Creative Clustering

So this week kind of made me mad.  Here we were cooler temps, nice rain storms cooling us off then BAM the number didn't creep up but SHOT up and boy was I pissed!  I am ready for the cooler weather, I mean we are already in school.  I mean don't get me wrong, I get a few 101s but what is this 109 crap?

Well I guess I should be a bit thankful as it got me thinking about clustering thoughts of Summer.  I have so many good memories of summer.I was lucky enough to experience many great summers, both in and escaping the Arizona Heat!  I also explored some future destination I would like to visit to escape this nasty heat!  I found my mind was wandering from the present to the past and the future.  So here is a peek at my cluster.

So many things started popping into my head as I thought about summer and what it means. I had a great idea once I finished the cluster for a creative non-fiction piece. I am excited to put something on paper now that I have rooted around in my brain for a bit. I loved the Text2Mind Maps site (click the link to check it out).  I must confess, I did my mindmap on paper first-- mostly because I work better with pen and paper.  As I transcribed my cluster map I found this site to be much easier to use than I originally thought!   WHAT cool stuff we learn!  

xoxo

e  

AlphaPoem - WATERFALL

I am playing with an art journal and today was soft pastels.  While I was trying to come up with a word for my AlphaPoem, I decided to use the word from a song that is a forever earworm for me.  The line that continues to repeat is "Your love is like a waterfall, waterfall -- falling fast and free"  I love the image in my head when I hear those words. I decided to make the writing not mimic the that image but the opposite. One not of comfort but longing.  I hope you enjoy "WATERFALL"

 First the image I created in my Art Journal, underneath is the written poem.

Watching the light dance slowly across the sky
Apart from you my days flitter away
Thoughts drift away on clouds
Empty days, lonely nights
Rushing tears EXPLODE unexpectedly
Falling, tumbling as I close my eyes
Alone I dream of you
Longing for your voice, your touch, your scent
Loving you from too far away

Thanks for checking it out!
e

Journal Junkie! That's Me

Good day my new friends!

My name is Erika.  I am a mom of four of the most amazing kids!  Three of them have moved up and out. My only son recently left the nest and headed to NAU!

This was emotionally draining way to begin the school year for me! My eldest daughter that is currently attending ASU studying to become a research psychologist So I do live in a house divided!   My second born daughter that is full-time employeed at Glencroft Retirement Center and my darling youngest whom is focusing on the upcoming theater tryouts. She is an amazing actress and I am excited for her.  (Told you they were amazing!)

Husband's company we also do
Property Management! 

  I am in my final semester here at good ol'e GCC.  I will be joining my daughter at ASU in the Spring.  While I would like to be joining my son in the beauty of the pines, that simply can't happen because I have a JOB! Yes I am a full-time student at GCC and have a full-time job with my husband's company. Where I am the official bookkeeper! I really love working with my husband (we have been married for 20 years!). My husband is a broker and owns our business. He is a fabulous man and I love him more every single day.   I am currently learning to speak German. My father is from Germany and well I thought it would be nice to speak with him in his native tongue.  I am fluent in American Sign Language and hope that once I have mastered German, that I can move onto Japanese.

I also have worked extensively in the paper arts industry. Until they closed last summer, I worked with a magazine called Creating Keepsakes where I wrote primarily on design principles.  My art work has been published more than forty times in various magazines. I have served as a design team member on numerous art teams. I am still active in the industry and enjoy writing and publishing education material for paper and fabric artist.

Me with my new hair cut! 

I lived about 10 minutes from Waikiki in Kahala 

I grew up in Honolulu Hawaii and went to Henry J Kaiser High School (sounds real Hawaiian doesn't it? - if it helps, the address was 511 Lunalilo Home Road.) I left Hawaii in my early twenties and met my husband in Arizona and have been here ever since.   I have always been a writer and often get lost for hours tapping away on my keyboard developing new worlds and characters. That really is all there is to say about me. I look forward to learning more about each of you!


Here is a few of my recent works.  I also want to begin a new art journal as part of this class. I hope to share photos as we go along!