Search This Blog

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Reflections On A Crayoned-Creation ETC


The drawing atop this blog entry was presumably created by yours truly for my signature (By Patti) can be seen in the upper lefthand corner. I have no recollection of creating this picture; but it would have to have been when when I was at least seven or eight years of age; as that is the time cursive writing was introduced in the school. During that time period, my teachers required me to spend many recesses in the classroom, working on my penmanship under the "direction" of peers who had mastered The Palmer Method.

My other clue as to when I created this drawing is the fact that my signature refers to me as Patti. From birth up until the end of third grade, I was called by this nickname. After fourth grade I went through my being called "Pat" phase, but was unsure how it felt, so I would sign my name "Pat (ti optional)." Being called Patricia came much later. I've never been thrilled with the name Patricia, and I suppose I could've changed my name, but the legality of what would be involved to do this has never been something I wanted to contend with.   

But getting back to my drawing! I came upon it while going through a box of papers that I have had a hard time tossing as they are associated with cards and letters that have been sent to me over the years. Upon my tackling the act of oranizing these correspondences caused me to think of the long departed entertainer, Dean Martin. He was known for his weekly closing remarks of his television show, where he said, "keep those cards and letters coming."  

Because I have designed greeting cards over the years (and have written about the value of sending non-cyber cards and letters), you might conclude that I was in agreement with Dino on this sentiment. But I am here to confess that there are times when I am going through the many cards and letters which have been sent to me, that  I find myself  tempted to say, "Please! Don't keep those cards and letters coming!"


Be that as it may, I have hung on to a good number of cards and letters that I have received over the years, which is a habit I may have gotten from my dearly departed grandmother. She is on my mind more than ever these days as it the anniversary-time of her passing; and also because her birthday would've been this coming Saturday.

It seems my grandmother kept most of the cards and letters that I sent her, including ones from my childhood days. I know this to be true because after her death, my sister sent me a box that was filled with cards and letters which I had sent to my grandma. The recent activity of sorting through this box was made possible by my having to curtail my normal routine to stay home and recuperate from my accident.

When I was sorting through those boxed-up materials I found the picture that I've been discussing (which I scanned into an image file, then placed it atop this blog entry). As you can see I had little talent when it came to drawing! However, I am curious about the bluejay that I feature in my crayoned creation; for even though I have an excellent memory, I have no recollection of seeing this bird type as a child. I suppose the fact that a jay is included in my drawing doesn't mean I saw one, I might've just learned about them, prompting me to feature it.

Whatever the case may be, my including a bluejay in my drawing might have to remain a mystery, but I can say, re jays, they will be discussed in detail in the sequel to Words In Our Beak Volume One, the book (pictured below) that I co-authored with Cam, my visiting cardinal.


This particular book has been well received in Apple's iBooks Store as well as on Amazon! Cam and I hope to have the sequel out by September. Bluejays are among a number of bird types that will be included in our new book, where Cam will discuss how this bird type has impacted her life in my urban garden — especially at my wreath-style whole peanut bird feeder (pictured below with a baby bluejay taking over the accommodations)!







ADDENDUM FALL 2018: 

The non-hardcover version (or versions)  of Volume One within the Words In Our Beak book series that are mentioned in this entry may only remain available for a limited time, but hardcover versions of Volume One, Two and Three can now be found wherever books are sold. Please click here to go to my blog post that provides details as to where you can get these books.

MY BOOK SERIES

Additionally, I have rendered some images from these books into other formats and they are available via Fine Art America (FAA). Some of my other photographs (Black & White Collection, Kaleidoscopic Images and the famous Mandarin duck who visited NYC) can also be found on my FAA pages.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.