I’m adding light and shadow to appliqued hawk. Made her head lighter and used white poly for beak to make it pop. A scrap of fabric practically fell out of the basket and felt like a minor show of Providence.
Jude had the idea over on Instagram to darken some of the ripples around the hawk’s head. Since I like the way it adds a sense of motion, I may continue around the body as long as I have that color thread. It’ll look good flowing off the wings.
Had some gross polyester swirled with black in that basket, too. Added to tail and wings for more contrast. Light. Maybe you can see a difference with earlier incarnation, maybe not (below).
It’s nice to have company.
In the meantime, I finally talked to my paid manuscript consultant yesterday. Round three coming up. I know I’ve said this before but it bears repeating, perhaps even shouting off the rooftops: SHE LOVES MY BOOK.
I think people forget how solitary a process writing is.
House names should not be italicized. If I’m gonna talk about the elder Middletons toward the end, they need to be introduced earlier. Still sags here and there — needs tightening. Not so many descriptions of clouds, perhaps. Maybe not so much about Melody’s first owner. Explain what head rights are and how to memorialize land in Author’s Note, which starts like this:
When I began this novel, Trayvon Martin was alive and as I finished the second edit, George Floyd was dead.
The suggestion that I add an epilogue (say in 1758 after Eliza and Charles Pinckney return from a five year stay in England), will take a little more thought. That’s fourteen years after my original end. Lots of years I haven’t thought about all that much.
A six year time frame (1738 to 1744) allowed a laser-like focus. Etiquette in 1720? I don’t care! Rice markets in 1750? Also don’t care. Now I need to care. I’ll start with Eliza’s letters.
A walk with temps in the 40’s was cause for celebration this week. Daffodils shoving aside leaf debris. Snow shrugging off the curbs. It won’t be long now ’til the miracle of hyacinths.
In the meantime I am trying to answer the question (Acey’s): how do you hold your heart? Or maybe just asking it. Softly.
The collage challenge with Paris Collage Collective continues. This week: Shirley Chisholm.
More to come. I want to cut up seed catalogues and wreathe her head with flowers. In the collage above, the headstone of Harriett Jacobs served as reference to the long history of oppression, Jacobs being another Black woman who overcame so much.
Love how your eagle is coming along .. it is looking great. Have you watched Amend on Netflix … so good I think you would like it. REALLY looking forward to consistent warm days .. saw a few Robins the other day and yes a few tulips are just poking out of the ground. Day lights savings this seeking .. ugggg I hate it and just do not understand it.
Thanks, Tina. Yes to Amend. Started this week. It’s incredibly well-done don’t you think? The time switch is always disorienting and it seems like it’s antiquated by at least two generations!
Yay for the manuscript coming together, go (((Dee)))!
Yay is right. Thanks, Mo. Still a long way to go but I have to celebrate every step forward.
Love the eagle. Many thoughts about Finney-Boy…how far he’s come since his wild puppy days, how he’s getting gray…how yes, he looks like very nice company. But, mostly, this post brought home how very real, how very close your book is!!! Amazing! I feel very happy for you, proud of you and I can’t wait to read it! xo
Another big step forward with your manuscript! So good to hear, and I admire your perseverance. wow. Spring rhythms to calm our anxious needs for speed? And sweet FinnieBoy.
You know I love raptors! Looks great! My two cents is to give those talons a bit of your special stitching. Your hawk in cloth came along around the same day we checked on the eagle’s nest in the swamp to be reward by finding one gigantic scraggly old parent sitting steady on a big side branch. Just watching over things in the late light of the day. Through the binoculars we admired them for what seemed hours, but was only few minutes. Finally, had to head home. It is their second nest, the original nest-tree was blown down and they rebuilt in neighboring tree last year. Perseverance!
How amazing to have an eagle family to watch! I have since stitched on talons. Added the second one. Still not great but better than it was.