Photo by Lloyd Thompson

For me, still, each novel emerges from careful attention to language, including the form, the sound, and the imagery, things I first learned through poetry.

Born in Brookings, South Dakota, Helen Frost grew up as one of ten children, in a supportive, close-knit family.  From her earliest memories, her parents nurtured her natural curiosity in the world around her, which would later emerge through her poetry and stories.  She received a teaching degree from Syracuse University which opened up a whole new world of adventure and travel. She has taught children in England, Scotland, Vermont, Indiana, the remote Alaskan village of Telida, and a juvenile detention center in Fort Wayne.  An author of many nonfiction children’s books about science and nature, Helen published her first novel in verse, Keesha’s House, in 2003.  Over the years, Helen’s poems and writings have received numerous awards. Her most recent book, Salt: A Story of Friendship in a Time of War, was published in July of 2013.  Helen Frost has two grown sons and currently lives with her husband in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Helen, thank you for taking time to visit with Healing Hamlet.  Can you remember the first poem you ever wrote?  What was it about?  When did you first realize the power of words and that your own words might have an effect on others?

I did love putting words together on paper when I was a child. Even before I could read and write I liked to scribble in lines across paper, pretending to write. I remember, at about age four, playing outdoors with a friend, we invented a game that involved pounding leaves with a rock to make it look like writing, then delivering this “letter” to someone, probably one of our sisters or mothers. Such primitive, and yet oddly literary, play.

The first poems I wrote were pretty silly, but I took them seriously enough to give them to people as gifts. When my grandmother died, my mother discovered that she had kept a poem I sent her when I was about eleven.

You grew up in a small city, supported and nurtured by a large, family.  But you had a restless side that led you to teach in England and Scotland, live in a tent on a Scottish isle, work a summer job in McKinley (Denali) National Park, and spend three years in a remote Alaskan village.  How did these experiences enrich your life and your writing?

Each place I’ve lived is still very much part of my “mental landscape” and all these different places come back to me when I’m writing. One example is The Braid, set on an island on the west coast of Scotland. I camped on the island of Mingulay, now uninhabited, about 30 years before writing The Braid. When I visited again, as part of my research for The Braid, I found that my memory of the island was very accurate. There were stone houses that had been abandoned in 1912, and I thought a lot about the life of this little community when I first camped on Mingulay. I loved spending time there in my imagination, and learning more about it to fill in the details of the story.

You have been teaching all of your adult life.  Your books, Spinning Through the Universe: A Novel in Poems from Room 214 and When I Whisper, Nobody Listens: Helping Young People Write About Difficult Issues come directly from your experiences in teaching and mentoring children.  What has been the most important thing you’ve learned from your students?

Spinning Through the Universe will be reissued in paperback in March 2014, with a new cover and a shorter title: Room 214: A Year in Poems. I’ll give an example from that book of something I learned from children that became important in my writing. I was friends with a family which included a boy with cerebral palsy, severe enough so that he couldn’t do everyday things like blowing out birthday candles. He was very smart, as was his younger sister, and they told me about the invention of the hairdryer-contraption that could blow out birthday candles. I asked their permission to include it in the book, and they were happy to give it. When I speak in schools now, I love letting children know that there is a real invention behind that poem, and that it worked!

You have worked with youth impacted by violence.  How does writing poetry promote healing after trauma?

I recently had a note from a girl I met in 1998 when I was part of a project to help young people write about violence. She was 14 then, and is 33 now, happily married with two children. She wrote: I want to thank you for what you did for all of us in high school. I had no hope but you made me see that something good can come of something bad… Thanks again for everything. You coming to our school had changed my life completely and I would not be where I am today if I had not written that story.

I do a lot of preliminary work to create a safe place for these stories before anyone begins writing.  It’s hard to say exactly how this works, but somehow, being able to write something down and have it received and respected, does make a big difference.

Your novels cover a wide range of characters who must navigate personal hardships or tumultuous historical events.  How did you come to know these characters and to realize that you could tell their stories?

Each book is different. Sometimes I get a sense of the character first, and then the story arrives in that voice; other times a story emerges and the characters make themselves known through what happens to them and how they respond to it.

Keesha’s House was your first novel written in verse.  Since its publication, you have also written Spinning through the Universe: A Novel in Poems from Room 214, The Braid, Diamond Willow, Crossing Stones, Hidden, and most recently, Salt in verse format.  How did you decide on this approach to novel writing?

I began as a poet, and the novels came out of the poetry. For many writers, it’s the other way around–they are novelists first, and then the poetry comes out of what the novel seems to need. For me, still, each novel emerges from careful attention to language, including the form, the sound, and the imagery, things I first learned through poetry.

Salt gives the reader a window into the War of 1812, told in the alternating voices of two 12 year old boys, one the son of an American trader and the other a Miami Native.  James’ verse is in the horizontal lines of the American flag.  Anikwa tells his story in the distinctive diamond patterns of Miami artwork.  The two forms weave a story of two boys caught in a struggle for power, forced to choose paths and negotiate a world of human misconception, greed, tragedy and generosity.  The visual form of this novel is a powerful storytelling tool.  How did you come up with the idea to tell the story in this format?

The forms are interesting, aren’t they? So much of what has been imposed on the American landscape, especially in the Midwest, is based on Cartesian geometry–the grid work of road systems, calendars, soldiers marching in formation. James’ poems reflect this, but I didn’t want them to be overlaid on Anikwa’s poems, which have more of a pulse to them, like rivers, seasons, growing things.

I was pleased when I found the two forms for the two different characters, but I didn’t know at first how well they would work together. I came to see it as something like basket weaving, each element essential to the other.

Do you plan to write more historically based novels in verse like Salt, The Braid and Crossing Stones?  What are you working on now?

Historical fiction is really hard. I tend to switch back and forth because it takes so long to do the research and make decisions about how much historical detail to include (enough to make the story authentic and compelling, but not so much that it weighs down the story, or is too complex for children to understand).

I’m working now on two more collaborations with Rick Lieder: Sweep Up the Sun, to be published spring, 2015, is about birds and Among a Thousand Fireflies, scheduled for spring, 2016, is about fireflies (titles can always change, of course). My next novel-in-poems, Applesauce Weather, is for early readers, and will be lightly illustrated. More than my other books, this one arose pretty directly from childhood memories.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to learn how to be a good writer?

Read a lot, of course, and establish a daily writing routine. I usually suggest taking classes to begin with, and finding a good critique group until you have an editor to work with. Even after you have an editor, a critique group is helpful in a different way.  A small group of 4-6 friends you can trust is usually about right.

If you could switch places with anyone in the world for one day, who would it be and what would you do?

Maybe I’d switch places with a friend who is in prison, to give him a day of freedom and security.

Anything else we should know about you?

I loved insects as a child; monarch butterflies were, and still are, my favorite. Now my yard is a “monarch way station” which means I plant milkweed and nectar flowers for the monarchs. I am very worried about the monarch population decreasing because we are killing the milkweed they need, in order to make it easier to grow corn–more and more every year, for fuel as well as food.

In each of my books, I’ve consulted with people about the history and cultural background of the story, and those people have become friends, if they weren’t friends before. I am very lucky in the rich diversity of my friends and family, and I try to share that richness with my readers.

Picking apples in my yard

Learn More about Helen Frost on her website

Find her most recent book Salt: A Story of Friendship in a Time of War

The post Poet and Author Helen Frost appeared first on Healing Hamlet.

The heart is a muscle like any other.
Tearing it down is the only way
to make it stronger. – From Bruised

Growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, Sarah Skilton got an early start in her writing career by creating soap operas about cats.  Many hours of her childhood were spent writing and performing TV and radio shows, complete with advertisements.  So it was no surprise when Sarah graduated with a TV/Radio degree from Ithaca College in upstate New York.  She later moved to Southern California where she has worked as a production assistant, a TV extra, a film reviewer, a blogger for a Japanese marketing company, and a script analyst.  Sarah received her black belt in both Tae Kwon Do and Hap Ki Do and drew upon her martial arts experience for her first novel, Bruised.  She lives in Los Angeles with her magician husband, Joe Skilton, and her 16 month old son, Elliot.

Sarah, thanks for speaking with Healing Hamlet.  In college you studied screenwriting.  As well as maintaining a career in film and TV, you are now a published YA (Young Adult) author.  What was your journey from screenwriting to YA?

I think screenwriting and YA novels have some elements in common, namely the importance of pacing and dialogue. It’s been my experience that young adult novels tend to be plot-focused, much like screenplays. There’s certainly room for characterization and description, and many writers include both beautifully, but in general, the story itself is key, and must retain attention spans and interest from the first to last page. I had written an “adult” book prior to Bruised, but Bruised couldn’t have been anything other than young adult. The story needed to happen to a young person for it to have the most impact and make the most sense. I always envisioned it happening to a 16-year-old girl.

When I discovered Bruised, I expected to read about a girl working through post traumatic stress after living through a violent experience, but your character and your story were so much more complex than that.  Imogen struggles with issues many teens face: a disconnection with parents, problems with friends, self doubt and isolation.  As a Tae Kwan Do black belt, her sense of identity is shaken after she freezes when threatened.  On top of all this, there is the additional burden of her father’s illness and the blame and fear that goes with it.  Was the original concept this complex, or did you build these layers as the story progressed?

