My daily Illustrated Journal is keeping me sane during COVID-19. I decided when we went into lockdown to pick up daily journaling again. In my illustrated journal, I record everything from a successful new recipe to a chickadee watering at the birdbath. In addition, I note the COVID count: cases and deaths. When schools closed March 15, I lost the job of picking up my grandson twice a week at elementary school. Like everyone, life changed drastically. I stopped going to my art studio in Fairhaven until I felt safe to be in public, and I committed to a daily illustrated journal at home. I have nearly filled two journals with illustrations and entries, photos, dried leaves and flowers. Here is an example of two pages I illustrated while camping at the Cascade River.
I am teaching the Keeping an Illustrated Journal Class through Whatcom Community Ed. The class will be held on ZOOM, Oct 20-Nov. 17, 6-8 PM Pacific time. (No class Nov 3.) I think the four week class will be lots of fun and a good stress reliever. I’m putting together a power point to show you how to sketch and ink journal entries, use watercolor, found objects, and lettering. If you are interested, go to https://register.whatcomcommunityed.com/CourseStatus.awp?&Course=20F8258058EA&DirectFrom=Schedule
Also an update on my recently released novel “Celia’s Heaven”: If you missed the Book Release, here is the Crowdcast link https://youtu.be/n4TEdwsdWjs to enjoy at home. And if you did join the launch and would like to partake in Celia’s Heaven Book Club, here is the link to a super fun event: Oct. 22nd, at 5 pm event: https://zoom.us/…/tJ0pf-igrzwoG9QGGGaa_0WfH7aMaF1QzHYq Hope to see you there!
Thanks for supporting local artists and writers. Art makes for a healthy community. You are invited to join my website and receive occasional blog posts that will offer writing and art advice, classes, and links to readings.
Best to you and your family, Nancy Canyon
Nancy Canyon’s poetry and prose is published in This Uncommon Solitude, Take a Stand: Art Against Hate, Last Call, Nature’s Healing Spirit, Ice Cream Poems, Songs of Ourselves, Raven Chronicles, Water~Stone Review, Fourth Genre, Exhibition, Main Street Rag, Floating Bridge Review, Clover: A Literary Rag, and more. She holds the MFA in Creative Writing from Pacific Lutheran University, a Certificate in Fiction from UW, and studied with Natalie Goldberg in Taos, NM. Canyon works as a writing coach for The Narrative Project, teaches writing for Chuckanut Writers, and as a visual artist in Historic Fairhaven, a quaint village overlooking Bellingham Bay. She lives near Lake Whatcom with husband Ron, Olive the dog, and Sid the tuxedo cat. “Saltwater” her book of poetry and her novel, “Celia’s Heaven” are available through Village Books: http://villagebooks.com
