read “A Valentine for Ernest Mann” about writing a poem, and then had us write a poem about how you find a poem, using the “wild word” swipe.
Peggy and Jeanne read two selections from Bill Kloefkorn’s work at Lunch Bites.
Frank showed us a short video with an essayist — Scott Sanders? — explaining how he tried to write about the death of his fater, but ultimately is inspiration came from a blue book in which he’d been jotting down things about tools. He emphasized the inspiration can come from the unexpected– let yourself be surprised. Essay writing is often writing to figure something out, and the questions at the end of an essay may inspire the next essay. Our homework assignment was to decide on a topic and start jotting things down in the blue books (yes, exam books) he handed out.
Peggy handed around what she called a poem in process (not yet polished) called “Turning, Returning” in which each stanza began with “I will come back.” She had us try the same thing for at least ten stanzas, using both images and gestures.
This year at least some of what we produce during the class will be made into books, one for each of us, under Margo’s direction. The pages will be copied at the local Dateline, and that is to be done by the first Friday, when the pages will go out for copying. Each page will be illustrated using the Pochior process. I’ll have to get Margo to do a short guest post on what that is, though it sounds like stenciling. The second week we will actually be doing the pochoir and binding the books.
So far, homework consists of picking a topic for our blue books. I’m sure things won’t stay that easy.
Reminder: class member are encouraged to put their work in as comments. I’ll start the ball rolling by putting in my attempt at a poem from Jeanne’s prompt.
Addition: Mago gave us a list of what we’d need to bring and what was optional for book-binding. Definitely get if you don’t have, as you should bring them Wednesday:
Fine-point pencil and eraser
Scissors
a 10 x 13 piece of cardboard.
Bring if you have:
X-acto knife
stiff bristle brushes
non-tipping water jar with lid
tool jar
cutting mat.
She will supply some of this last group, but the more who can bring their own, the better.
Red lychnis
Sunrise this morning was at 4:02 am, and for a change sunset will also be today, at 11:49 this evening. Day length is down to 19 hours 47 minutes, and we’re losing more that 6 ½ hours of potential sunlight a day. Not daylight, really – it’s still light enough to drive all night, and the sun dips less than 4° below the horizon. Granted it’s only a little more than 45° above the horizon at most, but for practical purposes we still have 24 hours of daylight.
Salmon lychnis--this one's about eye level.
The lychnis (Maltese Cross) is blooming, and I’m beginning to wonder if I have a new hybrid variety. I have lots of red ones, all descended via volunteer seedlings from a single red I purchased years ago. More recently, I bought a packet of salmon seed (actually a very light salmon pink) and raised several plants from it. The salmon is a taller, earlier plant, with umbels of small flowers; the red is shorter, blooms a little later and has relatively large flowers. Both self seed freely.
The first large blooms this year were on plants that looked like the reds, and the blooms were the size of reds, but they were lighter in color. Could pollen from the salmons have fertilized some of the reds? At any rate, I like the new color.
Possible hybrid? Flowers on this and the red are almost 2" across; those on the salmon are less than 3/4".
For Tourist Trap I’m going to do something a little different in that the next three blogs will be contiguous. Note that Roi, the “he” of the snippet is feeling what is happening to Amber, many miles away. And Tourist Trap is now live on the iUniverse website.
Other Six Sentence Sunday writers
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'Homecoming' Blog 