Month: February 2019

Creating ‘The Journey to Ukazoo’ Book project

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‘The Journey to Ukazoo’ Book project: Third of the 37 stories/images for preview before the Kickstarter Launch on March 4th.

Slide Three: ‘Birdbath’

After several days of gorgeous “made for beach weather”, I left Ocracoke on a much cooler, gray, overcast day. I drove the van onto another Ferry, headed to Cedar Island, and while just 16 miles away, the ride took an hour to reach its destination. It was my intent, if possible to take as many off roads as I could while still taking into consideration drive time and the ultimate fixed completion date of the Journey to Ukazoo. As much as I wanted to hug the coastline, I started with a coastal drive till I arrived at Wilmington, North Carolina. Then I altered my route to I-95, a main interstate highway, for the rest of the drive to my next stop in Savannah, Georgia.

This stop was chosen to not just for its tourist merits but for friends, originally met in Baltimore, Maryland, that had since relocated to Savannah. I contacted Judy and Bob before I left so I was expected. With an offer to stay at their place, I passed up a Bed & Breakfast opportunity.

For this stop, I spent a few days in pure tourist mode, visiting Savannahs historical district, parks, shops, and in complete awe of the many, some expansive and hundreds of years old, ‘live oak’ trees covered with Spanish moss. The botany aspect is a ‘live oak’ is named “live” because it is an evergreen oak (keeps its leaves) rather than a deciduous (loses its leaves every year) tree as most oaks are.

Then there is the music, lots of music. I was able to listen to some excellent folk music, hosted by the Savannah Folk Music Society, in an acoustical rich church one evening. The next day was a visit to hear the musically renown Savannah’s World-Famous Crabettes. A treat, given that Judy was one of the members and the Crabettes also included the talents of one member who plays a mean slide whistle and trombone kazoo.

During the tail end of my stay, I dropped down into a more relaxed fashion and took to wandering the outlining neighborhoods. One area I drifted into was of an antique flavor, weathered, moss covered brick border walls, pitted cast iron gates, large screened-in porches, workable stutters, gingerbread trim and well-manicured lawns.  Up ahead, the quiet I had grown accustom to during my meandering, started to evolve into a sense of excitement coupled with bursts of chirping sounds.

As I grew closer I came upon the front yard of a stately residence that was host to the LXIV National Bird Olympics. As I made my way pass numerous onlookers and a vast array of birds in attendance, I stopped to take this picture of the Free Style diving event that was in progress. Finding a clear spot on the lawn, I sat to watch a varied collection sizes, species, and colors of birds lining up to take their turn to dive from a tree’s branch into a waterfilled birdbath. After having watched a few dives, I felt that on this one particular dive that I just witnessed, I disagreed with the judges scores. It was my opinion that this wonderfully executed triple flip warranted a much higher score than the 7.5 he was rewarded with. A 9.5 would have been more reasonable, without a doubt!

Expressing my mild displeasure of this score to a couple of nearby feathered bystanders, they and a few more their friends, after introductions, of course, offered a few short but very informative lessons on how a triple flip was to be performed. They preceded to acquaint me with other types of dives I might observe and the different qualities the judges were looking for. My lessons included the finer points about “Beak Angle” “Wing Tilt” “Tail Feather Spread” and the all-important “Branch Bounce Vibration”. At the end of all this informational chirping, I sorely realized I lacked the required Birds Eye view needed to offer a truly educated opinion. It was best to just relax and enjoy.

I stayed a while longer and witnessed some fabulous dives but after watching all the diving activity I became a little famished. With a casual glance, I noticed all they had for sale at the local ‘food’ booths were no less than 22 different varieties of seed and 16 varieties of insects. Nothing against seed and insects, mind you, but I left to find something a little more substantial.

Tonight, I pack up and in the morning, I will say my fond farewells with hopes of visiting again.

Copyright Craig L Haupt

Ukazoo: Tradmark Ukazoo Books with permission.

