Chronicling the life of a book

June 4th, 2008

“Shelf Life,” by Adrian Tomine, from the February 25, 2008 cover of  The New Yorker

Only a writer (or possibly an editor or book-seller) could appreciate the ironic narrative played out across the nine frames of cartoonist and illustrator Adrian Tomine’s spot-on perfect cover for The New Yorker earlier this year.

Yup. It starts with an author, toiling away at her laptop, alone in her little office. Nothing but a cup of coffee (tea, in my case) and a bare window to stare out of when she is searching for the correct word or phrase. Next, we follow the further adventure of a book’s life: When the agent presents the wonderful, finally-completed manuscript to the editor; when the editor gives it a thumb’s up; when the book is printed and bound (probably in Taiwan); when the bookseller displays a stack of crisp, fresh-smelling, just-published books; when the beloved customer first buys, and then actually sits down to READ it.

But then, as is depicted in frame number 7, we arrive at the waning years of a book’s life. The period of time from a book’s conception through gestation to its birth may seem to drag on forever, folks. Yet the final days of a book’s life can occur at lightening speed, as is witnessed here. Perhaps its owner needs to “simplify” or “clean up the clutter,” thus: the tome is set out on the curb in a cardboard box filled with other household discards. But someone reaches for it. Has the book gained new meaning? A new purpose? Yes, indeed. That hard-back cover and high-quality paper makes for great kindling on a cold night. As it burns away in a metal drum, in a desolate urban alleyway or corner, perhaps this frame can be described as “book cremation.” Its ashes live on. Somewhere.

My friends Robyn and Don framed the cover, entitled “Shelf Life,” as a gift commemorating the publication of Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways. Along with other dear friends, they signed the huge white mat-board that surrounds the artwork, wishing success with sentiments like:

“While you have always impressed me as a ‘can-do’ girl and accomplished your goals, this tops the cake – Stylish Sheds is a Big Deal!” (Robyn)

 

“Cheers to your biggest, best and brightest, with many more to come. Can’t wait!” (Braiden and Spencer)

 

“You’ve always been the ‘bright’ light in our neighborhood, but baby, you’re on ‘fire'” (Don)

 

The print is now hanging in my office, a tribute to the highs and lows of this rare creative process, one that’s still steeped in something more tangible than letters appearing on a flat-screen monitor.

But how do others see the product of the heartfelt efforts to which Bill Wright and I devoted several years of our lives? It’s a useful tool, all 224 pages of it, according to my blogging friends. Here are two observations. It’s pretty funny when you think about it. The life of a book. I’m happy mine gets around, even in nontraditional ways:

Lydia Plunk, whose blog A Very Good Life is all about living, gardening and loving her Southern California backyard and home, used Stylish Sheds as a distraction during her exercise routine (see her photo above). She posted a shot of the book, resting on the handles of her treadmill. In her May 17th blog-entry, entitled “Perspiration and Inspiration,” Lydia had this to say:

By slowing the pace, the layers of visual pleasure are better appreciated for their individual flavor components. That is why Stylish Sheds became my companion on the treadmill the past few weeks. It was a delightful companion, helping make the road back to my pre-accident self enjoyable. . . . Perspiration mixing with inspiration, I began to re-imagine my own shed. Using the matrix Debra used as an executive summary for each project, this is how I plan to make the highest and best use of my own shed.
Mission: My shed is the playhouse I always wanted, but growing -up never had. Think denim and lace for style. The shed serves as a big treasure chest of the parts for the hobbies integral to my lifestyle (doesn’t that sound so much better than “storage”)? Started with great intentions, it is in need of tlc. . .

Daniel Mount, a gardening and writing pal in Seattle, confessed to NAPPING with my book (see his photo above). In his May 26th blog-journal entry, entitled “A Nap in a Shed,” Daniel had this to say:

I decided to treat Memorial Day as at least a half-holiday and left Michael out in the garden planting and came in to the house, on a sunny day no less, and napped and read. I read Debra Prinzing’s Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways. I had already wandered through the pictures several times, envious and awed at what passes for a shed these days. Many were better than our house. But it was Debra’s writing on the subject and the inspiration she found when visiting these sheds, that caught me on fire.
I always though of my suitcase as my home away from home. But as I get older and travel gets more expensive, I realize the necessity of retreat space in my own back yard. Well now I have a back yard. Of course living in a flood plane makes siting such a space complicated, but Michael had the idea for a tree house high above the floods grasp, where we could monkishly retreat together or separately and leave the messy kitchen, the paper work and the shovels behind, without getting into the truck. . . Maybe you will start to dream about a shed of your own, too.

