They say that life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away! While Sweden was full of these moments for me, one of the most inspirational was a visit to the home and gardens of the famous Swedish artist, Carl Larsson. Born into a poverty-stricken family in 1853, he found a way to follow his dream and talent, to become a world-renowned artist - and to actually become wealthy from the sale of his art work.
Winding through tiny streets in his picturesque village of Sundborn, it felt almost surreal, as if I'd just stepped back into the last century. Carl lived with his wife, Karin, and his eight children in a red Swedish cottage on a private lake. His family, home, and gardens were frequently the subjects that he painted.
I was entranced - and greatly inspired by his quaint cottage. French windows overlooking the lake and gardens were lined with red geranium flowers in clay pots. There were nooks and crannies in which to write, paint, or do needlework. Carl had painted portraits of each of his children, and his wife, on the interior doors, sometimes extending his artistic endeavors up and across the ceilings.
Standing quietly in the midst of his gardens, I marveled at a 350 year old apple tree that is still producing apples! There is something magical about this place...
Breathing deeply,I could almost feel spirits of the past lingering on here. Inspiration flowed through me like a river, as if I'd been touched by the stroke of Carl's paint brush.
I'm back home, back to work on my computer. I've framed one of Carl's photos above my desk, a source of inspiration for me. When I look at it, I hope to tap into my experiences in his gardens. Thanks, Carl!
Stay tuned and please stay in touch.
Janet Kay
www.watersofthedancingsky.com
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Stepping Back in Time...
As I explore the nooks and crannies of Sweden, I am overwhelmed with the deep sense of history that seems to seep into one's mind and soul. Wandering through quaint villages along winding cobble-stoned streets, there's a sense of stepping back in time...far back.
In America, I was intrigued with "relics" from the 1800's. Here, I'm disappointed to find that the village church where some of my ancestors lived during the 1600's and early 1700's was not even built until 1840! Imagine that!
What I have seen so far are incredible Gothic and Romanesque medieval churches and cathedrals dating back to the 11th and 12th centuries. Swedish life has always revolved around its' churches, perched high above surrounding little villages and farms. They feature some of the finest art work and decor that you will see anyplace in Europe. The history behind these "kyrkas" is fascinating, opening one's mind to endless possibilities for future stories!
I have one of my own amazing stories to share. Something had been nagging me to visit a certain research center here in Ronneby, Sweden on the Baltic Sea. I soon discovered why! The research geneologist who was helping me decipher Swedish records suddenly became very much interested in my family's pedigree chart. She began furiously working at her computer. Finally she turned to me with a big smile on her face, tears in her eyes, and gave me a big hug! She informed me that we were related! It seems that my great-great-great-great grandmother was a sister to Annika's! The two girls, born in 1796 and 1801,came from a family of FOURTEEN children! So, I now have a relative in Sweden whom I plan to stay in touch with.
Amazing things can happen when you embark upon a journey to research your past.
Stay tuned and please stay in touch!
Janet Kay
www.watersofthedancingsky.com
In America, I was intrigued with "relics" from the 1800's. Here, I'm disappointed to find that the village church where some of my ancestors lived during the 1600's and early 1700's was not even built until 1840! Imagine that!
What I have seen so far are incredible Gothic and Romanesque medieval churches and cathedrals dating back to the 11th and 12th centuries. Swedish life has always revolved around its' churches, perched high above surrounding little villages and farms. They feature some of the finest art work and decor that you will see anyplace in Europe. The history behind these "kyrkas" is fascinating, opening one's mind to endless possibilities for future stories!
I have one of my own amazing stories to share. Something had been nagging me to visit a certain research center here in Ronneby, Sweden on the Baltic Sea. I soon discovered why! The research geneologist who was helping me decipher Swedish records suddenly became very much interested in my family's pedigree chart. She began furiously working at her computer. Finally she turned to me with a big smile on her face, tears in her eyes, and gave me a big hug! She informed me that we were related! It seems that my great-great-great-great grandmother was a sister to Annika's! The two girls, born in 1796 and 1801,came from a family of FOURTEEN children! So, I now have a relative in Sweden whom I plan to stay in touch with.
