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

[ << Previous 20 ]

Thursday, August 19th, 2010
11:14 am	Late night reading Had a bout of insomnia last night, but no worries. Cynthia Lord's new book, Touch Blue came in the mail yesterday, and I had a wonderful time reading it through the wee hours of the night. It's a great book and I read it straight through. Loved seeing how it had changed since I first read the manuscript years ago, and loved to see characters or situations that I remembered and loved as well. It's so much fun watching the progression of books, seeing how people think, analyze plot, add to characters... You don't get to see that just picking up a book at the library. It helps to remember that all books go through that transformation from first idea to the more complicated story that touches our hearts. As I pick up my manuscript today, I'm thinking of this book and following the threads that make it work so well. I need to add more of those wants and needs to my own story, not just following the activities of what goes on each day... Thanks for the inspiration Cindy, and congrats on a fantastic new novel! I'll be touching blue for luck, or perhaps collecting it from now on, and thinking of you. And that three times around a button for luck.....that just might make it into my art room this year, as we have a whole bucket of buttons in the collage drawers. (Comment on this)
Friday, May 28th, 2010
8:37 pm	recommendations? I'm having my knee replaced this summer, which will require me to be sitting in one spot for physical therapy for about a month. After flipping through the TV today, I realized that I won't last very long trying to keep occupied with those offerings. I also realized that I haven't been up to date on books this year (taking a technology course that took all my time and energy). So, I'm looking to develop a nice stack of books to read during my recuperation. Any suggestions? Old or new, I'm hoping to get caught up on things I should have read and haven't gotten to. Kind of like having a beach day, every day... (8 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, May 1st, 2010
2:18 pm	I'm on the Invite Check out the far left egg. It's mine. I'm thrilled, and in very good company. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, February 15th, 2010
1:48 pm	Eggs for Jo (is that a picture book title?) these are the eggs I painted for the Open Fields School Goose Egg Auction. It was fun painting them. I hope that someone likes them. I think there is a real talent to photographing things like this, and I don't have it. But at least you can get an idea of what they look like. The individual strokes and layers of paint are not so obvious in person. Good Luck to the Open Fields School. I can't wait to see the rest of the eggs. For more info go to www.openfields.org and look under events: the great goose egg auction. (8 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, December 29th, 2009
10:06 am	Poetry Poetry I'm very excited to be heading to a poetry retreat soon. It's my second year and I am thrilled to have found a master poetry class, one that doesn't spend all it's time on the basics. Not that I don't need to be reminded again and again about the basics, but to have something that stretches your mind as well as your metaphors is fantastic. This year I am headed to NJ to a workshop taught by Kathleen Driskell, a southern poet. I haven't read her books yet, but her latest, "Seeds across Snow" is on it's way to me this week. We also need to read "Late Wife" by Claudia Emerson, also a new poet to me. I'm really looking forward to this time off to read books again, especially poetry books. For the last few months I've been running and haven't taken the time to delve into any worlds other than my own. This week I'm trying to remedy that. Just read Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson. I've never read a better description of the pain of low self esteem. She captures beautifully (can you say that when it is so horrible?) the way your mind talks to you, telling you/convincing you of it's own truth. Also on my list this week is "Life as we knew it" by Susan Beth Pfeffer and finally (it hid itself on my shelves for so long) "the people of Sparks" by Jeanne Duprau. It's good to be back to reading, and I hope writing again this week. Can we have another week off from school, extend it just a little longer??? (Comment on this)
Friday, December 18th, 2009
7:52 am	Goose Eggs Got my Goose Eggs to decorate for Jo Knowle's school auction. I'm so excited. Can't wait to start them. But where to begin. There are so many ideas. I haven't done any artwork for a while (or writing or anything this fall I'm afraid) so I'm very excited to get my hands on the paints and play. Not that I haven't had my hands in paint. As an art teacher, I'm always covered with it. But I rarely sit down and do things for myself. Tis time I will. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, December 14th, 2009
