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Cynthia Morris's avatar

I loved this meander through your desk art even before I saw my novel’s postcard in it! It’s so fun to peek into someone else’s world through their art and ephemera. Plus the craft tidbit at the end about the ‘idea’. Thank you for this ‘draft’ and the ‘amateur’ photos. Fresh and interesting as always.

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Cynthia Morris's avatar

And thank you for the mention and for including my novel on your ledge!

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Victoria Olsen's avatar

Thanks, Cynthia! I’m glad I did the refresh and got that lovely postcard up there.

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Rona Maynard's avatar

I need a ledge like yours, for beloved images stained by life.

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Victoria Olsen's avatar

Go for it!

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Joshua Seiden's avatar

Love the loose, associative quality of this. (I mean, I also love your more tightly structured essays too.) This was nice though. Start where you are!

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Clyde Watson's avatar

I love "I'm embracing mess." And seeing another artist's desk & treasures -- though yours is wa-ay more orderly than mine, photos of which already are lined up in a post draft for some day down the road. I'm wondering how this kind of free-form posting felt to you, by the time you got to the end.

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Victoria Olsen's avatar

Thanks, Clyde! I want to see those photos now and hear about your mess. :)

I enjoyed writing this way. I didn't say so explicitly but it was partly a way to figure out how to get back on track after some recent detours. And it's a model for how *anyone* can get back on track with writing: start where you are, focus on some tiny thing in front of you (text, image, memory) and see where it takes you.... It's good to get things down!

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Eliza Anderson's avatar

Love the idea of a close read from your desk that takes us to a certain heart of things. And I believe the purple flower is Georgia O’keeffe’s Hollyhock.

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Victoria Olsen's avatar

Ahh— thanks for the ID! And that was exactly what I was going for— ie how much can you get at from a very small space/with strict constraints?

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