Winter Blues? Try these ideas with a creative approach!

Do you live in a place where you have cold winters? If so, this post is for you.

Where I live, we are currently experiencing cold weather, including snow. My sister-in-law in Minnesota has it worse, but it's quite cold enough in Kansas City, thanks!

Yes, those are bare trees behind hm.

Pascal Gephardt, my Beloved, hates winter and loves summer. Every year on the Summer Solstice, he exclaims that he can feel the world turning colder with the shortening of the days. 

Sometimes he'll shiver with dramatic flair and look for a coat, even if the air temperature is in the 90s F (32 C or above). 

And on the Winter Solstice? I'll let the picture at right tell you how he celebrated it this year. (For a few minutes, until the pictures were taken. Then he hurried back inside). Silly? Well, yes. But I love the creative flair of his response, not to mention the ironic impulse.

Is Winter really bad for you?
There are a lot of reasons to think so, actually. Here's a great video from DNews, with a number of reasons why winter is a bad idea for humans. 

Less sunlight can cause lower levels of Vitamin D in our bodies, which places us at greater risk for illness. It also can cause Seasonal Affective Disorder (appropriate acronym: SAD). No, it's NOT all in your head. Winter really is out to get you. 

Can Creativity "Cure" Winter?
I wish! But creativity can come in handy when you're going through it. I've collected some of my favorite ideas about creative things to do, that can lighten the winter blues. If you have other suggestions, please share them in the comments section! 

1. Plan your Summer Vacation! When better, right? This is an anywhere-anytime idea. Collect images of your dream destination and paper your cubicle at work (management willing, that is), your refrigerator, or bulletin board with them. Create an idea journal, or just paint lovely pictures in your mind. Consider the possibilities! 

Just walking past Jessica Abelson's beach-vacation-themed cubicle ought to get the whole office smiling!

2. Have a fireside camp-out. I know people may suggest this for entertaining children--and kids are great generators of creative fun. But who says an adult can't roast weenies and marshmallows in the fireplace (assuming you have one) for him/herself? 

No fireplace? There are creative ways around that, too. Got candles? Got computer? If you need to look at a fire, those might do in a pinch, though you'll probably have a hard time roasting weenies on them.

Creative solution for a "Fireside Chat" meeting
theme. Could work in a living room, but it won't
toast your marshmallows too effectively.

Cradle a tin cup of a warm drink in your hands, watch the flames (however generated), and pretend you're in your favorite camping spot. 

Play "sound effects" in the background (recordings of all sorts of things are available). Crickets? Birdsong? Waves on the beach? Wolves howling? Be--what else?--creative! 

3. Take a cue from Pascal, and act as if it's summer. Fix yourself a tall, cold fruity drink (I'll leave the contents to your taste preferences). Add a parasol, if it helps improve the festive mood (available at party stores or online). Play Bob Marley or the Beach Boys. Make an ice cream treat. Put on a lei, your sun hat, your favorite Hawaiian shirt. 

Lots of ideas for planning gardens large and
small are available online and in books.

4. Plan this spring's garden. Even you only have a container on your balcony or a planter by your window, winter is the perfect time to browse through gardening catalogs or websites. 

If you have more ground you can cover, consider making more elaborate plans for growth and development. 

Remember, after a winter cooped up inside, getting out in the sunshine will help you make up those Vitamin D deficiencies you've developed all winter. 

Best of all, everyone knows fresh-picked veggies are the tastiest, and how better to indulge in cut flowers all summer than to grow your own?

IMAGES: Many thanks to my husband Pascal, for letting me post his photo (which I took), and to DNews for the video. The epic "beach vacation"-themed cubicle is from Jessica Abelson's "Complete Cubicle Survival Guide." Check out her other great ideas, too! The "Fireside fix" with the computer image was the creative idea of my friend Tracy Majkol, at a meeting of the Kansas City Science Fiction and Fantasy Society last May. The garden-planning image is from Wendy's post, "Garden: Planning," from the blog This Beautiful Day.

Artdog Image of Interest: Science Literacy

In honor of school starting all over the country, here's a thought to ponder:

More and more schools are requiring that kids be vaccinated before they can attend. But have you ever thought they could be "vaccinated" by attending and paying attention?

