Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Last Time I Saw Sedona I Went Shopping
Summer 2007 was the last time I visited Sedona, and it was an exciting experience. As soon as we arrived outside the resort, I discovered a bronze eagle that looked like the one I imagined flying high over the desert in my book, Eagle Rising. That same day we found a beautiful Chico's in the upscale Pinot Pointe Mall. Although I had no intention of buying anything, I went in to look. A dark narrow skirt with an Indian-look fringe caught my eye, and I had to try it on. Then I spotted a bright orange Tee that was perfect with the skirt. I found two pairs of crop pants in prints I couldn't resist and more Tees. But the most marvelous find of my shopping career (grin) came when I espied a belt hanging from a sales rack mid-store. It was the most gorgeous accent piece I had ever seen--three bright beaded medallions highlighting a heavy chain belt. The belt decorating the orange Tee and the fringed skirt would be the perfect outfit to wear for book signings once Eagle Rising was released by my publisher. So much of my novel centers around Indian lore that the look was perfect and made the point I often emphasize--dress the part. My new outfit would show a little of what my book was about. I wasn't going shopping; I didn't need any clothes. But I did need a signing outfit for my new book. Thank you Chico's!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Exotic Destinations -- Sedona
Exotic destinations inspire the creative spirit. As a child I dreamed of travel to far away places, and I read everything I could find with picturesque settings. As an adult I crave the discovery of magic destinations to use as points of departure for my novels and for my paintings.
In the early 1990s we made our first trip to Sedona in the glorious Red Rock country of Arizona. It was amazing to drive through the awesome scenery I had viewed only in movies as a child. With my 35 mm Minolta dangling from my neck, I trudged over dusty trails looking for medicine wheels along the way. Those I found were viewed with reverence. I watched, entranced, as a few fellow wanderers chanted softly into the quiet calm of vortex sites.
The rock formations such as Bell Rock, Cathedral Rock, Courthouse Rock and other fascinating views rose high against a clear blue sky, and my husband and I took amazing photographs for me to use later in creating paintings. Just being in the midst of the vortexes and on the sacred land was a spiritual experience. Although we did not see the flying saucers others have claimed to see over Bell Rock, the sight of that magic formation did inspire a fantasy print I created of saucer images above a rocky landscape.
The jeep ride we took through the Red Rock country wilderness revealed Devil's Bridge near Chimney Rock and Coffee Pot Rock. Later, I used a photograph of our guide straddling the chasm in my coffee table book, Hotels to Remember. So much of that book was inspired by journeys such as our trip to Sedona.
I could not resist using much of what we discovered on our first trip and many later visits to Sedona in my novel, Eagle Rising. Like I did, my heroine wanders into the wilderness where she finds medicine wheels and a crystal that leads her through the adventures of this book. The gorgeous library in Sedona intrigued me, so my book begins there. The cover is part of one of the acrylic paintings that resulted from some of the photographs taken.
Prior to publication of Eagle Rising late last year, we took another trip to Sedona where I found a gorgeous bronze eagle so like the eagle in my book. With the convenience of my digital camera, we took dozens of new Sedona photographs, one of which is on the back cover of Eagle Rising.
Exotic destinations offer inspiration. Eagle Rising and Hotels to Remember resulted from our Sedona trips. So did countless pastel drawings, acrylic paintings on canvas, and the print, "Night Visitors."
To learn more, please visit my Web site, www.marymontaguesikes.com.
In the early 1990s we made our first trip to Sedona in the glorious Red Rock country of Arizona. It was amazing to drive through the awesome scenery I had viewed only in movies as a child. With my 35 mm Minolta dangling from my neck, I trudged over dusty trails looking for medicine wheels along the way. Those I found were viewed with reverence. I watched, entranced, as a few fellow wanderers chanted softly into the quiet calm of vortex sites.
The rock formations such as Bell Rock, Cathedral Rock, Courthouse Rock and other fascinating views rose high against a clear blue sky, and my husband and I took amazing photographs for me to use later in creating paintings. Just being in the midst of the vortexes and on the sacred land was a spiritual experience. Although we did not see the flying saucers others have claimed to see over Bell Rock, the sight of that magic formation did inspire a fantasy print I created of saucer images above a rocky landscape.
The jeep ride we took through the Red Rock country wilderness revealed Devil's Bridge near Chimney Rock and Coffee Pot Rock. Later, I used a photograph of our guide straddling the chasm in my coffee table book, Hotels to Remember. So much of that book was inspired by journeys such as our trip to Sedona.
