This is a continuation of this post where I talked about and showed my textile art pieces. However, since the videos that were posted in that post didn't show how I made it, I thought it would be time to show you my embroidery process and how I made this art piece:
The backstory for this art piece is that the figure at the top (Rosalind by Arthur Hughes) is coming through a magical portal into the Sorceress's Hideaway. And the figure at the bottom is the Sorceress (Boreas by John William Waterhouse) performing a spell in her cauldron.
Anyway, here is my process of making it. It took two days to finish making it.
And this was also the first time I've recorded myself doing embroidery, so I will be doing more in the future. 😉
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Have you done embroidery? If you met a sorceress how would you react?
So, I was not prepared for Camp NaNoWriMo this month. In fact, I didn't even think I was going to be doing July's Camp NaNoWriMo, but I then had a sudden change of plans and decided to do it anyway.
But this is why this post is not my usual "announcing my..." project post, like I did for April's Camp NaNoWriMo. Because while the project I am working on is a new one, I did not have the time to plan ahead for a description of what my story was or make drawings of my characters like last year. That is not to say that I won't make a post like this, but I don't have what I need to do it right now.
So, instead this post will be more like a journal entry about how Camp NaNoWriMo has been going for me this month.
My Writing
The project I am currently working on is called Becoming the Body Thief, and it is the project I mentioned in this post. Basically it is the second half of The Mystery of the Body Thief, but since I felt like this was a whole novel smashed together into another whole novel, I felt the need to separate them.
Without spoiling anything, I can say there will be a whole new view of the world. In the first book, I primarily focused on the upper class--royalty to be more specific--and on detectives. In the second book, however, there is a change of perspective, and I am now focusing on the criminal world. This is interesting, because the series as a whole focuses on crime in the Fantasy world, but crime from the perspective of a detective not a criminal. I feel is really helpful in world-building and understanding the characters, in seeing both sides of crime.
I will say, I have taken inspiration from a lot of TV shows in doing this. I feel the dynamic of characters in my story currently reminds me strongly right now of the characters from Leverage. In fact, a character whose stage name is Venus (I'lll talk more about her in later posts) started reminding me of the character of Sophie Devereaux. Venus like Sophie is a con-artist and an actor.
By the way, here is a small update on the renaming of my characters, which I talked about in a previous blog post:
My characters' names for this novel series are probably going to steadily change over time, as I am give them more fantastical names. So, I renamed Angela. Her name is now Cerawen (pronounced SERA-wen or SEERA-wen) which I think fits her better than Angela. (Even from the beginning, I thought it was a little weird to call her Angela given that the name meant "messenger of God" and given that the world has Greek mythology-inspired polytheistic religions, it felt really out of place).
However, I am still working to create a new name for Annabelle. I haven't yet, but I feel I am getting closer, and once I come up with one, I will update her character sheet.
But, I should say what helped me create the new name Cerawen was actually a technique that the YouTuber Ginny Di suggested which was "keyboard smash." If you can believe it, the name Cerawen actually came out of the gibberish, "Ceqw," from the keyboard smash.
As for songwriting, I made these not too long ago, and they are kind of a work in progress. However, since I am talking about my story which does involve world-building, I thought I would talk about some songs I've been working on that are for my story:
I am planning to make more songs of this type. Basically, these are songs that the priests/priestesses or devotees would use when doing healing in my Fantasy world. I also thought it would be neat if it had an atmospheric background instead of a musical one (that is sounds of fire cracking, forest noises, etc.). These are the musical versions of the chants I had written, here. Like the last song I made a music video for, I am thinking it would be neat to make a music video with all of these songs combined somehow (once I am finished of course).
I should say I am in three different cabins this year for Camp NaNoWriMo--two that are being run by other people, and one that I am running myself. It is fun, as usual. I love connecting with writers from all over the world and getting to discuss writing as we're doing it. I've had a lot of really thoughtful conversations that just happened over an element or a character from one of my stories, and I love it. And actually, two of the drawings I drew in a previous post came from prompts from one of the groups I am in. Anyway, these prompts are really inspiring my writing and motivating me, which is awesome. I love being in writing communities.
