A little art, a little origami

During September my local art gallery, Beach Art, has been holding a local Authors and Illustrators exhibition featuring among others, the work of Sue Whiting, Donna Rawlins, Ann Lamb, Lexie Watt, Rhian Nest-James and myself.

To kick off the first day of the school holidays, I spent an hour in the gallery making origami and chatting with the kids who called in to say hello. We made samurai kabuto hats, ninja, talking dinosaurs, sumo wrestler, cups and more. Sometimes the simplest things are the most fun as we launched our twirling butterflies into the airstream of the fan (butterfly instructions here)

Happy Book Weeking

I love Book Week and this year my dance card is overflowing. There are two things I am sure of - 1) I'll reach the end of my seven days absolutely exhausted and 2) I will be totally exhilarated and inspired to write. (I have also just learned how to spell exhilarated. I really thought there were two 'i's!)

So where am I off to, on The Pointy Sticks and Loud Noises Tour, waving my bokken, blowing my shakuhachi flute and banging my gong? Willoughby City Council Library, Mosman Library, Stanton Library North Sydney, Lane Cove Library, Kogarah Library, Oatley PS, Blakehurst PS, Carlton South PS, North Sydney for a Video Conference, Warrawee Ps and Ultimo Ps. Whew!

I am madly making origami samurai hats for all the new friends I will meet.

Can a Guest Blog Post Sell a Book?

Yes it can. I read a blog post this week and just had to have the book. The book was The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angelberger and I found it on author Cynthia Leitich Smith's blog Cynsations.

First the cover grabbed me. I'm a Star wars fan ever since I sneaked out to see the first movie back in 1977. I love origami and the idea of Origami Yoda had me reaching for my pad of paper squares. But the final nail in the book order was Tom's blog post account of how the book made it's way through the tricky, trademark-obstacled path to publication. Heartwarming! I'm not going to spoil the story. I recommend you read it here.

And watch it here:


I'll be back with a review of the book another day. And if anyone wants a guest blogger author, I'm always available...