Category: Nonfiction

Rumble Tumble Joy: A Book To Help You On Your Life Journey

10/4/2014

YEA!!! My book, Rumble Tumble Joy: A Journey for Healing, Inspiration, and Wholeness is now published.

It includes my writings and my art. I’ve written it to be welcoming, inspirational, and helpful in furthering discussion on issues that make us feel vulnerable and alone.

Issues (such as brutality and body-image negativity) that are born from and exacerbated by distorted, digitally-manipulated images of female perfection and violence against women and girls.

It has been a challenging and deeply meaningful journey for me—from my personal explorations that gave birth to the pieces included in my book, the additional writing to broaden what I’ve written for a wider audience, the editing, the book design, the sharing with others, the receiving of praise and testimonials for my book, and the final creation of this book to be used by others on their own journeys for self-acceptance and, ultimately, more fulfilling lives.

It is my greatest wish that Rumble Tumble Joy flies freely out into the world to encourage people to move forward through tough times and towards their greater dreams.

And one way to do this is through becoming more aware and participating in healing so that we can feel more whole. I believe that as each of us grows in awareness and takes steps to heal, we help others. In this way, one person at a time, we transform ourselves and our global society to be more compassionate, wiser, and healthier.

Click on the book cover and you’ll be taken to Amazon.com to learn more about my book as well as be able to purchase it. (Affiliate link)

You can also learn more through this e-flyer and my website.

In closing, I would love to hear how Rumble Tumble Joy has helped you.

Blessings on your journey.

Endorsements for Rumble Tumble Joy

“I believe that any woman could benefit from reading Rumble Tumble Joy. I sat in a room with a group of women ranging in age from 16 to 56 who all had experienced some form of self-doubt, self-depreciation, harassment, abuse, and/or regret.

By reading this book together, we started a conversation that led to both tears and laughter.

The room was filled with so many silly insecurities that it was almost comical once said aloud. Not only opening up ourselves, but having the opportunity to hear about others who had similar feelings and shared history, was a very powerful, healing experience. And, at the end of our time together, we all walked away smiling! What else could we do, but Rumble, Tumble, Joy!” —Crystal Goade, Graphic Designer, Seattle, WA

“Rumble Tumble Joy provides a window into the soul of its author, Kathryn V. White, and demonstrates how one woman's story can supply a pathway of healing for many others.

Kathryn's willingness to share her process of transformation will help women everywhere to find their own voices and their own liberation from society's false expectations.

The included Reader's Discussion Guide offers thought-provoking questions to aid readers in their quest for personal awareness and growth, centered around what it means to be a woman in today's world.

I highly recommend this book for individuals as well as for study groups who are dedicated to helping girls and women gain true acceptance of themselves.”
—Len Leatherwood, Writer, Teacher,
Texas Licensed Professional Counselor

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David Zinn's Marvelous Street Art

6/21/2014

Street Art by David Zinn

Summer time is the usual time to enjoy street art in many cities.

Yet, David Zinn shares his sweet, funny, and uplifting creations throughout the year.
Lucky Ann Arbor, Michigan gets to see the majority of his street art as he lives there.

But his art gets around the world through photos shared, his travels, Pinterest, and now through his book, Lost & Unfounded.

Street Art by David Zinn

Bar Art by David Zinn

See more by checking out my Pinterest board of David Zinn's street art.

Support this wonderful street art artist and buy his book today!

Book by David Zinn

Easy Ways to Market Your Books

6/7/2014

As authors know, to write and publish a book takes much devotion, courage, creativity, patience, and tenacity.

There are so many times when you have to dig deep into yourself to find the energy to continue because of the vulnerability inherent in writing authentically.

And then as part of this same process there is the marketing of the book—before, during, and after it’s published. Like so many authors, I want to use my precious time and energy for writing my books and stories—and yet marketing is something that must be done. It's part of the whole package of being an author in today’s world of traditional, indie, and hybrid publishing.

As I continue down the road of getting my book, Rumble Tumble Joy: A Journey for Healing, Inspiration, and Wholeness, ready to go out into the wider world, I appreciate D’vorah Lansky and all the folks that joined her to help us authors be more successful in marketing our books.

D’vorah’s recent 30-Day Book Marketing Challenge & Blog Hop was a wonderful way to learn! The informative daily emails with important information broken down into small chunks that one could choose to read that day or later on was a great way to get me thinking and implementing new things without having an information overload meltdown!

Want some easy book marketing tips from the Challenge? Click here.