Amazing things can happen when you embark upon a journey to research your past.
Stay tuned and please stay in touch!
Janet Kay
www.watersofthedancingsky.com
Saturday, September 11, 2010
"Trollin" in Sweden
Greetings from the land of the midnight sun! I'm here in Smaland doing some family history research, visiting little villages where my Swedish ancestors once lived, trying to learn more about their lives.
I recently went "trollin" in the amazing Trollskogan forest on the northern tip of the Island of Oland in the Baltic Sea. They say that trolls live here! Ancient gnarled oaks twist through the dense forest, taking on the shape of witches, ghosts, and trolls. One tree is 900 years old! I was alone in a fairyland, stumbling over rocky trails, walking through silky threads of spider webs. In the background, the sea wails and crashes against the rocky shoreline. All alone...wondering what lurks around the next bend. Yes, this is a place where imaginations soar. A place to set a story, perhaps. What if...
I contined my "trollin" - this time, searching for tiny villages where my ancestors lived in the 1700's and 1800's. A very long time ago. Some of their old farms no longer exist although remnants of their lives dot the forested landscape.
I was delighted to find the Algutsboda Kyrka (church) where my ancestors were baptized, where many were buried. It was built in the 1500's, renovated in the 1700's. Searching through the grave yard in a drizzling rain, I was disappointed to learn that the graves of my relatives were no longer visible. They now lie buried beneath another layer of gravestones. That is the way they do things here...
My search for these graves was similar to my search for the trolls. Perhaps I didn't find what I thought I was looking for...but maybe I found even more. Maybe we don't need physical evidence of things like spirits and trolls. Maybe it's enough just to feel their presence...to believe in the magic.
Stay tuned and please stay in touch.
Janet Kay
www.watersofthedancingsky.com
I recently went "trollin" in the amazing Trollskogan forest on the northern tip of the Island of Oland in the Baltic Sea. They say that trolls live here! Ancient gnarled oaks twist through the dense forest, taking on the shape of witches, ghosts, and trolls. One tree is 900 years old! I was alone in a fairyland, stumbling over rocky trails, walking through silky threads of spider webs. In the background, the sea wails and crashes against the rocky shoreline. All alone...wondering what lurks around the next bend. Yes, this is a place where imaginations soar. A place to set a story, perhaps. What if...
I contined my "trollin" - this time, searching for tiny villages where my ancestors lived in the 1700's and 1800's. A very long time ago. Some of their old farms no longer exist although remnants of their lives dot the forested landscape.
I was delighted to find the Algutsboda Kyrka (church) where my ancestors were baptized, where many were buried. It was built in the 1500's, renovated in the 1700's. Searching through the grave yard in a drizzling rain, I was disappointed to learn that the graves of my relatives were no longer visible. They now lie buried beneath another layer of gravestones. That is the way they do things here...
My search for these graves was similar to my search for the trolls. Perhaps I didn't find what I thought I was looking for...but maybe I found even more. Maybe we don't need physical evidence of things like spirits and trolls. Maybe it's enough just to feel their presence...to believe in the magic.
Stay tuned and please stay in touch.
Janet Kay
www.watersofthedancingsky.com
Monday, August 30, 2010
Summer's End...
The last sultry days of summer are slipping silently into the mist of early autumn mornings. Intricate spider webs hang precariously from twisted branches of gnarled old oaks. Subtle shades of sun-drenched red and gold begin to emerge along winding country roads.
Tonight I sit alone on my deck overlooking Whitefish Lake as waves crash beneath me. As shadows slip into an endless lake. As wild winds penetrate the pitch of night. Tonight there is no moon. There are no stars. All I can see is black leaves rustling and swaying to the rhythm of the night, dipping and dancing against a blackened sky that seems to threaten the world below.
