Friday, April 12, 2013

Payne Hollow Primer



 This is a writing for young children-an introduction to Payne Hollow.  Each text is for one page and one illustration.  Something I plan to do.  I plan a combination of calligraphy, painting, sewing, and use of a vintage printing set.  I also like the idea of an altered book; modern illumination.


·         Magic is a word sometimes used to describe a feeling we have when we understand                 
          something special.


·         The story of Harlan and Anna Hubbard is special.  They chose to live in a secluded 
           river hollow.


·         A river is ever changing and always interesting.


·         Walking the steep trail down into Payne Hollow was like finding a secret garden.


·         Close to the river, they built a cottage of stone and wood.  It was peaceful, so the   
          birds stayed too.


·         Without electricity, the house was always kept neat and orderly.


·         Harlan enjoyed hard work. He collected driftwood and managed the woods where                     
          trees harvested allowed others to grow strong.


·         They made wood fires every day for cooking and keeping clean and warm.


·         The garden was the center of their living-a green growing place full of butterflies and 
           bees.


·         A large part of the garden was preserved.


·         They delighted in the goat herd and beloved dogs.


·         Anna was a careful homemaker.  She prepared tasty meals with whatever became 
          available, including wild foods.


·         She enjoyed reading to children and writing letters to loved ones.  To her, moonlight 
          on the river was a gift.


·         Who could be bored?  Best of all was the time left for playing music or reading 
          together.


·         While one person read, the other did handwork like knitting or shelling nuts.


·         Harlan painted pictures or made woodcut prints of the river and hills.


·         He made things in the workshop, like the handy wheelbarrow he used so often.


·         There, with a hand turned mill, he ground grains into flour for their daily bread.


·         Plastic milk bottles scavenged from the river became candled lanterns.


·         They never stopped learning, and made use of what was at hand.


·         The Hubbards treasured their family and friends.


·         They crafted a rich life they made for themselves.


·         He wrote books about the things they did.


·         Then people tried to find them, coming in their boats to search behind the willows.


·         Payne Hollow became well-known, as in the days when riverboats stopped there.


·         Harlan Hubbard, with Anna at his side, lived most of his life happily in the deep 
          woods.  Success was found in common hours.


·         Now, more people understand something special was hidden and found in a hollow.  
          Maybe you understand something of the magic already.

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