Art Imitating Life

Over the last few weeks, I've been busily working at a workshop at the Logan Art Gallery with some kids and a few adults.

This Torso Body Language Workshop was chosen to be in the Workshop Wonders exhibition, along with another for the next 6 weeks; and we were all thrilled!

Well!  The in this workshop, we used plaster and molded it into an upper body torso to make it a blank canvas of sorts to put onto it our innermost feelings and thoughts.
For some of the attendants, it was about how they've survived their lives so far.  For others it was depression, bullying on social media, while for another it was overcoming great grief to become the person they are now.  For me, it was how books and the written word has made me who I am.  

I made the book out of plaster and painted it, then used medallions which say 'dreams' on them to show that inside of each flower, each idea, each thought is a dream of sorts - a way into my mind, into my imagination - to see my stories before they become what they do when I write them out. The book is just how they look to me as a finished product - whether they're a book, a story or a flash fiction - they always look like that; a dream within a dream within something else of a riddle for others to figure out... even me.

However, on opening night last Friday, my torso gave people a feeling of peace because of the colours, the flowers and what it was about: reading and the written word.  I'm happy that's how people felt, because that's how writing and books make me feel... even if I don't get to read them much, I love being surrounded by books each day; it's a type of meditation.

Workshop Wonders Opening Night Photo

Well, until my next post, happy reading. 

I Won An Award...

It's not very often I win something online - especially on here - however when I do, I like to display my awards on the sidebar.

I was nominated for 'The Versatile Blogger Award' by Captivated Reader.  She's a regular to my blog; and a good friend of mine offline.

Thank you very much for nominating me and now, I have to follow a few little rules, answer some questions and mention some other bloggers to get the ball rolling onwards... however, I'm doing this with a twist!

Don't worry - this is going to be fun!

Okay... seven random things about myself.  This shouldn't be hard; seeing I surprise a lot of my friends when it comes to my life.

I make terrariums.  These are gardens that live in a sealed bottle or environment.  Here's the most gorgeous one I own in my living room. It's on my coffee table and is the center of attention when people enter the room.

I love to write flash fiction.  Okay, I've been writing flash fiction for over 2 years now, and been a part of a community on Chuck Wendig's 'Terrible Minds' blog since the beginning of 2013... it's fun, the stories are short, creepy and sometimes funny in a dark kind of way.  But I love writing them.  And yes they're all on another blog ('You Can't Go Back and Other Impossibilities' blog on my complete profile).

I have only begun driving a car again over the last 2 years; and become a car owner again just last year when Dad bought me a very cool, sweet little green Holden Astra for my 41st birthday.  For a good part of the last 20 years, I've been battling with Epilepsy and have been stable since 2004... now I have my life back completely.

I run a hobby business called 'Lynda's Crafty Pegs' and I attend markets all over Brisbane and at schools as well.  The hobby business has been going for only 2 years, but I love what I do.

Not only do I love to read books, collect them, write about them and write books, I also have a habit of making artwork about them... my whole life revolves around the written word.

I haven't had a relationship with anyone in over a decade - and wouldn't know how to have one if somebody approached me.  After leaving an abusive relationship, I have found letting somebody else that close again impossible.

I shaved all my hair off for the World's Greatest Shave.  This is to raise money for the Leukaemia Foundation of Queensland... my hair is growing back really fast.  But here's a collage of what happened on 14th, March! I did it to help raise money for research; and I raised over $800 this year! 


Now... there's stuff there you all didn't know about me.  And here's the fun part for the blog.  I nominated some blogs on my sidebar.

Book View Cafe
Open Culture
The Sisterhood of the Jaunty Quills
True Book Addict
The Passive Voice
Becky's Book Reviews
Debbie Robson
Reading To Know
Calico Writes
The New Dork Review of Books
Terrible Minds
Writer Beware Blog
Wet Panty Stories
Kate Sutherland
Graham Clements

Okay... now that's all done.  These blogs are found on my sidebar and are ones I visit on a regular basis.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.  Until my next post, happy reading.

Currently Reading

Over the last two weeks, I've been so very busy!  So, I picked up 'Other Colors' by Orhan Pamuk.  This book is one I keep in my collection to read when I either can't get my head around a story or into writing something, or I'm so busy I can't concentrate on a book plot right now.

