SNORK! Another Spelling Error Courtesy Of Yours Truly.

I read the title of my last post. Not only do I like Metting People (What is that word? Past tense for meet?) I also like MEETING people.

Shesh, time to stop posting for the day.

One of my favorite things: Metting New People!

I love, love love meeting all the friendly people at my storytelling programs for the Dallas Public Libraries this summer. Dallas is a very diverse city with very distinct & individual communities consisting of several ethnic groups. Some libraries are located in nicer facilities than others, some neighborhoods are far wealthier than others, some communities are obviously going through difficult times, but the people and their children...oh my goodness...they are all beautiful. Really! I feel so lucky that I get to spend time with them.

Today I got to meet 6 year old Cedric at the Martin Luther King Jr. Branch. What a charmer he was. His delightful comments during the program were thoughtful, humorous and very insightful. He is but one of the many amazing kids I have met this summer. These children, their parents, the librarians, more than make up for the often congested inner city driving that I have to weave through whilst frantically reading traffic signs and my driving directions!

Yes indeedy, I got a great job!

Intense Bursts of Creativity & An Obsessive Pursuit To Bring Ideas To Reality Artfully!

Periodically, I go through intense creative phases where I literally get overloaded with too many ideas. I am in such a phase right now. My dreams become very vivid during these times and sleep becomes intermittent. The dreams are long, detailed - like epic novels. Day & night, I get flashes of insight on how to reinterpret a folktale, write an original story, create a new visual art work & more.

Last night, I suddenly bolted awake when I had an image of how to recreate a finished piece that has dismayed me for some time. (I am going to cut the canvas up, colorwash the pieces & more, sew it all back together and make it into a wall hanging on a crazy branch I found by the river some two years ago. Hah!)

Everytime I go to the DMA I am inspired! BUT, this last visit really fired me up big time. All kinds of ideas for stories came to me, as well as, the idea for a new art piece that I will create for the next storytime. I want to illustrate how looking at someone elses art can trigger ideas for art we create ourselves. My piece will have obvious associations to the piece that inspired me, but will also very much be my own vision.

I am a left-handed, intensely right-brained individual. During super creative phases, I have to work much harder at doing left-brained tasks. Bummer... Our society values and rewards left-brained skills. Thankfully, God blessed me with a hubby who is left-brained and is always helpful when I am trying to operate any kind of technology. It's embarassing, but the truth is I can barely remember how to operate my cell phone or the tv remote control when I am on a creative bender.

Not complaining just explaining how it can get with me in case you should find yourself around me during one of these times and wonder about my I.Q., sanity or something.

Catfish Moon

Take a peek at this painting by David Bates titled "Catfish Moon". This painting is part of the DMA's Texas Contemporary exhibit on the 4th floor in the tower. After living in Florida for 13 years and seeing many a bayou under a full moon, I can really appreciate this painting. It is very large & consists of thickly applied paint in various shades of moss green and an eerie whitish/yellow. It captures for me the other worldliness of swamp land at night with the patient cypress trees standing guard over the creatures of the night.

WWWoooowwoooWWWOOOwoooo.....

This painting will be featured in my next Tuesday morning gallery walk. What you can't see easily in this photo, but it is there if you look for it, is the shadow of an owl on one of the branches. I have the perfect old Florida folktale for this painting. Delightful, mysterious, but not scary - perfect for the kids.

Lily's Photo

I forgot to mention that my photo in the magazine was taken by my wonderful daughter Lily. She does all my publicity photos and is so good at it. Lucky me!

She also creates graphic images for me. She created the frog logo on my business card. It is the same image that appears on my website - annmarienewman.com

My website is up and running, but I have a lot more work to do on it. Jeff is my "webmaster". He bought a book and learned how to create and maintian it for me as I was never, ever going to learn how.

Nice to have a family who can help me with these things. I am blessed.

A Wee Bit O Braggin'

I am in a magazine!

Okay, I'm tootin' my own horn. I admit it. But by golly, this came as a huge surprise. I sent information to this library for a program I was giving, talked to Tom Keener who plans programs and SURPRISE! He is also a writer for the town's magazine which has a readership of 80,000 homes. I show up yesterday and he shows me the magazine article. I didn't have a copy, so he gave me one. How cool is that?

I thought at first that he meant I was going to be in a little community calendar blurb - no full page magazine article!

Here is a link to the article ~
http://www.allenimage.com/archives/showArticle.php?id=421

I will have the magazine photo on my blog
annstoryart.blogspot.com

Sometimes the most miraculous things happen - WoW!

July & August Storytelling Schedule

Busy days ahead! Here is my schedule thus far for the next two months.

JULY

July 1, 11:15 a.m. - First Tuesdays Summer StoryART Walk, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX

July 3, 2 p.m. – “Story Shenanigans with Ann Marie” Sklyline Library, Dallas, TX

July 10, 2 p.m. – “Improv Onstage” Allen Library, Allen, Texas, pre-teen & teens.

July 14, 2 p.m. – “Story Shenanigans with Ann Marie” Grawler Park Library, Dallas, TX

July 15, 4 p.m. – “Story Shenanigans with Ann Marie” Dallas West Library, Dallas, TX

July 16, 3:30 p.m. – “Story Shenanigans with Ann Marie” Renner Frankford Library, Dallas, TX

July 17, 2 p.m. – “Story Shenanigans with Ann Marie” Forest Green Branch, Dallas, TX

July 18, 7:30 p.m. - “Friday Night Live Stories with Ann Marie” Theme: Texas, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX

July 21, 11 a.m. – “Story Shenanigans with Ann Marie” Martin Luther King Library, Dallas, TX

July 22, 2 p.m. – “Story Shenanigans with Ann Marie” Timberglen Library, Dallas, TX

July 23, 2 p.m. – “Story Shenanigans with Ann Marie” Casa View Library, Dallas, TX

July 24, 2 p.m. – “Story Shenanigans with Ann Marie” Kleburg-Rylie Library, Dallas, TX

July 25, 11 a.m. – “Story Shenanigans with Ann Marie” Fretz Park Library, Dallas, TX

July 29, 1 p.m. – “Story Shenanigans with Ann Marie” Skillman S.W. Library, Dallas, TX

July 30, 2 p.m. – “Story Shenanigans with Ann Marie” Oak Lawn Library, Dallas, TX

AUGUST

August 2, 2 p.m. – “Story Shenanigans with Ann Marie” Audelia Road Library, Dallas, TX

August 5, 11:15 a.m. – First Tuesdays Summer StoryART Walk, Dallas Museum of Art,
Dallas, TX

August 6, 2 p.m. – “Story Shenanigans with Ann Marie” Paul Laurence Dunbar Library, Dallas, TX

August 14, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. – “Story Shenanigans with Ann Marie” Longview Library, Longview, TX

August 15, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. – “A Lifetime of Stories” A collaborative workshop led by Once Upon a Times Four (I’m one of the four.) Longview, TX

August 20, 10:30 a.m. - “The Splendiferous and Riproarious Adventures of Crazy Mazy Dowdy, a tall tale tellin’ heroine from America’s old west” BookMarks Library, North Park Mall, Dallas, TX

August 22, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. – “A Lifetime of Stories” A collaborative workshop led by Once Upon a Times Four (I’m one of the four.) Carrollton, TX