Writing Workshop Wonderment

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When the opportunity occurs to work with masters of the craft you’re striving to hone, you go. 

“A Glint of Light on Broken Glass” -- a week-long writing workshop taught by Ellen Bass, a poet, teacher, and person whom you admire and respect, along with author and teacher Pam Houston, whom you don’t know, but hey, she’s with Ellen Bass. So you check Pam out and discover she’s a terrific writer and a prof at UC Davis.  For sure, you’re going.

Lake Connamarra

You take two planes, stay over at a hotel, meet up with three women writers you don’t know and rent a car together. You drive to the mountains, two-and-a-half hours east of Vancouver, BC, to reach The Inn at Lake Connamarra.

Everything works out fine.Your travel companions are gracious and kind. Thanks to your trusty Google Maps phone app, the watchful eyes of your new friends, and a turn-by-turn set of directions from the rental car agent, you don’t get lost. You make it to your destination in time for dinner.

You and your here-to-fore unknown roommate mesh perfectly, both of you friendly, encouraging, and considerate of each other’s comfort. You like to shower at night. She prefers mornings.  Her name is the same as your sister’s.

The other writers, some, like you, first-time workshop attendees and others, veterans of this mode of learning, congregate in the dining room and introduce themselves. They are from Washington, California, Arizona, Colorado, New York, and British Columbia. All of you are focused on the same goal: writing better. Slick as silk, thanks to an exercise orchestrated by Ellen, everyone knows everyone else’s name by evening's end.

You all understand the ground rules and structure. This is a generative workshop. You will create. You will be respectful of others’ right to write. If you see someone writing, you pass quietly, no need to engage them. If you see someone staring into space and holding a pen or a pencil or gazing at a blank screen, fingers poised above their keyboard, that’s writing. Keep going. When listening to others’ writings, you will “admire what is admirable.”

Learning Center

Your days in this beautiful natural setting glide by like a golden eagle. Your head and heart are filled with lectures, models, questions, personal stories, clever words and lines and twists. You are a witness to some of the finest, most honest writing from a host of gifted writers. Their example encourages, teaches, inspires.

During the week, you are schooled on intentional observation, using your surroundings as springboards, the power of writing for discovery, the importance of form, “nuts and bolts” like metaphor, tension, and tenses. You get a lesson on point of view – 1^st person (I),  2^nd person (you),  and 3^rd person (he/she/they/it). You learn it’s OK to write in the “you.”

You stretch and grow your writing muscles, your concentration, your commitment to writing, and your friend list. You will miss these people, these week-ago strangers.

You leave filled with ideas for more pieces, filled with the satisfaction of accomplishment, filled with wonder at how much you learned. You bask in the warmth and brilliant light of your fellow participants. Before you can reach home, you are eager for the next time. 

~ xoA ~

Stepping it Up in 2014: Freedom

Right from the beginning, I will disclose this truth: I have a high need for freedom. And, routines are not my thing. I crave the freedom and variety that come from randomness. My sister has commented that she couldn’t learn how to get to places when I was driving since I never took the same route twice. 

When there’s a job to be done, and I am confident in my ability to do it, I want to be left alone to figure out how to make it happen. That’s what I loved about teaching in my day. The state and school district spelled out the curriculum and objectives, and I was free to create my own units, lessons, and materials to meet those objectives. I often used students’ questions, interests and suggestions when designing activities.

Glasser says, “The more we are free and able to satisfy our needs in a way that does not stop another person from satisfying his or hers, the more we are able to use our creativity not only for our own benefit but for the benefit of everyone.” (p.40, Choice Theory)

Those of us who have a high need for freedom do not want to be micro-managed. We want to be creative and make decisions about how and when a job is done.

When entering into a romantic relationship, there’s some loss of personal freedom. This can be a big issue if the partners’ needs are far apart. The one with a high need for freedom may desire more room, more space. If he or she feels too restricted by a partner, the couple will have to come to some agreement about the amount of freedom that’s acceptable.

