adventure girl on the road

2008-02-19T05:05:00.000-08:00

Hola

Newly returned from some time in Mexico, where I met a lot of wonderful people, made some freinds and practiced yoga at Elements of the Island. Everyone was patient with my Spanish, the ocean was warm, the seafood was fresh; all part of the restorative process to keep me healthy and creatively productive.
Now I am looking forward to Hawaii, I know that winter is on the wane. We made it!
So time to update . Lets see, I think I signed off in December, so much has happened since then. Had an inspiring holiday, the New Year came, full of promise, peace and electricity.

There is a new addition to our family. Say hello to Fig

Born to a stray Momcat he was my Christmas gift to myself. He is a terrror, ruling the roost with his double paws and his big gold eyes. He sits next to my computer in his African basket which he has now outgrown but doesn't seem to notice. He still climbs in everyday. Spilling out onto his little cat head everytime he nods off. Such a goofball...

The book I was taking to Scholastic was sold. Look for it August 2009. Here is a sneak peek.

next month we are working on the companion book "Ten Little Monsters" My daughter Adrian has the music sewn up, as this series of books include a CD with the song written by both of us, recorded by her. How lucky am I to be working with my daughter and my father?
I am off to NY AGAIN with another book, the Ant and the Grasshopper, a tribute to musicians....here is the ant isn't she gorgeous?
Festival is looming for my theater kids and we are on the home stretch. Look for photos here next month. The other day I received an offer to teach an Adventure Girls workshop in California and I had to stop and laugh. 9 months ago I couldn't give myself away. Personally, professionally, I couldn't give myself away. Sadly that is what I had been doing. It wasn't until I began to truly value myself and my place in the world that change began to manifest. And when it came it was with such a speed and a furious roar that my ears are still ringing, and I thank the universe every morning for all that has been offered to me. The biggest gift has been the ability to receive gracefully. Yay.
A lesson hard learned ladies. Value yourself or no one else can. See you soon with updates on where I've been and where I'm going.
Next post Hawaii....5 women of all ages, adventure girls all. There will definitely be stories to tell. Until then, take chances, be alert for opportunity, and breathe deep.

2007-12-06T06:46:00.001-08:00

Hello from the snowy east coast!

This is going to be my attempt catch up before I sign off for awhile. As some of you know, things have changed quite a bit here at Adventure Girls Books. I have taken a hiatus from producing Adventure Girl books. We had several losses here in partners and I was unable to continue creating and producing on my own. I wore myself out on the road and tried to keep things going on my own but I have conceded that I just don't want to do it anymore, this way. Take heart, this does not mean that Adventure Girl books are done- just resting. Like me.
I learned a lot. I learned that if you don't listen when your body tells you to slow down, if you don't listen when your creativity slips away, if you don't learn how to say NO, then you will be made to rest one way or another. I had lost the joy. And if you're not happy doing what you're doing you need to clear things out and take a good look around. I am not advocating quitting anything and I have not quit here, just taking some time away to refresh and renew... "reclaim", someone said to me - and I am.
After months of resting and introspection, I slowly began to bloom again.
During the summer I did some paintings as a way to lift some of the emotions I was dealing with. They are now hanging in a coffee shop/gallery in Boston and are on their way to another gallery then on to merchandising, I have my first order for some t-shirts and who knows where this will end up but it makes me laugh to look at them and apparently they make other people laugh as well and the burden gets a little lighter. In a collaborative effort with my father I began doing much looser, funky illustrations which resulted in two new childrens picture books, ( 6 more on the way!). When I went to NY, in a very serendipitous experience I sold these books to Roaring Brook Press. I am thrilled to be working with this fine publishing house and very happy to have found an editor again, the esteemed Neal Porter.
And in honoring things I love and do well, I have returned most happily to working with the Traip Academy Dramatics Arts group, and my friend Nathan DuClos their intrepid director. We just had our first performance of the year, after the holidays we attempt "Festival" in which area schools compete with 40 minute productions, a fascinating and rewarding endeavor. Whether they like it or not, here are the actors I have the pleasure of working with.
As I approach the new year, I take with me all the new friends I have made and all the things I have learned and I know that the rest of my time here is full of possibility. Someone who left my life this year, wished me success "however I defined that" and I realized in a moment what that meant to me. I have loved well, with an open heart and am loved well in return, and that, to me, is success. The fact that I continue to do work that matters, to me and to others, is icing on the cake. And aren't I lucky? I look forward and see the road stretching out before me, taking me to Hawaii, Ireland, France, back to NY and New Orleans and who knows where else this year? I will sign off for now, but know that I am thinking of all of you and know that I will be back, better, wilder, and more full of life - ready for more adventures. Check back with www.adventuregirlbooks.com which I promise to update after the New Year.

