Rain and Writing Weekend

                                                             Painting by Susie Bewick

More rain and chill and dark: although little real rain, the damp sprinkles were enough to make everything wet this weekend. So in  chunks of time stolen from man and dog, I worked on studying markets, writing, rewriting, and submitting. It takes a lot of time to just deal with writing issues. Not every writing hour is producing a WIP.

One op that arrived in my mailbox yesterday I am going to pass on below. It is a contest…cheap entry fee…and a good cause. The Anderson, Indiana Humane Society had a severe outbreak of K9 flu. They are holding a contest to help raise money to get back on track financially and help with clean up. At a $1 an entry, that could be slow going unless everyone pitches in something.

Editor Stacy Savage is seeking submissions for a poetry contest. Poems can be up to 40 lines and must be about an animal – be it domestic or wild. No limit on number of entries submitted. Previously published works are acceptable. There is a $1 per poem entry fee. All proceeds will go to Madison County Humane Society in Anderson, Indiana, to help with medical and cleaning expenses due to a virus that spread in the shelter that made many dogs ill. 

Send submissions, along with the entry fee and a cover sheet with name, address, email address, and titles of poems submitted, to: 

Animal Poetry Contest, 3121 Mounds Road, Anderson, Indiana, 46016. 

Make check payable to: Madison County Humane Society. 

First place winner will receive a copy of the 1870 antique book: The Poetical Works of John Greenleaf Whittier, Volume II, a one year subscription to The Avocet: A Journal of Nature Poems, a complimentary copy of the July/August 2015 and September/October 2015 issues of Creative Inspirations, a Humane Society of the United States Christmas blanket, and $20. 

Second place winner will receive a one year subscription to The Avocet: A Journal of Nature Poems. 

The deadline is June 15, 2015.

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Today one of my exercise buddies and her friend spoke at a local music group on music and art. She is a retired elementary art teacher while the other gal has a degree in Fine Art. First they sang a song together that was lovely and then asked the audience to think about what the music made them see.

Idell did some music listening exercises asking people to think of what mood the music put them in. She said song has an emotional tone that can be dark and heavy or light and frolicking.

                                                Idell's paintings

Then Susie spoke on the crossover element of the arts, that often someone good in music might also be a good artist. She taught us that synesthesia was a syndrome where some people heard musical notes and saw specific colors. Itzak Perlman and Geoffrey Rush were mentioned as dealing with this syndrome.

                                                           Susie's work

Our left side of the brain is our creative side. Often music opens up the pathways to our creativity. So if you want to paint…or write….it is helpful to listen to the music that motivates you! The music will put you where you want to be.