#book #writing #journey #craiglhaupt #kickstarter #art #artist #artproject #project #baltimoreartist #whimsical #drawing #painting #watercolor #stories #Monday #publishbook #crowdfunding #Pen&ink #instagramcraiglhaupt

 

Creating ‘The Journey to Ukazoo’ Book project

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‘The Journey to Ukazoo’ Book project:

After the solo exhibit in 2014, the subject of putting this project into book form arose. Other projects took precedence but it was always my intent that if I ever opted to put this Ukazoo project in book form I wanted to add additional artwork in the form of a border.

Shown are 2 of 74 border artworks that will grace the bottom of each of the 37 stories and companion artworks. 2.75 x 8 inches each

To the book project, the video & music are done and uploaded to the Kickstarter worksheet. After a few tweaks to the “Rewards” worksheet section I submitted this project to Kickstarter for approval.

It has been approved and I will press the “Launch” Monday March 4th, around the 5:30/6:00 p.m. time frame.

Reward levels for donations to help with the publishing of this book include:

  1. A Thank you card
  2. A 5 x 7 inch art print
  3. A 8 x 10 inch art print
  4. ‘The Journey to Ukazoo’ book
  5. Your name in one of the stories
  6. Your name in one of the border artworks
  7. Original Border artwork

Later in the week, postings prior to the Kickstarter Launch will provide more detail information on “Rewards” and access to Kickstarter via Links.

Thanks to all that have taken the time read and ‘like’ this project.

Image: ‘Slide 2’ text and image border artwork

Text and Image: Copyright Craig L Haupt

Ukazoo: Trademark Ukazoo Books with permission.

 

Creating ‘The Journey to Ukazoo’ Book project

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‘At the Beach’

‘The Journey to Ukazoo’ book project:

A preview of the second of 37 stories included in the soon to be published Book. Kickstarter Launch in March!

Slide Two – ‘At the Beach’ –  June 10, 2013

             As I drove, I now had to develop a mindset that this was the first of many daylong drives encompassing 9 months on my way to Ukazoo. At the end of the day I had been on the road almost 9 hours, seven and a half hours of drive time plus stops. I made it to the Swan Quarter Ferry within 45 minutes of the last Ferry to Ocracoke Island, which departed at 4:30 pm. The Ferry ride took a little over three hours and even with not having to do any driving with the boat ride, I was still very worn out by days end.

With this first leg of the journey, I had mapped out the first three stops and called ahead for reservations based on my intended day of arrival and on my length of stays. After that I would need to pour over maps and brochures I had collected for this trip and rely on tapping into ‘Google’ on my phone for any assistance in finding additional places to stay in future planned and unplanned stops.

I also wanted to, at the very least, have my first stay-overs be at a Bed & Breakfast if possible. I make no secret, I love the experience of a Bed & Breakfast. Awakening to the smells of fresh juices, fruits, and cooked foods bathed with the personalities of the hosts, coupled with the menagerie of guests from different parts of the country and around the globe, meeting, exchanging stories of places of origin, their current trip experiences, and anecdotes from life’s memories is one of my highlights of these, sometimes sparse, opportunities to travel.

This first inn in my Journey to Ukazoo, fulfilled those expectations.

Given the forecast of several days of warm sunny weather and besides the usual around the town sightseeing, relaxing for a while on the beach and maybe going for a swim seemed a wonderful option. Not forgetting to pack the bathing suit, compact beach chair, sunscreen, and bath towel, I made my way to water’s edge. I choose to visit a beach to the ocean side of the island rather than the bay side, with calm to no winds, the ocean waters proved tranquil to bathe and relax by after the long drive.

Over the course of the next few days I had made daily visits to the beach, some days more crowded with bathers than others. Today was a day of light populace. Camped not far and within earshot was a sizable gathering of family members, some I had met earlier in the week, spread out on a connected grouping of four large blankets. There were the usual suspects, beach chairs occupied with readers of books, ear buds for those lost-in-music aficionados, bodies stretched out to welcome the sun’s rays and of course the water devotees.

Given the interesting makeup of this extended family and proximity, I became the casual observer.

Of all the observations, the more interesting story-line developed at water’s edge.

This shot was taken of a little fellow named Sherman, getting ready to test the slowly churning break of waves ending just short of his toe. Even though his older brothers and sisters as well as several other nearby kids, who were already in the water, were urging Sherman to join them, he was reluctant to go in. Being more content with playing in the sand, an occasional sand castle here and there, Sherman appeared to be not overly fond of cold water and sporting an over active imagination, even more afraid of any alligators that might be lurking in the shallow depths of the ocean.