11:06 pm	Jo's Challenge Jo asks that we take 21 questions and write them into a poem. I thought I'd take a stab at this before I go to bed. Hers is great. 10 Questions (I'm falling asleep and so can't do any more..) Who am I? Am I my job, my passions or my dreams? Am I three people in one, or one, split into three? How do others describe me? Am I hidden within a mirror or hiding behind a memory? Does my soul stand outside my wrinkles? Without skin, would you still recognize me? Do intentions count or are they dreams of who I'd rather be? Are actions the limit of my possibilities? Do emotions rule my life, or just me? Do I see in others what I want to see? Do their ambitions make up our we? Is there a reason I am me? (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, November 29th, 2009
4:23 pm	The loss of my father-in-law In an odd surreal way, it was like putting on a play with all of your best friends. For 4 days we worked on publicity, set design, scripting, stage managing, music and video to show the depth of our affection for the patriarch of our large extended family. One of ten, with ten siblings on my mother-in-law's side as well (my husband has 60 first cousins) Dave, Sr. was loved by a lot of people. How could we show that love and comfort people at the same time? We did it through photos, hundreds and hundreds of them. And it worked. People found their own photo connections to Dave, and memories in the dozens of parties he held over the years. They laughed at their own images in the 1950's and 60's and marveled at how cute everyone was as babies. They were mesmerized by a video display, mere transitions making the images come to life as the camera scanned across the photos or faded in and out. And we brought in props, spreading hockey uniforms and volleyballs around the room in order to prompt stories of the first time they were allowed in the adult games.... My husband, the writer who has to type things out before he truly knows what he thinks, wrote an amazing eulogy. And while his brothers have always outshined him in sports, this time his skills outshone the rest as he found the words they wanted to say, but weren't able to express. I had always thought I would write poems when our parents died. But my teacher/organizing skills were more powerful than my writing skills, and a poem just wouldn't come. I know it will, some afternoon when the world is quiet and I am alone with my memories. So for now, I'll let them churn, surrounded by the love I brought back with me from all our families and friends. And though my tribute to Dave, Sr. will be late, it will not be absent. Dave, Sr. has been with me almost as long as my own father, and his lessons, though quietly taught, will stay with me forever. I will end with a toast to my dear father-in-law, as he said for so many years "here's to bread, for without bread, there would be no toast". (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, November 12th, 2009
9:17 am	Sloooow writing time Writing nearly nothing lately, but this summer I did some rewrites of a book I'd been working on for many years. A picture book, mind you, nothing long. I started it with a thousand words, then got it down to 750, and finally wrote it down to 450 after a critique. This summer, I rewrote it a dozen different ways, each time focusing on something different but never getting it right. I took one summer version recently, and tried it again. This time, torn down to the very basics of the story. It is 57 words. All sounds. I don't know for sure if this is it. But it does tell me what I still love about the story. Have you ever reduced a book so drastically? (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, September 26th, 2009
3:19 pm	Re: Cindy's Post Cynthia Lord's post got me thinking about memories. My father-in-law is dying of cancer, and it hurts to see someone so loved in pain. But the one thing that seems to help me through it, is that we are all focused on memories. We've been working with him to fill out a parent's memory book. It has brought up so many stories we had never heard, from just a few well worded questions. And those stories led to other stories, and research in the family as other siblings chimed in with what they remembered from their youth. Over and over I heard, "I never knew that" or "I've never heard that story before". And I realize that once our kids are grown, and we don't see them as often, we are so busy catching up that we don't share many of these tiny moments. And those moments are the ones that we cherish. They are the way we remember someone. We don't really care about the memories of putting in a new kitchen floor or the bargain we got on the new washing machine. What we care about is how an uncle would dangle us upside down by our feet, or how a chemistry experiment accidentally set the curtains on fire, or when trying to read secretly in bed, we nearly set the whole house on fire by stuffing a cloth into the lamp to dim the brightness. Those tiny stories of our lives are what make us smile and get us through the hard times. So, for my own kids....a tiny memory. This week, the boys in my art studio class were so excited to start a project (any project), that while I was explaining, they were all busy tearing up the cardboard scraps at their tables. Then, as they came up to ask me questions, I was surprised to see cardboard mustaches and beards taped to their faces. I laughed. You wouldn't believe the variety of textures and shapes you can get out of torn cardboard. I only stopped later to wonder what the principal would think if he had come into my room to see kids in "disguise", busily working on their paper mache constructions. This is one of the reasons I like teaching art. (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009