Go out there girls and make a joyful noise...

Update: I just found out that I have a 4 book contract with Roaring Brook Press! I am now off to NY again to meet with Scholastic about 2 more books....looks like a lot of new stuff in 2008. Next it will be time to find a new family for Adventure Girls. Yaaay! Stay warm out there. R.

2007-11-18T12:54:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone.

Thanks for all who have asked for an update on where I've been and new projects. I promise that I will post here. right now this Adventure Girl is off to the big city- NY - show off my newest project. New books I have been working on with my father (see links page on website.) I know my website is woefully in need of updating as well, and again I promise I will get to it. I came back from Louisiana to a very busy schedule and it looks like it will stay that way through the holidays, but I will do my best.
On the road again...check back soon.

2007-11-12T05:07:00.000-08:00

Back from Louisiana, for all who have been asking, it was a very interesting trip. Made a couple of really good friends, the people were warm and welcoming Adventure Girls Book one was a big hit. I don't have my photos yet so I will post more later.
But an observation- we are all more alike than we are different and when facing adversity we all bear the same burden. How to move forward, how to first survive and then thrive, without it (the thing...) becoming who you are.

Be well everyone - yes I am still percolating with new growth and I will be back with more details.

2007-11-01T04:26:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been off this blog for quite awhile. Let's update....last time I wrote I was on my way to an eco island off the coast of South Carolina for a little R&R. What a delight. Quiet, warm and peaceful what more could you ask? An amazing house high in the trees, most luxurious tree house ever! I was able to walk miles and miles of beach every day, never seeing another human being. I encountered lots of wildlife. Early morning walks around the island were peppered with lots of alligator slithering tracks...I chose not to pursue them at night when they roam. There are no cars on the island only whispery little golf carts which enable you to sneak up on them IF you wanted to.
There were a lot of snakes- zillions of birds, wild calls that began at dawn and continued until sunset. Racoons here are very different from those at home. Much thinner and their fur is a deep reddish color,this guy is having oysters for breakfast!
I tussled with the crabs and hoped for a crab dinner but they were far more clever than I and made off with several chicken necks before I gave up. It was lovely to sit silently on a small dock in the marshes and match wits with them though. Sandollars and oysters were plentiful. A great adventure! It would have been wonderful to stay for a month,( I became so attached to the screen porch that I will never live in another house without one...) but my schedule did not allow, so after a very short week I came back to New England and entered a very different phase of my life. I'll tell the story of this new phase in my next post. I am getting ready to hit the road again, off to Louisiana to bring some books to schools and libraries down there areas still devastated by the hurricanes 2 years ago...so I promise to be more active on the blog. Happy adventures to all!
ahhhhh, a book, a porch, and the trees.