I recently implemented Sharon Williams' LinkedIn tip and now my soon to be published book, Rumble Tumble Joy; some of my published stories; as well as an anthology I’m included in are highlighted on Linkedin. Easy to do? YES! To see how I’ve implemented Sharon’s tip, click here. (Scroll down until you see "Kathryn White's Publications")

To find out more about my short stories for inspiration, joy, and widened perspectives, click here.

To find out about my short stories for children, click here.

To find out more about Rumble Tumble Joy, click here.

And to help an author spread the word about her writing, please "Like" my Facebook Fan page! Click here to access it.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Advance Praise for Rumble Tumble Joy: A Journey for Healing, Inspiration, and Wholeness

"Rumble Tumble Joy provides a window into the soul of its author, Kathryn V. White, and demonstrates how one woman's story can supply a pathway of healing for many others. Kathryn's willingness to share her process of transformation will help women everywhere to find their own voices and their own liberation from society's false expectations.

The included Reader's Discussion Guide offers thought-provoking questions to aid readers in their quest for personal awareness and growth, centered around what it means to be a woman in today's world. I highly recommend this book for individuals as well as for study groups who are dedicated to helping girls and women gain true acceptance of themselves."
—Len Leatherwood, Writer, Teacher, Texas Licensed Professional Counselor

Spiritual Discernment

5/10/2014

J. Brent Bill in Sacred Compass: The Way of Spiritual Discernment uses Quakerism as a foundation to find, follow, and ultimately live a more God-directed life.

He acknowledges that much of life can feel unclear and unstable. And he affirms there are practices that can be used like a compass to help us in our uncertain moments to walk with and towards Divine wisdom.

One of these practices is Lectio divina which “is Latin for ‘divine reading.’ It’s a structured way of combining prayer and scriptural reading that deepens our communion with God and gives us spiritual insight.” (p. 79)

You may be familiar with one or more of the four steps he outlines in his book.

(1) Lectio: Reading a scriptural passage slowly so that you fully take in what is being presented.

(2) Meditato: Reflecting on the words and getting in touch with what you think and feel about the passage.

(3) Oratio: Praying and speaking with God about the passage and how you relate to it.

(4) Contemplatio: Being open to God and following God’s direction.

To learn more, click on the book cover. (Affiliate Link)

Rumble Tumble Joy—A Book to Help You on Your Own Journey for Healing, Inspiration, and Wholeness

3/29/2014

Front cover of Rumble Tumble Joy by Kathryn V. Whtie

As I continue down the road of getting my book, Rumble Tumble Joy: A Journey for Healing, Inspiration, and Wholeness, ready to go out into the wider world, I have met my vulnerabilities and fears many times and have been called to move through them and grow through them again and again and again.

I’m now at the stage where I am gathering endorsements and testimonials for Rumble Tumble Joy. I’m truly grateful for the people who have read my book with sensitivity and openness and shared what they have found and received from my book and their own self-explorations while reading it.

As a preview, here’s what people are saying so far:

"Rumble Tumble Joy provides a window into the soul of its author, Kathryn V. White, and demonstrates how one woman's story can supply a pathway of healing for many others. Kathryn's willingness to share her process of transformation will help women everywhere to find their own voices and their own liberation from society's false expectations.

The included Reader's Discussion Guide offers thought-provoking questions to aid readers in their quest for personal awareness and growth, centered around what it means to be a woman in today's world. I highly recommend this book for individuals as well as for study groups who are dedicated to helping girls and women gain true acceptance of themselves."
—Len Leatherwood, Writer, Teacher, Texas Licensed Professional Counselor

***

I just finished reading your book, Rumble Tumble Joy, and I have to say it was an incredibly liberating, cleansing process. As someone who struggles with his own body image and dysmorphia, you took me from loathing my body, to making peace, and then celebrating my body.

I had to tell you how it impacted me.

I’m grateful for this book and what it has given me.
—Anonymous, Seattle, WA

To read more endorsements, click here.

My vision is that by releasing Rumble Tumble Joy for a wider readership it can help women and girls look more closely at how they are treating themselves and others (often brutally) and thus make empowering changes in their thinking and behavior so that they can live more joyful and fulfilling lives. Although this book is primarily written for females, I know many males suffer from these same issues and I am grateful if my book can provide even wider support.

My book can be utilized in book clubs, women's and teenager's classes, college and university course work, retreats, writing workshops, healing circles, and other places where individuals are seeking ways to begin conversations about body image and increasing self-esteem and self-love.

I’m expecting Rumble Tumble Joy to be released in 2014.