 

I have to admit, reading as a prelude to napping is one of my very favorite activities. Just ask the males in my family. “Mom’s napping,” is an oft-uttered Sunday afternoon phrase around here. So of course, I love the image of Daniel, sprawled out on his sofa, with this book propped up on his chest, alternating between snoozing and dreaming about the future incarnation of his backyard treehouse-shed! I also love the image of a slim, trim, healthy Lydia, jogging away on her treadmill, her imagination miles away from that grind as she mentally redesigns the storage shed for a more personal expression of her design style. The creative mind doesn’t stop working, even when the body is sweating!

I’m so curious to see what other activities this book inspires. What other “chapters” it lives, all before landing in someone’s bonfire as a source of heat. For now, one of the best uses seems to be stashing Stylish Sheds inside a one-gallon zip-lock bag (to keep the soil off the cover) and taking it with me to the garden! That’s what I’ll be doing this summer.

Posted in Book reviews, Creativity, General, Writing | 7 Comments »

Art that makes me happy

June 3rd, 2008

Liz Lyons Friedman, at the easel inside her studio [William Wright photo]

Liz Lyons Friedman, artist and printmaker extraordinaire, creates joy-inducing pictures in her boathouse-turned-atelier in Aptos, California (near Santa Cruz). Her vibrant artwork documents life, love, food, wine, home, garden, travel and more — all those pursuits cherished by lovers of beauty. The stuff of which memories and friendship are made. One of her recent series of prints is aptly entitled “Celebrations.”

After we discovered Liz (thanks to Christina Glynn of the Santa Cruz Tourism Bureau), Bill and I knew we would have a blast photographing her gallery-like studio. We arrived v-e-r-y early one March morning in 2007, in need of caffeine and hauling all sorts of camera equipment and lighting out of my Subaru stationwagon.

Boathouse-turned-art studio, enhanced by a cactus garden designed and planted by Liz and her partner John Gavrilis [William Wright photo]

We shot the exterior of Liz’s studio at dawn, the filtered light gracing a sculptural garden of cactus and succulents. Inside her 10-by-25 foot “shoe box,” Liz has created a gallerylike space for making and displaying her artwork. A 16-foot-long bank of windows faces the garden and ocean, drawing much-desired natural light to the interior spaces where her easel and printing press stand. Plastered walls, finished in a warm golden hue, highlight the framed prints that hang in nicely-organized groupings. French doors, worktables and a printing press finish the space.

Liz describes it this way:

“I go inside and it’s so peaceful there,” she says. “I think back to the French ateleirs, and that artists have always wanted a place to get away from everyday life and its distractions – and focus on their painting and drawing.”

“Gardening Tools,” Hand colored linocut  © Liz Lyons Friedman

Liz says that the idea for one of her more recent pieces, “Gardening Tools,” came from spending a day with Bill and me as we photographed her at work, carving a flower with U- and V-shaped knives as she sliced sections of lino tile to reveal the beautiful flower she had designed. She reminded me of the story in a recent email:

“We were chatting about pouring a glass of wine and then going out to the garden in the evening to water or putter. I always point out that the glass of wine is the most important gardening tool in the piece!”

This charming print is the result of her imagination, artistic inspiration and fond memories of time spent in the garden. It makes me very happy to look at, as I imagine Liz puttering in this garden scene. Lines from my chapter about Liz are appropriate to share here:

“In designing this studio, my motive was to make it a happy space, because I make happy art.”

Thank you, Liz! It is a joy to have you in the pages of Stylish Sheds! 

Posted in Creativity, Playfulness | 2 Comments »

Out with the Tool Shed!

June 2nd, 2008

Thanks to Jane Berger of Garden Design Online for an endorsement in her blog today. The sublime shed is the new alternative to a plastic backyard storage unit, and Jane makes this point for her readers:

Once you’ve taken a quick look at this book, you’ll never again recommend a lean-to potting or tool shed or one of those abominations that they sell in the big-time lumber and hardware stores.

Sunni Rudd’s delightful backyard getaway

Filled with timeless character, John Barham’s potting place is at home in his sculpture garden

She singles out some of her favorite shed destinations featured in the pages of Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways, including our friend Sunni Rudd’s rustic but feminine hideaway in Seattle and the gracious John Barham’s weathered shed in the Hamptons, inspired by a historic fisherman’s shack. Each is unique and highly personal. And that’s the point of using this tiny architecture to make a big design statement in the landscape. Adds Jane:

Prinzing paves the way for an entirely new way to think about garden structures —  to make them very special places that fit the owner’s personality and add a touch in the garden that no one else can duplicate.

