Saturday, April 2, 2016

Gallery of Winter Wanderings Unveiled


A few months ago when Winter arrived on the East Coast of the United States, she garbed herself in dramatic grey and white hues while introducing her bright floral line in other locales.  Being the diva that she is, Winter took center stage on the runway many a time. Today, she is making a comeback as the premier model in my exclusive gallery of artistic expressions, Winter Wanderings.


Take a front seat to view the runway show with amazing sounds and sights from Lady Winter's couture seasonal line. Here, global writers and colleagues offer digital tributes to a surprising season of fluctuating temperatures, battering blizzards, splashing rains, and marshmallow-flavored days. Are you ready to be captivated by the spirit of one grand fashionista?

Let's start the gallery walk by listening to the gentle music of George Winston.  


At NCTE 15 on a cold afternoon in Minneapolis, national consultant and writer, Lester Laminack, fashioned the title Winter Wanderings. Writers from across the globe came together to showcase their photographs and poetic thoughts in various shades of digital designs for Lady Winter's tribute collection.  


Please enter the gallery and enjoy the show.

 

Here is a surprise ornament for Lady Winter's collection from J. Patrick Lewis, the former U.S. Children's Poet Laureate (2011-13).


Perhaps it could be said that written poetry is simply a way of revealing and celebrating the essentially poetic nature of the world itself."  
from Lee Bennett Hopkins, NCTE Profile of Valerie Worth
submitted by Michelle H. Barnes

A single word can be a powerful thing. It can be the ripple in the pond that changes everything.  ~Ali Edwards 
Submitted by Tammy and Clare from Teachers for Teachers

In January, one little words were chosen to guide writers' journeys.
Lynzee, Elementary Student, Louisiana
Madison, Elementary Student, Louisiana
Lady Winter's styles were seen from coast to coast and across the seas.

Snowfall became the gentle reminder that winter arrived in blushing white style.

Be dazzled by the photographs shot around the world. 
These images capture the exquisite beauty of the past season.
Photographers are credited at the end of the 2 1/2 minute short video.


Across the Universe song  offered by Sean Gaillard
for the Photo Corner.

Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.
~Robert Frost, submitted by Joy Acey

Winter animals are intriguing to watch as they busy themselves or not.
Lady Winter's blizzards dosed the earth with mounds of soft marshmallow-like designs.

As the snow fell softly upon the earth, inspiration filled the air.
Drum Roll please - Songs to applaud Winter
Offered by Jama Rattigan
Offered by Tabatha Yeatts

Lady Winter bid earth her goodbys for a brief interlude and
then came back for another round because parting was such sweet sorrow. 
What did most folks say in response?

I extend my thanks to all of the contributors to Winter Wanderings for their perspectives on the versatility of the winter season.

Gallery visitors, thank you for sharing reflective time with the Winter Wanderings' community of writers. Please leave a response in the comment section or at #WinterWanderings and @cvarsalona on Twitter to recognize the efforts of the gallery contributors. This gesture of community spirit is appreciated.

You can visit the previous eight Reflect With Me Galleries at the following links.


It has been a pleasure to present the stylistic designs of Lady Winter's seasonal line through a poetic lens. Now that the runway show of this collection has come to a close, please remember that within the depths of the soul creativity lives.




Writers write, artists create, and photographers capture images
to allow voice to rise.   

Please join me during the month of April as I engage in "poetryliscious" writing and conversations. You can find more information here

In addition, an invitation to my upcoming creative project, Spring's Seeds, the tenth gallery of artistic expressions, will be sent out soon. 

Let's plant seeds of inspiration to grow poetry love across the globe during National Poetry Month.

Carol

Celebrating the Poetryliscious Side of Life

I am on blooper alert today. Over a month ago, I decided to try out a new word: poetryliscious, an unconventional way of spelling poetrylicious, to add some variety to my writing. I even created a definition to accompany it.  (This is not an April Fool's bloop.)


