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Category: Artdog Image of Interest

Against a background of prismatic dandelions, the words say, “When you become grateful for small pleasures, your outlook changes and opportunities seem to open up everywhere in your life.” The background is an image licensed from 123rf. The quote is courtesy of Kerri Richardson’s blog post, “Keep the Gratitude Going.”
The “Gratitude Series”

The “Gratitude Series”

The “Gratitude Series” first saw daylight on this blog 10 years ago. Recently I’ve been diving deeply back into the archives of this blog, and finding all kinds of interesting things – but they’re “antiques” from a contemporary point of view. Ten years ago, in 2015 we did havesmartphones. The iPhone had been introduced eight years earlier. But back then, bloggers knew that most people would be reading our posts on desktop computers with what we now consider slothlike modems….

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Hildie stands on a balcony at her home. She wears a red and gold saree.
A Vision From a Different World

A Vision From a Different World

By Jan S. Gephardt To a certain extent, every piece of fiction opens a vision from a different world. But in works of science fiction, fantasy, and speculative fiction, the idea of “a different world” is often more front-and-center. But translating that into visual art can be tricky. As I’ve described in the last two blog posts, “Visualizing a Character” and “Portraying Hildie,” this winter my friend Lucy A. Synk and I undertook a multi-painting project. We sought to create…

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These are most of the books we donated to the local library, so they'd find good homes and we didn't have to haul them across literally half the continent. (Photo by Tyrell E. Gephardt)
The Library Liberation Project

The Library Liberation Project

My son and I (with occasional help from my Beloved) have embarked upon a project we’ve long dreamed about. We call it the Library Liberation Project. When we moved into our current home (30 years ago come June 1), I declared that a back room addition the previous owners had used as a rec room was to be the Library. Some of the family couldn’t imagine what we’d do with a whole room just for books, but others laughed and said, “It’s perfect!” And for…

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A German Shepherd sits alertly in front of a glowing Christmas Tree.
Seasonal K9 moments

Seasonal K9 moments

The Artdog Images of Interest It’s the end of the week, and for many of us it’s the start of a holiday break. I thought you might enjoy some seasonal K9 moments on a Friday-before-the-big-events!  Home for the holidays One inevitable problem every year is the struggle to travel. We Americans live in a far-flung nation, so we’re always going to grapple with travel woes. But it’s far from only an American problem.  Crowding, bad weather, and security bottlenecks create chaos wherever we are…

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Here's an aerial view of the Burwood Brickworks Shopping Center in Melbourne Australia
A sustainability ethos

A sustainability ethos

The Artdog Images of Interest I have a thing for “green” architecture. I think the potential to build things that actually improve the environment is amazing. Much better than conventional projects that blight or destroy it. All over the world, I’m delighted to see a sustainability ethos begin to rise up. We all need a sense that we have a moral obligation to do better. All over the world, but not as much in the USA. That’s not to say we have nothing of…

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An illustration for an article on repetitive stress injury gave the letters "RSI" heads and red "pain spots" like you see in many diagrams.
Take time to stretch!

Take time to stretch!

The Artdog Image of Interest Here’s a shout-out to all the diligent folks who are homing in on the end of NaNoWriMo, National Novel-Writing Month. If you’re a serious participant, you’ve been putting in some long hours at the keyboard. But that means you also are courting repetitive stress injuries, if you aren’t careful. Please take time to stretch!  Stretch your hands My son Tyrell Gephardt sent this graphic to me several months ago. I parked it on my desktop as a reminder. It helps me think…

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Ann Friedman's office is an example of several things that make it an ideal writing space.
An ideal writing space

An ideal writing space

The Artdog Image(s) of Interest In this month of NaNoWriMo, a lot of writers will be parking themselves in chairs, curling up in nooks, stretching out on carpets, or clearing off their desks to participate. We know that some writers can write anywhere, but others are a lot more particular about their surroundings. Is there really such a thing as an ideal writing place? It isn’t hard to find ideas online. Do you prefer a rustic look? Chrome and glass? Are you a…

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Will you or won’t you Na-No-Wri-Mo? Here’s something for both sides.

Will you or won’t you Na-No-Wri-Mo? Here’s something for both sides.

The Artdog Image of Interest  Will you or won’t you? Here’s one more thought as we approach National Novel-Writing Month, AKA Na-No-Wri-Mo. Remember: one week from today, it starts!  Some of my friends enjoy the challenge and find it motivating. But I have to admit that this cartoon character’s response is usually my strategy: This is because I write slowly. The “will you or won’t you” writer who answers “yes” writes fast. Na-No-Wri-Mo is for people who prefer to get it all…

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It’s getting on toward time. Are you ready?

It’s getting on toward time. Are you ready?

The Artdog Image of Interest  Are you ready? Each year in November, it’s National Novel-Writing Month, AKA Na-No-Wri-Mo. Each year in October, I consider participating. Will this be the year?  For those who do plan to leap in, It’s a good idea to plan ahead. It’s not “cheating” to think about the project in October (or earlier). Do some research. Get thoughts about worldbuilding, character-creation, and other aspects of the story well in mind before the writing starts. It’s not even cheating…

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Archon 43 had a lot to offer. Here are visual hints.
In the halls of Archon 43

In the halls of Archon 43

Artdog Images of Interest The hall costumes are always amazing at Archon, and Archon 43 was no exception. I wandered around in the halls of Archon 43 on Saturday of the convention, and I think I got some fun “crowd photos.” I apologize that, because they’re all group shots and overviews, I wasn’t able to get the names of anyone in these photos. I’ve previously written about the costumes that wander the halls of Archon. But every year brings new visions from the convention’s dedicated costumers. They flourished in the halls…

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