Thank you very much!

When I first wrote the story, I thought it had a standard amount of drama, but as I revised it, I wondered if I’d piled things on a bit too thick for my poor main character, Imogen. Ultimately, however, I came to believe that the universe doesn’t space things out in a neat or orderly fashion, nor did I think it was realistic for Imogen’s life to have been perfect before she witnessed the robbery and shooting. To answer the question more directly, yes — the original concept had the same layers and problems, though I did pare a few of them down slightly in the finished version.

None of the characters in your story can be easily boxed or categorized.  We have the Tae Kwan Do expert turned coward (by Imogen’s account), the good friend turned bad friend, the hero father rendered helpless, the bully made humble, even the gunman has another side.   Bruised puts a magnifying glass on what it is to be human.  What do you hope the reader takes away about our human nature?

I’m glad you felt the characters were well-rounded — I was definitely hoping for that! I also wanted Imogen to come to the slow realization that neither she nor anybody else in the world is only “one thing”; rather, we all have hidden facets and aspects of our personalities that are not immediately apparent. At one point, Imogen’s boyfriend points out that she always chooses the worst thing about someone and decides that’s who they are. “Why not choose the best thing?” he asks, “Or the thing they do the most?”

When Imogen freezes at the hands of the gunman, she loses confidence and must find a way to redeem herself.  What experiences did you draw upon to take Imogen through this journey?  What advice do you have for those who feel they have lost confidence and direction?

I’ve certainly been depressed in my life and struggled to find meaning in day-to-day activity, and I drew on that to describe some of Imogen’s numbness and feelings of pointlessness.   As for advice, I would say, Don’t be hard on yourself. Give yourself time —  real time, where you don’t parse the days or weeks —  to heal and move on, and gain perspective on the event. Focus on enjoyable activities, whether it’s reading, drawing, watching films, going on long walks, spending time with friends or family, or just allowing yourself to relax until you remember the good parts of life again. Know that the past doesn’t dictate the future.

Imogen has an imperfect but loving and well-intentioned family.  How would her story have been different if her family was unable or unwilling to help?

I imagine it would have taken her much longer to recover and put the pieces of her life back together. A support system is vital, whether or not your problems are considered big or small.

My favorite quote from Bruised is: The heart is a muscle like any other.  Tearing it down is the only way to make it stronger.  Have you thought about putting this on a plaque?

Thank you! No plaque plans yet, but duly noted.

During the process of publishing your first book, you had a baby boy.  How has becoming a mother affected you as a writer?

Sarah with son, Elliot

Because my son is new to the world, he notices things like shadows, sunlight, grass, twigs, rocks, dirt, trees, and animals in a way that is filled with genuine curiosity and even awe and delight. I’d like to think that observing his reactions to his surroundings has helped me learn new ways of describing objects, emotions, and details.

On a practical note, I have to weigh my hours very carefully so that I can balance spending time with family, working a day job, and finding time to write. Basically, there is no balance; some days are more of one aspect and less than the others, and that’s OK. I try to focus on whatever it is I’m doing in the present. (Which means turning off my cell phone so I’m not tempted to check email.) It can be a challenge!

Your next book for young adults, High and Dry, is coming out in 2014.  What can you tell us about it?

It’s a mystery about a high school soccer player, a boy this time, who finds himself in a metaphorical quicksand of trouble. He’s framed for a stranger’s near-fatal overdose at a party, blackmailed into finding a missing flash drive that everyone at school seems anxious to suppress, and pressured to throw a big soccer match, all while trying to win back the girl of his dreams and escape a past that might be responsible for all his current problems. 

Any other projects you are currently working on?

I’m writing a third young adult book, but after typing about 1/3 of it, I realized I need to start over from a different angle. I’m hoping to use the material in a different way. I don’t consider it a waste because I got to know the characters and their backgrounds, but I think giving the story a fresh start will make a big difference.

How does your work in TV and film feed into your writing?  What other experiences influence your stories?

I read screenplays for a living, and just like with reading books, the experience of seeing what works teaches me how to apply it to my own stories. I also draw on real life, either my own experiences, or experiences of friends and family, for that initial spark of idea.

What one person do you most admire and why?

I most admire my mother, Rosalind, who grew up in Harare (Zimbabwe), and moved to the U.S. for the first time when she was 24 after marrying my dad, who was from Illinois. To leave behind everything and everyone you know takes enormous bravery, and she’s got this quiet strength that embodies the British truism, “Keep Calm and Carry On.” She goes with the flow, she’s always up for an adventure, she often volunteers to help others, and she happens to be the kindest and most patient woman I know.

If you could be matched against anyone (real of fictional) in Tae Kwon Do, who would you choose?

Sidney Bristow (Jennifer Garner) from Alias.

Sarah and her mom, Rosalind

Keep up with Sarah Skilton on her website and blog.

The post Author Sarah Skilton appeared first on Healing Hamlet.

My art keeps me balanced and practiced in transforming concept and intention into the material.  It is my daily practice of manifesting that which I hold to be true and beautiful: love and healing.

Growing up in Indianapolis, Darla Rewers always knew she was an artist.  She also knew that she wanted to be a veterinarian.  After receiving her B.A. in Biology and Fine Arts at the University of Indianapolis, she went on to pursue her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Florida.  Her call to healing led her to become a certified veterinary acupuncturist and in 2008, Dr. Rewers opened Ancient Arts Veterinary Services (Link).  Her office in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle also doubles as an art gallery which displays Darla’s mixed media works.  A life long learner, Dr. Rewers constantly strives to master the latest (or more ancient) methods of healing and well being.  When she’s not seeing patients, attending classes or teaching workshops, you can find her immersed in her artwork, going for walks in the woods, enjoying music and spending time with friends (both human and furry).  Her full time assistants include Sophi, a 16 year old Border Collie – Aussie mix, and two cats named Frankie and Zenkey.

Darla, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk to Healing Hamlet!  In addition to being an artist, you are a licensed veterinarian, certified acupuncturist and traditional Chinese veterinarian, Qi Gong instructor, Reiki Master, shamanic healer, ordained minister, counselor…. Phew!  Did we leave anything out?

I teach Chiga–my own stretching/dance type of energy cultivation that is more fluid than typical qi gong, and more user-friendly than yoga.  I also teach shamanic journeying techniques, art intentionality workshops, animal massage, reiki, and other healing techniques.

You studied fine arts before entering veterinarian school and studying healing arts.  Which came first for you, the desire to create art, your connection with animals or your calling to heal?

Healing for War

I was always an artist AND connected to nature, from day one.  To me these things are inseparable.  I wanted to be a vet because I wanted to help animals with their well being—both physically and emotionally.  Veterinary medicine was the official route, but what I do goes beyond that, so I had to create my own structure and ongoing curriculum.  I double majored in art and biology, then in vet school learned the skills of diagnosing, performing surgery, prescribing medications correctly, etc.  However, healing involves more attention to the subtle life force of a patient.  Sometimes healing and practicing medicine overlap, and sometimes they are quite different paths.  Discerning the distinction is an art in and of itself.

How has your journey through healing studies and practices evolved?  How has art remained an integral part of this evolution?

My art keeps me balanced and practiced in transforming concept and intention into the material.  It is my daily practice of manifesting that which I hold to be true and beautiful: love and healing.  Art transfigures the pain of disease, toxicity and sorrow into something aesthetic and health-promoting.  If you look closely in my paintings, you’ll see acupuncture needles, herbs, and packaging from traditional Chinese medicinals.  From the process of creating transformative art I learn to be a better healer.  Over the years I have become more sensitive to the subtleties of energy in my patients and their people as a result of spending time doing meditative art.

Art (and academic) scholarships paid most of my undergraduate tuition.  Pottery sales kept me from starving during vet school.  Now the clinic space provides gallery walls to share my art.  The art really adds to the healing of the hospital space. Sometimes clients have been bringing their pets in to the clinic for years before they realize that it’s my art on the walls!

Mama and Baby Bird

You have integrated your artwork into your veterinary clinic, combining art gallery and healing space.  In what way has this affected your veterinary practice?

Nine out of ten clients comment that they feel better immediately upon entering the healing space.  This is no accident.  When we are inspired by music or visual art, our immune systems are enhanced, our healing component of the nervous system takes over (as opposed to the reactive, fight-or-flight nervous system), and we become more relaxed

You have combined your three loves: art, healing and animals, in your Healing Art which you create to support veterinary wildlife conservation.  How did this concept originate?  Which conservation efforts have you been involved with?

I want to preserve biodiversity because I love our home—Mother Earth, and all her creatures.  I truly feel that we are all interconnected, and that we all contribute to the earth’s overall health as well as our own.  As a child reading about the Amazon, I became fascinated with the plant medicine used by the shamanic healers there.  As I got older, I learned that the science of using plants as medicine is called pharmacognosy.  At that time only 1% of the earth’s plants had been studied for medicinal properties.  From that tiny percentage, over 25% of the pharmaceuticals on the market had been developed.  What cures for diseases, such as cancer, are we destroying when we allow rainforests and other ecosystems to be destroyed?  Within the ocean, fish and other forms of life may hold additional answers for the health of humans.  There are fish who routinely clean their own arteries of plaque!  The planet’s diversity of life has so much to share and teach us if we can take the time to protect and learn from it.

