mixing things up - short story sunday

Since I have no ability to shut up when it comes to blogging, I don't regard my weekly sunday post a necessity anymore. I started Where I Stand Sunday because I wanted to train myself into a regular blogging habit. I think its pretty clear from my endless babbling that it worked.

But I love the regular Sunday posting. Seeing as how Where I Stand has gone on for nearly three years now, I think its safe to say that a little bit of variety would be welcome. I don't plan to kill off the essay but I'd like to add it into a rotation. I've been giving it some thought as to what I'd like to trade it off with and I came up with two other things.


Printed Project Sunday

I'm a screen printing junkie. I think the whole world should be covered in it. Its a certain kind of magic that never gets old. And I know I'm not alone on this. Printed Project Sunday will be a showcase kind of posting of any screen printed thing.

But not my stuff. My stuff gets featured all the time on the blog. I want your stuff (keep it clean, please, this is a PG rated blog).

It doesn't need to be something printed with a thermofax screen - although you'll warm my heart if it is. It can be deconstructed screen printing, experimental screen printing, homemade screen printing, gocco screen printing, any kind of screen printing. Email me a picture of your project at FibraArtysta@earthlink.net with its story (what kind of screen printing you used, the story of the project, your blog/website info, etc).

Anyone who is featured on the blog will go into a drawing for a free thermofax screen from my etsy shop. Since this kind of posting will only show up every three weeks, we'll do a drawing every three months. Want to play? Get emailing.


Short Story Sunday

I don't talk a lot about my writing here. But I do a lot of it. Its something I'm still getting comfortable sharing. The closest I've come are the captions on the Where I Stand photos. I consider the mini captions a challenge - just to see how much I can cram into a few short sentences.

I'm going to do a different version. I'll grab one of my photos (not of my feet) and attach a short story to it. I'm not going to set a limit on how many words or sentences but it won't be more then a few of paragraphs.

My writing style is much like my fiber art style - a bit abstract and incomplete around the edges. I'm not going to angst over these, they'll be written off the cuff. While I am planning right now to use my own photos, if you have one that you'd like to share, I'd love to use it.


So there it is. I hope you'll find the new posts interesting. If they don't work out we'll move on to something else.

Without further ado, I give you the first Short Story Sunday post.


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Short Story Sunday



He leaned back in the driver's side, resting his head, letting it tilt slightly to the left. There was a time when he would rush from the car the moment he pulled into the driveway. But these days he took his time, let the day tick off his shoulders with each breath.

The sun seemed like it had lost its hold on the sky, it slipped lower quicker every day. The year was closing up shop. It made him feel weary and relieved all at the same time. The promise of something new was few and far between, something to trap between both hands.

He reached out and laid his hand across the box in the passenger side. The airbag sensor had binged at him the entire drive home, insistent that there was someone in that seat that needed to be secured. It wasn't entirely wrong. The box was important. But it wasn't something that could be bundled into safety with something as simple as a seat belt. He tapped his finger lightly against one corner.

With a reflexive sigh he hoisted it into his lap, balancing it against the steering wheel as he pushed the door open. The sun had slipped even lower in the ten minutes he had been sitting there. He stood for a moment, watching as the tree line blurred into a fuzz against the graying sky.

There was always something ending, something always beginning. He slipped quietly into the house, with the watered down sunlight at his back, holding his own cardboard beginning between his two hands.




Short Story Sunday is a series of mini stories based on random photos. They are quick, spontaneous flashes of abstract fiction.