At the moment it's both problems.

So, I killed two birds with one stone - very cool!

This book has helped me in the past get my butt back into writing simply by the way Orhan Pamuk writes.  He's got a way with words which pull me right into his world effortlessly, and in such a way I wish I could write the same way.

However, I can see from his writing that how he writes it's taken a lot of practice from life, from his love of his country and the city his lives in and basically from writing every day.

'Other Colors' is one book I will never get rid of, and I think will be one book I'd keep with me throughout my life until I'm old... and even then, I'd still re-read it just for the joy his words have brought me.

Which books have you read which have brought you such joy that you can't let them go?  Have you read this book?  If so, have you had the same feelings about it that I do?  Until my next post, happy reading.

'Faylina' by D.L. Redshaw

Lina is a Fay who is the daughter of the King Fay in Fayland, where all the Fairies live and learn to be good fairies.  They all have special skills and travel around on ladybirds to fly to the human world.

On Lina's seventh birthday, her name is changed to Faylina and she travels to the human world to help teach children to read - as that's her special skill.  When she arrives to the human world, she finds herself at the bedside of a very sick child named Belinda.  Sitting by her on her pillow, Faylina begins to read to her.

But she takes longer than she is allowed, and she sends her friend, Bairy, to let her father know where she is.  Will her father let her stay and help Belinda become well?  Will little Belinda overcome her illness?  Will Faylina help Belinda learn to read?  Find out in the lovely first book of the 'Faylina' Series.

'Faylina' by D.L. Redshaw is a new book published by the Butterfly Kiss Books publishing.  This company is a very new company on the market and is a family-run, Brisbane-born company. 'Faylina' was illustrated by R.J. Simon who you can find on Facebook.  'Faylina' also has their own author page on Facebook you can follow as well.

Found and Abused Books

I was at the Logan Art Gallery today when I needed to use a book - one I could destroy if needs be.  And so I asked Jillian Beardsworth (our supervisor there) if there were books available to do just that so we didn't destroy books that were of value to the place.

Jillian took me to a couple of cupboards at the back of the workshop which were chock full of rejected and cancelled books from the Logan City Libraries!  I was amazed what books weren't being read by people anymore!  I picked out the book I wanted to use and then found two more 'The Cold One' by Christopher Pike and 'Bagombo Snuff Box' by Kurt Vonnegut.  One of these authors I haven't read since I was in my twenties and the other I've been looking for more of his work but it costs a small fortune to buy!

So, I asked if I could take those two books off their hands; and Jillian just let me take them home.  I'm so happy these books are in my collection now - and they didn't cost me a cent!  I'm looking forward to cracking the cover of 'Bagombo Snuff Box' by Kurt Vonnegut, as it's all his uncollected short fiction... very cool, and I've heard of the book but have never seen it before, and I love reading books filled with short stories as it's a lot more fun to get through.

I was also given a new piece of children's fiction by a friend of mine: 'Faylina' by D.L Redshaw.  I look forward to reading and reviewing this book for you all too.  Until my next post, happy reading!

How-To Books

I've been doing a lot of work lately; you know, to do with my Crafty Pegs hobby business.  Over the next few months I'm going to be adding on a few new lines for it and to do that I have to look up some non-fiction books to know how to do those things.

For example:  I need instructions on how to make dishcloths... but I already know how to knit.  So, I've been looking through my stitching books and changing the patterns to match the stitches so the dishcloths look and feel wonderful.  Also, I want to sell different styles, sizes and types of stitches in my cloths too.

I'm also getting right into cooking again.  So, I've been pulling out my cookbooks from under the sink.  Today, I woke up with the worse sinus ever!  And it was shopping day... so I went out and bought a huge amount of groceries and now the Slow Cooker has Potato and Leek Soup bubbling away in it!  How wonderful is that?  I've made my own changes to it and added garlic, basil, parsley and seasoned it too.  Now to wait the 6 hours for it to cook!  I can't wait to taste it after I blend it with the hand blender.

I do love the How-To books we all seem to collect over time.  Which ones do you get your nose into?  Mine always have to do with craft or my hands or cooking... what do yours always seem to get you doing?  Until my next post, happy reading!