The concept of my art funding conservation is an ongoing effort.  Right now I merely help wildlife and strays that find me through natural healing methods.  I try to keep my own vet practice as green and sustainable as possible and educate clients about natural, non-toxic methods for improving the health of their pets and family.  I would love to get into zoopharmacognosy—the study of plants wild animals use as medicine.  This information could be useful for pets, people and zoo animals, as well as for sustainability, and conservation efforts.  I would also like to create a network of healing resources around the globe, promoting the natural and traditional healing techniques of different cultures in their respective areas. I intend to expand my conservation efforts when I have the resources to do so.  But for now, I mostly do this “in my own back yard.”

Caimen Jaguar

What type of art do you create?  Where do you find inspiration for your pieces?

I like to use found items—such as bits of rubbish, feathers, stones, sand, glass, leaves, bark, etc., and create mixed-media paintings.  My inspiration comes from nature and my dreams.  I try to represent my ideal of creating beauty:  transformation through intention, using rough materials and pure potential.  We may not like what we find around us, but we have working hands and able bodies and minds.  I hope to contribute to the beautification and betterment of this universe.

You continually build upon your knowledge of healing by engaging in educational programs, seminars and world travel.  Do you see yourself as a life long learner?  How do new experiences and information influence your artwork?

Life is definitely an ever-evolving learning trip!  I recently completed a course on Bioregulatory Medicine and Homotoxicology (healing through gentle low-dilution detoxification) through the international College of Integrative Medicine. I am continually humbled by exposure to other artists, healers, and community members who share practical wisdom, beauty, compassion, and truth.  I learn continually from my patients, clients, my own animal friends, people friends, antagonists, etc.  I learn and receive messages from the most random strangers and passers-by, if I am open to hearing.  So I am continually trying to be more and more receptive to hearing.  I am currently enrolled in Sandra Ingerman’s teacher training program for shamanic healing, so that I may share with others how to tap into the spiritual aspects of healing.  This has helped tremendously with end of life transitioning for our pets, communicating with animals, grief counseling, and navigating transitions.  There really is a whole vast world of possibilities when we learn additional tools for dealing with life’s challenges.

What is the most unusual animal you ever treated?

Dragon Phoenix

I drew blood on a wallaby once.  I learned how to do some techniques on alligators, also biopsies and anesthesia on fish.  My hand disappeared when I cleaned out a deep gash on the bum of a white rhino inSouth Africa(the work of another rhino’s horn!)

If you could have a conversation with any animal, which would you choose and what would you ask?

I would like to ask a hummingbird if he is just playing chase or actually intending to be ferocious when he flies after another hummer.  I would also like to ask my cat what he and his “friend” that he “plays” with really think of each other.

What advice would you give pet owners who want to be the best care givers to their furry (or scaly or slimy) companions?

Take time every day to just sit and be present with your pets.  This should be quality, quiet, reflective time in addition to the regular exercise and play time.  Often you will bond more deeply and have a clearer idea about your pet’s needs by doing this.  Make sure to groom your pet and give them massages routinely.  The regular contact with their bodies will allow you to notice a lump, tight muscle or change in mobility earlier.  Take the time to teach them new tricks and try to learn a communication style that enhances your interactions with your pet.  Animals love when we acknowledge their consciousness. The more we invest in them, the more they can feel comfortable to blossom as a living sentient being with a unique personality.

Think about the further reaching implications of all your daily actions.  For example, try to support organic practices to minimize pesticide residues.  Explore non-invasive techniques such as acupuncture, nutrition and physical therapy for your pet, as an option instead of surgery if possible.  Support local businesses that are trying to make conscientious decisions for animals, the land and people.  Never be afraid to get a second or third opinion when it comes to a medical procedure.  Supplement your pet’s diet with fresh, wholesome foods.  If unsure how, get guidance from a vet who enjoys discussing nutrition.

Anything else we should know about you?

I’m just beginning capoeira classes which I am really excited about!

Moksha

Visit Darla Rewer’s Healing Art Website

Learn more about Ancient Arts Veterinary

The post Artist Darla Rewers appeared first on Healing Hamlet.

You can surround it with bigger venues, flashier lights, cars, and other wonderful things, but when all is said and done, all that matters is the music and the time you got to spend with your buddies performing it for anyone that cared enough to listen.

A self taught musician, Dylan Fant, can’t remember a time when his life wasn’t about music.  He had amassed an impressive cassette (remember those?) and CD collection before he even picked up his first set of drumsticks at age 14.  After mastering the drums, he went on to learn guitar, bass, piano, mandolin, banjo and lap steel.  He has written and recorded several songs where he plays every instrument and invites guests to sing vocals.  This collaboration has allowed him to meet and work with a number of gifted singers.  Over ten years ago he formed the band, J Minus, with other talented musicians in the Seattle area.  Shortly afterwards, he started his own recording studio, 1 Shot Studio in Woodinville.  When he’s not producing songs with J Minus or recording at 1 Shot, Dylan is still hard at work creating music in side projects, such as Trading Voices.  Healing Hamlet was able to catch Dylan in a rare free moment to talk about his life in music.

Photo by Jason Hover

Your long list of titles includes musician, songwriter, recording artist and producer.  Your band is called J Minus.  Who is J Minus?  When and how did this band come together?

J Minus is a project that I started back in 02. It was originally just a side project for me, so I could write and produce my own songs while I was drumming for other artists. It became much more after I wrote a particular song called After Midnight.  That’s a long story…you can read it in more detail at my blog.  Now, it is a group of four members (myself, Trevor Wheetman, Chris Mongillo, and Myer Harrell) that bring it to life…although it seems it’s now ready to return to where it began.  One of the members is moving to Nashville and the live side of the project will be put on hold. There are chances that we may meet up for some shows here and there, but for the most part it will be returning to a studio project. I can promise at least 1 more album.

In your band bio, titled “Sideways to the Top”, you describe your band’s work as ”worthwhile in and of itself”, with the mission to “move listeners to laughter and tears with music”.  What have you learned over the last ten years about making a difference in the music world, staying true to your muse and how to measure success?

I have definitely learned a lot during my time with music. I guess the main thing that I stress to the artists I work with today is to just be themselves. Don’t worry about what’s going on around you in the industry. Just do you, it’s the only way you’ll ever be happy with your work and feel the wonderful feeling of expressing yourself. Nothing beats it. You’ll never be able to figure out what other people want to hear, so don’t worry about it. Make something that you want to hear and be proud to share it with whoever wants to listen.

Dylan and Trevor Wheetman

Before J Minus there were other bands and musical endeavors.  Did you always know you wanted a life in music?  What was your journey to get to where you are now?  Who provided inspiration along the way?

I was in a couple projects before I created J Minus. They were the reason I created it though. I wanted something of my own that couldn’t be taken away from me if I grew apart from the other musicians involved, like I had in the past. I was sick of starting over.

In 2003, you officially launched your own recording studio, 1 Shot Studio.  How do you find running your own business in the music industry?

Running the studio is almost as fun as getting to be the artist yourself. I don’t get to spend very much time on my own songs anymore, but I still get endless enjoyment working with and helping all these new artists get their music going. I guide them the best I can using the knowledge that I’ve gained. I give them all everything I’ve got with hopes that they will follow their dreams and be as happy as I am today.

In 2008 you began Trading Voices, a project featuring different female vocalists and supported by local musicians.  Where did the concept for this project originate?  Did you write and produce all of the songs?  What else can you tell us about Trading Voices and the talent involved?

Trading Voices was started because I had a bunch of songs that I love already written for a female vocalist. In 2006, J Minus actually did have a female vocalist in the band, so I was in that mode. It didn’t work out with her, but I didn’t want to just trash the songs. I held on to them for awhile and eventually just started another project with them. It’s been on hold for awhile because of life and work in the studio, but I’ve been gearing up on bringing it back to life and making it my main focus outside of the studio.

You have produced your own music videos, such as Congratulations You Suck.  Claymation and pyrotechnics!  Is making music videos as fun as it looks?

Yes, it is as fun as it looks!….at least for me it is. I love things that take a lot of time and patience to figure out. I worked on that video for 4 months without ever having any background in videography. I am very proud of outcome and proudly display the clay figures in the studio.

In what ways has your family been creative and supportive?

My family is extremely creative and artistic. My mom was a professional artist when I was a child and my dad does cabinetry, but he’s always been very inventive with how he does things. They have supported me 100% on my journey and there’s no way I would be where I am today without their never ending support.

Any hobbies or interests outside of music?

I’ve made my living playing, recording, and producing music for the last 11 years. I don’t really have time for other interests and hobbies because the path that I have chosen takes up all my time just to survive and grow the way that I want to.

Trading Voices with Taylour Chanel

What other artists have you worked with and what people/artists have inspired you?

