Dandelions A Weed Is but an Unloved Flower – Ella Wheeler Wilcox When appraising nature, I am perplexed by the question, “Who decided that some plants were weeds that looked like flowers and who decided which were flowers?” Take for instance the common sweet violet that weaves a purple and green carpet across my lawn…
Month: March 2020
My New, Old House Has A Cupboard Under the Stairs – Reminds Me of Harry Potter
The count-down is almost over. Tomorrow, I am moving into my new old house, which is a classic example of houses from the Arts & Crafts Movement or the Craftsman Era. The house has several built-in pieces that are indicative of the Arts and Crafts movement, but today, I want to tell you about my…
Miss Maple’s Seeds Are Being Born in My New Front Front Yard
Tomorrow, I’ll begin moving to my new, 125-year-old house in the Ozark Mountains. Yesterday, I was wandering around in my new front yard, and I paused for a moment beside the huge, old tree, where the daffodils are blooming, I knelt low, and I couldn’t help but notice that my big, old tree has a…
Write First – Edit Later – Editing While Writing Causes Writer’s Block
I have talked to a number of people about what they are calling Writer’s Block, but I believe that they are confusing writing with editing. I believe that what many people call writer’s block is actually editor’s block. One of my best pieces of advice for writing is to remember this: There is a Time to…
Register Now for Free and/or Almost Free SCBWI Seminars in April
The Regional Chapters of SCBWI have a tradition of offering online webinars. The prices for these webinars are extremely low. I thought that I would share with you the SCBWI Webinars that I’ll attend in April. Get Your April Off to a Good Start with Frances Gilbert What’s Your Picture Book Hook? Date/Time Date(s) –…
Take A Peak into Edith Holden’s Journals – Reflections on March
Before March completely dissolves into April, I want to share a few pages from journals that were kept by Edith Holden, who wrote both The Nature Notes of an Edwardian Lady and The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady. I have had both of these books in my library for years. I especially like the…
The Importance of Writing in a Journal
This spring, I vow to reestablish the important practice of observing nature closely and of recording what I see, smell and hear in a journal. Much of writing is about recreating sensory details, and I am convinced that learning to be more in the moment and observing what I sense in the moment will help…
How to Draw Bowtie Bunny in Ballet Slippers
Last week, we drew an egg. Bowtie Bunny is just an egg with ears, arms, feet, and, a tail. If you haven’t drawn the egg, click on this link and do so. We’ll start this drawing at the end of that tutorial: https://x55.68c.myftpupload.com/how-to-draw-an-egg-jacki-kellum-draw-the-bowties/ Once you have reached the spot where you have an egg with…
Tons of Free and Nearly Free Programs for Children’s Writers & Illustrators – What’s Ahead?
It is true that within every dark cloud there is a silver lining, and several organizations have stepped forward during the Coronavirus pandemic to add a touch of a silver lining by providing free and nearly free programs for the people who are writing and illustrating for children. For years, the Society of Children’s Book…
How to Draw An Egg – Jacki Kellum Free Drawing Class
Eggs have important to human survival for as long as I know. I don’t know who were the first people who learned to cook eggs, but somewhere along the way, mankind realized that the little oval things that birds lay were edible, and ever since then, eggs have been important for human survival. Centuries ago,…