I wait - as winds begin to howl, as thunder booms across the universe, as jagged spikes of white lightning sizzle across my lake. It's time to retreat into the safety of my home, I think, as the heavens unleash a downpour of icy rain.
As I slam my windows shut against the fickle whims of nature, I ponder the seasons of life that provide balance in our lives, that inspire us to write, to create, and to dream. I long to fling these windows wide open,to let the creative juices flow in again. And I know that they will, when the time is right...
Stay tuned, and please stay in touch!
Janet Kay
www.watersofthedancingsky.com
Tonight I sit alone on my deck overlooking Whitefish Lake as waves crash beneath me. As shadows slip into an endless lake. As wild winds penetrate the pitch of night. Tonight there is no moon. There are no stars. All I can see is black leaves rustling and swaying to the rhythm of the night, dipping and dancing against a blackened sky that seems to threaten the world below.
I wait - as winds begin to howl, as thunder booms across the universe, as jagged spikes of white lightning sizzle across my lake. It's time to retreat into the safety of my home, I think, as the heavens unleash a downpour of icy rain.
As I slam my windows shut against the fickle whims of nature, I ponder the seasons of life that provide balance in our lives, that inspire us to write, to create, and to dream. I long to fling these windows wide open,to let the creative juices flow in again. And I know that they will, when the time is right...
Stay tuned, and please stay in touch!
Janet Kay
www.watersofthedancingsky.com
Monday, August 23, 2010
"On The Edge..."
"If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space," an unknown author once wrote. I wholeheartedly agree!
What does it mean to live "on the edge?" For me, it implies taking a few risks in life, exploring the unknown, being open to new things and ideas. I've tried to do this in my own life, not always successfully, I might add! I've parasailed off the Florida coast, ventured deep into the heart of the jungles of Honduras in a crude dug-out(canoe), snorkeled in the turquoise waters of Hawaii,and jumped into the frigid waters of the Arctic Ocean in Alaska (my initiation into the "polar bear club")I've also gone dog sledding in Wyoming...an adventure that came to an abrupt halt when I broke my back. Still, it was an amazing experience, one that will show up in my writing someday.
Living on the edge also means finally writing that novel that has been bubbling around in your subconscious for years. Unless you try, how do you know if you can really do it?
It means thinking out of the box, interpreting life's experiences. I once wrote a poem entitled "On the Edge":
What is real and what is not?
Who is to be the judge of that...
you or me?
For it's a different world that we each see,
shaped by who we are,
by where our paths have led us.
A fine line it is we cross at times,
weaving back and forth
between inner and outer space,
balancing the shifting realities of life.
Sometimes we stand shivering
on the edge...
on the brink of conflicting realities,
wondering where "reality" really ends...
or if it even
exists at all."
between i
Here's to life on the edge!
Stay tuned and please stay in touch.
Janet Kay
www.watersofthedancingsky.com
What does it mean to live "on the edge?" For me, it implies taking a few risks in life, exploring the unknown, being open to new things and ideas. I've tried to do this in my own life, not always successfully, I might add! I've parasailed off the Florida coast, ventured deep into the heart of the jungles of Honduras in a crude dug-out(canoe), snorkeled in the turquoise waters of Hawaii,and jumped into the frigid waters of the Arctic Ocean in Alaska (my initiation into the "polar bear club")I've also gone dog sledding in Wyoming...an adventure that came to an abrupt halt when I broke my back. Still, it was an amazing experience, one that will show up in my writing someday.
Living on the edge also means finally writing that novel that has been bubbling around in your subconscious for years. Unless you try, how do you know if you can really do it?
It means thinking out of the box, interpreting life's experiences. I once wrote a poem entitled "On the Edge":
What is real and what is not?
Who is to be the judge of that...
you or me?
For it's a different world that we each see,
shaped by who we are,
by where our paths have led us.
A fine line it is we cross at times,
weaving back and forth
between inner and outer space,
balancing the shifting realities of life.