2007-04-13T04:18:00.000-07:00

I don't usually use this blog for political commentary, however since this issue involves an amazing group of Adventure Girls, here goes.
Cheers to the Rutgers women's championship basketball team! This exemplary team of young women; aspiring doctors, lawyers, and psychologists, among others, and their coach, have this week borne the very public denigration of sexism and racism with a grace and dignity that sets an example for us all.
This event has opened a dialog that swept the country. The man who made the comments, a radio personality, was fired from his job.
I was touched and impressed with the articulate statements made by many, but most specifically the girls coach; Vivian Stringer. That there is a separation between forgiveness and consequence and there is a difference between a single mistake and a pattern of behavior.
" At some point you have to stand up and say enough is enough" said Ms. Stringer.
And we did.
Among my friends, especially those who are artists and musicians, there was a lot of discomfort around the issue of freedom of speech. Here is my opinion: in a democracy we are guaranteed freedom of speech, but we are not guaranteed the right to incite hatred or to oppress. I do not think that by any stretch of the imagination we can describe these men's slurs as artistic expression, social commentary or even social observation. To me this does not fall under freedom of speech. We did not as a government attempt to take away his right to express himself. We, as a people, said we are no longer interested in paying to hear him speak.
To be paid large sums of money to use the federally regulated air ways (subsidized with tax dollars) is a privilege, not a right and there are consequences to all actions. The fact that this man did not recognize as the words came out of his mouth, that he had made a grievous mistake, that he did not stop the other commentator but joined in with comments whose only purpose was to demean and oppress, indicates that he cannot be trusted to censure himself, or to adequately predict the consequences of his own behavior.
The good has come out of these events is the dialog I mentioned. Parents, please talk with your children, daughters and sons. Teachers, please open discussion with your students. The fact that this man is three generations older than the rap artists who also use these same words indicates how pervasive this language has become in our society and I think it frightened us. While these comments were extreme in their carelessness, denigration and oppression, we are all human and therefore capable of being unkind, saying unkind things once in a while. I know I have and it's a good time to look inward and ask how we want to live in the world.
Girls, I will not repeat the words they used because I think it gives them life - I will say we are not those words.
We are daughters, sisters and mothers of all shapes, sizes and colors. We are artists, teachers, doctors and lawyers, nurses, dancers, carpenters, scientists, clerks and librarians, writers, musicians, managers, meter readers, coaches and athletes. We make the world go round. And we have the ability in this country to speak for the girls and women in other countries who can't.
There is a time to stand up and say enough is enough.

2007-04-07T05:57:00.000-07:00

Adventure girl goes south-

On the road again...

Here outside my window this April 7th there is snow everywhere and more on the way next week. It's been a long strange winter. 70 degrees in December, 35 degrees today. But hope springs eternal (or is it Spring hopes eternal?) and in a couple of weeks I take to the road and drive down to South Carolina. A small island off the coast of Charleston, in large part a nature preserve, there awaits me a wonderful house up in the trees.

An adventure of the southern kind, I will learn to crab, read good books, eat oysters and take long walks. There are no cars on the island. No laptop, no work. I'll tell you all about it when I return.

The next southern Adventure is of another persuasion. Adventure Girls will be heading down to the hard hit hurricane ravaged Louisiana to do some work getting books to children's libraries, schools and community centers. As you can imagine books did not fare well in flood waters. Many areas have been left behind and we are going to see if we can't help out a little. I do not have the details on this yet but anyone wanting to contribute books can contact me at rebecca@adventuregirlbooks.com I will keep you all informed as I get more details. Keep checking in!
I am working on some new book projects, looks like I may get to work with my oh so talented daughter(absolutely an adventurer) and still plugging away at the next Adventure Girls volume.

In between I will heading out to California, so lots of road time this spring. This summer I will head back to Taos, New Mexico and the Harwood Museum for the Fourth of July workshop. If you're in the area, stop by. The 4th of July parade in Arroyo Seco is worth making a special trip.
Well, wherever you are in the country, spring will come, for those of you who have warm weather already, be grateful. Some of us are still shivering in our long johns waiting for the robins.