This book belongs on every designer’s bookshelf for inspiration … easily gained from the scores of photos by William Wright that illustrate every project. 

Thank you, Jane!

Posted in Architecture, Book reviews, Creativity | 1 Comment »

Suburban Follies: the “sheds” starred at this garden party

May 31st, 2008

I’m joined by my friend and party hostess Kathy Fries. We’re standing in front of her rustic shack-turned-Doge’s Palace, built by John Akers

The Seattle sun was shining, perhaps a little too brightly, on Saturday, May 17th. In fact, I heard later that temperatures reached close to 90 degrees, a record high for that date in history.

Kathy Fries, aka Shed Diva (she owns four of them!) and her cast of talented gardener helpers, nannies and caterers, threw an unforgettable garden party to celebrate the launch of Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways. Scheduled as an open-garden, which encouraged guests to stroll the peaceful, shady paths through the Fries property, the party paid homage to the fanciful little buildings we captured in the book. The man of the hour, shed-builder John Akers, was “missing,” but we know he likes to avoid crowds. His artistry was well received, oohed and aah-ed over, and festooned with bouquets and champagne. Good job, John! Wish you had come!

The menu included plump strawberries with brown sugar and Devonshire cream, meringue cookies, little sandwiches, iced tea, champagne . . . all served on Kathy’s potting bench-buffet

With more than 120 in attendance, the three-hour event was a bit of a whirlwind. Bill Wright and I felt like we signed books nonstop, greeted friends, hugged and thanked the owners of no fewer than 10 of the sheds featured in our book, and then signed more books. Gillian Mathews of Ravenna Gardens was our cheerful bookseller. She figured out how to get a copy of Stylish Sheds into the hands of anyone who wanted one, even if that meant raiding Kathy’s personal stash or taking orders once she ran out of inventory. We were truly touched with her support. You can find signed copies of Stylish Sheds at her stores.

Xander Fries, collecting eggs for the pages of our book [William Wright photo]

Thank you, Kathy and Ed: you threw a doozie of a party. I have spent many fond hours in this magical landscape, but honestly, it has never looked more beautiful. The flowers bloomed larger and brighter, the vines threw out new, spring-green tendrils, the ferns glistened in the dappled light. Our guest-signer, Xander Fries, who is featured on page 73 collecting eggs from the Palais de Poulets, charmed guests by autographing “his page” of the book.

A highlight for me was seeing so many dear friends in my (former) Seattle gardening community. It has been nearly two years since I left for LA, and it was a treat to return for this celebration. Owners of all nine Washington sheds featured in our pages came to help celebrate. Without them, we wouldn’t have completed this awesome project and we are honored they came and helped mark the publication!

Bill, Steven and Sylvia Williams, and me

But the prize goes to Sylvia and Steven Williams, who traveled from Texas to attend the party! Only two weeks after throwing a party for us at Stonebridge, their garden in Bertram, Syliva and Steven flew to Seattle to join us. They represented their home state in Texas style, dazzling everyone with their out-sized friendship, not to mention cowboy hats.

The party treats were simply fabulous, including Kathy’s elegant version of my amateurish “shed cookies.” She gets the “Martha Prize” for decorating with a piping tube and marbling the frosting. Really, Kathy. You are amazing.

Posted in Creativity, Entertainment, Playfulness, Shed Glossary | No Comments »

Book Expo comes to LA

May 30th, 2008

Los Angeles Convention Center – BookExpo 2008

I’ve heard about Book Expo for years and lucky for me, the venerable trade show and book-sellers’ extravaganza came to Los Angeles this week.

We authors often toil alone in our little offices, sitting at keyboards, staring at monitors, listening to the phrases roll around in our heads and banging out one word; then the next one, plus one more . . . all to string together a well-crafted sentence. I’m very dependent upon my sources, designers, gardeners and homeowners who generously share their stories with me. But in the end, I am alone with my words.

So the 65-mile drive to downtown LA was a big adventure that got me out of the office, into the car (fueled by $4.09/gallon gas) and on a route involving no fewer than five freeways! I arrived at the GIANT LA Convention Center on Figuero Street around 10 a.m. and found a $10 parking lot across the street.  Thank goodness for my Garden Writers Association Press Pass: it easily earned me a badge and press access to the giant exhibition hall.