There are many that have come and gone over the years. I feel like a get a lot of inspiration from the artists I’ve worked with, more so than anyone famous. I get to work with people in the studio that are just trying to find themselves, not fit into a mold and sell records…at least most of the time. Artists that are still chasing their dreams.

If you could record with any artists (dead or alive) who would they be?

I just don’t think in those terms for some reason. I really like the natural flow of meeting new people and seeing what happens. If I don’t know someone, I don’t know if I’d care to work with them. It’s all about personality match for me.

Given unlimited resources and musical talent, what would your dream project be?

I’ve really already done it. I would have liked to tour out further with these guys if we had the money and resources to do so, but it just wasn’t in the cards. Ultimately though, I got to watch my own personal music come to life and play it with 3 other guys that I consider some of my closest friends. You can surround it with bigger venues, flashier lights, cars, and other wonderful things, but when all is said and done, all that matters is the music and the time you got to spend with your buddies performing it for anyone that cared enough to listen.

What’s the best way for us to keep up with your next projects?

Facebook is where I actually do updates nowadays.

Keep up with Dylan Fant on Facebook for J Minus and Trading Voices.

Listen to J Minus on their website or Reverbnation.

Listen to Trading Voices on Reverbnation.

Learn more about 1 Shot Studio.

A Sampling of Dylan Fant’s Music:

The post Music Artist Dylan Fant appeared first on Healing Hamlet.

It wasn’t so much that I decided one day to be a musician, as that I realized over time that I could never not be a musician. I have other passions in life that at times take the front seat, but music will always be there, waiting to evolve into what’s next.

As far back as she can remember Tamara Power-Drutis was performing.  Growing up in the eastern Washington town of Cheney with 2 older brothers, Tamara was drawn to the stage at an early age.  Immersed in school choirs, vocal competitions and musical theater, there was never a time when she wasn’t singing.  Her talent earned her a scholarship to study vocal performance at Pacific Lutheran University where she also received a degree in Political Science.  When not performing or recording, Tamara works as the Communications Coordinator at the Center on Reinventing Public Education and as a vocal coach at the Seattle School of Music.  She also serves on the board of the Young Professionals International Network.  Tamara’s love of music and a deep curiosity in the world around her have inspired and influenced her music projects, including her latest album, Pacificana, which releases on April 24.

Tamara, thank you for talking with Healing Hamlet!  You describe yourself as a world traveler.  Where have you visited?  What brought you to these places and how have your travels influenced your life?

I grew up with stories from my mom of her travels through southern Africain the Peace Corps, so while at PLU I took every opportunity to study abroad. As an undergrad I received a grant to be a research assistant in Lesotho, studied the politics of social change in Namibia and South Africa, and learned about eco-tourism in Costa Rica.  Outside of academia I traveled to Japan for the 64th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Fiji for scuba diver training, Mexico for building houses, Ireland and the UK for Irish traditional music,  Panama for laying in a hammock, and Peru for traveling the “gringo trail.” I’ve come to believe it’s impossible to understand or truly appreciate your own culture until you’ve visited others. Wherever I go I am struck by the beauty, the aromas, the flavors, the rhythm, and the kindness — but also by how happy I am to return to Seattle at the end. I gain perspective, I find inspiration, and for the most part I get to take a step back from my limited view and realize how very small I am.

Your music background includes classical, musical theater, folk, and Irish traditional music.  What was your earliest memory with music and how did your musical journey evolve from there?  Was there a moment when you knew you would pursue a career in music?

Recording Pacificana with Annie Jantzer

My parents joke that I came out of the womb singing, but my earliest memory is of the musical movie Annie. My oldest friend, Anna, and I used to watch Annie once or twice a day and sing at the top of our lungs (my poor older brothers). From then I’ve had an insatiable hunger for music and performance that I can’t shake to this day. In grade school I began singing in my first choir and tried out for my first musical.  I started taking voice lessons and show choir in middle school and began competing in vocal competitions and singing in state and regional choirs in high school.  Then I headed off to study vocal performance at Pacific Lutheran University. But after my first year in college, my trajectory shifted.  Rather than continuing down the classical route toward opera, I joined the A Capella choir and started singing in open mics. Graduation brought an end to any structure in my musical education, so I put more energy into songwriting and performance and began teaching voice lessons myself. It wasn’t so much that I decided one day to be a musician, as that I realized over time that I could never not be a musician. I have other passions in life that at times take the front seat, but music will always be there, waiting to evolve into what’s next.

Do you play any instruments?

I’m primarily a vocalist, however I also play guitar, ukulele, and a bit of piano (though I mainly use piano in teaching now days).

You are a performer, singer, song writer and recording artist.  Which aspects of these are most fulfilling?  What do you find is the most challenging?

If I could only do one thing every day for the rest of my life, I would pick recording. There’s so much magic in developing a song, bringing on musicians, arranging, and seeing it come to life. Although nothing can quite match the excitement of singing in-front of a packed audience backed by a rock orchestra, the creative energy and focus in studio fulfills a deeper desire to create something lasting and wider-reaching.

My greatest challenge is around marketing my work. It’s a difficult but necessary part of being a musician.

As well as performing, writing and recording, you teach voice lessons at the Seattle School of Music.  What is the best advice you give your students?  What is the most important thing they’ve taught you?

As with most skills, the most important component of singing is confidence. You’re better off singing the wrong notes and garbled lyrics with a bold confidence that says “that’s right, I meant to do that” than to sing pitch perfect so timidly that no one will ever hear you. I went to a concert recently where the artist’s music was unimpressive and vocal quality below average, but he owned the stage when he walked out and captivated me with his confidence.  My students have taught me that raw talent can only take you so far. The best vocalists I’ve worked with or known have had to work hard to get there and train continuously. Some of the most naturally talented people come to rely on those natural abilities and don’t develop the same work ethic or practice habit which enable greatness.

You have collaborated with song-writer/producer Dennis Magee Fallon, The Warm Hardies, Phinney Estate and the Seattle Rock Orchestra.  What can you tell us about these opportunities?

Dennis worked with me when I was first experimenting with my own music and creating my first album. He produced the album, but played more of an artist developer in that time period. He continues to be a great sounding board for my endeavors.  The Warm Hardies was my first full band project, so was a great learning experience for what to do — and also what not to do — in band management. We had a lot of fun though, and made a great little EP that I’m still proud of.  Phinney Estate (Rhythm Rose Turner, Robert Power-Drutis, Royal Morris, and Shaunessey Fischer Scott) has been a fun experiment in only playing music I love, when I feel like playing it, and with whom I feel like playing it with. Burn it to the Ground, the EP that came out of that undertaking, was the most fulfilling music I had made up until that point (something I hope to say of every recording project in the future). We came into London Bridge Studio and just played around and enjoyed ourselves and our company without thought to market, audience, or expectation. And the final product was all the better for it. I like to think you can hear that we’re happy in the recording.

As strange as it may sound, I believe that the Seattle Rock Orchestra concept is the future of classical music. The National Endowment of the Arts continues to find that attendance in the classical arts is dropping. Sure, part of that was due to the recession, but ticket sales should have recovered by now. Instead, for whatever reason, society is less interested, and those concerts, orchestras and symphonies are suffering because of it. Yet Seattle Rock Orchestra and its army of talented classical musicians and rock singers are packing the Moore and the Neptune all for the love of music. It’s time for traditional orchestras to evolve, and I think SRO offers a promising option.  I love being a part of this group as it makes the transition into a non-profit and grows from one musician’s dream into a self sustaining organization. As a student studying classical music, I would have loved to have gone to these concerts and gained the answer to the question we all asked: “what can I do with a degree in music performance?” As a teenager I would have killed to be a part of the Seattle Rock Orchestra Summer Intensive.  If I had a million dollars I would invest it all in SRO. But since I don’t (and am still working on paying off my student loans), I’m thrilled to offer my talents in whatever way SRO most needs; be it as a soloist in a concert or recording, a member of the choir (which is currently recruiting), or volunteering at a show or event.

At the end of last year, musical artist, Beck, released a never recorded album of sheet music titled Song Reader. The Seattle Rock Orchestra, with your smooth sounding voice, produced an enchanting version of Old Shanghai.  What was it like to breathe life into the sheet music, record the song and film the video?  

We all loved the Song Reader concept and the thought process behind it. My brother, Rob, and I grew up learning songs out of music books rather than online or listening to a recording. It felt like childhood again to create what you want from sheet music without reference to how another artist had done it. Recording was an adventure at the Columbia City Theater. Scott Teske, Katie Mosehauer, and Ian Williams were whispering advice into my headphones like, “you can be more flirtatious with the melody lines,” ”give it that wistful affection for a place,” or “that was great, now do it totally different.”  Working with Vincenzo Frattarola and Ian Williams on the video was uncomfortable in the best possible way. I’ve never done a music video before, so it was strange to be the forced center of attention. But I’ve got to say, it was a real pleasure to walk in the lobby at the start of the scene with an honor guard of string players. I wish that happened in every room I walk into.

How does it feel to have your voice backed by an entire orchestra?  

Better than sex.

Will this video bring back the boa?

Naturally. We just need about a million more views on YouTube and then I’m sure the trend will take off.

You have a new album, Pacificana, releasing this month.  What can you tell us about it?

