Blogs Stories

Sue the Screenwriter: A Writing Retreat/Staycation on Whidbey Island

by Suzanne Kelman in Blogs
Posted on: August 30, 2017 6:00 pm - Permalink

One of the most wonderful things about being a writer is being able to write from home, and one of the most challenging things about being a writer is writing from home!

Anyone who works from home knows exactly what I’m talking about. Yes, we love getting up, working in our PJ’s on our own schedule, writing when and where we want, and even with the pressure of a deadline, it’s pleasant to tackle it from your sofa. But the challenge of writing from home is that your house is not always the best environment for working because so many other things often get in the way to challenge your day. Animals that want my love and think lying across my keyboard is the best place to garner it, also, family members and household needs to take care of, kind friends who stop by believing you might need some company, or even the UPS man can be enough to knock off your writing rhythm for the day.

So, with a need to get ahead on my latest word count, I decided to go on a writing retreat for four days with two other writers.

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Minding the Sky || This May All Disappear

by Judith Walcutt in Blogs
Posted on: August 23, 2017 8:00 am - Permalink

“Perfect.” What a funny word! It means so much, to so many! But none can define it for themselves, let alone for someone else. What was perfect for me in a suit of clothes even a mere ten years ago, doesn’t feel or look perfect to me now. Why should it? We are volatile, vulnerable beings in a changing world.

And in a changing world, it behooves us to remember, even change wears a mask and plays at illusion. The wonderful French phrase: “Plus ça change, plus c’est le même chose” (the more things change, the more they stay the same) evokes a whiff of that overly heavy perfume conjuring the feeling of reeling in some kind of nightmare we can’t quite get the meaning of. Is this change? Or is this not only the same old thing, but the same old thing, and possibly worse?

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Rock Bottom Line || Visiting and Eating – How We Spend Our Summers on Whidbey

by Harry Anderson in Blogs, Food
Posted on: August 9, 2017 6:00 pm - Permalink

Mid-summer is the best time to live on Whidbey Island — but often also the busiest. My spouse and I have now completed the first two of four visits by out-of-state friends fleeing hot weather and seeking cool experiences on our Rock. I do love catching up and sharing time with these dear friends and being their tour guide, even if it sometimes cuts short my afternoon nap and patio reading time.

Of course, our half dozen friends make up less than a tiny fraction of the huge number of visitors expected on Whidbey this summer. By one estimate, we may see as many as a million folks from April through October — including the growing number of day-trippers from nearby “America” looking for a brief escape from rush-rush life and gridlock.

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Pigments, Perspectives, and Pandas || Pssst. Can I interest You in A Vermeer?

by Anne Belov in Blogs, Visual Art
Posted on: August 2, 2017 6:00 pm - Permalink

This weekend marks the fifth year of Forgeries@Froggwell and, in my not-so-humble opinion, it’s going to be a doozy of a show. What began as sort of a visual bón mót has grown to be a much-anticipated biannual event.

The question of “why” always comes up when I talk about the show. One answer is that it’s a whole lot of fun, not to mention a challenge. I can’t answer for every artist in the show, but for me, it boils down to a couple of things: I think that visual artists learn by looking rather than reading about how to do something. Trying to replicate what they see visually requires lots of trial and error, decision-making, and experimentation.

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