5:25 pm	Sept. 22nd- where has the time gone? I've been writing every night. But that writing is working on lesson plans and sub plans, curriculum night and assessment rubrics. NOT the writing I need to do on my own manuscripts. Each year it should get smoother, and in a way, it does. I don't stress as much and I enjoy the kids so much. But because I don't want to be one of those teachers that do the same thing year to year, I end up writing new lessons for new ideas, adding in new technology, writing new grants... I haven't felt inspired to write/finish rather, my own personal writing. I'm just not motivated. (Or is my mind just too tired?) So my new assignment is to delegate time when I can only write on my personal work. No school stuff, home stuff, planning, party or preparatory stuff. And maybe I'll be able to have something done for my next crit group on Nov.1st. Wish me luck. (7 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, August 19th, 2009
4:18 pm	A summer poetry challenge from the Miss Rumphius Effect We are challenged this week to write a multi-chaptered poem about summer, based on Wallace Stevens' "Thirteen ways of looking at a Blackbird" http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15746 A Teacher's Summer 1. Hurray, What a day to roll over and sleep- to be given a chance to go deep in a dream or a thought or a prayer without fearing the thief who sits watch, every morn at my feet. 2. I had forgotten what it was like to be quiet inside, to walk with the trees and hide in the solitude of my mind. 3. My knees feel better and my back and my feet. Maybe it's the icecream or some other treat of indulgence, or decadence stored up inside cushioning the soul from it's year long ride. 4. Why do summer chores always exceed the time allotted to them? 5. My classroom floors are waxed so white that I shade my eyes reflecting the light, and wonder how bright the new year shines for my students? 6. New ideas crowd my brain until I am nearly pushed from my room with anticipation. 7. New year, new lives new plans, new eyes staring wide- thirty faces trying to hide their fears and hopes boxed up, inside. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, August 17th, 2009
12:18 pm	do you ever get overwhelmed by information? As I'm trying to learn as much as possible about backwards planning and project learning, I find myself going from one link to another to another until I'm overwhelmed with information. The blogs are amazing, and though not exactly what I was looking for, interesting and powerful. But one facinating article leads to another until I want to just throw the computer out the window. There is so much to learn, and I just can't do it all......Unfortunately,I sometimes get this way about writing too. Why isn't a way to brain dump and be done with it all? (Comment on this)
Saturday, August 15th, 2009
12:56 pm	Project Learning Our school system is trying to switch everyone over to project learning. And they are doing it well. Instead of demanding that everyone do this style, they are offering courses at absurdly low prices and encouraging related courses like differentiated learning and assessment training, etc. I think it is the osmosis style of learning. If we see it enough and hear it enough, eventually we'll become interested.I think that is how I am with writing. I take courses and read information, and if I do it long enough, parts of it start to make sense. One of the things that I do like about project learning, is the backwards planning style of trying to figure out what are the big questions you are dealing with (the essential questions: such as, "What motivates artists" and "How does primitive art relay meaning") and the understandings, what you want kids to come away with (such as "all societies use art" and "where you live effects what type of art you make." I've never done that with writing, and I've rarely done it with teaching. Usually with both, I go at the lessons, and take the big meanings from them by the end of the lesson. But what if we went at it the other way? I'm going to be doing this with my lessons this year, and I think I'll try doing this with my writing as well. Although I am usually much better with just writing fast and going with the experience....maybe if I know a little more about where I am going, I won't get stuck as much. Something to think about! (Comment on this)
