A No-Nonsense April 1st

We’ve marched out of March and into April — it may be May before we know it.

Despite gaining a second job at school for the remainder of the term, I’ve continued (albeit sometimes disjointedly) to work on art projects. At this point, it’s almost exclusively the M. Moran tugboat painting, which is coming along.

Click the thumbnail to see a bigger version. Click here to see the post featuring photos of an earlier stage in the process (“Tugging Along”).

mmoranprocess3_3.31.14-sm

Also, I learned that it was in fact Korea, not Japan, to which the tugboat traveled from the Continental US, stopping only in Hawaii.

On a musical note, today in my carillon lesson, my teacher showed me the summer program for Centralia Carillon — and what should appear on the cover but my drawing? Or what looks like my drawing. I say that because the program designer colorized it to make it “pop.” The trees in the drawing were tinted bright green, which is perhaps a few touches too bright, but there’s a goldish sort of yellow that makes the radiating light around the top of the tower stand out nicely. (I don’t have a picture, but if you visit Centralia, IL, on certain Friday evenings this summer, maybe you’ll get to take your own copy home. No fooling!)

Wintry Week One

Just more than a week has passed since I came back to the bluffs at Principia College, and what a week it has been! Things are swiftly scurrying along (squirrels and shivering students as well as writing work & program development) as afternoon temperatures approach Arctic averages.

Arctic alliteration notwithstanding, this wintry Week One bore witness to several art-tic adventures.

  • Terry Treble: After examining the proof copies and consequently editing them more extensively than expected (there’s that alliteration again — I assure you it shan’t abate), Terry Treble Music Adventures Books 1 & 2 are ready for their first official print run. I’ll post details, including how to order them through MusicLearningCommunity.com, once I receive word from MLC that the books are printed and bound. In the meantime, click here for a preview.
  • Centralia Carillon: (More alliteration!) As you may know, I was commissioned by the director of Centralia Carillon to complete a drawing of the bell tower to place on their programs. After comments and clean-up, ’tis complete! Right there’s the thumbnail. (It’s larger in life, about 5″ x 9″.) CentraliaBellTower_frame
  • New projects: (Alas, less alliteration.) Illustrating a counting book for young children featuring a farm boy, goats, and pebbles.
  • Website work: (Additional alliteration!) Modified a few things and set up… *drumroll*

Captain’s Log Subscriptions! Readers can now subscribe to updates via the subscription page or the sidebar. If you subscribe, please check your email for a message from Draws the Eventide — read it and weep confirm. (Kidding about the weeping.) Cue 18th century fanfare.

Also, as articulated in a prior post, I made another paper Olaf. As promised, he dons his “In Summer” hat and carries his cane. If he’s feeling dapper, he can hang his cane on his arm. (It’s not glued.) My brother is very pleased with his happy snowman, but perhaps not the room traffic he now gets — clusters of Frozen fans knocking on his door and exclaiming. But it’s worth it.

PaperOlaf2A

PaperOlaf2B

Big post. Bigger smiles.

Christmas Swing

Now that Christmas break’s in full swing, it’s time to give you readers a ring! (Lest I mislead, this post has nothing to do with holiday jazz, telephones, or bells — although I did play Christmas music on the carillon a week ago.)

Work for the term (writing internship, that is — storybuilding is never done) finished last week, which means instead of squeezing story time between meetings, teaching, and rehearsals, I have to squeeze it between Christmas activities, housework, and moving the cats off the drawing board.

And there are developments! Here’s a smattering:

  • Terry Treble Music Adventures: Books I & II are in the printing queue!
  • Post-November novel “Goodness, there’s a long way to go” revision/keep writing/overhaul process has begun
  • Operation: Opera continues — and hopefully will produce a tighter version of The Antiquary
  • Preliminary work on commissioned art for Centralia Carillon

And so many more things to explore! Who knows? Maybe I’ll wade into the realm of creative non-fiction and write a collection of this Christmas season’s “everyday adventures.” Life is an adventure, after all; we just have to remember it as such.

Pianississimo progress-o

What well-occupied weeks have passed! At risk of sounding diaristic, I recount that I have prepared and created several writing lessons and resources, which, troth; additionally, I have practiced and performed much music.  Both disciplines hath made opportunity for storybuilding ebb — but however quietly, progress has continued. Visual development for John Churchmouse tiptoes quietly forward through the pews, and my medieval fantasy novel advances idea-wise as research occurs. Also, this afternoon it occurred to me that perhaps John Churchmouse might visit a cousin who lives behind a carillon.

Time to practice.