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just sketch » Blog Archive » Illus Friday: Modify (And thoughts on publishing…)

I'm happy to announce fellow writer and Blueboarder, Maggie Steifvater's upcoming book...



For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf--her wolf--is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human . . . until the cold makes him shift back again.

Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human--or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

I've been away from my blog and live journal sites due to travel to NYC, work and rehearsing. Being involved in different artistic pursuits can get a bit hairy sometimes, especially when it comes to juggling my time commitments. Some things are put off in exchange for other things. I'm constantly striving to strike a balance between doing things well and getting them done period.

I tend to be a perfectionist and sometimes that tendency gets in the way rather than helps. So, I've learned to take my goals and chunk them down rather than concentrate on the big picture which can appear overwhelming on the surface. When you break down a goal or task into smaller, bite-size pieces, things become doable. And things will get done. Albeit, there are often rewrites and revisions involved but the work is well on its way to completion. Some people call it the "Divide and Conquer" approach.

With these thoughts in mind, here's an update of what I've been up to besides work: work, hardly any play and full-speed ahead with rehearsals for the next dance production with Na Lei Hulu. We're rehearsing our dance numbers--refining them and practicing transitions. With a big show like O'ahu: Confessions of an Island we must block everything to perfections. (Now, that's where perfection comes in: practice! :)) After months and weeks of practice, we put on the show and that's where the biggest rush comes in--being in the moment and sharing the dances with a live audience. The magic of the moment. That's why I dance, write, and paint.

Check out this video clip from our show last year featuring the stories of Maui.

...among the leaves so green.
Here go a wandering so fair to be seen.
Love and joy come to you
and to you your wassail too...

The lyrics from the Wassail Song popped into my head as I started this post. How appropriate because I'm getting ready to do a little wandering today. I'll be heading out the door to do some writing (in a favorite spot), pick up a few items and, most likely, take some photos along the way with my new LC-A camera. It's a very cool little manual camera designed after the original lomo photographic (also known as lomographic) camera model from the former Soviet Union. More about the LC-A camera and lomography can be found here.





I'll wander with my muse and my camera as a warm-up to several projects I've begun: one is a commissioned illustration and design job and the other is a picture book (both the text and storyboard). With lomography, my muse goes into full play—loosening my mind, opening my eyes to new possibilities.





One's state of mind with a lomographic camera is very different than typical photo-taking. With lomography you can't predict results due to the nature of lomo cam. While the lens on an LC-A is top-notch, the camera is a wealth of surprises. In fact, the LC-A has a reputation for "casual, snapshot photography" rife with "happy accidents." Such accidents include captivating lighting, arresting contrasts, oversaturated colors, etc. In the age of digital photography, a manual camera represents The Unknown. Think three times that with a lomo camara—especially when used with a variety of attachments and techniques as shown in the photos I took at a local beach.

My LC-A is the Wild Child of cameras. And I love it.




Above photos: (top) High Tide, LC-A camera using wide angle lens, (middle) Plant at Sunset, LC-A with flash fill, (bottom) Tidal Thoughts, LC-A with wide angle lens, foreground enhanced in Photoshop. All photos were taken during high-tide at a small beach across the bay from San Francisco.




All images (c) copyright Edna Cabcabin Moran 2009. If you are interested in using any of the images on this site, please ask. Contact ecm (at) cabcabinmoran.com. Thanks!

It's good to be here. I'm exploring the online option of journaling--seeing how I like it and how it fits in with my process. Not sure that I want all the world to see my LJ posts. I have a blog for that. I suppose LJ will fit in somewhere between my personal scrawlings on pulp and work-in-progress drafts. It is TBD. To be determined.

That is all for now.

Happy writing in 2009!