May 16, 2012 In art, books, branding, creativity, imagination, inspiration, life and the universe By Patricia Saxton

“where in the world is peace?” … by the hudson and the delaware

“Night and day the river flows. If time is the mind of space, the River is the soul of the desert. Brave boatmen come, they go, they die, the voyage flows on forever. We are all canyoneers. We are all passengers on this little mossy ship, this delicate dory sailing round the sun that humans call the earth. Joy, shipmates, joy.”  (Edward Abbey, The Hidden Canyon – A River Journey)

Peace hanging out on the banks of the Delaware River, PA

New Hope, Pennsylvania

“High-Tea Peace” at The Plaza Hotel, New York City

“Bladey” runs the show at the rollerskating area of Manhattan’s Central Park, and beams his joyful spirit.

Where to next?

(ps:  you can see all “where in the world is peace?” images compiled on our special “where in the world is peace?” page. Our book is on Amazon, our totes, mugs and things are available here. Send your own pictures to 52weeksofpeace@gmail.com or post them on our FaceBook page. Let’s see where peace goes!)

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May 15, 2012 In appreciation, art, books, creativity, design, presentation, words and language By Patricia Saxton

Books & Magic

“A book is made from a tree. It is an assemblage of flat, flexible parts (still called “leaves”) imprinted with dark pigmented squiggles. One glance at it and you hear the voice of another person, perhaps someone dead for thousands of years. Across the millennia, the author is speaking, clearly and silently, inside your head, directly to you. Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions, binding together people, citizens of distant epochs, who never knew one another. Books break the shackles of time, proof that humans can work magic.”  ~ Carl Sagan

• • •

What can I possibly add to that? Except that I agree. And we humans can indeed work magic.

It helps, of course, to get the writing in front of a reader. Which is pretty easy if you’re dead and famous, or if you’re still among the living and happen to have a lot of fans. But if one doesn’t have a lot of fans yet, how do you get people’s attention; how will people know what wonderful tapestries your words have woven, what prose you’ve spun, what wit you’ve unraveled?

Ah, yes. The cover.

Many a good book is bypassed because it’s poorly dressed, just as there are those books regrettably dolled to the nines whose inner workings disappoint ~ but, by far, the latter has the better chance of some face time. Of course, you know this. Just keep that in mind, especially when self-publishing: your book’s cover should be given some serious artistic consideration, if you want your book to be seriously considered. (and, yes, I can help with that!)

In any event, the Sagan quote above got me thinking it was time for another posting of good-looking book covers. So here are some I’ve plucked from cyberspace to add to previous book cover posts. I can’t speak to their magical qualities, but the designs pass my test. See if you agree.

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May 13, 2012 In art, life and the universe By Patricia Saxton

Ode to Mom

She’s a champion and a warrior. She’s the sweetest flower. She’s tender, she’s tough, she’s imperfect and wise. She loves you when you’re winning, she loves you when you’re losing. She loves you whether you’re muddy or clean, too skinny or too fat, or cranky or witty or dull or smart.

She’ll hold you tight, like there’s no tomorrow, and when tomorrow comes, she’ll send you off to fly with your own shiny wings.

And as you go your way ~ and even when she’s no longer here ~ you are forever, and ever, in her heart.

…………..

Happy Mother’s Day to all us Mom’s everywhere. And remember: “If at first you don’t succeed, do it like your mother told you.”  ~Author Unknown

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May 10, 2012 In art, creativity, design, drawing, life and the universe, work and play By Patricia Saxton

Feeling Piggish

Sometimes life can feel far too serious.

So, as if pre-ordained, I was swathed by a wave of whimsy when I stumbled across this (oh so cute) picture on a Facebook Page called “Animal Story”:

Which reminded me of a t-shirt design I’d created years ago:

And that reminded me of the fun I had making my Pigs That Fly image:

Which reminded me of my favorite pig, drawn by my daughter when she was little:

Which prompted thoughts of when I was little and had carefully drawn this cool character on my school 3-ring binder cover.

And there you have it. Just some pig fun to fatten up the cheerful quotient.
“That’s all folks!”

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May 7, 2012 In appreciation, communication, design, graphic design, inspiration, words and language By Patricia Saxton

A Plethora of P’s / #56: Postcards

proactively punctuating life with the plausible, powerful possibilities of positive thought presented through a plethora of “P’s”.

– ♥ –

Postcards! Snippets of our lives captured with a picture and a few friendly words that tell someone we’re thinking of them. Except now… with instant email access from almost anywhere in the world, pictures arriving within seconds on our cell phones and exotic places available daily on tv, handwritten postcards are near extinction, relegated to “nostalgia”.

There was a time when it was a treat to send something in the mail from faraway places ~ maybe India or Paris or Jamaica, or from a child at summer camp “a million miles from home” ~ and just as much a treasure to receive.

Now, we’re home before the card. Or we’ve skyped from Finland. Or we’ve shared our stories on Facebook. The postcard is old news.

But this is also true: there isn’t one of us who doesn’t harbor a secret wish for a real letter in the mail. A real birthday card, a real thank you card, a real postcard. With real words written with a real pen by a real live bona fide human being who took the time to write … to you! There’s nothing that says “I’m thinking of you” more than a hand-written or hand-typed note. If you aren’t convinced, watch the sparkle in the eyes of a kid growing up on electronic communication when they see a real envelope in the real mailbox addressed to their very own name.

So maybe, just maybe, the new beauty of sending a card is actually its “novelty” all over again. And maybe, just maybe, the thoughtful, simple act of writing a note won’t go the way of the dinosaurs, not yet, not 100% completely.

By the way, if you didn’t know, it’s National Postcard Week this week. Every day, all week. So send some love out there!

