Raising Lucy 2nd Edition Arrives

 

I am so happy with the new edition of Raising Lucy.  It is everything that I wanted the first book to be.  I always say, that life is a process and I've found that putting a book  together is no different.  When I would read to groups I would often think that something would be better if it was rewritten.  So I kept all those notes about the changes in the text I wanted to make and also some of the artwork I wanted to tweak.  Finally I got the opportunity.  The whole process was worth it and Raising Lucy - The True Story of Raising an Orphaned Wild Goose is so much better.

Thank you to my sister, designer Joie Moring for helping me with the book, Laurie Blum-Guest from Mariposa Press, and everyone at C and C Printing.  It is such a great book now and all the hard work is evident in the beautiful results.  

Honk Honk, 

Carol

Busy Busy Busy

Canyon Elementary Artist Residency K - 5.  Wow we worked hard to create these awesome journals and put our drawings in them  In an 8 day residency the kids drew a duck, a fox, a fish, a goose, a falcon, owls, and a deer.  I saw a lot of progress in some kids as a lot of students in Idaho don't get much art taught to them anymore.  I love drawing pictures of animals and loved sharing what I know with the classes.  There was a lot of talent there and hope these kids continue to draw.  They can use their journals to document plants and animals they come across in their adventures.

Mom's Choice Award!

I have had a wonderful week while staying busy preparing for an artist's residency starting April 18th.  First I heard that Raising Lucy was a Silver Award Winner in the Children' Picture Book Animal Kingdom category.  This is a big honor for us and happy for the recognition. 

I just sent a big quantity of books to the children's catalog Chinaberry who ordered more books!  You can also see a video trailer on that link of our story. 

I write every day and sometimes I sit and reflect on how thankful I am for the new paths in my life.  I am teaching creative writing with EWU's Get Lit! Author Tours and am an Artist in Residence with Idaho's Commission on the Arts.  It's an amazing journey and I know that we are the ones that create our own opportunities through thought and action.  When those opportunities arrive in our lives, it is up to us to take advantage of them.  In spite of my fears, I study and prepare to be the best I can be.  Every step of life is a learning process and I always am looking at how I can do something better.

I am delving into areas that weren't my area of training, and sometimes the voices in my head say - hey, you're a nurse, not a teacher.  But my whole life has been preparation for this and I have already had some very successful classes.  It is something I love doing and the success has been reflected in the critiques and enthusiasm I've received from these classes. 

While writing yesterday - and feeling so thankful - the phone rang.  I wasn't sure if I wanted to answer it as the call was from Oregon and said it was from Pendleton Sc.  I couldn't figure out who or what, but answered it anyway thinking it was a wrong number.  But it wasn't.  It was from the art teacher at Sunridge Middle School who told me in such glowing terms how her 7th and 8th graders LOVED Lucy and they were doing a school art project on Lucy's life.  They'd watched the short film many times and were drawing images of her to be displayed for 3 days at the convention center in Pendleton.  I can tell you it hit my heart hard and I felt such a blessing from her call.  Even though I am teaching a residency during that time, it is possible that one of us from the Raising Lucy team can attend.  That call was perfectly timed and a big validation of the path I am on. 

I think the universe (God) is always showing us the way and the signs are there for us if we just pay attention!