Sometimes we stand shivering
on the edge...
on the brink of conflicting realities,
wondering where "reality" really ends...
or if it even
exists at all."
between i
Here's to life on the edge!
Stay tuned and please stay in touch.
Janet Kay
www.watersofthedancingsky.com
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
SO... NOW WHAT?
Now that I've accomplished my goal of publishing my first novel, WATERS OF THE DANCING SKY, I'm asking myself the question that all authors seem to ask post-publication - "So now what?"
Although I'm buried in marketing efforts - and it is paying off - it's time to set some new goals, right? After all, I'm on a roll...I think... My book reviews are great. I continue to get wonderful notes from my readers. Many are asking for a sequel to "Waters," not wanting to let go of my characters and their lives on Rainy Lake. They want more! Some of them are even sending me some wild and crazy ideas for a sequel - what fun!
Yes, a sequel is in the works, currently hibernating in the recesses of my mind as it comes to life. I'm lovin' all the input from my readers. If any of you have suggestions for this next book, please let me know.
Stay tuned and please stay in touch!
Janet Kay
www.watersofthedancingsky.com
Although I'm buried in marketing efforts - and it is paying off - it's time to set some new goals, right? After all, I'm on a roll...I think... My book reviews are great. I continue to get wonderful notes from my readers. Many are asking for a sequel to "Waters," not wanting to let go of my characters and their lives on Rainy Lake. They want more! Some of them are even sending me some wild and crazy ideas for a sequel - what fun!
Yes, a sequel is in the works, currently hibernating in the recesses of my mind as it comes to life. I'm lovin' all the input from my readers. If any of you have suggestions for this next book, please let me know.
Stay tuned and please stay in touch!
Janet Kay
www.watersofthedancingsky.com
Monday, August 9, 2010
Retreating into the world of nature
Sigurd Olson, the renowned environmentalist and lover of nature once wrote,"If we can somehow retain places where we can always sense the mystery of the unknown,our lives will be richer." I wholeheartedly agree!
I was fortunate to spend a week recently on a remote wilderness island of Rainy Lake along the Minnesota/Ontario international border...the place where my novel,"Waters of the Dancing Sky,"is set. I spent the week with 9 of my St. Croix Writer's friends - sharing evening meals and campfires, taking cool dips in the lake, participating in workshops together. During the day, we worked on our individual writing projects,roamed around the island picking blueberries, absorbing the nature and the history of this magical place.
Here,far from home, we reatreated into a world of the past. As I sat on my rustic deck late at night, immersed in the call of the loons and a full moon glistening across rippling waters, I slipped back into the days when Ernest Oberholtzer lived here...in this house. I felt his presence, his love of nature, his dedication to preserving this part of the wilderness for us all.
Somehow, nature soothes - and releases creative forces bubbling deep within us all. Now and then, we need to retreat into the world of nature, taking time to balance our lives and renew our energy. We need to rediscover the mystery of unknown places.
Stay tuned and please stay in touch!
Janet Kay
www.watersofthedancingsky.com
I was fortunate to spend a week recently on a remote wilderness island of Rainy Lake along the Minnesota/Ontario international border...the place where my novel,"Waters of the Dancing Sky,"is set. I spent the week with 9 of my St. Croix Writer's friends - sharing evening meals and campfires, taking cool dips in the lake, participating in workshops together. During the day, we worked on our individual writing projects,roamed around the island picking blueberries, absorbing the nature and the history of this magical place.
Here,far from home, we reatreated into a world of the past. As I sat on my rustic deck late at night, immersed in the call of the loons and a full moon glistening across rippling waters, I slipped back into the days when Ernest Oberholtzer lived here...in this house. I felt his presence, his love of nature, his dedication to preserving this part of the wilderness for us all.
Somehow, nature soothes - and releases creative forces bubbling deep within us all. Now and then, we need to retreat into the world of nature, taking time to balance our lives and renew our energy. We need to rediscover the mystery of unknown places.
Stay tuned and please stay in touch!
Janet Kay
www.watersofthedancingsky.com
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