His parents, on several occasions, at other beaches as well as today, pointed out, with words and books, that alligators do not live in the ocean and besides, they assured him, they haven’t seen any since they arrived.

The fact that his family had only been there for only 3 days now and recalling a story they told about finding him in a Cabbage patch as a baby, and Easter bunnies made and delivered candy, didn’t offer Sherman any great reassurance on the absence of alligators. So, after testing the water, he turned and slowly went back to building his sandcastle. Too cold seemed to be a good enough reason and repeatedly denied to his brothers and sisters spiteful accusations, that alligators had anything to do with his reluctance to join them.

Yes, there was a silent chuckle on my part, but to this day, as I packed up to head back to the Inn, I swear I thought I heard a few long-tailed swishes in the water behind me.

 

Creating ‘The Journey to Ukazoo’ Book project

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‘The Journey to Ukazoo’ Book project:

Intermingled with the 9 oil paintings displayed at Ukazoo Bookstore in 2014 were 23 smaller works called ’Thumbnail Sketches’ and I definitely mean smaller. The drawings themselves are 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 inches and with mat and frame a robust 5 x 5 inches in size.

In the book they will show four to a page.

To the book project, the video portion is done and has been sent to a friend to compose the background music. Once the music track is laid in, I will then upload it to the Kickstarter worksheets and submit ‘The Journey to Ukazoo’ book project for approval to launch the Crowdfunding campaign.

Checked with new postal rates, reviewed updated quotes for digital scanning/layout costs, and received an updated quote from the publisher to finalize what the monetary goal I will be asking for to publish the book.

 

Image: ‘Thumbnail Sketches’ (two in private collections)

Text and Image: Copyright Craig L Haupt

Ukazoo: Trademark Ukazoo Books with permission.

 

Creating ‘The Journey to Ukazoo’ Book project

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Steppin’ Out

‘The Journey to Ukazoo’ book project:

A preview of the first of 37 stories included in the soon to be published Book. Kickstarter Launch in March!

Slide One – ‘Steppin’ Out’ –  June 3, 2013

It is June 3th, 2013, a clear Monday morning with warm hints of the temperature starting to rise.

I’ve been getting ready for this day for over a month now with both anticipation and apprehension. It’s to be a long 9-month trip and hopefully my preparation will give me the advantage of a successful journey. With all the groundwork I have done, I know there are parts of this trip that cast uncertainties in choosing paths and locations.

The few days before, in the midst of all my packing, I washed the van, cleaned, and vacuumed the interior to get her as fresh to go as I possibly could. The day before, I filled the gas tank and set the trip and gas odometers to zero.

Besides the usual suspects, the suitcases were packed with as many changes of clothes I could cram in, the ditty-bag bursting with every imageable heath and grooming concern I could think of, I also included the items I felt should be at my fingertips for this long drive.

Before packing the back of the van, I made sure my bike had its spot secured to one side. All other suitcases, boxes, and bags followed.

Of course, the camera, nudged between the seats, headed the list so that I could record as many sights as I possible. A ‘Trip diary’ book ruled and columned to chart my days, miles traveled, and include notes of people, places, and events.

Of most importance to this long drive and secured to the front passenger seat is a flat, full fitted, and sanded piece of plywood to hold four attached plastic containers with items of need within arm’s reach – three containers in a row and one to the left side. The third one back in the row holds the Trip-diary, extra pencils and pens, pen knife (for alligator attacks), a few Band-Aids, Advil, rubber bands, spare glasses, index cards, an old dented Harmonica, and other ’I might need’ items.

The first container of the row carries a familiar long trip snack, salted pretzel rods.

The middle one and the one to the left, without a doubt reflects my age. The middle one is an array of maps of the various states I anticipate, both driving through or stopping in. I hear all you saying GPS, GPS. Even if I had a GPS in the van, I would still be carrying the maps. There is a sort of romanticism about unfolding a map and perusing all the possible routes and the out of the way small towns. There’s also the trusting of our sense of intuitiveness to decide to sometimes take ‘a road less traveled’, see where it leads, and the personal sense of triumph in finding your way back to a familiar route. The important part is the deadline for finishing the trip. I need to end my Journey to Ukazoo February 10th, 2014 so that I can set up the Art Exhibit at Ukazoo Bookstore to open on February 16, 2014.

