Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in dianemdavis' LiveJournal:

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Saturday, July 11th, 2009
11:24 pm	thoughtful questions this weekend What would you do if you knew when you were going to die? Would it change your way of life? Have you made a "bucket list" of your own? (3 Comments |Comment on this)
5:02 pm	Picture Books Sometimes they come all at once, in complete rhyme or rhythm. But other times you sit and fiddle with one line here or there, tiny things that change the personality of the mc or the direction of the rest of the story. And then you erase it, going back to the original story, and then you add in part of the line and a different direction. And then you erase a metaphor or simile. And then you put it back..... This can go one for hours and hours. Today is one of those days..... (Comment on this)
Friday, July 10th, 2009
2:59 pm	Robert Frost Farm I went to the Robert Frost farm in Derry NH today. It's only about a half an hour or so from my house. You'd think I'd have been there before, but I guess we don't see the things that are closest to us. Robert Frost's poetry is something I came upon when I was in high school. I entered an oration contest, based on an essay I wrote about him. I like that his poetry is all mine, not something I discovered because my husband introduced me to it, or I learned it from my parents. In fact, I don't really remember studying his poetry in school although I must have. He's just someone I've always been interested in. The house is a small farm house, with a large barn set on several well cared for acres. I was amazed that unlike the federal museums I've worked in, this house was almost entirely open. You could touch the soapstone sink or open the lids to the woodburning kitchen stove and look inside. The phone that Frost would listen in on (a party line) to get gossip as well as learn the local dialect was on a wall, easily approachable.The books he used to home school his kids are there, as well as a selection from his home library. When I worked at the Smithsonian or in the Lowell Museums, they stressed how oils from our fingers would wear away quilts, stain walls and mar metals. Here, there were no such worries. It was more of a tour of your great-grandfather's house. It made me remember what my son said about visiting Russia. There is no air conditioning or climate control in the buildings, and the famous paintings and furniture, etc. are displayed openly. It makes one wonder how long these things will last. A few wonderful stories. They had two kid's bedrooms. The ones that got along the best that day, would sleep together that night. They painted all the floors red because they liked how vibrant and happy they looked, esp. at Christmas time against the Christmas tree. Frost was in charge of teaching the kids astronomy. He would have the kids each pick a star in the sky. They would then all study where it was, and how it moved through the seasons. That way, when they looked up in the sky, they would always see their family. So often when we love a book, we idolize the author. But this first Frost farm (he had 5 in NE all together) made him more human to me than demi-god. He failed as a farmer, and yet all his poems are about the things you would find on a farm. A walking tour around the fields and through the woods helped me to see how his life was in his poems. Here is the fence he had to mend. Here is where he would sit and watch the butterflies on the milkweeds, here is where he would watch the turtles leap back into the water, or here is where he sat, exhausted after picking apples for days. He wrote about the little things all around him. And sitting there, surrounded by quiet and nature, I was able to think about his poems in a different way. I was able to take him off his pedestal and imagine him listening to the world around him, and thinking. I was so pleased to see where "the pasture" was, and to hear that it was written as a love poem. I've always thought of it as a very romantic poem and even used it in my own wedding. What could be more loving than to say you want to do the simplest things in life with your partner, no matter how small. I picked up the journals of his daughter, growing up on the farm. They are actually all scanned in the book "New Hampshire's Child" by Lesley Frost. I look forward to seeing how his emphasis of looking at the little things in their lives shows up in her journals as well. (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, July 6th, 2009
4:52 pm	From Miss Rumphius Challenge This was fun. Take the verbs from various recipes, and create your own recipe for a non-food topic.I like the idea of a recipe for a landscape, and I may do that with my art students this fall. Directions for Writing Recipe and How to Make… Poems Write each direction in a separate sentence. Begin each sentence with a carefully selected verb. Try to use a different verb in each sentence. How to Make a Quiet Place Start with a rich, dense forest of mature oaks, elms and maples. Dig deep into its center, to eliminate sounds of civilization. Hull the tallest trees, allowing beams of sunlight to fall diagonally to the ground. Choose a large, smooth rock and scoop out a spoon shaped ledge for added comfort. Sprinkle with mint, moss and wildflowers. Add a dusting of summery breeze and a favorite book for decoration. (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, July 3rd, 2009
