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Bex Hall

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Bex Hall > Writing

Writing

June’s walk includes surprise guest

June 24, 2021

The more the merrier

Four in the morning barge on the Ohio River during a full moon

This month’s Walk When the Moon is Full included Ellie’s other grandmother, Nana (@thewisdomsanctuary).

Schedules didn’t allow us to gather in person so we used technology to share faces and time together under the same moon.

Nana, Ellie, & Mimi

It was around 8:30 and I texted Nana to see if the moon had appeared over her house. I used the SkyView app to locate the position here and sent her a screen shot. Turns out she was doing the same thing at the same time. Totally unplanned, but fun.

I wandered around the neighborhood waiting for daylight to end and saw the neighbor kids being creative with chalk. Watched as a barge floated by and the sun set on the Ohio River. Walked among the lengthening shadows near the tree line.

Neighbor kids being creative

We three walked our respective yards and roads together, under the same moon. We spoke about how some call this the Strawberry Moon, because now is usually the time of harvest. We noticed the colors in the skies and voted on whose was prettiest, even though it technically wasn’t a contest. Ellie spotted her cat, Buddy, in the window, observing.

Three different locations, same moon

Then we all saw the fireflies. Slowly rising from the grass, winking their tails in the ever darkening twilight. Lightning bugs dotting the shadows with sparkles of warm, yellow lights. The full moon as backdrop to their stage.

We said our good nights and good byes and blew kisses with promises of another walk in another month, at the next full moon.

Until next month!

We see the same moon, you and I. You in your world and me in mine…I find that comforting.”

—Mary Wade

Filed Under: Writing Tagged With: full moon walk, moon cycles

May’s full moon arrival time delays walk

May 28, 2021

A 4:00 in the morning walk is just as fun

SkyView app allows for fun photo opps

While we waited for May’s super flower full moon to show up, Ellie and I walked over to the river and watched the sun make its dramatic exit.

She showed me her picture taking techniques and then modeled so I could practice. She wanted to know what was on the other side of the river. I told her it was Kentucky. She remembered the bridge we cross to get there. 

Sunset over the Ohio River

Later we used the SkyView app and spotted stars and constellations and talked about why Orion needed a belt. There’s a built-in compass and she watched it point different directions as she changed course while walking.

The app showed the moon still below the horizon so we played with staged photos. She is strong enough to hold the entire moon above her head with both hands.

By 10:00 p.m., the moon still hadn’t made an appearance and the suggestion we wake at 4:00 in the morning was met with glee, so I set an alarm. 

Wrapped in blankets we wandered into the front yard at 4:00 a.m. The cat performed figure 8s around our legs and the dogs bolted across the field to chase the startled rabbits.

4:00 in the morning full moon walk

We walked onto the road in our bare feet and noticed our shadows the super moon cast. We identified the flowery smell from the honeysuckle vines we had tasted earlier. We talked about why the grass was wet and why there was fog over the river.

Then we honored the quiet for a spell. No bird song. No frogs or crickets. No cicadas, yet. 

We noticed the blackness and whiteness of everything and spoke quietly about how color is an expression of light. When nearly all light is reflected, you see white. When no light is reflected, you see black. We went on for a while about shades and hues and the absence of light.

And that, my friends, is how you get a 7-year-old ready to go back to sleep.

Until next month’s full Strawberry Moon, may you make moments to create wonder and spark curiosity.

May’s full moon over the Ohio River

Filed Under: Writing Tagged With: full moon walk, moon cycles

Enrich what you hear with infodoodling

May 1, 2021

Visual language format valuable for understanding and recall

Author James Harris Writing Workshop
BBC Upload Festival 2021 Writing Workshop

At a workshop this morning I used Personal Infodoodling to capture content in a visual structure.

The Upload Festival 2021 has writer’s workshops and this morning featured James Harris, author of The Unbelievable Biscuit Factory and winner of the Hachette Children’s Novel Award. He shared tips and advice on how to generate your best creative ideas and bring them to life on the page.

Many more writing workshops are coming up. Visit the BBC Upload Festival 2021 learn more.

And for more about Personal Infodoodling, check out the book The Doodle Revolution by Sunni Brown.

Have a great weekend!

Day 91/100

Filed Under: Art Projects, Creative Education, Writing Tagged With: creative life, the 100 day project

Good things happen when you show up

April 29, 2021

Creative life can be your best life

Because of the 100 day project

Today I celebrate 100 days of blogging.

I launched on January 20th, inauguration day, an easy date to remember. In the presidency, the importance of the first 100 days originated with Franklin D. Roosevelt whose swift actions in the first months of his term helped combat the great depression.

I didn’t have a “great depression” to combat when I began this blog. It was more of a not-so-great one.

In my search over the years for the answers to “What am I supposed to be doing here, with my life, for others, just in general—what?” I tried many things with less than stellar results.

What I had not tried was purposefully living a creative life. And why would I when I’ve bought in to the notion creativity is unimportant? Being creative is something reserved for a hobby. It should never be a priority.

How wrong I have been.

I decided on writing a blog. A few days in, I found The 100 Day Project and joined because I knew accountability would help. Through it, I discovered @ElleLuna and signed on for her daily half hour Zoom meetings for the duration of the 100 days. Because I knew doing a project with others would help. Community is important.

I cast a wide net when I set my goals for the project: Show up every day behind the pen, the brush, or the lens and share my work.

And so I did.

Some days were meh, but some were out of this world fantastic. Most were ordinary but extremely satisfying.

I learned when I practice creativity regularly—make it a priority, good things happen. 

Serendipity occurs often. Aha moments become more frequent. Breakthroughs. Flow. Opportunities. Harmony. Peace. Improved health. Increased confidence. More experience. Discovery. A body of work. Community. Connections.

All you have to do is show up.

Filed Under: Art Projects, Creative Education, Writing Tagged With: creative life, the 100 day project

April’s Full Moon Walk made possible by technology

April 27, 2021

Distance no longer a factor

April full pink super moon 2021

April’s full pink super moon occurred on a school night and with the hour distance between me and my granddaughter, we had to compromise for our Walk When the Moon is Full adventure.

Enter FaceTime and a few screenshots.

Same moon, two different locations

We spoke about seeing the same moon even though we’re far apart. I walked on our road and she walked around her yard. I showed her the barge on the river and she showed me her tree.

I can see the moon too!

She figured out how to turn the device around to show the moon over her shoulder and I figured out how to take a screen shot without my finger over the lens.

Keep the fingers out of the way Mimi

We talked about East and West, why the April moon is called a pink one, and I may have used the words ‘perigee’ and super moon.

I don’t know if any of it sunk in and it’s okay if it didn’t. As long as she felt the connection and the love, that’s all that matters.


Somewhere out there

beneath the pale moonlight,

 

someone’s thinking of me

and loving me tonight.

 

And even though I know how

very far apart we are,

 

it helps to think we might be

wishing on the same bright star.

Song by James Ingram & Linda Ronstadt

Filed Under: Art Projects, Writing Tagged With: full moon walk, moon cycles, the 100 day project

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About Bex

 

Bex Hall

Her writing has appeared in various online and print publications, most recently in Kerning, a literary magazine, and in the Stories of Hope Collection in Transplant Living. Her artwork has appeared and sold through the Grayson Gallery. She blogs here about creative life and creates in Studio BE overlooking the Ohio River. Her work in progress is a memoir about the secret life of objects.

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  • Creative practice goals:

    Show up every day behind the pen, the brush, or the lens and share my work.

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