IMAGE: Man, this was a hard one to track down, even with help from TinEye Reverse Image Search. The original photo seems to have come from Time Magazine in 2008. If I put the clues together correctly, it first appeared on the Logic and Science Tumblr in this form, and was quickly picked up by the I F**king Love Science Facebook Page (at least, according to "The Best Page in the Universe"), though I could not locate it listed there now.

Artdog Quote of the Week: If you don't educate . . .

In honor of the start of school in many places around the nation and the world this month, here's a thought to bear in mind:

 

Always true, even if you don't like paying taxes. 

I would prefer not to think that manipulation is the plan of those who seek to slash education spending or shunt money away from public education, thereby creating even more obstacles to equality for the poor than already exist. 

I would like to be able to say with confidence that this is not the plan of those who would deny higher education to those who were brought as small children to my country, by parents seeking a better life. 

I would like to think that everywhere in the world, people are coming to the realization that educating girls is the best economic idea we've seen in ages, because of the predictably positive results, and that those who would rather kill or rape them than educate them are a dying minority.

I would like to. But I fear it would be a lie.

IMAGE: Many thanks to the Urban Drops Facebook Page, for this image!

"Gallery Talk" to Close Summer Show

What: Gallery Talk, plus naming the recipient of the People's Choice Award
Who: St. Tammany Art Association, Don Marshall, juror, and several exhibiting artists.
When: August 8, 2015
Time: 6:00-9:00 p.m.
Where: St. Tammany Art Association Art House, 320 N Columbia St., Covington, LA 70433

If you're in the New Orleans/St. Tammany Parish area, consider a trip to Covington Saturday, for a Gallery Talk event to close the 50th National Juried Artists Exhibition. 

The St. Tammany Art Association's Art House, at 320 N. Columbia St., Covington, LA hosts the show and the Gallery Talk.

Don Martin, show juror, and Executive Director of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival Foundation.

Join Juror Don Marshall and several of the exhibiting artists as they discuss the work and the show.

Nine-Part Herbal Fantasy--Light Cycle, by Jan S. Gephardt

One of the works chosen for the show was my paper sculpture, Nine-Part Herbal Fantasy--Light Cycle. 

IMAGES: The graphic banner for the show is courtesy of the Covington Weekly. The photo of the St. Tammany Art Association Art House is from the Louisiana's Northshore website. The photo of Don Marshall is courtesy of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Many thanks to them! The photo of Nine-Part Herbal Fantasy--Light Cycle was taken by me. You are welcome to reblog the image without alteration, and with an attribution and a link back to this post. 

Late Notice--St Tammany Art Association 50th National Annual Juried Show includes my artwork

I have no excuses--I've been remiss. But I still want to very much thank the St. Tammany Art Association, and their highly perceptive 2015 juror, Don Marshall, for including me in the 50th National Juried Artists Exhibition!

They chose my paper sculpture, Nine-Part Herbal Fantasy-Light Cycle for the show, which is their current exhibit. The show runs through August 8.

Nine-Part Herbal Fantasy--Light Cycle is on display at the St. Tammany Art Association's show.

If you are in the Covington, Louisiana area, please stop by! The St. Tammany Art Association Art House is a center of culture in Covington, and home to many events throughout the year.

A local artist (not named! Sorry!) paints the STAA Art House, home of the Summer Show.

Keeping it interesting all the way till the end, the Association has scheduled a closing Gallery Talk, featuring juror Don Marshall and some of the exhibiting artists, on the final day of the show, August 8, 2015, from 6 to 9 p.m.

Don Marshall, Executive Director of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival Foundation, was the juror for the STAA Summer Show. He will be among the speakers at the Gallery Talk that closes the show August 8.

Congratulations to all of my fellow exhibitors, and many thanks to Don Marshall and the St. Tammany Art Association!

IMAGES: The graphic banner for the show is courtesy of the Covington Weekly. The photo of Nine-Part Herbal Fantasy--Light Cycle was taken by me. You are welcome to reblog the image without alteration, and with an attribution and a link back to this post. The photo of the unidentified painter outside the STAA Art House is from the Louisiana's Northshore website, and the photo of Don Marshall is courtesy of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Many thanks to all!

Artdog Images of Interest: Cautionary Tales from Environmentally-Interactive Street Art

I've been running an ongoing series of "Images of Interest" featuring environmentally-interactive street art. Today's collection passes along some cautions!