For the past few years I’ve wanted to explore and rewrite old public domain music, and this year I received a grant from the Seattle Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs to do just that! I’ve been working with talented artists such as Ian Williams, Emily Westman, Scott Teske, Natalie Hall, Annie Jantzer, my brother Rob, and the unbelievably multi-talented producer Katie Mosehauer to reinvent six early Northwest Americana tunes. I made an effort in song selection to create a picture of early Northwest culture at that time; the values of the pioneers, the politics and stigma between nation groups, the strains on relationships, the role of religion, and so on. There’s a musical component of this project, in taking songs that haven’t been sung or played much– if at all in the last century– and arranging them in a way that is engaging to our modern ears. But there’s also an element of historical context; of telling a story of our Northwest heritage.

Anything else we should know about you?

I love marionberry pie.

Don’t miss the release of Pacificana, songs of early Northwest heritage, 7:30 on April 24^th, at the Chapel at the Good Shepherd Center in Seattle.

Listen to Tamara’s Music on her website.

You can find Tamara Power-Drutis on Reverbnation, Cdbaby, Ourstage and Facebook.

A sampling of Tamara’s songs:

The post Singer and Recording Artist Tamara Power-Drutis appeared first on Healing Hamlet.

Photo by Erik Hinote

The best advice I can give is to never let your rational mind get in your way. If you move forward one step at a time you will likely get where you want to go, and even if you don’t, the journey will teach you much.

The child of two psychiatrists, Naomi Benaron was born in Brookline Massachusetts and raised in Newton, not far from the Boston Marathon course she would complete years later.  Earning degrees from both MIT and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, she worked for many years as a seismologist and geophysicist before deciding to get her MFA in Fiction from Antioch University in Los Angeles.  A self-described gypsy at heart, Naomi has lived in a kibbutz, crewed on charter sailboats, worked on a shrimping boat, and continues to enjoy trips through Europe and East Africa.  She has run marathons and competed in Ironman triathlons and finds training as necessary as breathing and eating.  Naomi’s short story collection, Love Letters from a Fat Man, won the 2006 Sharat Chandra Prize for Fiction and her stories and poems have appeared in numerous literary journals.  Naomi currently lives in Tucson, Arizona, with her husband, Dan Coulter, and their two dogs, Scout and JillyRoo.  When not writing or training, she teaches online courses for the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program and mentors Afghan women in the Afghan Women’s Writing Project.  Her first novel, Running the Rift, won the 2010 Bellwether Prize for Fiction, an award given for literature that addresses issues of social justice.  Naomi took time with Healing Hamlet to talk about the book, the events which brought the story to life, healing from trauma and pushing boundaries.

You are a scientist, an experienced seismologist and geophysicist, and an award winning fiction writer.  Not everyone can claim success in both “left brain” and “right brain” fields.  Which came first for you, your interest in science or storytelling?  Which comes easiest to you?

What came first and what is most deeply rooted in my soul, as it were, is writing. It comes so much more easily than science. Science I have to work at, to beat into my head with a blunt object. I will always love the logic and the dance of things scientific, and this will always be part of my writing, but I could never go back to being a scientist. Solve a differential equation or transform inertia tensors? No thanks.

Your book Running the Rift explores the forces leading up to the horrific 1994 genocide in Rwanda.  You first visited that country in 2002.  How did you come to be there?  When did you know you would tell the story of the boy runner, Jean Patrick Nkuba?

In Rwanda with friends Mark and Pascaline

My first trip to Rwanda came about through a series of coincidences or, as I like to think of it, gentle pushes of fate: Beshert, we say in Yiddish. I had the opportunity to meet a runner from Burundi which I mentioned to my dog trainer, Maureen Odenwald.  Maureen replied that she loved Rwanda and had been invited to the 90^th birthday party of Rosamond Carr, an American ex-pat who had an orphanage for child survivors of the genocide. She said she didn’t want to go alone, so I volunteered to go with her. I began falling in love with the country when I saw it rise up beneath the wings of our plane. I have never stopped falling in love with Rwanda.  That first visit, I went for an early morning walk on the shores of Lake Kivu and found human bones and teeth in the sand. Holding them in my hands, I realized that they were more than bones, they were stories.  If someone didn’t tell the stories, they would be forever lost.  I already knew I was going to write a story about an East African boy (he started out as a swimmer in Burundi).  And so, the story morphed from there and Jean Patrick was born. He rose from the water and began to run.

Since getting to know the country and people of Rwanda, what do you believe are the steps in healing from such incomprehensible trauma?

That is a really difficult question. Paul Kagame, the president of Rwanda, has done a remarkable job, I think, in addressing the root causes of genocide: ignorance and poverty. He has put a great deal of emphasis on education and health care, and he is really working on bringing economic independence to the country through tourism, NGOs and micro-industries.  As an athlete, I am really encouraged by the national teams of Rwanda, in particular their bike team. There are several articles by Philip Gourevitch on reconciliation and in particular about the bike team, and I find them most uplifting. I think when you are training with someone—sweating and suffering and growing—identity becomes more about team than about religion or ethnicity or political party. Seeing the other side of the coin is Jean Hatzfeld in his article Together Again, published in the Paris Review. He is much more pessimistic about healing. I think forgiveness is key. If there is to be healing, it must start with recognition of the transgressions and from there progress toward asking forgiveness.

Your mother lost many family members and loved ones in the Holocaust.  After World War II ended, the United Nations adopted The Genocide Convention to prevent future atrocities.  “Never again” was the global response.  And yet the world has stood by while mass killings have occurred in Bangladesh, East Timor, Cambodia, Guatemala, Bosnia, Rwanda, Darfur…  You are a self-described social activist, choosing “the power of the written word to effect change”.  What do you believe the average human can do to help prevent these atrocities around the world?

Wow! That’s a tough one. I think it starts with recognizing our shared humanity. The first step on the slippery slope to genocide is “othering,” making distinctions between yourself and someone else based on ethnicity, religion, the color of your hat – whatever. Once we start understanding that we all share the same needs and desires, the same wishes for the future, it becomes more difficult to demonize a particular individual or group. And then there is always the option of contributing to good causes, raising awareness of atrocities on a personal level, volunteering for an organization – things like that.  Or you can write an article, a poem, a novel.

Did your experience as a long distance runner help provide the needed discipline to complete a novel?

Photo by Erik Hinote

Absolutely! Training has influenced all aspects of my life in a positive way. Running a marathon or doing an Ironman makes you realize that everything proceeds one step at a time. Although I often lose sight of this, writing a novel proceeds by the same slow process.

Your life thus far has been an example of redefining limits.  You are a marathon runner, an ironman triathlete, a scientist and a poet and fiction writer.  As an American who didn’t live through the atrocities, you were able to pen an authentic fictional account of the Rwandan genocide.  Where do you find the courage and drive to set and achieve the goals in your life?  What advice would you give to those who want to push their own boundaries?

Thank you. Another interesting question! I owe much to my mother who was a rebel and a fighter her whole life.  I just follow her example. I am not a courageous person; in fact, I’m a big chicken. I just make it a point of forcing myself to do things I am terrified of doing. This involves a healthy dose of stupidity, but the result is that I travel to places I would never otherwise get to experience. The best advice I can give is to never let your rational mind get in your way. If you move forward one step at a time you will likely get where you want to go, and even if you don’t, the journey will teach you much.

You teach writing courses through the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program.  What is the most important thing you want your students to learn?

Write from your heart. Tell the story that is beating at the walls of your chest and that needs to find voice.

You mentor Afghan women through the Afghan Women’s Writing Project (AWWP).  What can you tell us about this project and how you got involved?

Photo by Niki Herd

The AWWP  is a project started by journalist and writer Masha Hamilton. It exists to give voice, support, and affirmation to the women of Afghanistan. There are online “classrooms” where these women share work with a mentor with the goal of polishing pieces and posting them in the AWWP journal. (We encourage visitors and comments!) Part of the project is to provide a physical space where the women can meet in safety to exchange work, find inspiration, and get to know each other. The project also attempts to provide computers and thumb drives to as many women as possible. I got involved when I read an article about them in a local journal.

What is your next literary project?

I am writing a novel about three generations of Holocaust survivors: a grandmother who survived Terezín and Auschwitz, her daughter, and her granddaughter. It involves hip hop, art as defiance, and Verdi’s Requiem.

Anything else we should know about you?

My husband, Dan, has been tolerant of my insanity for 25 years. During that time, he has been an anchor and cooked many delicious meals. My dog Scout is a published poet. My dog JillyRoo is happy just being a dog. As for me, my suitcase is always packed.

Learn more about Running the Rift and Naomi Benaron on her website.

The post Author Naomi Benaron appeared first on Healing Hamlet.