2:54 pm	Good Day Sunshine! Quick, it's a sunny day. I'm out with the lawn trimmer faster than my cat, neva, is after a mouse. Skies are already starting to look gray, and I'm determined to get some of these knee high weeds out of my pergola before the next storm. But it's feast or famine around here. While yesterday we were looking for sweaters or flannels to throw on, today I'm sweating so much I can hardly see in only a half an hour. Ah well....parts to whole. I'll get these weeds eventually, if I have to pull them out by hand. Enjoy the sun! (Comment on this)
Tuesday, June 30th, 2009
11:51 pm	Zentangles, Meditation and the Right Brain I've been reading a lot about Zentangles today. This art form is touted as a way to meditate through art, by working within a set format. (http://www.zentangle.com/about-what-is--1.php) Basically, you start with a square of paper, draw a few random, fluid lines through it and then fill the spaces made by those lines with textures and patterns. The concept is that by filling one space at a time with repetitive patterns, you use your right brain instead of your left and send your mind into a calming, relaxed, focused state that accesses your creativity. People use this for any number of exercises, including pre-writing or art making. To me, this is doodling. Do people not doodle anymore? My co-teacher and I constantly doodle at meetings. We often compare doodles afterwards, and although different in subject matter, they tend to be similar in their randomness and filled with patterns. We've never considered these art, but doodle as a way to stay focused during the meetings. I've also been reading " A whole new Mind: Why right-brainers will rule the future" by Daniel Pink, which similarly talks about meditation and spirituality of right brain activities. He talks about walking labyrinths and doing yoga as meditation. My question is, could all right brained activities, things that take you out of your thinking mind/ your talking mind, be forms of meditation? The most common definition I've found is "Meditation: A self-directed practice for relaxing the body and calming the mind." I've felt this right brained calm when focused intently on a math problem, working through a hypothesis....I've felt this loss of time and relaxation when making extended art projects... I've felt it when writing poetry and I'm lost in the sounds of the words or the rhythms I'm playing with. Couldn't these all be forms of meditation? I've never found solace in making mandalas, doing yoga, labyrinths or repeating mantras. I'm not good at contemplating my navel. But I do find a deep satisfaction and relaxation in getting lost in first drafts of poetry and working for hours on a single piece of art. And so I wonder, do I meditate all the time (doodling and art and writing), or have I never really meditated at all? (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, May 23rd, 2009
5:50 pm	Happy Birthday Colin!! My wonderful first born turns 27 today. I'm so pleased to see him happy and successful. It's what every mother wishes as she looks at her new baby for the first time. I just want him to be happy in life. Thank you for 27 years of making my life happy. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Saturday, May 2nd, 2009
1:24 pm	Saturday Solitude This is the first day in over two weeks I've had time for myself. It's so nice not to have anything scheduled. My time has been so filled up lately with visits from by Aunt from Arkansas , getting sick after surgery that was supposed to be as easy as sneezing,trying to fit in time to attend a few workshops at NESCBWI and keeping up with all the school stuff that comes up this time of year from MCAS to art shows... Sigh...It's good to have the quiet. I don't know if I'll write today. Sometimes it feels as if it's another chore, something I have to get done when I have a moment unscheduled. But today, I want to fill up on inspiration. I've been catching up on all my blog readings this morning, and this aft. I think I'll go buy a book recommended by Linda Urban's blog, Granny Torrelli Makes Soup by Sharon Creech, and then just sit back and read the rest of the day. I'm so glad to hear what all my friends are doing lately with their writing. It gives me inspiration for when that free time and energy coincide, and I will write again. Summer is coming, and I am determined not to over schedule myself this year. (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, April 26th, 2009
6:46 pm	NESCBWI I didn't get to see much this year, but I did go to best workshop I've ever had on poetry. Leban Garrick Hill was fantastic. He started off with the most often asked question, what is the difference between prose narrative and verse novels. He explained that the emphasis of lyric moments in poetry is capturing that emotional moment that takes it beyond just narrative storytelling. He went through extensive explanations about form vrs. syntax and taught us the 3 main ways to do line breaks. I've heard of or used many of he things he has talked about. But this time it all clicked. Someone once told me that you have to hear things over and over in order to get them into your head, and later your writing. I must have hit my limit. I came away with so much I can use in revising my poems. It was all so useful that I was cramping up from writing so quickly. His bio says he's written over 25, so I'm off to find some of them. I'm particularly interested in the PB titled "Harlem Stomp" and his verse novels. My best tip of the day: Remember to write as if you are under 4 foot tall. Concrete, Concrete, Concrete images. I know this, but somehow the 4 foot image brings it all home. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Saturday, April 25th, 2009