Couples who both have a higher need for freedom cherish being together but also spend time apart, pursuing individual interests and interacting with friends who share them. They “feel secure enough in their love and within themselves to not resent giving each other the space they need.” say William and Carleen Glasser in Getting Together and Staying Together. (p.35) 

So what about you and freedom? Low, medium, or high? Are you able to fulfill your need for it? Think about how you extend it to others -- your children, elderly parents, friends, and partner. How does your behavior allow them to satisfy their need for freedom?

~ xo A ~

New Challenge

It’s interesting how a challenge can produce awareness and growth. My latest one comes in the form of October Poetry Writing Month (OctPoWriMo). The challenge is to write a poem each day for 31 days. 

The rules are easy: 1) Write something. 2) Choose your own form. 3) Choose your own topic, or use a suggested prompt from the organizers. 4) Share if you wish. 

Participation is expanding my world by introducing me to poets and writers from around the globe as we read each others’ work.  We learn about writing and about the human condition. We inspire; and, we become inspired. 

So, I will share a couple of poems from the first four days. If you want to read more, you can periodically stop in at my new poetry blog.

~ xoA ~

October 1, 2012

Beginnings

I love beginnings,

expectations looming ahead

I surrender to

whatever comes

Knowing it is all good,

Serves a purpose

Sharpens senses

Renders me

 an adventurer

explorer

excavator

Treasures ahead.

October 3, 2012

Still Here

A petal hushed,

almost hanging

in air,

drifts from faded bouquet

Soft pink remnant settles

onto mirrored bronze table

among two just like it.

Though showing its age,

bouquet’s young beauty lost,

life remains.

Faded,

but still glorious.

Chainsaw Art in the Northwest

Finished pieces brought for sale

It was a perfect day on the Oregon Coast, temperatures in the mid-70s and little-to-no wind. It’s also Father’s Day weekend, the time of the Oregon Divisional Chainsaw Sculpting Championship in Reedsport, just 25 miles north of us off Highway 101.

The air is full of the smell of freshly-cut wood and the buzzing of thirty or more chainsaws. Yes, we wear earplugs for this. There's a carnival atmosphere as the folks crowd around each sculptor's booth, vying for good photos. The temporary food stalls with deep-fried or sugar-filled wares beckon.

Professional and semi-professional carvers from all over the world travel to compete, dazzling spectators and judges with their massive, on-the-spot sculptures. This year, carvers came from Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Some traveled from Georgia, Arkansas, and New Mexico, and there also were international participants from Wales, Canada, and Macedonia. This competition is a big deal.

These carvers are working on their Quick Carve pieces

Sara Ruscetta, Seaside, Oregon

 Several women usually participate each year. In fact, for two consecutive years, we watched one woman from New Zealand work her chainsaw magic. Three women, one pro and two semi-pros, from Oregon and Washington are competing for the 2012 championship. 

Quick-carved bear

In addition to each carver’s large competition entry, the event calls for a series of “Quick Carves” during which each is given a chunk of wood and expected to create a finished piece in 45 minutes. These pieces are then auctioned off at a later time.

 I'm amazed by the detailed work that can be done with only chainsaws and wood-burning tools and sometimes adding paint or stain. 

I’ve seen chainsaw art in all parts of the country, but one of the things I enjoy about spending time in the Northwest is the variety on display in public community areas as well as in galleries and carvers’ studios. Instead of whizzing past, when you see those large wooden sculptures along your route, you may want to stop and admire the work, skill, and dedication to this art form. Chainsaw sculptors are a talented bunch.

~ xoA

Love Connection

This was no ordinary coffee date at a funky college neighborhood coffee shop in Detroit. It was the first-time meeting of two strangers, Jan and Reenié, who had been brought together by love and a mutual friendship that spanned nearly 3,000 miles.

Jan Coppola Bills

Jan had become Facebook friends with our buddy Trudy. Their interest in, and love of gardening and all things green and good for the earth, brought them together. Jan is the owner of Two Women and a Hoe™ in Royal Oak, Michigan. Trudy is a landscape manicurist and designer in Bakersfield who is courageously facing cancer. 