What Happens When We Smoke, by 6Emeia

A Very Sad World, by OakOak

Stain, by Pejac

IMAGES: Many thanks to Wondermika for a blog post that actually attributes the art! Also to 6Emeia, OakOak, and Pejac for their creative visions.

Dive! Dive! Dive! Ever-Deeper POV?

I don’t normally discuss technical aspects of fiction-writing on this blog, because it usually features a more general look at living the creative life. Also because lots of other blogs do address these topics well.

But today I want to address a mix of current trends I haven’t yet seen addressed together. Be warned: this post gets hip-deep into writing technique. If that’s not your bag, I apologize . . . and I have an Artdog “Images of Interest” post coming Saturday, that you may enjoy more.

Diving deep into character Point of View is a challenge.

Still with me? Then let’s talk about “deep point of view.” If you’re new to writing or you’re a writer who’s been living in a cave (i.e., not looking at any writing websites, reading any writing books, or talking to other writers) for the last couple of decades, you may ask, “What is deep POV?”

Basically, it’s a contemporary writing trend in which the writer attempts to remove as many “filters” between the reader and the world of the viewpoint character as possible. The goal is to create more immediate, effective, and vivid fiction.

If you aren’t sure what techniques work best, here are Kristen Lamb, Beth Hill, and Susan Dennard, with helpful guidance.

Grappling with how to improve my own fiction.

If you do know what I’m talking about, then you’re probably a writer who’s been grappling with questions of how best to manage deep POV in your own fiction.

But how deep is “deep enough”? Will third-person be immediate enough, or does it need to be first-person? Not necessarily.

Is “narrative past tense” immediate enough, or should it be written in the present tense? Again, that depends.

What about first-person present tense? Is THAT “immediate” enough?

What? A story—heck, a novel written in first-person present tense? Could that work?

Well, some writers actually are making it work.

Linda Castillo makes first-person-present-tense work for her.

I just finished reading the first three novels of LindaCastillo’s “Amish” mysteries, set in Ohio’s Amish country. Not all of her viewpoints are written in first-person-present-tense, but in the viewpoint of her protagonist Police Chief Kate Burkholder, she uses it to surprisingly good effect. It’s not for everyone, but it’s a potential tool in the kit. Gimmick? Hmm. Time will tell.

But wait! There’s more. Today’s post was sparked by an article, “Reader is My Copilot,” in the most recent Writer’s Digest (Yes, it’s July as I write this, but the cover date is September 2015. Ah, publishing!).

Marie Lamba, author and agent

In the article, author and literary agent Marie Lamba outlines tips for bringing the reader in on the creation process. As she puts it: “Readers have in their minds a seemingly endless library of common images and related sensory memories . . . . Common images and impressions should be an important part of your writer’s toolkit.”

Then she goes on to encourage writers to use strategic but minimal description to activate those impressions in readers’ minds, and then get out of their way.

In other words, don’t overwrite. Instead, let readers visualize their own setting, character, etc., for optimal vividness and immediacy. Since it’s WD, she outlines the technique and gives illustrative examples to help clarify what she means.

Have we now reached the “event horizon” of just how deep and immediate written prose fiction can possibly get? Are these concepts of immediacy and deep POV bringing us techniques for the ages—or are they the passing fads of the moment, that will identify for future literary scholars, “Ah, this was written in the early twenty-first century”?

How engaged are YOUR readers?

Depends on how well it serves the reader’s engagement in the story—and on how many authors can get it to work for them. Stay tuned.

IMAGES: I am grateful to all of the following! 

The underwater cave photo shows "Diving at Mount Gambier, South Australia," on the Moray Dive Gear website’s blog post “21 Spectacularly Beautiful Underwater Caves to Scuba Dive.” 

The image of my hand on the keyboard of my computer was taken by me, using my other hand to clumsily wield my iPhone. 

The images of the first three books in the Linda Castillo "Amish crime thriller series" are from Castillo's website. 

The photo of Marie Lamba is from her website's "About" page. 

And the visual pun of the engaged couple engaged in their reading is from Meg Perotti’s blog—announcing the engagement of her friends Rosemary and Chris, who appear to be quite the bibliophiles (and we wish them all the best!).