Writing Season One

Art of Living and Loving to Read

I love to read and in the past six to eight weeks I've read six books and started two more. Back in December I wrote a post listing seven books I'd like to read this year. Read more →

7 Books for a 2013 Reading List

What a great idea to share: a reading list for the new year coming up. I've never done that before, set a goal of books to get read. Read more →

Daring Greatly vastly different from Daring to be Great

I just finished reading "Daring Greatly" by author Brene Brown and am so relieved that I don't have to torture myself with the idea that I'll never be great. Read more →

Mosaic Art Today-honored to have my work included in this book

Today my copy of the new "Mosaic Art Today," compiled and edited by Jeffrey B. Snyder, arrived at our door. What a gorgeous book it is! And I am very excited and honored to have my mosaic work included with the over 50 artists in its pages. Read more →

The Art of a (Contagion) Movie Review

Contagion. Scary word. Frightening idea. Horrifying reality in world history. The human population of the planet has gone through: Bubonic Plague - the very name of this one sends shivers down the spine Smallpox - killed millions Polio [my maternal grandfather survived polio] Measels [I had this as a child - can remember my mom and dad taking turns being home from work to care for me] Yellow Fever, Scarlet Fever, Typhoid, Cholera Flu - the 1918 Influenza Pandemic killed tens of millions in modern times: SARS, Aids, H-1-N-1 And what about scary special pathogens like Ebola, Lassa, Marburg and... Read more →

Bones, Tempe, Reichs and Monet - what's in common?

Words. Painting. Images and impressions. That's the answer to the title's question. I've begun re-reading my collection of mysteries by novelist and real life forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs. [surely I'm not the only book lover who re-reads? I think I've read "Shogun" by James Clavell at least six or seven times over the past 36 years since its publication.] Part of the joy of collecting a novel series is that you can read them in order, one after the other. It's why I enjoy collecting tv shows on dvd...in fact, I do collect the Bones tv show on dvd. Okay,... Read more →

Mysteries and Archaeology and the Art of Reading

Reading is something I do for fun. Ever since I was a kid I would devour books. My favorites are mysteries - 'who done-its' and detective stories. I read every Nancy Drew mystery up through #43 when, in my early teens my reading interests went elsewhere. I've come to favor certain authors but I'm always watchful for the "new to me" authors and stories. And I found a new-to-me one last weekend in a used book shop while visiting my daughter and her family. First let me clarify that I haven't only read mysteries. Not by a long shot -... Read more →

The Art of Biography: an Owl and His Girl

That's not an owl, you say! You're right and it's not a very dignified pose either but then that's my George. Weekend before last my husband and I went over to the Borders bookstore near our community to take advantage of Borders' misfortune. I had a bit of money I could spend on books and I wanted to see if I could add to my mystery book collections by taking advantage of the store closing sale. I did - got three more in Tess Gerritsen's "Rizzoli and Isles" series. [I am aware of the controversary that rages about whether the... Read more →

Meet the Studio of Memory Jug maker Laurie Beth Zuckerman

Stuck in a tree - photo by author. This photograph is one I shot while on vacation in Florida last year. On the grounds of the Ringling Museum in Sarasota Florida this statue found itself enclosed by the tree after many years. I find it an intriguing image. Laurie Beth Zuckerman is one of the artists whose studio is featured in Lynne Perrella's book, "Art Making & Studio Spaces." I've been featuring various artists from that book since I read it last October. In the chapter on Laurie's studio are many intriguing images. Not only that, but Lynne's book itself... Read more →

A real world look at Art

I'm going to do something new today at Mosaic Mandalas, and that is a follow-up to a previous post, "Introducing the Studio of eclectic Artist Johnnie Meier." It's my practice as a writer to let the artist, author - person - who is the central star of a post know when that article is "live" and online. So after publishing the article about Johnnie Meier's studio I sent both him and author Lynne Perrella an email with a link to the post. This morning I received messages from both that I want to share here because they are insightful into... Read more →