It was Jan who made Trudy’s wish for a pallet garden to be constructed in her yard on a brick wall come true. Though they had never met in person, Jan’s desire to make this happen for Trudy led her to contact her friends at Urban Dirt in southern California. Dave Walrod and his crew showed up the first Saturday in March, and the dreamed-of pallet garden became a beautiful reality.

Pallet garden with some of Trudy's plants on the ledge

Reenié is my sister. She and her husband Don live in a suburb of Detroit, close to Royal Oak. When I mentioned how near each other the two women were, Trudy asked, “Do you think Reenié would meet Jan and give her a hug for me?”

“Absolutely!” I said, knowing my sister’s compassionate heart and that she'd love to do something for Trudy. And that is how the coffee date came about. 

Reenié and Trudy have history through sharing the same August birthday and many laughs over the years when Reenié would visit Bakersfield. And, then there was that time when my sister met Trudy and me at the Women in Motorcycling banquet in Ohio back in 1997. 

So  speaking by phone, the two strangers who would soon be friends arranged that Jan would come to Reenié and Don’s home for coffee last week. Reenié said, “Jan showed up right on time. With some lovely Danishes in tow! I love her already.”

There were hugs and Trudy stories in addition to becoming acquainted with each other. Sipping black coffee and munching on pastries, the two women discovered that, among other things, they both enjoy playing golf -- as well as their love for Trudy.

Reenie and Jan

Reenié’s email that accompanied her photos read:  “What an awesome day we had. It was all thanks to Trudy! What a wonderful gift she gave to Jan, Don and me from so far away.” 

Trudy, March 3, 2012

And the feeling was mutual. Jan wrote, "Oh, I had such a great time with Reenié and Don! Glorious birds of a feather DO flock together! I am so grateful for the new wonderful friends I have made because of one special lady named Trudy!"

Love. It has the power to connect people who may never have met.  I can’t help but think about what it can do for all of us, whether near or far.

~ xoA

Trudy checks on her wall after a windstorm

Creating Vision Boards

It was as perfect a time as we could have hoped for -- that mid-January weekend that my daughters, Amina and Asila, returned to Bakersfield for a visit. We always get together in May for Relay for Life, but this January was a bonus. As a mom, it’s casual time such as this with one’s adult children that warms my heart.

Amina suggested that we make vision boards, and Asila and I enthusiastically agreed. A vision board is a creative expression in the form of a collage or poster. Constructed from images and words cut out of magazines, the finished product is a representation of our vision for the future, of what we want or seek in our lives. It may be for the coming year or further out.

I’d done this exercise before with friend and colleague Rose Lester, once in her private workshop and once through the Art for Healing program at Mercy Hospital. Though similar, both times the board brought new insight into what I wanted my life to look like over the coming year. This was the first time either of the girls had tried it.

Saturday evening hunting session

Working on our projects individually, but together, we shared photos and discussed ideas. Armed with red wine, scissors, and a stack of magazines, we chuckled as we noticed the same words or phrases and similar pictures in each others’ stacks.  

Asila and her vision board

Amina finishes her vision board

I loved how it all came together after concentrated arranging and assessing. Then, soon we were wielding our glue sticks and proudly displaying our completed vision boards.  We laid out our boards and celebrated with a “tour” of our creations.

My completed vision board

My vision board illustrates my life in familiar themes. Central is the Tree of Life with my family at the base. Circling the perimeter clockwise, the images I chose exemplify freedom, meaningful work, organization, travel, the arts, and health. As I write this and review it now, I see that a few things are missing. But that’s okay; I'll be on the lookout for them and can add them whenever the proper image comes along.

You can create your vision board anytime, but since it's still early in the year, making one now can help guide you through 2012. For more specific information on how to create your own vision board, see the article “How to Make a Vision Board” by Christine Kane.

~ xoA ~