Some people would be overwhelmed by the aisles and rows of publisher displays. But not book people. It’s reassuring to see how many titles are still printed (albeit in Asia). Ink letters appear on paper pages, 4-color photographs are splashed between blocks of text. Hundreds of sheets are stitched together with thread and glued into a hard-back binding to build a book cover. It’s then wrapped in a colorful jacket and included in a sales catalog. And eventually, that book is touched by the hands of a customer, which is our ultimate goal, isn’t it? Sharing words, photographs and creative ideas with readers. It’s still a noble pursuit and a rewarding profession.

Look v-e-r-y closely. You can see Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways between the heads of the two women in Crown’s booth.

I knew that Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways wouldn’t receive much play in the ENORMOUS Random House/Crown Publishing booth. Let’s call it a quadruple booth! Filled with slim, stylish marketers and aloof publicists with interesting eye wear, the RH team had hundreds of titles to publicize and promote. And, as I had been told ahead of time, the emphasis at Book Expo is on fall 08 catalog titles, not spring 08. So, there wasn’t really an opportunity to be the star of the show. My expectations were low. But still, I had to check it out.

I really did find my book on the back shelf in the booth. And, hey, I’ve got connections! As I was standing there, hoping to meet someone interested in talking with me, who should walk by but a college friend of mine who is PRESIDENT of a major university book store Co-op! I haven’t seen him for years, but we rowed crew together and had an immediate recognition and friendly reunion. I actually “sold” him my book while standing in Random House’s booth. How cool is that?

Debra with Roger Waynick, president & publisher of Cool Springs Press

Next, I ventured over to see my former publisher at Cool Springs Press, Roger Waynick. Bless CSP, which “birthed” two of my books and is – remarkably – the ONLY publisher from which I’ve ever earned royalty checks! CSP is still selling The Abundant Garden (with photographer Barbara J. Denk) and the Washington & Oregon Gardener’s Guide (with co-author Mary Robson).

The Abundant Garden (left) and Washington & Oregon Gardener’s Guide (right)

Roger & Co. were actually happy to see me. They wanted to brainstorm ideas for the future. It was really nice to feel welcomed. My pal, Nan Sterman, author of the California Gardener’s Guide, did a book-signing and was enthusiastically greeted by convention-goers. I was proud of her and her wonderful book.

Investigating Book Expo was educational and insightful. Books are still alive and well, and cherished. I’m glad I took the time to attend – and I’m grateful for the connections I made today.

Here are links to a couple recent media mentions:

The first comes as a complete surprise from Newsday’s “Garden Detective” columnist Jessica Damiano. On May 22nd, she ran a column called New Gardening Books, from organics to landscapes:

“It seems every year around this time, bookstore shelves swell with gardening tomes. Most go back whence they came after I drain my latte cup. But a select few stand out. Here are my picks for books that should actually make it out of the store. Drink up! . . .

The Abundant Garden: A Celebration of Color, Texture, and Blooms (Cool Springs Press, $29.99), by Debra Prinzing with photographs by Barbara J. Denk, is one of those books you flip through, drool overthe photos and then try in earnest to recreate what you see in your own patch of dirt. And that’s pretty easy, as the photo captions actually include names of plants depicted, a rarity in the garden-book world. But this guide’s beauty lies deeper than its color glossies. There’s actually a science to the beauty of abundance, which is defined, in part, by the lack of visible soil or mulch between plants. Readers learn nine specific design principles of creating abundance by studying photos and descriptions of gardens on Bainbridge Island in Seattle.”

It’s so wonderful to receive a review from someone like Jessica, a Master Gardener and editor who is a passionate plantswoman. It’s even more gratifying that she could sift through three years’ worth of garden book releases to unearth and highlight our book. Thank you!

Next, thanks to Diana Ransom, a small-business columnist for Smart Money, who features three Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways shed owners in today’s story about creative home-office solutions. Entitled: “Designing a Dream Home Office,” the article includes quotes and Bill Wright’s gorgeous images of our “shedistas” and their locations: Joseph Marek (landscape architect), Liz Lyons Friedman (print maker) and Amy Bloom (best-selling novelist).

The key to a perfectly productive work space, says Debra Prinzing, a Los Angeles author who has interviewed a number of home-based business owners for her new book, “Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways,” is detachment. “You have to be able to walk into this space and have it be fully dedicated,” she says. A truly separate space boosts productivity – and “quality of life so so much more enhanced,” she adds.

Wow, that’s a lot of good news for one day. Nice to end the week on a high note.

Posted in Book reviews, Writing | No Comments »