One of my goals has been to write and illustrate a children's book. Although I completed the goal, the satisfaction is missing. I never quite got the book off the ground. But I did learn a few things about self-publishing and the difficulties in getting your name out there.
Subject matter may have been my first hurdle. Many people don't know what an ibis is. I certainly didn't before I moved to Florida. The word "ibis" reminds me of the spoken sound of "I was." So I created a poster with this play on words: "Ibis (I was) only peeking -- I'm the designated bikini watcher!" The poster is for sale on my Etsy link at http://www.etsy.com/people/AnfinsenArt
Some people think ibis are a nuisance. They forage in colonies ambling across people's manicured lawns leaving their droppings behind. I happen to love their "hunk hunk, croo croo" noises as they chatter away in ibis.
Their orange curved bills are like fingers; sensitive to touch. They probe in the cool green grass or slimy mud for snails, crayfish, frogs and grubs. If startled, they fly away revealing black wing tips that are otherwise hidden beneath their pristine white feathers. A cleansing oil keeps them white for as long as they live which can be up to 30 plus years.
My story about Inez was patterned after a real ibis in our neighborhood who is recognizable by her limp. How she was injured is anybody's guess. Mine is that she was hit by an impatient motorist who refused to wait for her to flutter to safety. She has given birth to three or four clutches since I moved here 10 years ago.
Even though she limps when earth bound, she flies beautifully like any other ibis. In the air, I lose track of her as she blends in with her "colony." On the ground, her visible disability makes me claim her for my own.
Please take a moment to check out my book; available in hard cover or paperback. Individual cards or prints of the illustrations are also for sale on http://carol-allen-anfinsen.artistwebsites.com
Some people think ibis are a nuisance. They forage in colonies ambling across people's manicured lawns leaving their droppings behind. I happen to love their "hunk hunk, croo croo" noises as they chatter away in ibis.
Their orange curved bills are like fingers; sensitive to touch. They probe in the cool green grass or slimy mud for snails, crayfish, frogs and grubs. If startled, they fly away revealing black wing tips that are otherwise hidden beneath their pristine white feathers. A cleansing oil keeps them white for as long as they live which can be up to 30 plus years.
My story about Inez was patterned after a real ibis in our neighborhood who is recognizable by her limp. How she was injured is anybody's guess. Mine is that she was hit by an impatient motorist who refused to wait for her to flutter to safety. She has given birth to three or four clutches since I moved here 10 years ago.
Even though she limps when earth bound, she flies beautifully like any other ibis. In the air, I lose track of her as she blends in with her "colony." On the ground, her visible disability makes me claim her for my own.
 |
| This poster is also available on the above Etsy link. |
Carol, congratulations on completing and publishing your book. The illustrations are wonderful. Walking distance from where I live there's a park which is home to hundreds of geese. One of them, like your ibis, has a limp, which distinguishes her from the others and makes her instantly recognizable. Because the geese are so hard to tell apart her limp confers on her a kind of specialness, an individuality. I've often thought that might be true of us as well. That it's our imperfections, our peculiar frailties which make us stand out from the crowd.
ReplyDeleteWe may never know if what you say is true, but I like to think that it is. I remember studying the novel many years ago. They talked about "flat" characters and "complex" characters. The flat ones were predictable and average. The complex characters were unique, unpredictable, and endearing or memorable. I guess we'd all like to think we're the latter. Thanks for sharing!
DeleteGreat illustrations Carol. I'd never heard of Ibis either.
ReplyDelete