Posts Tagged ‘Hawk family’
still writing
When I retired in 2012, I had my next phase of life well-planned. I had applied for a Creations grant and so stepped right into writing my first book. Since then, in ten years, I have published seven poetry books, twelve science fiction books and four Kaye Eliot Mysteries. Two of the poetry books were published with Chapel Street Editions; the rest, I have published myself with Kindle Direct, learning the formatting process as I go.
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I still have a few books waiting in the wings, including three books in my upcoming Writers Retreat Mysteries and five novellas in an Urban Adventure Series. I also have the poems for at least three more poetry collections, including one about ‘sounds in nature’ to be published by Chapel Street Editions next year. And I have new ideas all the time.
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At present, I am completing my first non-fiction book, a history of my great-grandmother Ella (Hawk) Norman (Ella:1859-1933). Ella began her life as one of the Pennsylvania Deutch, the community of German immigrants to Pennsylvania established in the 1700s. As an adult, Ella traveled to the west and spent years in Laramie, Wyoming, where she married, and Denver, Colorado where she built a life for herself and her young son.
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The book includes the research done by me and by my aunt, Dr. Jane Margaret Norman. Genealogy is a unique type of writing because the work can never be truly completed. There is so much still to learn about Ella and new tools, such as DNA analysis, are helping to add to her story. However, I have enough information to publish the book. Only a few more edits to go.
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The audience for this book will include Ella’s descendants and relatives in her Family Tree, as well as other genealogists who are interested in my methods. I have also included a creative element, a series of poems written as a tribute to Ella and her family.
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I think the book will also be of interest to those curious about ‘women’s history.’ Ella was one of those brave folks who traveled west in the 1880s at a time when the railroad made travel to the west more accessible than ever before. Her sister, Sadie Hawk, who was a big part of her life, was an example of a single woman who supported herself in a day when women had few rights and were at a disadvantage in a world where women were expected to marry.
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I have completed the painting for the cover of the book. The lower part of the image, a garden of columbines and poppies, represents the security of home in Pennsylvania. Ella stands at the edge of the garden path in silhouette, looking toward the west and the mountains near Laramie, Wyoming. My Uncle Francis who knew Ella, his grandmother, told me Ella never forgot the west after she returned to Pennsylvania and always planned to return some day.
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I wish you well with your own endeavors. If you are a writer, what projects are you working on and what stage in the process most intrigues you? If you are interested in your own family history, what ancestor interests you the most and why? If you are a reader, perhaps you will try one of my books, or look forward to the release of Ella-1859 to 1933.
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All my best!
Jane
another book, another cover
True to my mantra of having multiple projects on the go at one time, I have been quietly working on a new book, of the genealogical variety. The book, titled Ella: 1859-1933, is an historical account of my great-grandmother’s life, revealed through family stories, Census and City Directory records, military and other official government records, and study of other genealogical sources (I have blogged before about my great-grandmother https://janetims.com/?s=Ella+Norman+). Much of the information is the result of study by Dr. Jane Margaret Norman, my aunt, who began looking for evidence of Ella’s life in the 1970s and found out most of the known information on Ella’s life. The book will be of interest to Ella’s descendants and others in the Hawk and Kresge lineage.
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A Brief Synopsis of the Book:
Ella Hawk (her maternal grandfather was a Kresge) was born in 1859 to a Pennsylvania German family. When she became an adult, she followed the path of many who felt the lure of the West. By 1880, she lived in Laramie, Wyoming where, in 1886, she met and married Frank Norman. She had one son, Leo, and lived in the West for another 24 years. In 1911, she returned to Pennsylvania to live with her mother and sister. Her son served in the navy and eventually met and married Katie Clark, a trained nurse. In 1927, Katie returned to Canada to raise her young family. Katie and Leo were my grandmother and grandfather.
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The book includes a detailed presentation of these events, as well as the genealogical references. I will also include three poems as a memorial to Ella’s family and the account of a trip we took to Wyoming to see where Ella and Frank were married.
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Book Cover:
I include two references to flowers in the book, to red poppies, and pink and blue columbines. So I decided early to include these flowers on the cover of the book. I also wanted to show Ella on the cover but as a silhouette, walking in the garden. I know, from my Uncle Francis’ memories, she wore wide-brimmed hats, so the figure will be wearing such a hat.
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At first, I painted apple trees in the background, but the symbolism of the trees escaped me. So I removed the trees and added a scene from the Laramie area, featuring the nearby mountains (the Snowy Range), and a suggestion of foothills and plain. Now the silhouette of ‘Ella’ looks from her garden in the East towards the West. My uncle (her grandson) told me she never forgot the West and wished to return some day.
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I completed the basic elements of the cover painting in one sitting. But a lot was left to be done: layers of colour to be added and detail in the mountains and flowers. My main objective was to add colour in such a way to make the poppies appear far away and the columbines close by.
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Colour will do this. In general, cool colours (like red) look far away and warm colours (like blue) appear nearby. This generality is modified by the tone (darkness or lightness) of the colour: dark colours appear to get closer while pale colours appear to recede. Saturation of colour will also affect its appearance of advancing or receding: a pure colour will appear nearer; adding a bit of another colour will cause it to recede.
for more information on colour in art, see How Colors Advance and Recede in Art Science of Colour.
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I will revisit the cover design in about a week, and perhaps tweak the border colour and other aspects. let me know what you think.
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All my best!!!!
Jane
nichepoetryandprose 