Meanwhile, here is my first (bad) video:

Video Challenge Introduction

Arts Day at the Capitol, May 8

The 2nd Annual Oklahoma Arts Day at the Capitol is May 8. The celebration is from 9 a.m.to 3 p.m. in the 4th floor rotunda.

Arts Day is an opportunity for art advocates from across the state to join together in the capitol to deliver a unified message to our Oklahoma legislators: Public funding for the arts is vital to the creative economy and cultural well-being of Oklahoma communities.

Arts Advocacy Day participants are encouraged to host booths highlighting information about their organizations. Creativity is encouraged! Bring your ballerinas, banjos and boleros; your poetry and your paint brushes. We want you to communicate YOUR message about YOUR arts organization to YOUR elected officials.

Limited Space!
A limited number of tables are available for displays. Last year, we ran out of space, so please sign up early. Member organizations and recipients of public funding will receive priority placement; however, every effort will be made to provide tables for all arts advocates.

Visit Your Legislator
Arts advocates are encouraged to visit the offices of their elected representatives and senators on Arts Day. You don’t need to sponsor a table to show up and walk the marble halls and talk to your legislators. If you can’t visit them in person, call or email your legislators. Click here to find your legislator. Tips and talking points will be made available prior to the event.

Register for Arts Day using the form posted on OFTA’s blog. You can also find it on our Facebook page. Everyone who signs up will receive an information packet. We look forward to seeing you May 8, and as always thank you for supporting the Oklahoma Arts Council and public funding for the arts!

Time and Date
9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Wednesday, May 8 2013

Location
Fourth Floor Rotunda
Oklahoma Capitol
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Questions?
Contact Jennifer
405.413.1174 or
jennifer@oklahomansforthearts.org

Action Alert
House Will Vote on H.B. 1430

1. Call or write your state representatives and ask him or her to vote against House Bill 1430.
2. Call or write Majority Floor Leader Rep. Pam Peterson (R-District 67) and ask her not to advance the bill to be heard on the House floor. (Phone number: 405.557.7341)
3. Call Speaker of the House Rep. T.W. Shannon (R-District 62 ) ask him to instruct the floor leader not to hear the bill. (Phone number: 405.557.7374)

No. It is not.

How do you know that by posting that video you didn’t inadvertently tell someone the authorities had not yet notified? There *are* identifying details in the video. Did you think about that?

In case you didn’t know, word spreads very quickly. Especially around Ada. I have not seen the entire video. I accidentally saw a snippet of it before I clicked out of the window.

My thoughts and prayers are with that family. I heard something through a phone call from someone checking on my brother and his family, so I hope and pray that they pull through. I pray for the doctors and medical staff working with everyone involved and for the rescue workers who had to work that accident.

Edit 3/6/13: The video has been removed. I was very glad to hear that. The baby did not survive. My thoughts and prayers are with that family.

Legislation filed to eliminate Oklahoma Arts Council Funding

A bill has been filed by a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives to eliminate all funding to the Oklahoma Arts Council by 2017 at a rate of at least 25 percent a year.

Oklahomans for the Arts is prepared to advocate against HB 1895, and aggressively advocate for the nearly $4 million that more than 400 Oklahoma arts and cultural organizations receive every year via grants from the Oklahoma Arts Council.

HB 1895 is a challenge that will require thoughtful, strategic and well-timed communication between arts advocates and their individual legislators. It will go far beyond a single legislator including the author of this bill. You are important to this cause. We cannot preserve public funding for the arts without you.

The Oklahoma Legislature convenes on February 4. We will monitor HB 1895 throughout the legislative session and keep you informed of how you can help through timely action alerts.

In the days and weeks to come we will advance the largest grassroots campaign for public funding for the arts in the Oklahoma Arts Council’s nearly 50-year history. If you have not signed up to receive our newsletters and action alerts, please do so now.

Join OFTA
Oklahomans for the Arts needs your support! Click here to join or renew your membership now.  All 2013 members will receive a three-inch vinyl sticker of our colorful logo.

You might be surprised where some of the best insight comes from. Don’t limit your testers to other writers, other fiber artists, other painters. Someone who doesn’t write or engage in your field can often provide better input than someone who is.

Don’t get defensive, no matter how tempting it may be. Actually listen to what they have to say and swallow your comments/defenses.

Case in point: I have a novel out under a pen name (Kat O’Reilly). I just got off the phone with a friend who said she had read it and had some comments for me if I wanted to hear them. She raised some very valid points. I agree with her and I am going to change them. Since this novel was self-published, I can do that relatively easily. If I had gone a more traditional route, it wouldn’t be quite so easy to do, but — I think — it would still be doable.

Yes, your work might be your “baby,” but it should still be open for insight. If you can’t use it to improve that particular project, use it on the next one. You and your work will be the better for it.

(Thank you, Elizabeth.)

I found myself in that position this past weekend. I didn’t do anything that I needed to, other than a little laundry. I didn’t even post on the blog for Saturday and Sunday. I thought about going in and doing that today, but I decided that missing a day or two every now and then doesn’t hurt a thing.

Because of the downtime, I felt more rested today. I felt more able to handle my jobs and whatever they wanted to throw at me.

Boy, I should have seen that last one coming. I got thrown into Crazytown. Thankfully it doesn’t happen very often. Thankfully, today I could handle it. Truth be known, I didn’t have to deal with a lot of it, just know that it was there and be ready to jump in if needed. It wasn’t needed.

I didn’t feel as stressed out about it as I might have if I hadn’t given myself that downtime. Although, I will admit that my neck, shoulders, and upper back are tight after the fact because that’s where I carry my stress.

Downtime is good for us as writers, too. Yes, there are many who advocate writing every day. I would add that writing need not be goal-directed, but writing practice, a la Natalie Goldberg, Twyla Tharp, Julia Cameron, Judy Collins, and Crescent Dragonwagon. Writing is writing, even if it’s (much-needed) practice.

Now…

Does anyone know where I can find a good masseur. Preferably one that’s good-looking too. (Aside: I first typed “god masseur.” Hmmmm….)

Remember, I said that I would cover all parts of the creative journey here, not just writing. Although, this will relate, just bear with me a few minutes.

Regardless of what you want to learn, Craftsy has it. They have classes in knitting, crochet, jewelry, cake decorating, sewing, quilting, and so much more! Classes are at your own pace, so once you enroll in a class, you never lose access to the videos, class notes, or community that is associated with it.

There’s also the added benefit that taking a class on Craftsy helps you expand your creativity, thus refilling your creative stores in new ways, which will be beneficial to — you guessed it — your writing.