Author: crystalbrier
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Friends and Writers
Go to page: Friends and WritersI am mortified to realize that I have not made a post yet about my friends who write books! Sure, I only have a handful of followers now, and these wonderful writers are probably them, but someday when we’re all well-established and widely read somebody will find this old post and think, “Oh, hey, they…
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The “Just Keep Writing” Post
Go to page: The “Just Keep Writing” PostWith a bonus reference to Camus A while back I read The First Man, the unfinished manuscript by Albert Camus. I believe I have read almost everything by Camus at this point, and some books more than once. There are still one, or maybe two, I haven’t gotten to, but will soon. This isn’t a…
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More Language Transfer
Go to page: More Language TransferI can’t say enough good things about Language Transfer. It’s a remarkable system, and the teacher’s knowledge of the etymology of words is inspiring. I love the way he’s able to create cues for not just remembering what a Spanish word means, but for starting with the English word and figuring out what a Spanish…
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Language Transfer
Go to page: Language TransferI’ve been pretending to learn Spanish for many years now. I’ve done apps, like Duolingo, done Rosetta Stone, I drill regularly on the SpanishDict site, as well as reading their discussions and r/Spanish on Reddit. I’ve read Fluent Forever and taken several aspects of the method into my practice, and done a couple of Spanish…
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[Artwork] Sun Jumpers
![[Artwork] Sun Jumpers](https://michelemakesstuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/mb-hurston-sun-jumpers-front.jpg)
Go to page: [Artwork] Sun JumpersMy favorite, I think, of the mom-box images. Each card had at least a note on the back, and in some cases, the design would carry from back to front. This quote felt like her.
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Why I care about Raskolnikov
Go to page: Why I care about RaskolnikovSome thoughts on Crime & Punishment First, spoiler warning for Crime & Punishment. Yes, I know the book was written in 1866, but still. If you haven’t read it, I urge you to stop reading these words and go, now, and read Dostoevsky’s. Those are excellent words. I spent a lot of time, while reading…
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[Artwork] Gelatin Plate Monotype
![[Artwork] Gelatin Plate Monotype](https://michelemakesstuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/mb-bff-front-1.png)
Go to page: [Artwork] Gelatin Plate MonotypeA mom-box card made from a gelatin plate monotype I had created during a printmaking workshop I took, many years before. Nancy Marculewicz taught the workshop, which was hosted by North Shore Arts of Gloucester (MA). Sadly, her book, Making Monotypes Using a Gelatin Plate, seems to have gone out of print. As printmaking goes,…
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[Poetry] My Mother’s Hair
![[Poetry] My Mother’s Hair](https://michelemakesstuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/mb-mother-and-baby.png)
Go to page: [Poetry] My Mother’s HairThen, you wore it long and sleek, black and glossy, sometimes hanging down your back to graze your slender waist, but often piled upon your head, pulled back, like a lacquered black frame showing off a geisha print, all clean, bold lines and flawless beauty. I prefer it now, though, soft and silver, whimsical corkscrews,…
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The Mom-box
Go to page: The Mom-boxIn 2014, I embarked on a year-long art project that came to be called the Mom-box. It consisted of 364 hand-made cards, poems, or letters, created for my mother, to remind her daily that I loved her. I put them each in an unmarked card envelope and bought a decorative box at Michaels for them…
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Hidden Villains anthology available for pre-order
Go to page: Hidden Villains anthology available for pre-orderAnd here it is. To be released on March 17, 2022. My story is “Tough Love.”