Plano's Live Green Expo

That's Ed Begley Jr. in the photo. This was my first festival last Saturday. It was rainy, muddy, yuck, yuck, yuck. Thus, everyone was packed in the building that had been set up with booths giving away all kinds of freebies and packed into the room above to listen to Ed talk about the virtues of living green. (He looked good - a healthy lifestyle is working well for him.)

Me, well I was outside all morning in the children's craft tent trying to help with two crafts I'd helped prepare, and also doing 1 1/2 hours total of storytelling on a stage while trying to stay dry under a little awning. The good news is that I had hardy, fun children who came to my storytelling programs and helped me tell them. We actually had a pretty good time. Considering that the outside crowd was so small since EVERYONE wanted to be inside staying dry and not caking mud all over their shoes. I ended up having a really good time and meeting a ton of cool, environmentally aware folks. A good start to the day.

Oh, I had five pieces of art in the Live Green art exhibit too and have enjoyed really good feedback on them! Yee-haw!

Fiesta!!!

Festival number two on Saturday. The weather had cleared significantly, though the sky was super cloudy. That was alright it kept the temp down and we gladly watched a few musical numbers in cool comfort. This was my favorite act. Couldn't understand a word the singer was singing or speaking, but oh my, he was GOOD! He playing marionette here.

Another image. I have to tell you that this guy was as good as anything I have ever seen. EVER.

This was some kind of song about love between two people. Good singing, good dancing.

Two delightful little girls dancing away on stage in their full, colorful skirts.

I believe this couple was from Bolivia. Very neat. I tried food from Brazil that was so delicious, hung out with some friends, listened to some of the youth storytellers and told an interactive tale with three kids who were awesome as a whiny gecko! Fun, but I was super tired from the morning spent at the Plano Live Green Expo.

OakCliff Earth Day

This was festival number three for me last weekend. It was Sunday, and a far better day weather-wise. I have no photos of me on the stage doing my show. Let me say that it was quite gusty, but I got through it well enough. The Dallas Guild members (I'm a member too) had a nice location in a far calmer area. They enjoyed a day of sharing earth friendly stories and good friendship.

This is Lucinda Wise, she is a storyteller and a warm, friendly human being. She is also extremely smart...I wonder what her I.Q. is...

This is Lucinda without the shades, so you can see her twinkly eyes!

Here are storytellers Gene & Peggy Helmick-Richardson. He has a PHD in bugs. BUGS I tell you! Peggy has a degree in biology...they are great EarthDay storytellers!

Once upon a time a tree fell on a house...

and put four holes into it. The tree punched three holes into the roof, and one of those holes went right into the room below it. The tree also punched one hole right through the wall of the very same room. It was a young girl's room painted the color of newly green, summer grass. The girl, her name was Lily, could look out the holes and see the blue, Texas sky and feel a breeze upon her cheek. No one was hurt, except the house of course. For that reason, the family that lived in the house felt lucky indeed and counted their blessings.

Here is a picture of one of the tree pieces that came through the roof. Note the pink insulation and the white dust from the sheetrock.

It sure can get windy right quick in Texas!

Interesting things are happening behind the scenes...

Seriously, career-wise things are VERY interesting. In the coming weeks stay tuned to this blog. I will be making some announcements soon.

Here is one announcement for today.

I sold some of my art. Wahoo! I also have some folks who are interested in purchasing the future art that I produce. Being different is finally paying off for me. The artwork that I've sold in the past was "unique" too, but I wasn't aware of the value of my unique perspective in today's art world. Now, it's sinking in.

In the next few days, I'll be finalizing my lesson plans for the three, week-long summer camps I'll be teaching for the Dallas Museum of Art. They are going to be really different & creative experiences for the students. I am soooo crazy excited! Really! The kids are going to be in for a fun, educational, and imaginative experience. My dream is to give them a happy, positive, creative experience that the students and their families will remember fondly for years to come. The art the kids produce will be exceptional. I know for a fact that it will be.

I ain't braggin', just statin' the facts folks. Dang, being enthusiastically weird is working out for me.

Spring Festival in Plano

Here are a few members of the North 40 Storytellers Guild telling tales Saturday, April 4 at the Plano Heritage Farmstead for their Spring Festival Day. We had good weather, but small crowds. Still it was fun.

My sister Ruth came to see me for my birthday!

What a great 45th birthday I had! Yes, I'm that old and I'm proud! My sister Ruth came by for a very quick 1 1/2 day visit. We had not seen each other for nearly 3 YEARS. Too Looonnnnggggg a time. She is in San Antonio for a 3 month job at a hospital there. Now that she's in Texas, I hope to see her some more before she's off again to another location.

Here is Lily and Ruth in front of a tree. Jeff is there too, can you guess where he is?

Lily is all dressed up to go to the Meyerson Concert Hall in Dalls with her boyfriend for a classical music concert.

Ruth and I on the hammock she sent us from Peru several years ago. We really love that hammock - it's quite comfortable.

We had a good visit, even though the time was short.

My Walk With Ruth

Look what Ruth and I came upon during our walk -

Awwww... It's a wee, wittle, itty-bitty, green snake. He's a cutie!

I love hanging out with my sister.

What Happened!?!

I can't figure out why the text did what it did in the last post. It did not appear that way in the preview before posting. Arrrgghhhhh....I get so aggravated. I will leave it as it is though.

Drats.

Tejas Storytelling Festival 2008

The Festival was wonderful this year. As usual, I ran hard the whole time trying to do as much as possible. I hate to miss out on a good time! Here is a photo of Genie Hammell and I enjoying a yummy lunch at a Greek restaurant. It was one of those modest places that have the best food. It was my favorite place to eat during the festival.

This is Sumi. She was just days away from her 6th birthday. Her parents are from South India and wonderful, friendly people. I helped coach Sumi on her tale. She wore a traditional Indian outfit and was was beautiful up there on the stage. She did an amazing job on her story. Sumi is a particularly talented young lady, she will go far in life.

Here I am with fellow storytellers. We were all looking at photos from festivals past on Mel Davenport's computer. One of the best things about festival is hanging out with fellow storytellers. We are a fun bunch of folks! If I may say so myself;-)

This is from the final concert on Sunday. I had spent 4 days up in Denton hanging with storytellers, going to workshops, facilitating my own workshop A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words...more or less, staying at my good friend Betsy's house, and just having a BLAST of a good time. I was tired, tired, tired when I got back home, but it was worth it.

Lapse in Blogging

Sorry for such a long break in blogging. I have lots to say and pictures to post, but my stress load has been and is still massive.

I recently returned from the Texas Storytelling Festival where I presented a new workshop, attended workshops, supported a few tellers whom I've been coaching, went to lots of concerts, told stories at two preschools and often literally ran from one location to another non-stop. If I had not stayed at my good friend Betsy's cozy house in Denton I couldn't have kept up the pace. That is for sure!

Now I have several programs and three week-long summer camps to finish planning. As they say up north in Minnesota, "UFFDAH!"