(Of course, I happen to know about an awesome postcard book…!  [forgive the brazen self-promotion] If you haven’t gotten one yet, my publisher has created an e-card set-up this week in honor of National Postcard Week, so you can send a smile to a friend for free. Nice!)

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May 4, 2012 In art, books & stuff, creativity, design, graphic design, imagination, inspiration, life and the universe By Patricia Saxton

52 Weeks of Peace [squared] / Week #66

“Aim for the moon. If you miss, you may hit a star.”
~  W. Clement Stone

“Peace Moon” / 52 Weeks of Peace [squared]: Week #66 / © Patricia Saxton

Did you know? … In skylore, the full moon of May is called Planting Moon or Milk Moon. But the full moon of May 5, 2012 is also nicknamed a “super moon” because it may seem so close and so enormous that you might think you could reach out and touch it! Why? The moon’s orbit cycle will be at its closest proximity to Earth (in astronomy, this distance is known as lunar perigee), and since this happens to coincide with a full moon, it literally is bigger and brighter to the eye. As long as it’s not overly cloudy, the effect is stunning!

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May 3, 2012 In appreciation, communication, design, graphic design, inspiration, words and language By Patricia Saxton

A Plethora of P’s / #55: Pretty

proactively punctuating life with the plausible, powerful possibilities of positive thought presented through a plethora of “P’s”.

– ♥ –

Pretty is a sweet word. Something light and graceful and attractive, maybe even delicate. Pretty is pleasing to the eye, to the ear, to the mind.

We think of “pretty” as feminine, but it’s not for girls only. Sure, we girls like to feel pretty, and I won’t deny that make-up or the right shoes (and definitely the right little black dress!) can give our spirits a lift ~ but one look at a soft pink sunset or a peacock’s feathers, or hearing the sweet song of a flute, or feeling the rhythm of a flowing dance … and I know that we all enjoy the pleasure of pretty.

After all, “pretty” makes the dusty bits of life a little brighter.

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April 29, 2012 In art, books, branding, creativity, imagination, inspiration, life and the universe By Patricia Saxton

“where in the world is peace?” … hiking canyons, hanging at the beach, back-seat driving!

52 Weeks of Peace recently hiked the Grand Canyon, relaxed by the sea, warmed by a Virginia fire, went to work, and showed up “after the party”.

Thank you so much for these wonderful shots! ~ and helping to share our mission to inspire individual peace in everyday ways.

Friends brought Peace along for their week-long hike in the Grand Canyon

Peace rides shot-gun. (or maybe as a back-seat driver?!)

Chillin' fireside in Virginia

The party's over, but peace carries on...!

Fun in the sun at Florida's Cocoa Beach

Where to next?

ps:  you can see all “where in the world is peace?” images compiled on our special “where in the world is peace?” page. Our book is on Amazon, our totes, mugs and things are available here. Send your own pictures to 52weeksofpeace@gmail.com or post them on our FaceBook page. Let’s see where peace goes!

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April 27, 2012 In art, communication, creativity, drawing, inspiration, intelligence, life and the universe, philosophy, presentation By Patricia Saxton

Education & Creativity According to the great Sir Ken Robinson

How did I miss this? It’s wonderful. If you haven’t already seen this terrific piece, I dare you not to enjoy it and take away some inspired thinking (as well as an appreciation for some pretty darn good whiteboard drawing!). If you have seen it, enjoy it again. : )

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April 24, 2012 In appreciation, books, writing By Patricia Saxton

Book Hunger

I have loved, dearly, many books, of many genres.

I have felt the deep regret when a favorite book ends, the sad goodbye to wonderful characters that have somehow interlaced in your own space and time. I have rampaged to find any and every other book written by authors that have entranced me. I’ve been uplifted, angered, brought to tears, tension, laughter and joy, fallen in love with the way some authors shape their sentences and finely pluck their words into something superb, marveled at story lines, looked forward with vibrant anticipation to “next books”, learned volumes about different times and places and people, and been grateful for the experience, even if I hated to see it go.

But never have I felt actual withdrawal. Until ~ half reluctantly (because it’s my nature to shy away from any commercialized “hot new thing”) ~ I came across Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games series. Ms. Collins just may be a genius.

This is not to say my other favorite authors are not as penetrating, not at all. They are completely remarkable in their own right. But as a series, The Hunger Games captivated me in such a way … I can only think to call it spellbinding.

Now I understand why my daughter and her friends clutched their books WHILE walking into the movie theatre. Of course at the time, I thought, “Girls, girls, aren’t you so cute. It’s wonderful to see you feel so strongly about reading! But you can leave the book in the car, really, it’s ok.”  Now, I know what they felt. (Although I will not be clutching my copies in a movie theatre, I swear!)

The odd thing is, it all ended in a pretty satisfying way. One or two things I might have changed, but it didn’t leave you hanging ~ well, just a tiny bit, but certainly not on a cliff.

It was simply brilliant. Perfectly paced, engagingly written fiction that seemed frighteningly plausible and possible. It was brutal but compassionate. I can’t wait to see the movie… because I haven’t had enough, and that’s all that’s left to do.

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April 21, 2012 In art, books, branding, communication, creativity, design, inspiration By Patricia Saxton

52 Weeks of Peace [squared] / Week #65

We should love Mother Earth every day, but since we’ve got “Earth Day” designated on the calendar, and it’ll be here tomorrow (April 22), I figured I’d offer a new bit of peace for the occasion, with this thought-wish:

May peace blossom in your world, with luxuriant petals that fall in soft, lovely patterns reminding us that both peace and the planet are endlessly beautiful. Tend them lovingly ~ for if not me and not you, then who will nurture all that is good and glorious in this world?

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