The two books I've been reading recently are Dracula by Bram Stoker, and Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. For Dracula, I am in fact following the now-very-famous Dracula Daily I love getting it, because I feel like the main character is emailing me, which is fun. However, I do admit that when I get shorter emails I tend to get impatient for the next response. Unlike when reading, I have to wait for the next part (well not really, I could read ahead but it would defeat the purpose of doing Dracula Daily). This is frustrating because I really want to know what happens next. I also love how beautiful the prose is. The prose in classic books are usually so beautiful, and I love taking my time reading it to just get lost in it.
I'm also really enjoying Where the Crawdads Sing.I love the descriptions and the characters. I am listening to an audiobook version of it, so it can be nice to just close my eyes and listen to the descriptions. I love how we get to see Kya's everyday life in the marsh. There is something nice about that, and I will say Owns's writing really reminds me of Shirley Jackson's writing style. Shirley Jackson is another author I love. I will say, though, for any younger readers of this blog, that there are two disturbing adult scenes in the book. They are done for the plot and have a purpose later on, but, I didn't want anyone who is young here to pick up the book and get traumatized. Other than that, I am loving the dual time-lines element of the story. It's always cool to read books that have that, because there are basically two storylines to follow, and it is fun to see how they intertwine.
And while I haven't seen the movie yet (I have plans to see it when I finish reading the book), I really love the song that Taylor Swift wrote for it:
I feel it captures the character of Kya so well. And it's also so relaxing to listen to.
Music that Inspires My Writing
I've included playlists for my stories in prior Camp NaNoWriMo posts, and while this post is very different than the usual structure, I thought I'd keep up the tradition.
Some Fun Things
Okay, so I would usually talk about Webkinz on my other blog. However, I just realized Webkinz is actually a really good place for designing rooms for your characters. I made three rooms that I want to share: one for my story, and two inspired by the classics (Gothic and Greek mythology).
I made one of the taverns that appears in my novel in Webkinz! I found that making it in game, was really helpful to figure out the layout. This is the tavern where the main characters meet Venus (character mentioned earlier). It is one of the most luxurious taverns that appears in the story. While some very shady things happen in it, outsiders who go to it are kind of unaware of that. Basically it appears to be safe, but it is a place where criminals often meet and shady things happen. It wants you to think it is safe, but isn't.
One of the reasons why the tavern is so luxurious is due to Venus's performances (at least one of the least shady reasons). Because of her, this tavern has many expensive things in it: an exquisite rug, a beautiful fireplace, and intricate tables. And my Webkinz room is only part of the tavern: the tavern in the book is pretty large, so I may create the second half in the future. (However, I will need to get the same wallpaper, which may take a while, since I had to win it from JumbleBerry Fields, a game within the virtual world).
And since you know I love Gothic literature, I of course made another room, based on one of my favorite Gothic books. This room is inspired by "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. I tried to make the room seem cramped and uncomfortable, like it was in the book. Unfortunately, Webkinz did not have aging yellow wallpaper, so I had to improvise with yellow paint instead.
One of my Webkinzes is actually named Apollo, after the Greek god of the sun and music. So I made a room for him. I tried to give it musical references as well as light ones (with the fairy lights). So anyway, I thought I would share this room, because it was Greek mythology inspired.
Also, I thought I would show what kinds of things you can create in a game like Webkinz, because not everyone has the money to use a more expensive game like Sims 4 to create rooms for their stories. But some people do have Webkinz accounts they made when they were children, so it can be an affordable option for creating rooms for your characters.
And that's all I have to say for now, but I will say more later in part 2! There are a lot of adventures I'm going to have later in Camp NaNoWriMo, and I will update you on them.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------How has Camp NaNoWriMo been going for you? And have you read any good books or played any fun games recently?
The inspirations for the music video were actually old horror movies (from the 1950s and 60s) that I often watch with my mom. This was also the first time I've done lip-syncing in a music video, and it was a fun experience. I had a lot of fun acting as the characters who appear in the video (the storyteller and the Blood Ghost), and dressing up as them as well.
And while I already posted the lyrics in the post before, I am going to post them again, so you can follow (or sing) along if you would like (and don't need to open another tab to do so):
👻 Lyrics- 👻
Under Southwest Bridge,
Waiting for the Blood Ghost.
It is coming tonight with hatred in its eyes.
Hatred of light, hatred of blood, hatred of the Blood Ghost.