Wednesday, August 12th, 2009
3:33 pm	Thank you....I Won!! I am so excited to start using video in my classroom. With only two weeks left before school starts, I'm going to be practicing a lot. Thank you to all of you who voted. This is a new technology for me. I remember years ago working with a summer camp and showing a shaky, messed up home movie we made and telling everyone it was avant garde and to enjoy the freshness of it all. But with this digital video, I can edit. What fun. Again, THANK YOU. (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, August 11th, 2009
3:36 pm	Another poetry challenge What would I do without challenges. They inspire me when I don't have the energy to write on any of my long term projects. I guess I love to write fast, not work at it. oh dear.... Thank you again to Miss Rumphisus Effect and her great challenges. http://missrumphiuseffect.blogspot.com/2009/08/monday-poetry-stretch-clothes-make-man.htm This week her challenge is to write about an article of clothing. Mine is a head topper, that wondrous character-maker that nearly everyone in my family has been infatuated with at some point in their life. Ode to felt, and other oddities l am suave, debonair or pretty in pink, toppled with feathers or splattered with ink. Foldable, totable delicate lace rainproof, hoofproof motorcycle chase. Covered in fruit, ribbons, flowers or fur, softened in leather I make women purr when they walk into church on a Sunday morn, or when drinking mint juleps outside on the lawn. I crown kings and emperors, scare away crows, I speak with authority- mask people's woes. --diane m. davis (Comment on this)
Tuesday, August 4th, 2009
2:40 pm	A summertime Miss Rumphius poetry challenge The Miss Rumphius challenge is to write a dictionary poem similar to Lohren Green's work and his "Poetical Dictionary."(http://www.amazon.com/Poetical-Dictionary-Lohren-Green/dp/1891190172) The poems in this book are written in the form of a dictionary entry (pronunciation, etymology, and definition) Here is my attempt at this. levi·gate (lev′i gāt′) to grind to a fine powder or paste, to smooth as a verb levigated -·gat′ed, or make smooth [ L levigatus, pp. of levigare] levigating -·gat′·ing like the potter who suspends his clay in water, separating fine particles from course, keeping only the middle to make his homogenous forms. Some would say that clay so pure is apt to crack when under stress, though most potters prefer levigation for its soft and easy manipulation. (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, July 30th, 2009
7:47 pm	I need your vote! I'm trying to win a mini-grant for school. In order to win this grant for a flip video camera, I need to be in the top ten vote winners. Would you please vote for me? Voting ends August 10th. Go to this site to cast your vote. thanks in advance. I'm third down on the page: Diane Davis: Growing as an artist http://media.weareteachers.com/watmicrogrant/digital/applicantlist.php?page=5&sort=lname&by=asc (12 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, July 27th, 2009
8:37 am	Jumping off Swings by Jo Knowles I was lucky to get a copy of Jo's new book at the Simmon's Summer Institute this weekend. I was excited to find myself in a book that I just couldn't put down. In fact, I read half of it before going to bed last night, and had to pick it up first thing this morning to find out the rest of the story. I haven't done that in a long time. "Jumping Off Swings" is the story of a fragile girl, looking for love but misunderstanding what it really is. As a result of a "one night thing", she becomes pregnant. This story is about Ellie and her friends as they react and deal with a situation that changes all their lives. Jo has amazing voice, in fact, four voices which read as completely separate, emotional individuals. Each chapter is written from the point of view of one of these friends, thrust into a situation they aren't sure how to handle. These characters become the protagonist of their own chapters, telling their stories in first person narrative which makes for a very emotional story. I found myself crying through several of the last chapters. When talking about situations as personal and as emotional as unwanted pregnancies, it is rare to hear the point of view of the father-to-be, or how he talks to his friends. Jo puts us into the hearts and minds of her characters, making us realize that despite how much or how little people speak, they all feel. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, July 20th, 2009
3:02 pm	Animoto.com This is a teaser I made today for my WIP, Tongue of Fire. PoPo says Mei is cursed with bad luck, because she was born on the fifth day of the fifth month, during the Dragon Boat Festival. But Mei is determined to prove her wrong. This was fun to try. You can make free 30 second videos (as many as you like) and use them for promotion or pay $30 (for a year?) and make them as many seconds or minutes as you want. Very, very easy to use. I'm going to play with this for school projects. (1 Comment |Comment on this)