The container on the left will open the readers eyes a bit more. This container, houses music cassettes.  Yes, cassettes with lots and lots of music I have selected to record, over lots and lots and lots of years. I have and listen to other forms of recorded music but for the road trips, the recorded music on the cassettes always fit nicely for the long drives. They, like the maps, envelope a certain sense of familiarly – old friends if you may.

Checked the stove and lights and with a turn of the key to lock the door, I made my way out to the van.

This first camera shot/selfie is of me taking that first step on my journey to Ukazoo. To be honest, the image is a little deceptive as I do sport a beard and mustache. The hair on the other hand, or should I say, ‘lack of hair’, is accurate. With the van packed, a small cooler with water up front by the camera and a small tin of homemade chocolate chip cookies to intertwined with the pretzel snacks, I am ready to go. Setting the trip odometer to zero and settling in for a ten-hour drive and Ferry ride, my first stop is Ocacoke, N.C.

 

Text and image: Copyright Craig L Haupt

Ukazoo: Trademark Ukazoo Bookstore, used by permission.

 

 

Creating ‘The Journey to Ukazoo’ Book project

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‘A Walk in the Park’

‘The Journey to Ukazoo’ Book project:

Besides the five 16 x 20 inch oil paintings displayed at the Ukazoo Art exhibit, there were four paintings in the 22 inch realm. Of two that were 22 x 22 inches, ‘A Walk in the Park’ was one of those paintings.

To the book project, spent the morning where I get my digital scanning done. Two fold. Getting some images adjusted in size to match others I have on the Kickstarter Story page. Second, working to get a fairly accurate quote for all the scanning and layouts to be done if the Kickstarter goal is met and the book proceeds to publishing. This needs to be worked in to other costs (Publishing and materials) to establish the total dollar goal needed.

With a raise in postal rates, another stop at the post office to finalize mailing/shipping cost to be added to Kickstarter Rewards section.

 

Image: ‘A Walk in the Park’

Text and Image: Copyright Craig L Haupt

Ukazoo: Trademark Ukazoo Books with permission.

 

Creating ‘The Journey to Ukazoo’ Book project

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‘The Journey to Ukazoo’ Book project:

Sunday Journey to Ukazoo Notes:

Well folks, coming down the home stretch for a March Kickstarter Campaign Launch.

First a wonderful Thank you to those Sharing this project.

Completion of the video editing for the Kickstarter Home Page and submission approval will determine the March Launch date.

I will be adding a posting day besides Monday. On Wednesdays I will be posting the first few stories of ‘The Journey to Ukazoo’ to let on-line viewers get a glimpse of the Story portion of this project.

On future Sunday evenings there will be a post listing the ‘rewards’ to be offered for donations to help with the publishing of this Ukazoo Book project.

Image: ‘Hi’

Text and Image: Copyright Craig L Haupt

Ukazoo: Trademark Ukazoo Books with permission.

 

Creating ‘The Journey to Ukazoo’ Book-‘The Exhibit’

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‘The Journey to Ukazoo’ Book project:

Following ‘Journey’s’ 37 text and image portion and the 8 images and notations of the ‘Snapshots and Memorabilia’ section of ‘The Journey to Ukazoo’ book project, there was the Ukazoo Art Exhibit itself. The primary focal point of the exhibit were 9 oil paintings. Five of the 9 were 16 x 20 inch, oil on board. This was one of those paintings.

To the book project, a bout of sickness put some of the artwork items on delay but I did continue progress on the computer with a few Kickstarter worksheets. Completed the Profile page. Adding or revising items in the Rewards section and same can be said for the Story page, adding text and selected images.

Made appointment to get three border art strips digitally scanned so I can finalize the Story page.

Image: ‘The Couple’ in Private collection

Oil of board,  20” x 16”

Text and Image: Copyright Craig L Haupt

Ukazoo: Trademark Ukazoo Books with permission.