Recently, wandering the urban forest, I espied a patch of colour. Turning the corner, a stunning autumn hued tarn with hikers appeared.
Instantly, I thought of Lauren Scott, and her love of country hiking. The next thought was “Isn’t she writing a children’s book? It must be almost finished.”
Well, I asked her. Turns out YES! Cora’s Quest is just released! As we are having an endless postal strike in Canada, I purchased the EBook.
The Blurb
Cora is a curious fawn who loves spending time with her parents. On one beautiful day, they stroll deep into the wilderness. They trot along on the trails, and Cora finds other animals fascinating. They skitter and fly around her with joyful purpose. Every unique sound catches her attention, stirring her curiosity to discover just where that sound came from. But suddenly her delightful family day takes a turn that begins to test the courage inside of her…
I know Lauren is unhappy with how the Ebook formatting came out. She got one from amazon. I got mine from Kobo. Yes, it is not perfect, but it’s all there.
Geared to 2- 5 year old children, this sweet and loving story, complete with enchanting illustrations by Chris Mendez, is the type of book a child might want to hold, carry around or even take to bed.
In this 9th & last post showcasing The Painted House, we finish viewing the exterior. The east side begins with this gorgeous bird.
Then a cool head,
…..leads to a flower with an eye, then continues in Slide Show below.
The flower with eye is before April Showers,
..which is seen far right, then chicken w/head & mushroom cap cat.
Then a diver with Endangered Species, odd guy & fish w/face in stomach..
The guy of ?
Sunflower women is next to the entrance,
..guarded by thistle head?
I adore the Sunflower Woman.
Enter the backyard by Thistle Head, to find a floral back wall w/skeleton. Note the dog door on far left! This is the entrance to the house, and appeared in Kitchen segment.
The Backyard has its own post. Then we come around to the west side of the house, in Slide Show.
West side.
Colourful face (sun came out!)
An Elicser character offers…
Colourful Face some grapes.
The final image is a tropical scene.
A painted walkway,
..leads us out the front gate. Bye, bye Painted House! You were a lot of fun.
Pics taken by Resa – August 11, 2024
Toronto, Canada
Artists, in order of appearance:
@life_inthestreets
@bkez
@oblsk1
@mac.the.maker
SOWL
@whatismorty
Anika Becker
@nixostreetart
To view all Painted House Posts, Click on the Doors Face on the Sidebar
In this second last post of the Painted House, we look at the remainder of the interior.
Main Floor
Bathroom
This is a difficult painting to capture, as the bathroom was about 5′ wide, tops.
I used the zoom-out feature to shoot it.
……which accounts for most of the distortion seen in the slideshow.
Dining Room
Living Room
The art was painted over wall paper in the living room. In a couple of pieces, the art was integrated with the wall paper, as seen in. the slideshow.
Second Floor
Bedrooms
This was a Jackson Pollack + (sort of) all over paint with installation. This is a tiny room, and the most popular with the kids.
“Put that back! Don’t touch that! I want this! No, it’s part of the art! Waaaaaa!, Don’t go there! I want the bear! Put the bear back!,etc.”
Not a guy, part of the art.
I got out of that room fast, but not before I nabbed a shot of me in the splattered mirror.
The master bedroom was done in faux stained glass effect, and partly shown in in the post September of The Painted House series. The third bedroom was featured in Bedroom of TPH series
All 8 (9th coming soon) of The Painted House posts are easily available to view by clicking on the diptych doors art, second from the top on the sidebar.
Then again, I have read a bit about Artemis, and almost nothing about Diana.
This piece is 3 years old.
I’m crazy about it.
The abstract background is killer.
Artemis or Diana – In the end I see an amazing Power Woman.
BONUS
Recently Dan Anton over at No Facilities posted a series on his visit to the Heinz Museum, in Pittsburg.
A Woman’s Place (the name being grist for the mill) is one of the exhibits. Fabulous and important women of Pittsburg featured in the exhibit are: Mary Schenley, Nellie Bly and Ava Duvernay.
Other notable women of Pittsburg include: Mary Cassatt, Martha Graham, Gertrude Stein, Mary Dee Dudley and Mary Cardwell Dawson.
These roses have been drawn. Unlike real roses, their image will never die. They will wait for us, forever.
Curtia Wright
Much is to be gleaned, at the foot of a grave; more than you know. Roberta Eaton Cheadle takes us to more than one place of eternal rest. She has fifteen tales for us to learn from.
Be it an icy death, in a cold cruel world of the future,
Sumartist
…. or a legend fraught from old wives’ tales, where tables turn in the wretched pit of a spider’s lair, should we be afraid?
Resa – Robbie, in And the Grave Awaits, Whether you have built a story from an old legend or an actual happening, there is something to be gleaned from each: a moral, life lesson or historical fact.
In other books, IE: Lion Scream, your sublime poetry (accompanied by brilliant photography)is filled with nature’s beauty, although animals and environment might cry out.
“A Ghost and his Gold” shows the horror and senselessness of war. Yet, reveals a better nature of man, through its riveting story .
All the while you are teaching about the Boer War.
Your children’s books teach about many things, and are a positive energy.
WHAT DRIVES YOU TO DO THE GOOD WORK?
Robbie – Your question is an interesting one. I am a sensitive person and I see a lot of things that make me feel saddened. On the other hand, I am a very positive person and I usually manage to find the silver lining in life. I think both of these aspects of my personality, the seeing and the positivity, come through in my writing.
I love to share information, photographs, and interesting bits and pieces with other people. It promotes conversations and ignites new thought processes and ideas.
Fondant spider made by Robbie
I think this love of sharing knowledge also comes through in my writing.
I especially like to teach children.
They are so eager to learn and discover.
Beehive cake art made by Robbie
Resa – From what age through adult do you think And the Grave Awaits is cool to read?
Robbie – And the Grave Awaitsis for adults, 18 years and upwards.
Resa – I had to ask because so many movies that are extremely violent and sexually suggestive are rated 14+ these days. When I was a kid, those same movies would have been restricted to 18+ , and we would have to show ID to get into the theatre.
Video games can be wildly violent, sexually suggestive, and seem to have very little parental oversight. This book seems mild compared to the games and movies I am referencing. I hope you don’t think I’m silly for asking. It occurred to me out of the blue, while working on the post.
Robbie– It is a thought provoking question and one I found a little difficult to answer. I listed this book on Amazon as a ‘normal’ adult book. No explicit sex obviously, and not overly dark compared to other books.
South Africa is still a conservative society, but it’s what I know and what I use as a benchmark. My aim with this book was to make people think about historical events and the reasons behind them. My purpose is to remind people what can happen if we don’t retain the human rights our ancestors fought for. People quickly forget the past and don’t know how easily rights can be undermined to the detriment of the ordinary person.
I don’t consider it to be a YA book, although teens could read it, because the characters are not teens. My understanding from what I’ve read is its the age of the characters rather than the content per say, that separates YA and adult.
Resa – I really appreciate your thoughtfulness on this topic. I have read a lot of your books, and have become a huge fan, because of your intrepid stance on what you convey through all of your artistic endeavours.
Following is a selection of street art. As in the first images of this post and in the cake and fondant art of Robbie’s, each image represents a tale in And the Grave Awaits.
Shalak Attack
Mandy van Leeuwen
The Half Decent
Nick Sweetman
If you’ve read the book and can’t figure what an image could represent, just ask in comments. If you haven’t read the book, you’ll have to read it to figure them out!
Robbie is a prolific writer. You can find her books on Amazon sites around the globe. Just search “Robbie Cheadle” for children and youth books – “Roberta Eaton Cheadle” for adult books.
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