Hello
readers! My name is Tessa Smith, the daughter of your favorite
Rebekah L. Smith. I would just like you to see the difficult and
extremely stressful steps to writing a book. My mother has been
working hard all winter and spring to get it done, and I would like
you all to see what she has to go through. I must warn you, though,
she may not exactly know about these photos, for I took them when I
encountered them from afar.
This first
photo is of the "Design Phase," or where she starts to get
her ideas out for her book projects. The Himalayas of paper you see
all around her are the sketches she either didn't like or she hated
them (there is a difference). Also to keep herself awake and focused,
she used really bright colored markers, because the black was dull
and boring. She doesn't want either of those things to be included in
the process or the actual book itself.
During the
next "Wool-Sorting" stage, she was what she called "hard
at work." I don't buy it, because I found her sound asleep after
sitting there for seven minutes. Yes, I felt bad, but she is the one
who stayed up too late coming up with her final design. I think she
finally got it.
This next
step is the "Cutting and Snipping" stage. I was startled by
the giant "snippers" (I call them shears) she was wielding
in such a drowsy state. I was at the same time impressed she could
cut such tiny and fine details into the wool. You can see them in the
design behind her.
This photo
shows the "stitching" step. As you may see by her garments,
it was the dead of the winter when she was trying to get this done.
After a while, she couldn't feel the small needle in her hand, so she
started to have to use bigger and bigger ones. She ended up using a
three inch long needle.
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The next step
on her journey to being an author in print was the "Writing
Stage." Since she was writing a traditional styled book, she
decided to wear colonial dressing, in company with a quill and
inkwell. After she got a little tired of the fancy script writing and
flimsy feather, she time-traveled a hundred years ahead. She liked
the idea of the retro style typewriter, which she said was going to
be as advanced as she would get in this process of the book. She
refused to touch a computer or smart device. Then one night, I woke
up to strange noises in the basement. I go down to find her in the
dark on her brand new laptop, typing away at the steps for this
project in her book. She saw me and quickly closed her laptop and
shooed me off to bed.
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This last
picture was not taken by me, but it was intentional. This is her proudly holding up her finished project so my father could take
the picture. I am very sorry for the inconvenient blacked-out part.
That was her finished project, but she signed a contract, and she
can't show it to the public until the book is released. Have a great
day and I hoped you enjoyed this post. Signing off, Tessa Smith-13
years old.
Note: She
actually does know about this post and approved it.
What a fun post!
ReplyDeleteYou definitely have a gift for writing Tessa.
I can't wait to see your mom's book.
L
Love the post Tessa. I can't, can't wait until your mom's book is released!
ReplyDeleteYay! When is the book coming out?
ReplyDeleteThis was the most heartwarming, inspiring blog post I've ever read. To give us a glimpse into your mother's world (concerning folk art designs) was a true treat. THANK YOU!!! That was so fun! I admire you both. :-)
ReplyDelete