When I publicized the upcoming #NYEDChat conversation on National Poetry Month I flip-flopped back to the traditional spelling. Isn't that a writer's prerogative? At any rate, please join other poets, writers, bloggers, educators, and me for a lively and creative chat on April 11, 2016. This is all you have to do: go to twitter.com at 8 pm EST and type in the hashtag #NYEDChat. I will be moderating so you can say hello to me, just listen to the conversation (that is called lurking and learning), or can join in. I am inviting any poets and writers who are interested in joining in as co-moderators. My colleague and fellow Wonder Lead Ambassador, Paul W. Hankins, has already agreed to be a co-moderator. 


Please join #WonderChat hosted by @Wonderopolis on April 4th. 


Since today kicks off National Poetry Month, I am "all about" celebrating poetically. Are you ready to join in the fun? Take out your notebooks, journals, or digital tools and let's create together. 


Now it's your turn to create a quick little poem or poetic thought that could accompany this photo. Here is the backstory: I composed this digital composition because time constraints and deadlines are on my mind but I know that I need creative breaks. Little spurts of creativity spur me on to meet the commitments I have. 

Have fun. You can send your thoughts to me at cvarsalona at gmail, in the comments' section below, or you can use #SpringsSeeds, the new hashtag I created for my new gallery that will air on social media at the beginning of June. 

Oh, one last thought: I am unveiling my winter gallery, Winter Wanderings, today.  I will send the link to #celebratelu.

Please visit Ruth Ayres Celebrate This Week to read what each member of the blogging community is celebrating.

Friday, April 1, 2016

Poetryliscious Annoucements


It's April Fool's Day but I am not going to fool anyone (unless you think my spelling of poetryliscious is a joke. Since poetrylicious is a word used to describe a delectable poetic experience, I tried a different spelling when I went to a site allows you to create a word.) 

Without further ado, let me offer you a poem about All Fool's Day because today starts the 2016 National Poetry Month. 

http://www.novareinna.com/festive/quotes.html

As for pure merriment, I hope to spread springtime joy throughout this month with poetryliscious celebrations. To ready myself for another writing event, I started a new journal so I can work with two platforms, nondigital and digital. 



The power of poetry lies with the voice
that rises from (inside) within, 
merges with the pen, 
and connects with life.
©CVarsalona, 2016 

Announcement #1:
There will be an abundance of poetry challenges this month at other sites. I hope to add some poems but am not committing to daily challenges. I am taking a leap of faith and contributing to the 2016 Progressive Poem organized by Irene Latham. I will be adding my line to the poem on April 6th. Wish me luck with word weaving from Day 5's entry. The first line of the poem starts at Laura Purdie Salas' blog, Writing the Word for Kids.  


http://irenelatham.blogspot.com/2016/03/sign-up-here-for-2016-kidlitosphere.html
Announcement #2:
I am almost finished with my ninth gallery and hope to unveil Winter Wanderings later today. Below you will find the names of the 2015 Reflect With Me Galleries. Stay tuned because I will be sending out the link to Winter Wanderings soon. 


Announcement #3:
My Twitter colleague, Jerry Blumengarten, send me a tweet tonight to let me know that he has a link to my April Awakenings Gallery at his site.


Announcement #4:
I would cordially like to invite all poetry lovers to join me as I moderate #NYEDChat on April 11th from 8:00 to 9:00pm EST on Twitter for a poetrylicious  creative chat (back to the traditional way of spelling poetrylicious).


Announcement #5:
The wheels are spinning in my head for my next gallery of artistic expressions. More will follow but I wanted to let everyone know that the title of the gallery is Spring's Seeds. More details will follow in an invitation to write, photograph nature, and/or submit a quote or song. Student voice is also welcomed. The deadline for submission is the end of May. 

I look forward to enjoying many poetic moments with everyone this month. 

Please visit The Poem Farm where Amy Ludwig VanDerwater is hosting Poetry Friday. Today she begins her 2016 Wallow in Wonder project for the 2016 National Poetry Month project by writing a poem from each daily wonder at Wonderopolis

Voice is our unique identity in the world.
Let's all share the voices that are within.