If you would like to be notified when it’s published, please sign up for my newsletter by clicking here.

Thank you for your interest and support.

Namaste.

Embrace Zen Doodling!

3/22/2014

Zen Doodles by Kathryn V. White

Are you bored with the same old doodles you draw on napkins, notepads, and meeting agendas?

Do you feel anxious or stressed and need a cheap, easy outlet to release these emotions?

Do you want to do something creative and satisfying?

Try Zen doodling!

You just need paper, pencil, and a pen or marker. The paper can be cheap or more durable and expensive like watercolor or drawing paper. You can use a regular ball point pen, but Sharpie markers in fine and ultra fine sizes or the waterproof archival Sakura Pigma Micron pens tend to create more durable and pleasing lines.

At the top of this blog is a photograph of two Zen doodles I recently completed. The steps:

1) With a pencil, I placed a dot on each corner of my journal page. I did the same with the paper tile.

2) I connected the dots to form a rectangle or a square (though you can do this zen doodling in any shape such as hearts, circles, and squiggles).

3) I then started playing with a variety of shapes and lines to create sections as well as micro designs within sections of my rectangle and square.

4) Sometimes I used pencil to create the designs and then went over them with the Sharpie marker. Sometimes I just used the Sharpie marker directly.

As you doodle, you become focused and relaxed. It's like the wonderful “flow” state that Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi talks about in his book, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience.

Need some doodle design ideas to help with your creations?

Check out these books. (Affiliate Links)

Imperfect Spirituality

3/15/2014

Polly Campbell’s Imperfect Spirituality: Extraordinary Enlightenment for Ordinary People provides a much needed grounding for those on a spiritual path dealing with the daily imperfections in oneself and the world in general.

Chapter titles include: Feeling Good About Bad Emotions, Relating to the Imperfection in Others, Creating Through Uncertainty, and Finding Meaning in Mistakes.

With each topic, Polly offers helpful tips and practices to change your unsupportive belief systems, shift your perspectives, and enjoy your life more. And it's all shared in a cheerful, down-to-earth way like talking with your best friend while indulging in a big slice of delicious chocolate cake.

Click on the book cover to enjoy Imperfect Spirituality today. (Affiliate Link)

Hippie Boy: A Girl's Story

2/15/2014

Hippie Boy is a slice-of-life memoir about Ingrid Rick’s fragmented, poverty-ridden, incendiary life as a teenager.

It’s a life with four siblings; a devout Mormon mother (originally from Austria) who gives her power away to men; a perpetually on-the-road father who sells cheaply made tools and whose main passion is to build a million-dollar business; and a stepfather who eats only meat, smells foul, and in Ingrid’s words is a “psycho religious fake.”

It’s a life that anyone would want to escape.

And escape she does. But, like the lives of most of us, there is no fairy godmother waving her magic wand. Her freedom comes through hard work, resilience, luck, and an occasional helping hand.

Looking for a page-turner? Try this memoir. I read it in one sitting.

Click on the cover to find out more. (Affiliate link)

And visit her website.

Radical Self-Acceptance

1/4/2014

The start of the year is always a nice time to begin a journal or a daily guide. Even better—how about combining the two for even more powerful self-exploration!

Rosie Molinary in Beautiful You: A Daily Guide to Radical Self-Acceptance shares 365 days of practical and doable suggestions to make changes in your self-perception and learn to appreciate the beautiful, talented, and wonderful person you are.

Each day starts off with a short passage to contemplate and includes tasks to complete to enhance your integration of that day’s consideration.

The book is also enjoyable to dip in and out of, to read out of order, or to peruse the table of contents to find a passage that meets a specific question or challenge you are currently struggling with.

Click on the book cover to learn more. (Affiliate link).

Know Thyself

12/14/2013

Love to learn about yourself? Want clarity on your life purpose? Confused about how to be more fulfilled?

As part of your explorations, enjoy Caroline Myss’s new book, Archetypes: Who Are You?.

With her usual keenness, she shares information on 10 primary archetypes that exist in contemporary society—such as the visionary, the caregiver, the fashionista, and the spiritual seeker.

For each archetype, Caroline Myss includes a one page summary as well as more detailed information on the archetype’s primary life lesson, the overriding myth, the main lifestyle challenge, the inner shadow, typical behavior patterns, and more.

As you read the book, you’ll probably find that you have the characteristics and interests of several of the archetypes—which makes sense and also provides even deeper insights.

As the ancient sage Socrates said, “Know thyself.” So click on the book’s cover to discover more! (Affiliate link)

And check out this “Know thyself” website for what other great authors have to say on the subject.