For all of us to heal, for the world to heal, for new ideas to emerge, we each need to be who we are. Being who we truly are is an act of bravery that flies in the face of our commodified existence. It is an act of beautiful rebellion…

Lauren Roedy Vaughn was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, but later moved to Honolulu where she lived much of her childhood. She excelled in gymnastics and speech, winning the state championship in the “humorous interpretation” category in 12^th grade. After high school, she attended the University of California in Irvine where she majored in Drama. She earned her Masters in Special Education and Learning Specialist Credential from National University and has been working with students of all ages and abilities for over twenty years. Lauren is a Board Member for the International Dyslexia Association’s Los Angeles branch and was presented with The Walk of Heart’s teaching award in 2005. She is a national trainer for The Jane Schaffer Writing Program, a widely used methodology for how to teach essay writing to students. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Robert, and enjoys yoga and travel. Recently, Lauren focused her attention on the craft of writing. Her first novel, OCD the Dude and Me, releases March 21 and is a Publisher’s Weekly Pick of the Week. Healing Hamlet spoke to Lauren about her new book, its journey and lessons.

Your just released first novel, OCD the Dude and Me, is receiving positive reviews, including a starred review from Kirkus which praises the book as a “rare find” with “characters you’ll never forget”. The main character, Danielle, is a girl struggling to navigate the social challenges of high school with the added complexity of having OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). Why did you feel it was important to tell Danielle’s story?

At the time I was writing the book, I didn’t question why I was writing it. The ideas kept coming and I kept writing them down. The more I wrote, the clearer the voice became. Now I feel that perhaps Danielle’s story is important for teens and adults in order to get a glimpse of how painful it can be to feel different and how it is possible to transform out of that pain.

When did you first meet Danielle?

Tower Bridge Handstand in London

For over twenty years you taught high school students with special learning needs. How do you manage the individual needs of an entire classroom of students?

For many years I was a classroom teacher (now I see students one-to-one in my own private practice), and meeting the needs of each individual student was always the greatest challenge and something I worked very hard to facilitate. First, I made sure I took the time to know each of my students. Working in a relationship with them was important to me. I read their profiles, talked with the student and had them fill out personal and academic inventory questionnaires. I spoke with their parents and former teachers. Also, I was an obsessive lesson planner and enjoyed coming up with creative ideas that would be a good fit for my classes. My students poked a lot of gentle fun at me over my academic enthusiasm, but I will proudly admit that I am a nerd! When starting new lessons, I would teach the whole class first to get a sense of who was tuned in to the ideas being covered and who needed specific guidance. The reactions of the students helped me see where things needed to be tweaked or reworked. Later I’d break the class into small supportive groups, and when students were ready, they would work independently. I tried to be very flexible according to each student’s needs and met with students individually if they wanted extra help. I took it as my personal responsibility to help a student who wasn’t doing well.

What have your students taught you? What can they teach others?

The most important thing my students taught me and teach others is that the world needs all of us, all of our diversity, all of our individual richness of being. We can’t plant just one crop year after year on the same soil; we can’t all hold down the same jobs; it would be drudgery if we all had to wear the same outfit or think the same thoughts or listen to the same music. Viewed in this context, it is easy to see why we must all be our unique selves. But, in practice, it is very challenging to accept the things that make us different or the ways in which we do not fit a celebrated mold of perfection or success. Our everyday lives rarely heap praise upon us for our uniqueness. We usually get a literal or metaphorical slamming for it. But, for all of us to heal, for the world to heal, for new ideas to emerge, we each need to be who we are. Being who we truly are is an act of bravery that flies in the face of our commodified existence. It is an act of beautiful rebellion that I witness year after year with my students. Individuality, by nature, cannot be mass managed, mass produced or mass handled. It is spectacularly messy. My students do not “fit in,” and I love them for that. They are outliers, the people who end up changing systems and expanding concepts because they are the squeaky wheels within established, often outdated and rigid, systems. It is not easy to be this kind of voice. It is not easy to not fit in. But, it is absolutely essential to the evolution of consciousness that people of this kind of extraordinariness exist. I am so blessed to have met each of my students and to have learned these lessons from them.

In a perfect world, what resources would be available to all students in order for every child to reach their potential?

In a perfect world, all children would have at least one adult at school who believed in him/her and could be counted on to be the port in the storm no matter what. Dr. Robert Brooks, author of The Charismatic Advisor, calls this person “a charismatic adult.” I am a strong believer in the power of that support.

How did the cult film, The Big Lebowski, come to be a part of your story?

As the story of OCD, The Dude, and Me began to unfold, it became clear to me that Danielle loved stories (books and movies). She retreated into them for comfort and knowledge, like many young people do. At one point in her story, The Big Lebowski and its lessons about “abiding,” hit a resonant chord with her.

Admittedly, I love The Big Lebowski. Most people who know me are somewhat surprised by this. I am not a bowler, I don’t condone the behavior in the movie, and I am nothing like any of the characters — specifically. Yet generally, I am just like the characters in The Big Lebowski. I’ve had to endure ridiculous situations; I’ve felt lost and frustrated; I’ve become unhinged; I’ve gotten through with support from my friends; and I am learning to abide. Also, this movie just makes me laugh and laugh and laugh, which is one of my most favorite things to do. In this way, it is for me some of the best medicine on the planet. It is for Danielle as well.

The reader learns about Danielle through class assignments, emails, journal entries and letters. Why did you choose this format?

I chose this format for several reasons. First, I thought this format would be one way to reflect Danielle’s OCD. She has to keep everything significant that she writes, and she has to give it the proper home; this is one method she uses to control her environment. Secondly, I thought it would be interesting to explore the ways in which the act of writing can be healing, because it is for me. It is difficult for me to describe what this healing is like so I wanted to see if I could show it through a character’s experience. Finally, I thought it might be interesting to see the evolution of a character as it happened through her writing. She may not be able to articulate how she is changing and growing, but I thought perhaps her writing might reveal it.

How long have you wanted to be a writer?

Abiding in Kauai

Being a writer is not something I consciously sought to become or to define myself as. Since I began school, I always loved to write, and I was one of those strange people who loved to be assigned essays in school. I relished thinking about them, planning them and writing them. In college, I loved helping people develop great thesis statements and analysis for their papers. I am not joking; that was spectacular fun to me. It is no wonder that I became an English teacher; although, I didn’t consciously choose to do that at first. For good or bad, I don’t think I ever had very solid plans for myself. In college, I majored in drama because I loved expressing myself and studying great playwrights and their characters. I don’t think I was a great actor, so my choice of majors was probably not very practical, but I still loved it. It was wonderful for my imagination. I don’t feel like I consciously chose to do any of the things in my life that have turned out to be incredibly meaningful. I feel like they chose me, and I just followed the impulses through. If I hadn’t joined a writers’ group peopled with terrific writers and human beings who encouraged me to get this story published, it probably wouldn’t have happened. I am grateful I had that support. And, I will continue to write because it is something that provides meaning for me. (Even though not everything I write can be a gem. Thank goodness for editors and multiple drafts!)

What writers do you most admire?

I love reading, and I read across a wide variety of genres. I couldn’t possibly list all the writers who have touched me with their work. This list is the tiniest tip of an enormous literary iceberg of writers I feel lucky to have read: David Sedaris, Michael Pollan, Marianne Williamson, Anne Lamott, John Irving, Maurice Sendak, Judy Blume, Sherman Alexi, Louis Sachar, Stephen King, Kurt Vonnegut, James Hollis, Arthur Miller, William Shakespeare… I’ve just started, but I will leave it at that for semi-brevity sake.

What is your next literary project?

I am writing another young adult novel centering around the themes of social class and identity. I guess this is the genre that has chosen me and I am grateful. I hope I can honor young adults in the fullest way with whatever I write. I admire teens for their energy, insights and passions. Teenagers are both idealistic and not easily fooled. I love that combination about them.

Cheering for the Team

The Dude in The Big Lebowski is an avid bowler. Who would you choose to be on your dream bowling team?

My dream bowling team (after much thought) is Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Tom Petty, Sara Vowell, and Eddie Izzard. I would learn so much from them, laugh a lot and be entertained, while we all drank some “oat sodas”…even though I don’t really like beer…this is a dream, after all.

Anything else we should know about you?

Thank you for asking me all these questions. I loved reflecting on every one of them. A memory rose in me as I worked on these and it was lovely to experience it: When I was in junior high school in Hawaii, I had a friend who was my neighbor. We would call each other up on summer days and ask the other to come over and play. What we would often do is just share space in each other’s living rooms while we each read separate books. After hours and hours of silently reading together, the visiting friend would just get up and go home for dinner. . (I know, I know, I lived in Hawaii and should have been at the beach; I did that, too!) We barely spoke, but I will always remember how we shared this very meaningful space together because we were united through the world of stories.

Lauren, congratulations and thank you for your book, OCD, The Dude and Me!

Visit Goodreads to purchase OCD, The Dude and Me from your favorite book store.

Learn more about Lauren Roedy Vaughn on her website.

The post Author Lauren Roedy Vaughn appeared first on Healing Hamlet.

I approach my music as if it is my only option. A lot of the time, I truly believe it is. Music makes people happy! I love making people happy! Just getting some sort of idea or message out there is really something. In the end, it is the bigger picture that drives me. I just want to make some sort of mark. I don’t care how important or relevant it is. I don’t care if it is understood or embraced. I guess I just want to leave something behind.

