Seize the clay!

The secret of a fabulous life is to live imperfectly with great delight. I’ve been playing with this quote in my journal this week through many take-offs, landings and miles of travel along undiscovered roads. It has been a fabulous week filled with delights, like:

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Discovering this sign outside Fact and Fiction Books in Missoula, MT

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Making a wonderful new friend, artist Karen Savory, of Simply Savory Art..

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Connecting with kindred book lovers.

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Finding Jasper in Elliott Bay Books in Seattle

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Signing books at Owls Nest Books in Calgary and then seeing it on the same shelf as AMPS by Miriam Toews.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then there have been spectacular moments like these:

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A curious deer, Missoula MT

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Snow geese on the prairie

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Elk herd, Banff.

Then there are, what Brian calls, neurochrome moments. Fragments etched in my mind: A smile and a welcome at the airport to a family immigrating to Canada. My delight in discovering that they are from Ethiopia. Theirs in discovering that I once worked there. Sweet cinnamon buns, even sweeter conversation at an art cafe with my sister-in-law, Sue. Looking up to see my nephew, Jude’s, evocative painting on the wall. E-mails when I wake up from readers met along this journey who have found hope and a little of their own “Jasper” in the pages of The Clay Girl…

These funky seahorses were inspired by a ‘Eric Carle’ card given to me by my agent, Hilary. The quote, The secret of a fabulous life is to live imperfectly with great delight, belong to Leigh Standley. I was going to leave this doodling hidden inside my journal, because it looked like it had been composed in a moving vehicle, which it has. And why is that? Because, I am so friggin’ lucky to be on this adventure.

Think I’ll just pitch perfection out the window, sieze the clay of this perfectly imperfect day and delight in this fabulous life!

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Photos, once again, by the incomparable Brian D.Tucker, including the stunning shot of Lake Louise.

6 thoughts on “Seize the clay!

  1. Lovin the highlights, pics, doodles and neurochrome moments of your cross country tour!! So happy for you.

    • Thanks, Janet. It is a spectacular adventure. But like a kid counting the sleeps until Christmas, visions of my own bed, my dog, quiet mornings with that first cup of tea in my office and a leisurely walk in my woods are dancing in my head.

  2. I have not loved a protagonist this much since Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird. This novel and character will echo in my heart the same way.

    • Thank you, Sharon, for your generous encouragement. I think in an alternate universe Ari and Scout are friends. Ari is a mosaic of the many resilient, spirited children I’ve met in my personal and professional life. Her journey will continue in Cracked Pots.

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