Secret Lives Of Famous Female Authors

11/23/2013

The Heroine’s Bookshelf: Life Lessons from Jane Austen to Laura Ingalls Wilder is a great read on a cold day when you would rather stay home, warmly ensconced in your pajamas.

The book is divided into chapters with headings such as “Simplicity,” “Faith,” “Indulgence,” and “Magic” and each chapter provides a succinct life story of a beloved author.

Open the book and you’ll soon be engrossed in the wildness of Margaret Mitchell (author of Gone with the Wind), the hardships of Charlotte Bronte (Jane Eyre) and Frances Hodgson Burnett (The Secret Garden), the betrayal faced by Harper Lee (To Kill A Mockingbird), and the activism of Alice Walker (The Color Purple), as well as the tumultuous lives of several other famous women authors.

Every chapter ends with times each book is especially helpful to read and other books that may be of interest for you to peruse.

Click on the book cover above to learn more. (Affiliate Link)

Earthworks & Other Installation Art

9/21/2013

Are you ready to explore installation art?

Installation art may be located in museums, galleries, outdoors, or other places. Size, structure, and materials can vary. It may be temporary or permanent. Some may be site-specific. Buildings, art monuments, and public sculptures can also be considered installation art.

As a result of artists trying to break away from the restrictions of gallery space in the late 1960s and 1970s, some installation art was specifically built in nature and with natural materials. This art is known as Environmental art, Land art, Earth art, or Earthworks. An example is Robert Smithson’s “Spiral Jetty” (1977).

Very early precursors of contemporary installation art include Stonehenge in England and the Mississippian Mounds in the United States created by the American Indians in the 13th century in places such as Oklahoma, Alabama, northern Georgia, and Illinois.

Marcel Duchamp’s Ready-mades such as his “Bicycle Wheel” (1913) and “1,200 Bags of Coal” (1938) can also be seen as forerunners of more contemporary installation art as the pieces allowed viewers to make contact with them as well as see and experience them from different angles.

More recent installation art includes Claes Oldenburg’s
“Clothespin” (1976) in Philadelphia, “Typewriter Eraser” (1999) in Seattle, and “Bedroom Ensemble” (1963) in Canada; Anish Kapoor’s “Marsyas”(2002) created for the London’s Tate Museum; Walter De Maria’s “Lightning Field” (1977) in southwestern New Mexico; Christo’s and Jeanne-Claude’s “The Gates” (2005) in New York City’s Central Park; Rachel Whiteread’s “House” (1993-94) in East London; and Andy Goldsworthy’s “Midsummer Snowballs” (2000) placed in different areas of London.

Click on the bookcover (affiliate link) at the beginning of this blog to find out more about Goldsworthy's gigantic snowballs.

For more examples, check out one of my earlier blog postings.

And many thanks to Coursera's "Introduction to Art: Concepts & Techniques" with instructor Anna Divinsky. I loved this class and it's fun sharing what I learned in my blog posts with you.

Su Blackwell--Book Sculpture Artist

8/31/2013

Su Blackwell's The Raven

I came across Su Blackwell's amazing book sculptures while perusing the July 2013 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine. And then, I had to find out more.

She takes old books and with a few scissor snips here and a few scissor snips there, magically renders them into fairy-tale scenes, butterflies soaring out of a book, enchanted forests, and highly expressive trees.

So stop reading and go take a look!

* Su Blackwell building a paper cabin video.
* Su Blackwell as a set designer.
* Su Blackwell's portfolio (not to be missed!)
* Su Blackwell's book, The Fairy-Tale Princess: Seven Classic Stories from the Enchanted Forest. Click on the book cover below (affiliate link).

Gotta have more? Check out a May 2013 article on the 15+ most innovative and creative book sculptures. Be sure to scroll through all the images. The 3D Karken Book Sculpture is a must see.

The Art of Silliness

7/19/2013

Illustration by Carla Sonheim (from her website)

For all those who love to paint and draw and for all those who want to paint and draw but feel too intimidated--you've got to meet Carla Sonheim.

Carla quickly puts her students at ease and gets everyone laughing and having fun in her art classes. And, you'll be amazed how under her experienced tutelage you can create all sorts of creatures from doodles that look really cool! I've experienced this myself firsthand.

For a taste of Carla's teaching, you can check out her free online tutorials or take an online class. Go to her website to sign up for her newsletter so you can learn about her in-person classes as well. She's even got a summer art camp starting on July 22, 2013.