I could not resist using much of what we discovered on our first trip and many later visits to Sedona in my novel, Eagle Rising. Like I did, my heroine wanders into the wilderness where she finds medicine wheels and a crystal that leads her through the adventures of this book. The gorgeous library in Sedona intrigued me, so my book begins there. The cover is part of one of the acrylic paintings that resulted from some of the photographs taken.
Prior to publication of Eagle Rising late last year, we took another trip to Sedona where I found a gorgeous bronze eagle so like the eagle in my book. With the convenience of my digital camera, we took dozens of new Sedona photographs, one of which is on the back cover of Eagle Rising.
Exotic destinations offer inspiration. Eagle Rising and Hotels to Remember resulted from our Sedona trips. So did countless pastel drawings, acrylic paintings on canvas, and the print, "Night Visitors."
To learn more, please visit my Web site, www.marymontaguesikes.com.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Selling Art on the Web
What's the best way to sell art on the Internet? That's a question I've been pondering for some time. I've had a Web site for several years and find it's a good place to send people inquiring about my paintings.
Occasionally people approach me about joining a Web site where I can post work for sale. I wonder about the potential there. Is this a good way to promote and sell art, or is it a good way for the Web site provider to make money on the space you are renting?
I wonder about the experiences of other artists. Have any of you had good experiences or bad with this process? Can you recommend a good Web site to join?
Monti
www.marymontaguesikes.com
Occasionally people approach me about joining a Web site where I can post work for sale. I wonder about the potential there. Is this a good way to promote and sell art, or is it a good way for the Web site provider to make money on the space you are renting?
I wonder about the experiences of other artists. Have any of you had good experiences or bad with this process? Can you recommend a good Web site to join?
Monti
www.marymontaguesikes.com
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Dream Your Own Dreams
In my elementary school art classroom, I have written on the white board this statement: "Dream Your Own Dreams." I think that's what art is all about. You use your creative imagination and see there unique things that are your own. I want the children I teach--young as they are--to use their imaginations and to see in their minds things no one else has seen. I want them to put those things on paper or canvas, and I want them to feel good about their creations.
We as artists live a different life than others who have more concrete professions or hobbies. We create, then worry if our work will be accepted or wanted should we choose to sell it. As a writer, as well as an artist, I put myself "out there," vulnerable in so many ways.
How do you dream your own dreams? Do you feel secure in those dreams? I would love to hear the thoughts of other artists and writers.
Mary Montague Sikes, author Secrets by the Sea, Eagle Rising, Hearts Across Forever, available now on Amazon
We as artists live a different life than others who have more concrete professions or hobbies. We create, then worry if our work will be accepted or wanted should we choose to sell it. As a writer, as well as an artist, I put myself "out there," vulnerable in so many ways.
How do you dream your own dreams? Do you feel secure in those dreams? I would love to hear the thoughts of other artists and writers.
Mary Montague Sikes, author Secrets by the Sea, Eagle Rising, Hearts Across Forever, available now on Amazon
Monday, May 19, 2008
Passenger to Paradise
My publisher, Billie Johnson--Oak Tree Books, has created a series for my books with exotic destinations--"Passenger to Paradise." The third book in the series, Secrets by the Sea, was released a couple of weeks ago. Set on the island of Antigua, it features one of my favorite destinations--the Caribbean.
Enchantment with tropical locales began for me more than 20 years ago when we took our first journey to Jamaica. Not only was the scenery spectacular, but we found our visit to the island was an adventure as well. Soldiers toting guns patrolled the roadways, and our bus driver cautioned us to gesture our agreement with whatever political party they were promoting. For the future we always planned our destinations in Jamaica to be all-inclusive spots. More than a dozen visits later, my book, Hearts Across Forever, was published. Set in Jamaica with the legend of the white witch of Rose Hall Plantation a major part of the plot, this book includes much that I discovered during our many visits. It is the first of the "Passenger to Paradise" series. Amazing sunsets, perfumed breezes, the spectacular seven-mile beach at Negril and so much more fill my memories of Jamaica.
Monti
Enchantment with tropical locales began for me more than 20 years ago when we took our first journey to Jamaica. Not only was the scenery spectacular, but we found our visit to the island was an adventure as well. Soldiers toting guns patrolled the roadways, and our bus driver cautioned us to gesture our agreement with whatever political party they were promoting. For the future we always planned our destinations in Jamaica to be all-inclusive spots. More than a dozen visits later, my book, Hearts Across Forever, was published. Set in Jamaica with the legend of the white witch of Rose Hall Plantation a major part of the plot, this book includes much that I discovered during our many visits. It is the first of the "Passenger to Paradise" series. Amazing sunsets, perfumed breezes, the spectacular seven-mile beach at Negril and so much more fill my memories of Jamaica.
Monti
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