2007-01-15T08:54:00.000-08:00

Hello hello hello

On the road....well I've been home for the longest period in long time 8 weeks in a row!

let's see- I left off on my way to the Eric Carle Museum back in Late August. It was a wonderful workshop with a farm trip and great animal masks made by all the students. Unfortunately on the way home from the museum, I was fishing around for some Advil and I had a very bad car accident. I was not injured, for which I am very grateful. If you saw where the car ended up, balancing on the edge of a cliff, dangling on a guardrail it was hard to believe someone walked away. Many thanks to those who stopped to help. This is not the type of adventure that I enjoy. A few days later, I was headed off to New Mexico once again. I soaked in the desert hot springs and the bruises faded and all was well .
In October I returned to Taos again, this time for a new adventure. My friend Michael had an amazing art show and I got to do the food and design the invitations, the type of adventure I DO enjoy. A grand time was had by all and lots of his incredible paintings found their way into homes all over the country. (check out www.mikegravel.com)

The next time I was on the road was December 2, I was headed to Chicago for a book event at The Children's Place sponsored by People Magazine en Espanol. There was a major storm and the temperatures were frigid, but many many intrepid Chicagoans turned out for the event. We read books, some girl scout troops came in and were very excited to have some donated copies of Adventure Girls. I hope to hear how they put them to use.

I am back in Maine where the weather has finally become wintry, I am working on the next Adventure Girl Book, Book 2 and a few other project as well, a bilingual book on emotions, and I am trying to get Adventure Girls onto the Martha Stewart show and the Rachel Ray show! If anything happens you'll be the first to know.

2006-08-02T10:51:00.000-07:00

Life on the road.

the Denver Tattered Cover workshop took place under the blazing colorado sun at 105 degrees...lots of basil and mint was planted and girls (and boys) went home to make lemonade.

Heading back to New England tomorrow, I am ready to go home. I revisited some of my favorite places and camped out last night at the hot springs. The night sky was amazing. In Maine I have lots of stars right outside the porch but here there are more than I have ever seen, celestial bling that reassures and intimidates at the same time. Where do I fit in to this massive universe?
Life on the road is tiring and exciting, interesting and dull, I have made friends, human and canine and seen new things, but 6 weeks is a long time.
Adventure girls was well received in the southwest and I am returning to other books, other projects and NO SUITCASES!
I am scratched and bruised from unfamiliar furniture, treks in the woods. I have been presented with lots of challenges, sometimes you panic when thrust into the unfamiliar but if you can breathe though it you can usually find the right direction.
Not always, but usually and that all we can hope for.
There are things I will miss, the sun, the stars, the red cliffs, the air, the art and the people- the difference between working for months and months on the computer and in the studio and being here adrift, at some points, was difficult to adjust to and in retrospect, extremes are often not the way to go. Finding balance is my biggest challenge and too much work or too much time is as bad as not enough work or not enough time. So after 2 extreme periods I am headed home for a little more balance. I will not rush. I will enjoy the ocean and rest up for the next challenge. Where is Adventure Girl on the road headed next? In a few weeks to Amherst Massachusetts, but only for a day. For now my trips will be short there is carpentry work to be done in the cottage in Maine and I will be close to home for awhile. Resting.

2006-07-28T15:06:00.000-07:00

The juxtaposition of Aspen and Taos is massive. Here in Aspen everything is tidy. Clean. And expensive. No one waves as you pass and gas is near $4.00 a gallon. There is a lot of art in both places and there are Adventure Girls everywhere. The circumstances are just a little different. The natural settings here are astounding. Very early in the morning I rose to hike in Maroon Bells, a park area here, hoping to avoid the crowds but no luck. The Maroon Lake sits at the feet of the Maroon Mountains reflecting everything from deep purlel to turquoise. Wild. Last night I sat in a restaraunt that Hunter Thompson frequented and tried to feel the vibe. Too scattered. Celebrity sitings 0. Went to my first rodeo. I have adopted a weathered cowboy hat since I have been on the road, I fit right in...well, almost. If you come here you must visit Anderson Ranch, similar to Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, an artist "camp", a fantasy of workshops and work space for artists. I want to return and learn to weld and cut and make metal sculpture.