4:34 am	the best thing about conferences the best thing about conferences is seeing old friends. What are you working on now? What ever happened to that story about.... Do you have the arc of your new book? I was so thrilled to see Cindy F. and Cindy L., Jo K. and Amy, Judith and Mona and Kim and.... I had some minor surgery this week, which went well. But the post surgery complications are interrupting my conference plans. I'm sort of running in and out of the conference based on energy levels and doctor appointments. So I just want to apologize to anyone who feels I may be rushing our short visits. It's not you. I wish I had more energy to place into all my workshops. But I'm focusing on my critiques with agents and editors first, and hoping that by Sunday I'll be able to stay for all the poetry workshops. And this year, for the first time, they have one about verse novels. I am thrilled. Enjoy the conference everyone. Children's writers are the most friendly helpful people I've ever met. Here's hoping there are many new connections as well as pleasure in all the old friendships. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, April 14th, 2009
3:39 pm	Cindy in Reading! It's a grand slam What a wonderful presentation. The kids loved her and the classrooms were buzzing, esp. in the sixth grade. I was up in the balcony with the sixth graders during her presentation. You should have seen their faces when she talked about how nice their welcoming sign was. I have a few kids who really enjoyed planning out that design and putting it together. Her presentation gave a very complete idea of how the publishing process works, but in simple, easy to understand language and stories. It was great to see the kids really thinking about her questions, and getting answers right about a book that many haven't seen since last summer. A truly delightful day. And our dinner was a great time to catch up and share about our writing. Only...remember that navigator I loved so well? It failed me, "a big one". We were driving to the restraurant when it suddenly said, you have reached your destination. We looked around at the old New England homes and said, I don't think so. No commercial sites nearby and not even a promising bed and breakfast. No, it failed us. And yet, we were on Main street and at the correct number. A few turn-arounds and a trip to a gas station later gave us the answer. We were in Lynnfield, not Wakefield. Stupid navigator. Who would mix up those two? So we trouped down Main street a few more miles, crossed into Wakefield and found our destination. Only it was closed. The sign said it was open,but it was closed. OK, enough was enough. The good restaurant was closed on Monday, the substitute one decided to close just as we were coming and we had no idea where we were. So we stepped into a pizza place behind us. Food is food. Of course, as we came out, the restaurant we were seeking was now open. Somedays, life is like that "even in Australia". Thank you Cindy for a wonderful two days. I hope the rest of your trip will be fun as well. And I can't wait to read your two 2010 books. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, April 13th, 2009
3:54 pm	How exciting: Cynthia Lord is coming to town I'm never happier than when I'm talking to other writers. I'm so excited to be able to have supper with an old writer friend. Although I haven't seen Cynthia Lord in nearly two years, I read her blog every day and feel as if we are talking on a daily level, even if she's not aware of it. Blogs are odd that way. You don't know who is reading it unless they respond. And yet, I'm always talking back to the blogs out loud. Oh good Jo, I'm so pleased your new book is out; I never knew that, Susan; That is so true, Cynthia; What an amazing picture, Kerry; What I wouldn't do to be there, Jody; What a great poem analysis, Kelly, Cynthia Smith, you are too smart....I'm sorry I don't let my fingers do the talking as well. But I do talk to you all daily,rejoicing in your pleasures and empathizing with your sorrows. It's been fun thinking about where to go. I don't know this town I work in at all. I go to school, and home. That's it. So today I started asking where a good place to eat was. So what type of restaurant do you want? Well, she's a good friend and we could go to a pub, but she's a celebrity this week so we could go someplace nice. Scrap that...the good restaurant in town is closed on Mondays. Hmm...the review of the pub says noisy and rowdy fun, but I want to talk to her over the noise. Perhaps we can go somewhere else. Duck Walk looks good, but the reviews say it is overpriced. So...we are experimenting. Going to a place no one recommended, though everyone said "oh, that's a good place" when I mentioned it to them. It has variety and less traffic than others. Should I mention again that I know nothing about this area at all? But I do have a navagator in the car... We are going on an adventure. We may end up at someplace entirely unexpected. But isn't that often the way we write anyway? What could be more perfect? (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, April 7th, 2009