She is the author of several books. Her Drawing Lab for Mixed Media Artists: 52 Creative Exercises To Make Drawing Fun has sold 45,000 copies. Way to go, Carla!

Click on the book covers below to learn more (affiliate links).

Would You Like To Be Unflappable?

4/26/2013

Click on the book cover to learn more.
(Affiliate link)

Who wouldn't love to feel "unflappable"?

Ragini Michaels has written the book, Unflappable, for those of us who find the same themes reappearing in our lives and want to make a change so that we can actually be happier more of the time.

In her book, Ragini introduces the concept of interdependent polar pairs (IPPs) such as love and hate, peace and war, acceptance and rejection, success and failure.

IPPs are intrinsic to dualistic reality (for those who are asking themselves if they live in this reality, if you are reading this Blog post you are living in this dualistic reality!).

Most of us don't like to be on the "negative end" of these IPPs and we make the mistake of thinking that we can control or
eradicate them. Yet, this is like eliminating many women's desire for chocolate--it's not going to happen!

Ragini offers us a way to retrain our conscious and subconscious
mind from pushing us into fight, flight, or freeze mode when we notice that we have entered the "negative zones."

And the good news is, it is the flow of energy between the IPPs that leads to expansion, renewal, and re-balancing. So as we become more aware of the good the "negative" brings and how to manage these times in our lives, the happier we will ultimately be.

To your unflappability!

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Author

Kathryn V. White is an author and artist who dreams of rousingly playing a djembe in a drum circle.

Two of my books are finalists in the 2014 Wishing Shelf Book Awards! Click on the below book covers to learn more.

Rumble Tumble Joy book reviews: San Francisco Book Review (4 star) & Story Circle Book Reviews (4 star).

2020 Juried Exhibit at the Washington State History Museum

Kathryn's collage, "Resonating Truth" has been juried into a show at the Washington State History Museum in Tacoma, Washington. The exhibit runs from April 9 to August 20, 2020.

2019 - 2020 Juried Traveling Art Exhibit in Virginia

Kathryn's papercutting plus collage "Summer Interlude" has been juried into a traveling show. The exhibit runs September 9, 2019 to December 8, 2019 at Gallery 3700 in Arlington, Virginia and from December 17, 2019 to February 18, 2020 at Westover Library in Arlington, Virginia.

2019 Juried Exhibit at the Washington State Convention Center

Kathryn's large collage "When I'm Gone, Who Will Remember Me?" has been juried into a show at the Washington State Convention Center's Phyllis Lamphere Gallery. The exhibit runs January 12, 2019 to March 31, 2019.

Poetry On Buses
Kathryn's poem, The Sound Soothes, was selected for the 2017 Poetry on Buses: Your Body of Water Program and is a part of the online collection! Click here to read it!

2018 Juried Exhibit at the Rosehill Community Center

*Three of Kathryn's collages have been juried into an exhibit at the Rosehill Community Center in Mukilteo, WA from April 3 through June 24, 2018. "Phoenix" won the Northwest Collage Society's prestigious Eleanor Wolters Smith Memorial Award.

2017 SOLO SHOW at the University Business Center

*20 of Kathryn's artworks were on exhibit in a solo show from October 16 through December 7, 2017 at the University Business Center's Gallery 4500 in Seattle's U-District.

2017 Juried Exhibit at Seattle City Hall
Kathryn's collage, "Welcome to My Universe" was juried into the exhibit, "Hot Town: Summer in the City" at the Seattle City Hall in downtown Seattle that ran from July 7 through August 30, 2017.

2017 Juried Exhibit at Seattle University
Kathryn had a large collage, "Broadway at Times Square" juried into the 2017 Search for Meaning Art Exhibition (part of the Search for Meaning Book Festival) from February 16 to 25, 2017 at Seattle University's Vachon Gallery.

2017 Juried Exhibit at Cascadia Art Museum
Kathryn had a collage, "Indra's Net" juried into the exhibit, "Collaged Impressions of the Northwest Social Realism and the American Scene 1930 to 1950" that ran January 19 to March 26, 2017 at the Cascadia Art Museum in Edmonds, WA.

2017 Exhibit at Dreamclinic
Kathryn had 10 artworks exhibited from January through April 12, 2017 at Dreamclinic in Seattle's Roosevelt neighborhood.

BUY ART:
Kathryn's art is available as fine art prints. Click here to find out more.

Kathryn’s quotes

"You have everything when you embrace the full circle of life."— Kathryn V. White

Goodreads Quotes

Musings