The girls in my journaling and collage workshop stretched themsleves for me, writing about themselves as colors and places- they seemed eager to work and today they showed off their work to their families.
They can all proudly say they have hung at a museum...

Tomorrow I head to Denver and the Tattered Cover Bookstore. I hope to detour through Boulder so I can ooh and ahh about how things have changed since I lived there many years ago.
I am sprinkling the countryside with Adventure girl books, one book at a time, no bookstore or museum store gets passed by.
I am weary of life on the road, getting near six weeks and I will be happy and sad to return to New England. I have made friends. I have bonded with Taos and the desert surroundings and it feels like home as well. I miss the sea. Morning walks on the beach, fish and shellfish, fishermen tcast your nets, this Adventure Girl is tired of beef. Tonight I will stroll downtown Aspen and say goodbye. On to the next.

2006-07-22T08:26:00.000-07:00

Bears and bats.

When leaving the traditional campgrounds for a quiet solo spot in the woods remeber that you are just that much closer to nature. Including the bears. In the Jemez mountains of New Mexico we arrived late in the day and after hitting a few of the national park campgrounds which were all full, we headed up into the mountain roads in search of a place to pitch the tent. You know how it gest at the end of the day- you are just looking to complete the task. We found a lovely secluded spot off a side road designated for offsite camping...after setting up camp we took a stroll through the woods, and about 200 yards from the tent came across reasonably fresh bear scat. OK. so they were there at some point....not 3 minutes later there came from behind and to the left a moany, growly, sound that sounded a lot like a bear. OK. To shorten the anticipation, we did not encounter one face to face. We were however kept awake all night by the calls of at least two, maybe three bears. As adventurous as I am, I will admit to heart stopping moments, the debate as to whether to cut and run leaving evrything behind until morning continued all night. The stars were beautiful, but the next morning as we broke camp and headed for Abiquiu Lake and a managed campground, I was grateful to have gone without a face to face encounter. We obeyed all the rules- changing clothes before bed, keeping the food in the car, still they were there, vocal and scary.
Arriving on top of a mesa overlooking the entire Abiquiu Lake and much of Ghost Ranch in Abiquiiu New Mexico, my first thought was for toilets and showers. In the extreme heat of the desert (upwards of 100 degrees) , it doesn't take long to feel grimy and gritty. The views are astounding from this campground, our site had a few trees for shade but for the most part an unobstructed view of lavender, rust and butterscotch colored cliffs, mesas and desert. The lake a sparkling blue at our feet..
As we prepared dinner, late in the day as the sun set over our shoulder, there came an unanticiapted encounter. Bats. Slowly fluttering at first, they eventually swooped the table, flying close enough to my face that I could see the gray underbelly of a large bat as it flew in between our dinner plates. There were hundreds that night, diving the tent and the table, close enough to my hair that I feared entanglment. Yuck. The rest of our time there we saw only few each dusk. Perhaps they were brought in by the storm that had swept through earlier that afternoon. I don't know. I was willing to risk the bats for a hot shower however.
I am now back in a cityscape in Pueblo CO. I promise to learn how to download my pictures as there are many. Next stop Aspen.

2006-07-15T08:26:00.000-07:00

Leaving the "big city" of Taos for the desert and camping. The hummingbirds here are buzzing furiously around their feeders and the dogs are seeing me off. I guess my blog will just have to be in a retrospective order as I am still without photos, but I will catch you up.
I am heading out to the Abiquiu area made famous by Georgia O'Keefe. I will hike where she hiked and see what she saw. She was quite an Adventure Girl, often sleeping out in the desert to catch the light at all hours of the day. Painting, painting until she felt she had captured what she could. I will look up into the New Mexico night sky, uncluttereded by light pollution and see the same stars that she saw, along with centuries of Native American adventure girls before her. I wonder what I will bring home from it. Cliff dwellings hidden all over also draw my attention. I love to stand where others stood.
Well, the tent is packed and It's time to hit the farmers market before leaving town, for eggs and the early veggies. Everything tastes better closer to the source and cooked outdoors. I feel the flutter that precedes another adventure, although as adventurous as I am I will admit to some trepidation about snakes. Having already encountered a large one right in Taos, I hope the next time you hear from me I have stories to tell, but not of the serpentine variety. To the desert.

