Joanne's Book Signing

Last Sunday, Joanne Fink hosted a book signing event with her family and friends.

Joanne advertised the afternoon as a time to "Color, Create, Shop, and Celebrate."

While that was an accurate description, it did not begin to capture the love and community reflected by the people who came to support her.

She wrote a piece about it on her blog this week - click here to check it out.  In it, she details the happy events of the day.  

Joanne also invited me to display my frames there and I happily obliged ~

Adele Bruno, CZT

On her blog post, there is a photograph of five of the six CZTs in attendance - Jo-Ellen Matthews, Sindy P, Dorian Eng, Tracey Lyons, and myself.  (Barb Gill was not present when the photograph was taken.)  We had a wonderful reunion.

There were  three new books that Joanne was celebrating.  The first was the long awaited Kickstarter project, When You Lose Someone You Love - a true labor of love.  It is a compilation of inspiring thoughts and drawings about grief that Joanne wrote after the sudden loss of her husband, Andy.
It is now available for purchase on her website:  zenspirations.com.

The other two are the newest additions to her line of Zenspirations® Create, Color, Pattern, Play books:
Expressions of Faith and Birds and Butterflies.

A few months ago, Joanne asked me to contribute to them.  It was a tremendous honor.

Here is one of the two pages I completed for her Birds and Butterflies book ~

Completed page from Butterflies and Flowers by Joanne Fink.  Color and patterning by Adele Bruno, CZT

Her illustrations are beautiful, and the work of fellow contributors is inspiring.

The books will be available in Michael's Stores on October 3 and are currently available from Amazon - along with many other titles by Joanne.

I am especially grateful to Joanne for the opportunity to participate in her latest projects, and to be welcomed in to the many creative communities she has lovingly nurtured.

Take some time to visit her website - Zenpirations - you will feel welcomed, too!

A Wonderful Wednesday

There is much to celebrate and be grateful for everyday and today is no exception.

Congratulations are in order for the graduating CZT XVI Class! They are finishing up their seminar in Providence, Rhode Island, today - Woohoo!  Special shout out to Judy, Shea, and Lucy and all the newly minted CZTs.   Imagine the influence they will have on the world as they return home and spread the love for all things Zentangle®.

Congratulations to Joanne Fink who's Kickstarter has been a great success.  (Click here to read about it.)  With just a few days left there is more good news - It is not too late to jump on board and pledge your support.  It is also a wonderful way to reserve your copy of her new book
When You Loose Someone You Love.
A special thank you to all my readers who have supported her campaign.

And now for our Wednesday inspiration ~

Tangled Leaves by Adele Bruno, CZT

Fall, leaves, fall; die, flowers, away;
Lengthen night and shorten day!
Every leaf speaks bliss to me,
Fluttering from the autumn tree...
                                                                                                  ~Emily Brontë



(Project Particulars - Zentangle white tile, Black and Brown Micron 01, Derwent colored pencils.)

Joanne Fink's New Project

Two weeks ago, I mentioned that Joanne Fink was soon to announce a new venture.  Today, she published the idea for her new book When You Loose Someone You Love
as well as an invitation to help her.

For many personal reasons, Joanne decided to self publish this book born from the grief of mourning her husband after his sudden death.

First read what Joanne has to say about the project.  This is from her blog ~ Zenspriations.com 

I wanted to share some exciting news— I’ve decided to self-publish, “When You Lose Someone You Love”, an illustrated book of excerpts from the grief journals I kept after my husband died unexpectedly three years ago. I want to publish this book to reach out to others going through the grieving process because I know first-hand how devastating it can be to lose someone you love. Connecting with those who were further along on their grief journey made a difference to me… and I’d like to help make a difference for others. It helps to know that you are not alone, that there will be days when you feel overwhelmed, nights when you can’t sleep, and times when waves of sadness wash over you unexpectedly. “When You Lose Someone You Love” is a gift of comfort, offering hope without sugar-coating the challenges of losing a loved one.

I’ve actually had offers from several publishers, but they all wanted to change the book in some way. Since I feel those changes would weaken its ability to help people who are grieving, I've decided to self-publish instead and will be launching my first Kickstarter tomorrow!

In case you aren’t familiar with crowd-funding, Kickstarter funds independent, creative projects, such as books, films, and inventions. Supporters of a project help bring it to life; in return, the supporters receive rewards if— and only if— the project is completely funded. Backers select the amount they wish to contribute (often based on which reward they wish to receive), and then are asked to provide either an Amazon account or a credit card. If the funding does not reach the amount necessary for the project, then the project will not move forward, and no funds will change hands.
Most successful Kickstarter projects have two things in common: getting support the day it launches and having friends and family share the project. Immediate support is important because when the Kickstarter website sees initial momentum, they then feature that project on their site so it gains maximum exposure. Sharing is important because the more sharing about the project that is done by friends and family, the more likely it is that the project will be funded. Please help me spread the word. Blog if you can, share via social media- and/or forward the link to those who might support the campaign. Please use the hashtag #WhenYouLoseSomeone on social media so others can find your posts.

Then listen to her story ~ click here to view her Kickstarter page and her video.

Finally, you can do what I did and pledge to support her venture.  (Besides, her incentives for pledges are awesome :)

I was able to see the book when I visited with her a few weeks ago.  It is truly a labor of love.  It is full of truths about loss that are comforting to read.  They leave you with the sense that you are not alone in your sorrow and conversely not alone in your effort to carry your loss and move forward.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Meeting a Master

Today was special - as is every day - but this one was especially special.

Along with four of my dear friends and fellow CZTs, I had the privilege of visiting with calligrapher, author, letter artist, designer, all around amazing woman, and founder of Zenspirations, Joanne Fink.

Yes, the Joanne Fink.  As it turns out, we live very near each other.

We spent the afternoon trying our hand at marker and pen calligraphy, perusing a sampling of the numerous books Joanne has written or contributed to, and mostly marveling at her expertise.

Here are a few pictures of our time together.
I post them here just in case I wake up in the morning and think it was all a wonderful dream ~

Around the table: yours truly, Carolyn Russell, Joan Delony, Joanne Fink, Tracey Lyon, and Sindy P.

Joanne demonstrated the Koi Coloring Brush Pens from Sakura.  As she graciously wrote each of our names, she gave us pointers gleaned from her years of experience.

A fabulous day spent in creative company at the hands of a master artist -
now that is especially special.

On an exciting note, Joanne gave us a preview of a precious project that she has poured her heart into.  It is something we can all participate in supporting and I will have more details in the next few weeks - stay tuned!!