Creative Endeavors

By Fran McNabb

If you follow Victoria Johnson and her fabulous blogs and were expecting to read another one of hers today, I hope you’re not too disappointed. Victoria asked me to step in to fill her spot just for this month. She should be back in full writing mode by next month.

All of us who started writing with Avalon Books still call ourselves Avaloners even though the publishing company no longer exists. Over the years we’ve become close “virtual” friends and colleagues. The group has a tremendous amount of expertise to offer in the field of writing, but I’ve realized that many of us also use other mediums to express our creativity.

I’m in the middle of putting out another book and I’m relying on the talents of a fellow Avaloner, Sofie Couch who also goes by the name of Annettte Jareb, to help me get the story published. Like so many other authors, Annette has other talents besides writing and has used those talents to start a business called Right Brain Graphic Design. She has an eye for designing book covers and the talent to work with software and create the cover. I have an eye for covers as well, but don’t ask me to use a computer to create the cover. I’m not at all technical. Thank goodness there are people in this world who are. Annette explains “in first grade, my BFF declared that she was going to be a writer. Not to be left out, I announced that I was going to illustrate her books. Today, I do both. As Sofie Couch, I write sweet romance. As Right Brain Press, LLC, I design book covers.” Check her out at www.rightbraingraphicdesign.weebly.com

Another Avaloner Sandy Cody spends her non-writing time quilting. "There’s more similarity between the two than you might think,” she said. “Both involve love of components that go into a finished product. I love words. I feel joy in their power to translate ideas into stories. I also love color. I’m fascinated by the way a color’s mood is affected by other colors–much like the characters writers create. A book begins as a tangle of ideas with a glint of story shining through. A quilt begins as a mishmash of colors and patterns that clash. Both writer and quilter study their components, testing combinations to blend conflicting parts into a harmonious whole. So much for similarities. It’s

the difference that makes them work for me. Writing is intellectual; quilting is tactile, a variance that requires different thought processes. Thus, the two activities feed off one another. In this quilt (to the right) I had fun playing with color. I used a basic pattern, put together a series of clashing reds, set them next to harmonizing grays, and threw in a bit of black for pop. The cat in the center was a lucky find. Serendipity. A welcome element in any venture.

Sandy isn’t the only Avaloner who spends time both writing and quilting. Leigh Verrill-Rhys also quilts.

Even though I (Fran McNabb) have always loved sewing, I never mastered the art of quilting. Like Sandy, I, too, love fabric and color. At one time I sewed for Mardi Gras and made hundreds of costumes for the balls along the Gulf Coast, but my favorite part wasn’t creating the garment, it was decorating it after the costume was made. I loved working with sequins and other embellishments. Today I don’t sew as much, but I spend a lot of time painting (It’s easier on the arthritic hands). I started by painting bookmarks to complement my books to sell at festivals. It wasn’t long before I realized I loved painting as much as writing. I work in acrylic. My painting (on the left) is called “Garden Gate” and was inspired by the cover of one of my books that is no longer in print.

Another Avaloner who loves to paint is Deborah Nolan. “When I went to law school, I quit painting,”

Deborah said, “and didn't start again until about ten years ago when I'd kind of retired. I paint mostly in oils and have been taking art classes in NYC every Wednesday night for more than ten years.  I haven't sold any of my paintings but my kids' apartment walls are all adorned.” Her painting of the barn (on the right)is about 5 feet by 5 feet and hangs in her apartment.

Even though writing and marketing what we write takes a tremendous amount of time, many of our Avalon authors have found time to enjoy other ways to use their creativity. Way to go, Ladies. Keep up the great work.

FRAN McNABB writes tender romances and will add to her eight published novels with her newest book, A SOLDIER’S HONOR, coming out within the next few weeks. Check out her others at  www.FranMcNabb.com

Displacement Activity is Good for Writers

On my writer’s blog (EverWriting) I have a category that I have designated as the default: Displacement Activity, a state in which many of us find ourselves when the words refuse to flow or when we are reluctant to let them flow as they will.