It is coming tonight with hatred in its eyes.
It is coming tonight with hatred in its eyes.
Many tales of old were told,
Of the entity
Who will now forever be
In our memory
It is coming tonight with hatred in its eyes.
It is coming tonight with hatred in its eyes.
Searching for shelter, struggling in prayer, fighting against the Blood Ghost.
It is coming tonight with hatred in its eyes.
It is coming tonight with hatred in its eyes.
It is said that your children it will take,
in its wake,
where they go,
we never know,
It is coming tonight with hatred in its eyes.
It is coming tonight with hatred in its eyes.
In life it was said to be a fair maid,
But she faded and turned into a shade,
Now she haunts looking around for blood,
And many have succumbed,
to its will,
Because an empty shell it wants to fill,
It is coming tonight with hatred in its eyes.
It is coming tonight with hatred in its eyes.
Last three waiting, last three waiting, last three waiting, waiting, for the Blood Ghost.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What did you like most about the music video? And do you have a favorite horror movie from the 50s/60s?
This post will contain a mixture of old and new drawings.
And as an update, I will be posting the next part of Using Polls to Create Art sometime in the near future, but in the meantime you can still vote on the poll at the end of that post here.
Let's begin:
This was originally drawn for a Halloween post, however, that post didn't end up working. This is a drawing of Matilda in a wizard/witch Halloween costume. I drew this before I knew her very well, so thinking about it now she would probably dress up as a heroine from one of her favorite Gothic novels.
A drawing of Deet from The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.
Deet was one of my favorite characters from the show, and I hope someday someone decides to bring the TV show back. I am still sad that it was canceled. I drew this around the time that the show first came out.
This is one of two drawings I created for a prompt on NaNoWriMo which was "what would your character's zoom background be?" However, I took this a step further and decided to draw how my characters would react if they had Zoom.
This comic is for my novel, Dolls of Wax, Eyes of Glass. In the comic Matilda is talking to her mother about the haunted estate that she and her brother just moved into. Since this is Matilda at the beginning of the story, she is enjoying the idea of living in a haunted castle, without realizing what dangers it will hold... Also Matilda's and Felix's mother, sadly, is having a bit of difficulty with Zoom, so can't turn her video on.
Side note, I feel as if the horrible things that happen in my story would be prevented if my characters had modern technology and long distance communication that didn't take a long time to deliver.
Here's an old drawing I did of Kira from The Dark Crystal. She was really fun to draw.
This second response to the prompt was inspired by this video.
This is for my other novel (though I have many I'm working on), The Mystery of the Body Thief.
Basically, this woud happen if Ophelia and D.I. Time had Zoom:
D.I. Time would accidentally turn on a dragon filter, and since shapeshifting exists in that world, he does have to clarify that he didn't get magically turned into a dragon.
I realize I haven't made many posts on my blog relating to Sebastian. He only has a few posts in which he's featured, which were a drawing of him included in a tag post, and posts I made all the way back in 2016. To give you some background on the character, Sebastian is Oak's twin brother (like her, he is a half dryad). He works as a healer, and gets his healing powers from the Greek god, Apollo. And if you're interested, here is his profile page.
This is a drawing of Iris I created a while ago, but I really like how her veil turned out.
And lastly, here is a recent portrait style I made of Riona "Fire."
I like how her hair turned out.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Which drawing is your favorite? And how would your characters react if they had Zoom?
I have recently started doing embroidery, it is a way for me to de-stress. I found when I do it I focus on what I'm sewing and end up forgetting why I'm stressed.
A small update, you may have already noticed (since I did put it on my sidebar), I created a second YouTube Channel for my artwork (ex. Art, embroidery, and animation) called "Quinley's Art." You can check it out here
But back to this post...along with photos of the art pieces, I will be posting videos of them, too. The videos will basically allow you to look at the art in different ways.
Let's begin:
This art piece is a mixture of embroidery, COPIC markers, and figures from pre-existing art pieces. The red haired figure is from John William Waterhouse's painting "Ophelia (1894)" and the other figure is from A painting of a girl and a unicorn. As far as I know the artist is unknown, but the model for the girl was Giulia Farnese. Anyway I put those two figures together in a forested scene that is different than the scenes they were in previously. My goal in this is to tell a different story with these figures, than the original paintings presented.
