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.