9:21 pm	So I was thinking, why do I love poetry so much: A PROCESS So I was working on the first draft of a poem, and here's how it went. My process: I needed to break up some poems about writing calligraphy, so it didn't sound like a how-to manual... I started thinking about my kids in school, my sixth graders. I had a bunch of them come to art club today. So since my character hates art, why don't I start there. Art Club Sarah, her best friend, loves art. And since she is the one who does the calligraphy that my mc claims as her own, I thought she should bring my mc to the art club. After all, the mc never would have gone on her own. Come to art club with me, Sarah says. Maybe you’ll be inspired for your calligraphy. Oh no. I'm talking about that calligraphy again. I was trying to get away from that. So is my mc. So I'll have her reject that idea. I know she’s wrong. But what could it hurt to play for a while with paint or clay. At least it’s a chance to get away from PoPo. Good. We're thinking away from PoPo now. So what do non-artsy types do when they come to my art room. They revert to their kindergarden art. Esp. making smushy paint butterflies. Why? Who knows. Maybe because they look good without much work, maybe because they are fun to make. So my mc will revert as well. I drip paint onto a paper and watch the colors flow one into another. I fold the paper in half and listen to the squish of tempera paint as it spreads between the pages. That was fun. but what's the point? Why would I make my mc do this? There has to be a reason. What would I say to kids doing this? Hmmmm.....well, it is abstract, and we are doing abstract in art history now. What do I say to kids now about making their work abstract? I talk to them about it being symbolic and conceptual. The viewer brings as much to the table as the artist. It is interpreted in many different ways. What do you see? the art teacher asks. A butterfly. A tree. Typical answers. Kids always go for the simple pre-set answers. How can I get them to think deeper? How can I get them to see it in a different way? Make the image different by turning it around or upside down. Turn the paper over, he says. Usually this works with kids. I can get them to come up with all kinds of new images when they see it in a new way. But I won't accept just one. What if I turned it again, and again? What else could it be? I tell them that their first ideas are rarely the best, but by brainstorming an idea, they can choose from what they've come up with. Don't be stuck with your first idea. a dog balancing on a ball, a baby bouncing on her mom’s knee, OK, she's conceptualizing now. But how am I going to bring this poem back around to my themes of dragon boats and dragons or grandmothers or luck......She can see an image in the paint. But what? A dragon of course. But we've talked a lot about dragons. What about bringing it back to the Festival itself. But I want to keep bringing up the dragon motif. After all, she is called "little dragon". OK, what about the dragon boat....and what about not just the boat, but add in some action of winning. But what can I do to show they are winning? They all raise their oars when they cross the finish line. That will work. It gives them an image, but gives readers information about the races too. or maybe, a dragon boat with oars raised high as they cross the finish line... So what was that point again that the teacher wanted to get across? It has to be something that I can refer to if I want to down the road....something that helps her in the end of the story, or at least some point along it. You know what your critique group keeps saying...how does it move your story along, or what importance does it have to your story. Oh yeah, in the end of the story, she makes a concrete poem by writing on the ink spill that turned part of a rice paper black. And since you can't write black calligraphy on black ink, she'll have to do it in white. And since it's only going to be a poem anyway and not calligraphy....she'll have to see the ink blot as a dragon so she can be inspired to write the concrete poem on it. So she will have to remember seeing these images in the paint blotches. But don't forget, she hates to draw.... Art isn’t only for those who draw, he says. Yeah... that's the idea. Bring it around to a universal idea in art, that she can relate to at the end of the book. A smoking gun of sorts....liking to play, but not liking to draw....learning to see and using that seeing to write her poetry. I like it. It can also be a way to set your mind free. Well, its ok for now. I can always change it later. Number 27 is done. only 23 more to go...... Isn't it so fun to discover poems as you go along? If I had planned that out, I never would have gotten it done. That's what I like about poetry. now don't get me started with internal rhymes..... (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, April 3rd, 2009