Also, here is the video I made of the art piece.
This I made for an embroidery challenge. I was given the fabric beforehand, so I didn't get to pick it out. The challenge was to how to use this as a backdrop for embroidery. So, I decided on a scene of a dragon and a castle.
I'm not entirely sure if it is completely done, but at the moment I am done messing around with it.
Here's the video of it.
And lastly, this piece I made before the first one. I was experimenting with embroidering on paper, I had previously been writing in a note-book when I decided to embroider on the pages which then gave me the idea for this piece.
I first drew in the circles, then embroidered the flowers in them, and continued till the page was full of flowers. I really like how it turned out in the end.
Here's the video for it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Which art piece is your favorite? Have you done embroidery?
I wanted to let you know that I finished the second draft of the Mystery of the Body Thief on the 20th of May! The reason I didn't post this earlier was because I had a lot of other posts planned, and I wanted to take some time to write this post. (And not rush it).
It feels so great to have the second draft done, because now I can move onto the third! And I have a lot of plans for the third draft.
Here is a little bit of a behind-the-scenes for drafting. To keep myself organized I've been creating folders for the different drafts of my novel:
I do this because I've written different scenes in different documents, and it is easy to lose them or confuse them because of that. I do not want to confuse the first draft with the second draft, nor the third draft with the second, or anything else along those lines.
But let's now move onto what is next for TheMystery of the Body Thief:
Synopsis-
Genres: Fantasy | Murder Mystery Series: It is the first book in the Lady Annabelle Mystery Series.
Horatio wakes up from being in a coma, but he doesn't remember anything that happened before he fell into unconsciousness. All that he remembers is a name, "Annabelle!"
Also... Detective Inspector Time finds himself having to solve a case without Lady Annabelle.
Murders have been happening throughout many different kingdoms, and no one knows who exactly is behind it all.
What's Next for The Mystery of the Body Thief?
So as not to rush either story and to give more time to both, I have decided to divide the novel (which was originally 255,185 words) into two books. So as to be thoughtfully written rather than something that is just dashed off, this is going to be a book series. I suppose it is good that I already have three books planned out for it as opposed to just one.
On another note, I have realized that the names are very inconsistent. I have characters whose names are common and others whose names are unusual (ones that I made up myself). I realized, after compiling a blog post as to what changed in my story, that the common names were left over from the novel originally being in the genre, Alternate History. To give it more of a High Fantasy feeling of another world, I decided I needed to rename some characters.
I am in the middle of renaming Annabelle, Angela, and Marigold. Some names will stay the same like Horatio's. I realized, even though something like Lord of the Rings has fantastical names, they also have some real names (they are few and far between), but they are woven into the story enough that they don't sound strange. At the moment the naming for my story is all over the place, so I am going to try and fix that in the third draft. When I do change their names expect their profiles on this blog to be updated with their changed names.
In the third draft I will also be continuing to world-build. I have more ideas for what the world is like, and the magic system has become much more clear to me, than it was before (before it was barely there).
Also, since I was rewriting and reworking the story from 2018-2020, it meant that I had to give myself an outline for the third draft in this drafting. The scenes are much like Dolls of Wax Eyes of Glass's first draft, but that was because I was trying to make sense of stuff that I wrote years ago. And, I wanted this draft to give me an idea of how somethings will play out in the third draft. So I now have an outline that isn't my 2018 writing to work with.
Greetings fellow actors and Shakespeare enthusiasts!
I performed a version of "To Be or Not To Be" from Hamletin 2019. It's been three years since then and I have learned a lot more about Shakespeare (and video editing) since I first performed it. So, I recently revisited it and reworked it. This is the end result. I hope you enjoy it:
I've found that the way in which I approached the soliloquy was much different now than it was in 2019. In 2019 I focused more on the theme of death (I actually had a prop sword with me when performing it). But this time around I tried to be more philosophical. For example I asked myself, "what if I were to die, what then?" and "what happens after death?" There is of course, no right way to approach the soliloquy, but I find it interesting how the way in which I approached it has changed.
On a similar note, I actually made a video which you can watch here comparing the performances by placing them next to each other.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------What is your favorite Shakespeare play? And do you have a favorite character or part from Hamlet?
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