Saturday, March 23, 2013

stella red square

this is probably the last earthscape stamp in the series. it's not my best idea. i do like a lot of empty space. stella deserves something more interesting than this. i love her name. i'll do some more.

last week i saw an interview with ray bradbury which reminded me of the process of making decorated envelopes.

he talked about writing a lot (as in quantity) and how he never had writer's block. his opinion about writer's block is that if you have it, it means you should be doing something other than writing. clearly, i like envelopes. the more i do, the more ideas i get.

and maybe you like envelopes, but you don't really like making them. or you get frustrated when you try. or you nit-pick. i do not recall if ray had any advice about the *editing* part of writing. i think he must have done some editing. i doubt he just sat down and wrote...and didn't have to edit.

the point is this: to make anything that you like, you need to make a bunch of it. there is a bunch of practice that comes before you make things you r-e-a-l-l-y like. so, don't be negative about your beginning work. it is leading you to something. ray talked about his earliest writing and how it took a while to hit his stride.

if you want to be negative about everything, go right ahead. but, you'll reap what you sow. negativity.

i try to get my beginning students to address envelopes to people and drop them in the mail....as soon as possible. when they get positive feedback, they feel better about the work. they frequently say..."i sent an envelope, but it wasn't nearly as good as one of yours." and i say..."so what?" the person who received the envelope was happy. that's all that matters. sorry if i sound preachy. i'll stop.

7 comments:

  1. You don't have to stop "preaching"...it's very good information and advice. Although I might not be happy with everything I drop into the mailbox, most of my recipients aren't craftsy, artsy like that, so I know they'll think it's wonderful!

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  2. I agree, you are not preachy. Thanks so much for the envelope and thanks for saying something so lovely about my name too! You are an encourager Jean. So very kind of you, made my day!

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  3. By the way, I have yet to find a white pen that writes consistently, what do you use and where can I buy it? The fine white line on the envelope is perfect and i can see by the weight of your line that the pen is reliable.

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  4. i have good look with the Gelly Roll pens. they will usually work for a few months. once in a while, they will quit after one day. they are very unpredictable. sometimes the uni-ball white pens are reliable. but, i only buy Gelly Rolls. and if i can't find them when i need them, i buy uni-ball. all of the other brands have been disappointing.

    two tips that sometimes coax a gel pen into working again:
    tap-tap-tap the tip on the paper and then do a few squiggles, then tap-tap-tap and squiggle. this seems to get the ink flowing again.
    also, sometimes if you warm the pen, it will work. putting it on top of your lamp, so the heat will warm the ink. but, be careful that the pen does not melt.

    yes, i hope to have a whole papadopoulos week sometime...featuring ways to have fun with long names.

    thanks for commenting :-)

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  5. Thanks for sharing your tips, I am glad Im not the only one having a hard time with them. Never tried Gelly Rolls though. Oh boy...a papadopoulos week...better widen the page LOL. Tomorrow by the way is Greek Independence Day - OPA!

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  6. I also have had the best success with Gelly Rolls. I have other white pens but a few are more like felt tip markers so the paper absorbs the ink. The Gelly Rolls are almost like paint.

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