2006-07-10T08:51:00.000-07:00

Yes yes, I am woefully behind in blogging but I promise to catch up! Things here in Taos have gone wonderfully. The workshop was a great success, Lucy is a peach, the parade was an experience in Americana I will never forget with 25 butterflies following yours truly, flapping her own wings while people crowded the streets of Arroyo Seco, hooting and cheering. We won a coveted award for our costumes! The press is reluctant here to cover anyone who isn't local, but Adventure Girls have made their presence known.
It has been raining here, much celebrated water for the southwest, but the sun has come through today and I will get out and hike these beautiful mountains. I did find the natural hot tubs by the river -fabulous! I will catch up with photos...I promise- in the next few days.

2006-06-28T14:04:00.000-07:00

I have arrived in New Mexico all in one piece, luggage intact including art supplies, camping equipment and promotional items. All of which caused a stir with the airport security, none the less, I am here. It is hot and dry and lovely. The mountains are breathtaking, the views are astounding and the people are welcoming. After a day of acclimating to the altitude, the first "gig" on the Adventure Girls tour was the Santa Fe' Children's Museum. The road from Taos to Santa Fe' is filled with intriguing things. A small beach along the river where you can find chunks of quartz, prairie dogs, jack rabbits, art galleries, and people selling jerky and pinon nuts. I could not stop that day, but I will come back to explore. The Children's Museum in Santa Fe' is apart from the downtown plaza and the hub bub of the tourist season. There are gardens, and climbing walls, bubble making and birds, lots of things to engage the children at the museum. I am there to make maps. I am right in the thick of things and lots of children stop by to try their hand at making maps with me. We make maps of secret treasure, favorite places in Santa Fe', homes and bedrooms and backyards. At the end of the day I could not resist trying out some of the museum's interesting exhibits...
I am on my way to the Harwood Museum to meet Lucy, who is the program director there and begin a week long workshop.
Lucy and I have become friends in the past few months and I am looking forward to meeting her in person. I have one day off in between and I hope to go hiking. I hear there are natural hot pools at the rivers edge. I feel the need to explore.

heading southwest

2006-06-09T13:48:00.000-07:00

As I sit at my kitchen table in Maine, looking out my window I see that summer has arrived. It has been a rainy spring, torrential rains in fact. Now, summer has come in on great green wings. Everything is lush, verdant and full of promise, one of the magical times in New England. Promises of daylilies and fireflies, days spent at the oceans edge, wet sand in your toes. How different from where I am headed.
The Southwest. In the southwest it has been warm and dry, hot already, on many days with more hot, dry days to come. Here in New England, unless you are on the ocean or on top of a mountain you can never see very far away, there are too many trees and hills, curves and gardens (and shopping malls). In New Mexico, you can see for miles on a clear day until the curve of the earth meets the horizon. The earth is brown and red, sometimes lavender. There is no ocean, but the ocean was there once, sometimes you can find a seashell in the middle of the desert and you remember this was once the ocean floor. There are mountains in both places, rivers, trees but there is no mistaking one for the other. I watch the morning doves outside my window and breathe the green grassy air. I know when I get to New Mexico, the air will be different, redolent of pinon and other spice. Waking up, I can tell where I am with a deep breath...
After New Mexico, I will head to Colorado. In Colorado, where I once lived, the air has a crisp, mineral smell. I think of mountains and more mountains, pale blue sky, and hiking narrow mountain trails.
Promise. Summer brings promise here in New England, and my heart beats just a little faster with all there is to come.