I have three novels in the “works in progress” stage. In one case, the manuscript is in typescript. The others are locked in notebooks. All are fully plotted but moving on from plot to complete is proving to be beyond my motivation level at the moment, so I’m engaging in Displacement Activity.

Where I have lacked motivation to write, I have been doing one of the next best things.

This activity is particularly good as an analogy for writing. Here is a ‘plot’ for a planned quilt project. The color scheme is like characterization: we have to have some level of contrast, but at the same time, the colors and fabric patterns must be compatible. Too much contrast leads to clash and discordance. No amount of shifting of sections will make those colors work together.

On the other hand, too little contrast will result in bland, uninteresting projects, not only for the quilter but the ultimate recipient as well. 

There are exceptions when the intricacy or the uniqueness of the finished product is the focal point. As in writing, while the whole is critical, the details matter.

Yet, the details often become the narrow focus when moving from plan/plot to process and completion. Planning a project is often the fountain of creativity, the exciting bit for the quilter, and for the writer. Working through the initial impulses to put the project on paper, create the design, the characters, visualizing the story as it unfolds and as the project takes shape. 

Sometimes, that stage is the end. The story refuses to move forward; the characters refuse to conform to the needs of the story. What can we do to with all those words and all that effort? When the characters have no conflicting needs, or create no tension because they are utterly sympathetic to one another?

What can we do with the designs that simply won't work, that are too small for the purpose, the amount of fabric you have is inadequate, the print is no longer available in the shop? 

Nothing is better for a creative person than the challenge of solving a problem and achieving a beautiful result, however it comes about and whatever level of commitment it requires. As unwelcome as failure is, the amount of experience we gain makes the effort worth more. As Walt Disney enjoined, "Time to stop talking and start doing."

Beautiful Things from Scraps

Log Cabin Variation Baby's Quilt

Writing is one of those creative endeavors that requires material from many different sources. We don’t just sit down and write with no experience from which we draw our stories. From people watching to research, we build information we have gathered into a whole story.

When I’m at a loss and my creative muses have bowed out for whatever reason, I’m inclined to turn to other creative efforts. Gardening is top of my list when the weather is warm, sunny and dry. Since I no longer have a garden, I dig around in pots and tubs on my balcony. This past weekend, that is how I spent the better part of Saturday morning, instead of working on my novel in progress, This Can't Be Love.

Welsh Pennsylvania Square from Scraps 

While potting around, I had time to think and breathe in the good earthy smells and let my thoughts wander freely. In the process, an idea bloomed for my monthly contribution to Classic and Cozy. I admire my fellow bloggers here who contribute and always come up with something worth reading and drawing others attention to.

I sometimes think of gardening and other forms of distraction as part of my attention deficit or displacement activities. Yet, they have a creative purpose all their own. When the mood strikes me or I have a good reason, one of my favorite activities is making quilts. This was a favorite pastime of my mother as well. In fact, sewing of any kind is a passion we both shared.

Attic Window from Found Fabric

I wasn’t always interested in quilts. My first love was dressmaking, but I went to an exhibition of Welsh quilts in Llanidloes, about ten years ago, put together by Jen Jones, another American living in Wales. A few years before, I had been to the American quilt exhibit at the American Museum in Bath, England.

Having a close friend, Sue Mordan, who is a talented quilt-maker, also encouraged my interest and I began with small projects such as wall hangings, pillow covers and table runners. I was also intrigued by the influence of Welsh quilting tradition on the Amish in Pennsylvania. Though the Amish quilts have gained international acclaim, their simple solid color quilt designs are based on traditional Welsh, multi-colored design patterns, as the book Making Welsh Quilts, explains.

Every quilt requires imagination, planning, design, choices. The process frees my head for other things. A form of daydreaming, the same sort of freedom that allows all thinkers to come up with theories and stories that may change the world.  For me, it seems a good exercise to prepare for writing a novel.

Making Design Decisions

© 2014 Leigh Verrill-Rhys

All photographs (except Making Welsh Quilts bookcover) © 2014 Leigh Verrill-Rhys