8:03 pm	5 Things on a Friday 1. I am very excited with my new wip (which started as an old collection of poems). It's so much fun to be writing again. Years ago, one of my writing groups (Thanks Jodi, MaryBeth, Martha and Kate) told me this collection had to be a mg novel. But I was tired of writing long mg novels. I wanted a short PB. I tried it probably 20 ways as a PB, but they never felt right. Now, that I've given in, it's working as a novel. I should have listened to you all from the start. 2. My Father-in-law has been ill with cancer. Although he hasn't felt poorly yet, his prognosis seemed to get worse every day for several weeks. But he seems to be doing well with radiation treatments, and we haven't been inundated with further complications. And I discovered just how debilitating worry and stress can be without having an illness yourself. I am thankful for the quiet (no news is good news) and hopeful for the future. 3. It's crunch time at school. Lots of art shows means lots of time writing labels and mounting artwork. It's a time for reflection as I go through hundreds of drawings. Did I teach them enough? Should I have picked another topic? Do they remember what we worked on? Art is all about higher learning skills- and I hope I've done my part to teach them how to take knowledge and apply it to new situations. 4. It's National Poetry Month and I am a reading fool. I'm reading poetry to my classes, writing poetry, searching my friends blogs for poetry posts and posting poetry all around my school. What fun!! 5. My daughter is writing again! She's such a good writer and I'm so proud of her getting back into the journalism world. I know writing makes her feel fulfilled and excited, as it does me. (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, March 31st, 2009
7:05 pm	National Poetry Month I am so excited. This is my favorite writing and reading month. Not only do I get to celebrate at my school, but I get to read even more poetry all over the internet. Life is good. I am sponsoring my 3rd poetry slam at school on April 29th. We've had an average of 20 girls the last two years. I'm hoping we can get a few more this year. I give them all lots of food and drink (we have to be like the cool cafes) and a poetry journal to write new poetry in. It's such fun. This year I am going to do something I've seen other schools do. I'm offering poems to teachers to put up all over their rooms, and am going to recruit kids to post poems all over the school as well. Hopefully, we'll inundate the school with poetry. I've found a few integrated poetry books, "Science Verse" and "Math Curse", "Math Talk" and " Heart to Heart/American art". I've found several history style books by Marilyn Nelson and Nikki Giovanni. But if anyone can send me poems I can use to give to various teachers to put up, I'd really appreciate it. One teacher specifically wants poems about grammar. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, February 28th, 2009
8:53 am	Conference Question...NESCBWI As the conference approaches, I've been asked if I want to share a hotel room for Sat. night in order to schmooze after hours with other authors. Living so close, I've never done this before. It's a quick jog home, unless I've made plans for supper,etc. For anyone who has stayed all weekend, what happens Sat. night? Anyone planning to meet up for schmooze sessions? Or does everyone sink into bed exhausted after all the workshops? (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, January 19th, 2009
4:17 pm	photo needed does anyone have a photo of a town park with a stone wall and trees, and possibly a playground off to one side that I could adapt as scenery for the school play? I will be painting it on 12 foot flats, in an impressionistic style. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
4:09 pm	how would you be defined in the dictionary? Diane Davis -- [noun]: A person with a sixth sense for detecting the presence of goblins 'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, January 18th, 2009
6:51 am	new year, new poetry exercises From Miss Rumphius Effect:http://missrumphiuseffect.blogspot.com/2009/01/first-poetry-sretch-of-2009.html Write a poem about your mother's kitchen. (It helps if you actually draw the kitchen first, with crayons!) Put the oven in it, and also something green, and something dead. You are not in this poem, but some female relation—aunt, sister, close friend—must walk into the kitchen during the course of the poem. The oven is on. Brown sugar wafts from the cracks where the oven doesn't quite close. Mom's bread pudding, stuffed with raisins. Food of the gods. Rhonda follows her nose into the kitchen, then stops. Just above the scent of heaven, sits a squirrel carcass, it's arms and legs still frozen, and splayed simmering in an old green pot. Not such a bad time to be a vegetarian. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, December 16th, 2008
12:38 pm	Simple smiles . . . a meme Between all the rush of the season, and all the economic downturns in the news, we might forget the daily simple things that can make us smile, so here is a meme . . . Post the last five things that made you smile! 1. Christmas lights on as I drove up to my house, after over 4 days of no electricity!!! 2. Spontanious dancing from kids in an afterschool class when they heard their favorite song on the radio. 3. The two cats suddenly look up and start to groom each other. It must be grooming time in the kitty world. 4.Our cat basking in front of the heat vent sprawled out like a vacationer on a tropical island, as the temperature of the house comes back to normal. I guess he didn't like remembering those old days when he was a ferrel cat, running outside in all weather. 5. The smile on a girl's face when she discovers I was able to glue together a broken art project she had planned for Christmas. (2 Comments |Comment on this)