John Thornburg and his brother Russ, along with neighborhood friend Alex Addams, formed the band JAR in 2007 when they were only 14 and 10 years of age. JAR’s founding brothers were raised outside of Seattle, Washington by two music enthusiast parents who recognized and supported their talents at an early age. Their father, Doug Thornburg, a fire fighter, and their mother, Colleen Thornburg, a vocational specialist, ensured their sons received music training and got to their gigs on time. Fast forward to 2013 and the band, now christened JAR of Rain, and with the talent of bassist Julio Posada replacing Alex Addams, has established a loyal following in the Seattle area and is emerging into the broader Alternative Rock scene with the release of their first professionally recorded album, Humans. John Thornburg agreed to talk about the journey with Healing Hamlet.

John, thanks for speaking with Healing Hamlet! Is the band officially JAR or Jar of Rain?

Good question! This subject is quite hazy for everyone. By law, we are officially Jar of Rain, but we do tend to go by JAR for short because it sticks better.

John Thornburg on drums

At the age of 14, you formed JAR with your younger brother, Russ, and neighborhood friend, Alex Addams. When did you first know that music was your passion?

I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t completely obsessed with music. My parents tell me that I became strangely fixated with Jim Morrison of The Doors at the age of 2. I would learn all of the lyrics and scream them at the top of my lungs in private and in public, which was kind of funny because a lot of their lyrics tend to be quite vivid and controversial! The pivotal circumstance for me was seeing my first arena rock show. It was August of 2004 and Incubus was headlining at the Key Arena. I had this cathartic felling of “Wow…I am not going to be satisfied until I am up on that stage”. I still feel that same magnetic feeling today.

You play guitar as well as drums. Were drums your first instrument? Any other instruments you play?

Well, I don’t really consider myself much of a guitar player, but thank you non-the-less! I write a lot of music on the guitar but I am not 100% comfortable with my ability yet. I have played acoustic guitar in our sets for awhile now and it has always been a goal of mine to strike up the confidence and play electric guitar on stage! Drums were my first official instrument, yes. For many years, I took drum and vocal lessons from Steve and Kristy Smith of The Seattle Drum School. From time to time, I train my voice with instruction from Susan Carr. I can fake the bass guitar. I have written on the piano as well.

You write most of the band’s lyrics. Where do they come from?

It’s very hard to say most of the time. Despite how most people see me, I am extremely shy. I tend to keep to myself a lot. My emotions are kept very close to me and often go unexpressed. I always like to think that my lyrics are my way of saying what I am too afraid to say in real life. Usually they are uncensored and even sometimes uncomfortable for me to sing. Many people don’t seem to understand that. Therefore, I take my writing and our songs extremely seriously.

Russ Thornburg catching air

You and your brother, Russ, have grown up sharing the same passion and are now reaching milestones together. How would you describe your relationship?

Oh man he is such a jerk! Ha ha…Our relationship is great. We never ever argue when it comes to music. We have what I like to call “passionate discussions”. Both of us want to create something beautiful or exciting, but sometimes bringing an idea to a final destination is tough. I have come to find that we really complement each other, almost like checks and balances in the government. I don’t let him get carried away, and he makes sure that I am brave enough to try new things.

Julio Posada replaced Alex Addams as the bassist for Jar of Rain. How did that come about?

Back in 2009, right around the time I decided to take a break from playing music, I was invited to host a weekly jam night at Oddfellows Bar and Grill in Redmond. This opportunity couldn’t have come at a better time in my life. The jam night allowed Russ and I to play music on a regular basis and because of the occasional poor attendance, we were able to experiment with some of our new material in front of an audience. This is when I decided to try singing for the first time. Week in and week out, jammers would come and go. This is when our good friend, Julio Posada, began to show up at the jams. Julio was the only jammer that came out every single week! At the time, Julio had been playing the bass for a tender month or so and was extremely shy to get up and perform. His attendance consistency surprised us. When the jam nights came to an end, Russ and I were once again left without a musical project. We wanted to put a band together with me as the lead singer, but we needed a bass player that fit. We began to try out musicians. Everyone we tried out was very talented, but didn’t fit in with the vision we had. Then it hit us… Julio Posada!

Julio Posada

I had always been drawn to Julio because of his personality. That is exactly what Russ and I were looking for. A band member with an amazing amount of heart. A band member who we felt close to. A band member who was kind natured and willing to try new things. Everything pointed to Julio. Once we brought him into the band, his bass playing grew with leaps and bounds.

How would you describe the dynamics of your band? How does each member contribute toward the final result?

It is an absolute blessing that I can be in a band with my brother, and one of my dearest friends. Russ and I have been writing together for several years now. Julio is such a joy to work with that I almost can’t describe it. Usually Russ will have a riff idea. Then Julio comes in with his very unique style of bass playing and anchors the song. Then I finish things out with my lyrics and vocal melodies. Sometimes I help with arranging ideas and chords. It is usually very hard for me to put into words what I hear in my head, so I will usually sing a progression or an idea, then Russ plays it exactly how I imagined it.

Last spring, Jar of Rain produced its first professionally recorded album, Humans. How did this come about?

Humans

We all thought that it was time to really dig in and strive to make a professionally engineered and mastered record. At the time, we were at our 2 year mark in the band. To me, Humans represents JAR in its earliest stage. I think it is a good snapshot of where we were at the time as musicians and people.

What local opportunities are there for teens trying to find their voice in the business?

The Seattle scene is absolutely teeming with incredible musicians and supporters. That is why me and my good friend, Sawyer Thompson of Fringe Shift are starting an internet talk show called Line In – An Interactive View into the Hearts and Minds of Local Musicians. We are hoping that this will help strengthen the relationships between bands in the greater Seattle area. I think there will always be amazing opportunities for teens in the business! There are many great showcases and competitions held by venues like The Redmond Fire House, KTUB, The Lab, Studio Seven and The Crocodile!

You provide an entertaining stage presence while singing lead vocals and playing drums: not an easy task. What is it like for you on stage? What stage performers do you admire?

Thank you very much! Playing a show is very physically taxing. I try hard to play the drums with the same amount of passion that I sing with and vise versa. I admire so many performers. The list is too many to mention! Sawyer Thompson and Fringe Shift. Pat Moon and Shotty. The Neighborhood Ruckus. Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins, Adam Duritz from Counting Crows, and on and on and on…

You’ve worked toward your dreams since childhood. What drives you?

It is hard to say. It is what it is. I approach my music as if it is my only option. A lot of the time, I truly believe it is. Music makes people happy! I love making people happy! Just getting some sort of idea or message out there is really something. In the end, it is the bigger picture that drives me. I just want to make some sort of mark. I don’t care how important or relevant it is. I don’t care if it is understood or embraced. I guess I just want to leave something behind.

In the song Clever Lullaby, you sing “Music made me. Music saved me.” Does this describe how you feel about music in your life?

Oh yes. I take a lot of solace in writing music. I think many people feel this way about art in general. Musicians and listeners can use art as a crutch. I want to make a damn crutch!

Who would you most like to play onstage with?

Jim Morrison, Jeff Buckley, Nick Drake, John Bonham, Kurt Cobain or Elliot Smith! And among the still living: Counting Crows, The Smashing Pumpkins, Wilco, Neko Case, Dave Grohl, Chocolate Genius, Incubus, Neil Young, Paul McCartney, Steven Wilson…so many …..

What do you do when you’re not with JAR?

I am currently enrolled in Edmonds Community College and working as a para-ed substitute teacher in the Edmonds School District. I also teach music lessons at Spotlight Studios. My interests include music, music, eating, music, sleeping and… music!

Find JAR on Facebook.

Listen to Jar of Rain on Youtube, Soundcloud and Reverbnation.

Don’t miss JAR this Saturday at the Mirkwood and next Tuesday at the Nectar Lounge.

Purchase music from Jar of Rain on Itunes.

The post John Thornburg of JAR appeared first on Healing Hamlet.

When I view my favorite works I experience wonder anew each time. How wonderful, how creative, how amazing, how incredible, that this piece has come from someone’s imagination, through their mind and hands, and into reality.

Keith Maddy was raised in Pembroke, Massachusetts as the last of 7 children.  His mother’s side of the family is Italian and his father was of English, Scottish and German roots.  Growing up in a working class family, Keith held various jobs since the age of 12, including paper boy, baby sitter, dish washer, bus boy, waiter, and night loader for the toy store, Child World.  After graduating high school in 1982, he attended Blackburn College in Carlinville, Illinois, as a theater major.  An international study semester in Mexico City peaked his interest in studying abroad and he transferred to the American University in London.  He worked, travelled and studied in Europe for 2 years before returning to the States.  Settling near Boston, he paid the bills working as a bike messenger while experimenting with collage making.  With a varied artistic background and a strong portfolio of collages, he applied to Massachusetts College of Art and Design and was accepted, graduating in 1994 with a BFA with distinction.

Keith Maddy currently resides in Back Bay where he enjoys spending time with family and friends.  As soon as the season allows, you can find him swimming in the ocean or at the celebrated and sacred Walden Pond.  Keith creates and teaches at Vernon Street Studios in Somerville.  He is represented by The Schoolhouse Gallery and The Drawing Project at Carroll and Sons Gallery.

Keith, thank you for sharing your story with Healing Hamlet.  When did you first know you wanted to be an artist?

Growing up I was always very different from my siblings, a true artistic sort – very sensitive, loved to color, and played the clarinet.  I got involved in theater, both in high school and community theater (Duxbury Players). I was also very influenced and energized by the emergence of punk and new wave music – the new sounds, the clothes, the theatrics.  My favorite bands were the B-52′s, Nina Hagen, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Devo and Lene Lovich.  After London, I started making collages from magazines. My first show was at Trident Bookseller Café.  Applying to MCA was a big step in embracing it more seriously.

Not everyone who loves to create can make a living doing it. How do you make it work? What advice would you give someone who wants to be an artist?

After graduating MCA, I always had to have another source of income to pay my bills as my art income fluctuated every year. I’ve worked retail management, art modeling, organic farm manager, office manager and quality control supervisor with the US Census Bureau 2010. After getting layed off at the USCB, I went back to school to become a licensed Massage Therapist with the intention of doing that 1/2 time and my art 1/2 time. Being new to the field and building clientele, I currently work as a LMT full time and am in my studio part time. Not what I had planned, but in the near future I anticipate reshifting the balance more equally.  Most artists I know are in the same boat. Many artists teach in order to supplement their art income. Other artists I know work in museums or galleries. In any case, it’s a long road of persistence and the belief in oneself and one’s art, regardless of the perceived value of success via sales, shows and acknowledgment. There are many ways to be an artist. Follow and be true to your own path and vision.

You work primarily with collage and mixed media. How did this become your creative focus? What draws you to this form of art?

Collage was the foundation of my work and portfolio that got me into MCA. I enjoy the tactile quality of working with various materials and transforming or incorporating common materials into works of art. Vintage materials have a certain nostalgic feel and patina that I am attracted to and serve as a sounding board. I believe I’ve unconsciously stored colors, patterns and shapes from my childhood that I continue to draw upon.

Your pieces begin with various, often vintage, materials (textiles, wallpaper, books…), and become something separate but connected to their original elements. Where do you see yourself in the process? Is it the artist that guides the materials or the other way around?

I definitely believe I guide my materials, which I choose for texture, color, line, content, pattern and often knowing, through experience, how they will work (adhere, tear, relate).  Though they all have their own unique “essence”, it is up to me to coordinate seemingly disparate elements into something harmonious, like a poem of sorts.

What is the most important thing you want to pass on to your students?

I want my students to SEE, embrace and develop their own unique style.

What do you hope people experience when they view your work?

I really hope people experience joy when they view my work. It is serious work for me, but it is playful and happy work.

What do you experience when you view your favorite works or discover something new in the art world?

When I view my favorite works I experience wonder anew each time. How wonderful, how creative, how amazing, how incredible, that this piece has come from someone’s imagination, through their mind and hands, and into reality.

What inspires you?

Patterns in nature: water, rain, ripples, reflections, heart beats, sun rays, sun spots…

Projects you plan or hope to do in the future?

I’ve always switched between working very small and fairly large. I would love to work larger, much larger. I’ve always dreamed about creating works on billboards. Either creating a piece for a billboard or working on a billboard that was weathered and peeling.

Where would you spend your dream vacation?

Hmmm….. small tropical island, no tourists, lots of locals, fresh fish and fruits, hot sun, big white clouds, cool blue calm clear ocean, warm nights, sounds of insects.  My bucket list includes New Zealand, Portugal, Newfoundland and Iceland.

Anything else we should know about you?

I love my new career in Massage Therapy. I specifically chose it as a spiritually complimentary career path to my art work. One of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had since studying massage therapy was volunteering at Hebrew Rehab in Roslindale.  I would go every Sunday morning for about 2 hours to give hand massages to mostly elderly women recuperating from surgery. They loved it and what I got back was immeasurable.

Learn more about Keith Maddy on his website.

View his works at The Schoolhouse Gallery and in the Boston Drawing Project at Carroll and Sons Gallery.

Visit Keith’s studio during the Somerville Vernon Street Open Studios coming up on
May 4 & 5.

Don’t miss his collage workshop at the Provincetown Art Association and Museum this summer during the week of July 4th.

The post Artist Keith Maddy appeared first on Healing Hamlet.

In my experience, every kid under age ten is fearless. As they gradually get older, they start looking over their shoulder and start worrying what other people think. I believe I have a strong connection to children because the same things appeal to us: Spiral-horned, winged Cheetalopes are awesome!

Mike O’Day discovered his love of drawing and creating as a child growing up in St. Louis, Missouri.  After receiving his Associates degree in Ad Design/Commercial Art, he worked at two different ad agencies in St. Louis before moving with his wife to California 1989.  For two years he worked at Olvera Street, a Mexican marketplace in Los Angeles, drawing caricatures.  When his first son was born, he took on the role of stay-at-home dad while doing freelance illustrating jobs.  In 1994, the family relocated near Seattle where Mike cared for his young son while juggling freelancing and remodeling their newly purchased home.  After a second son was born in 1996, he found himself involved in his oldest child’s cooperative K-8 elementary school.  He began teaching art classes, a job he enjoyed for six more years.  In 2004 he discovered ceramics and joined the Sculptors Workshop in Edmonds.  Two years later he won Best In Show for his sculpture, Red Plant Man, at the Edmonds Arts Festival.

Mike resides in Edmonds with his wife, Christine, and two sons, Dylan and Rory, where he keeps active in the local artist community.  He is a member of Artists Connect in Edmonds and NCECA (The National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts).  His sculptures can be found at the Hanson Scott Gallery in Seattle’s Pioneer Square, Artspot in Edmonds, and The Gallery at Town Center in Lake Forest Park.

Leer of the Dragon

I joined Sculptors Workshop in Edmonds when a friend, who was also a parent at my children’s school, invited me to the studio to paint a platter for the school auction. I never had an opportunity to work with clay, and I was immediately drawn to it. Being able to model all the creations in my sketch book in three dimensions was a total blast. There was something about modeling and carving clay that instantly appealed to me.

Many of your pieces possess a youthful spirit, full of whimsy, humor and the promise of adventure.  Has raising two sons and teaching art to children helped you stay connected with your “inner child”?

Working on projects with my kids and teaching children is energizing. Young kids are fearless, enthusiastic, and extremely creative. Picasso’s quote: “All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up” is very true. In my experience, every kid under age ten is fearless. As they gradually get older, they start looking over their shoulder and start worrying what other people think. I believe I have a strong connection to children because the same things appeal to us: Spiral-horned, winged Cheetalopes are awesome!

Crouching Cheetalope

Funding for art in schools is often sacrificed when resources are stretched.  As an artist and a teacher, how have you seen art to be instrumental in the health and well being of children?

Having a creative outlet for kids is vital. With the current stress on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) education right now, right-brain kids need art to feel successful and valued.

Was there a time when you considered doing something else?  What would you be doing today if you weren’t an artist?

Not really. Once I was hired doing creative work, I didn’t want to turn back. If I wasn’t an artist…I dunno.

When one of your students tells you he wants to be an artist, what advice do you give him?

Get a sketchbook, fill it up, and buy another one. Keep working, be persistent and curious, and be open to all forms of art, and you will gradually find your voice. Oh yeah, don’t expect to drive a nice car.

Your sculptures range from fantastical creatures with horns, tails, wings and toothy grins, to simple human forms.  Every piece has its own personality and voice.  Do your sculptures speak to you?

As a matter of fact, they do:

Your mosaic work might be described as more elegant than whimsical.  How is mosaic work different for you than creating sculptures?  Where can we see your mosaics?

My mosaic work started with remodeling the house. After I remodeled the first bathroom with tile, I decided a tile saw would come in handy for the more complex projects in the future. I had no idea that it would lead to two more bathrooms, the entryway, the landing, two fireplaces, a support pole, and the kitchen and downstairs bar. Mosaic work can be very relaxing and therapeutic, but can also turn into long term ventures that can take months to complete. Luckily, my wife Chris enjoys the breaking, nipping and placing of tile as much as I do. All of the projects in our house were completed together. I designed them and created any ceramic pieces involved, and together we gradually complete the mosaic work. The experience led to the production of ceramic murals for local businesses and schools.

Five Peepers

Who are some of your favorite artists?

Dr. Seuss, Antonin Gaudi, Dale Chihuly, Maurice Sendak, songwriters such as John Prine, animators like Nick Park, directors such as Tim Burton. Recently, I’ve been following artists on Facebook. For example, there’s an obscure Russian artist by the name of Arseniy Lapin that makes odd, colorful folk art animals, and plays in an amateur Blues band. It’s unbelievable how much access we have to other people’s work on the internet! But it can be dangerous – you just want to look all day.

Favorite person (dead or alive) you wish you could meet?

Picasso, but with the temperament of Ted Geisel (Dr. Seuss).

Where would you like to see yourself in ten years?

Barcelona, checking out Gaudi’s work (hopefully sooner!)

Mike, thank you for sharing your story with us.  We look forward to seeing more of your work in the future!

Phineas Finch

Learn more about Mike O’Day on his website.

View more art by Mike at the Hanson Scott Gallery, Artspot and The Gallery at Town Center

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