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What's Next?

11/6/2018

9 Comments

 
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What's Next?


Hi everybody, this week I thought that I would give you a behind the scenes look at what I'm working on for 2019. Initially, I had planned to complete book two of my series on The Age of Myths and Legends by the winter of 2018, but life sure has a funny way of derailing your plans. However, things have finally improved and I'm able to focus once more on my art and writing. But first, there are several steps that I have to take before I can start hammering away at the keyboard or putting in work on the canvas.​
Step 1. Preserve and Transcribe Recordings
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I suspect that a lot of my younger readers will have no idea what this image is. So for all the millennials and Gen Y readers, back in the day we didn't have digital recorders that automatically converted our recordings into mp3 format. We had these clunky cassettes tapes that were surprisingly, super fragile. If you left a cassette in the sun for too long, the sound would warp. If you dropped your cassette and it cracked, there was a 50/50 chance that it wouldn't ever play again. And Heaven help you if the actual magnetic tape strip came out of the cassette shell and became entangled into the cassette player. So I'm extremely lucky to still have several tape recordings of tribal elders and tribal members sharing their stories with me. However, some of the cassettes that I have are at least 10-20 years old and the magnetic tape strips are starting to degrade. So right now, I am in the process of converting them into mp3 format with an app called EZ Vinyl Tape Converter. Once I've finished, I will place them into cloud storage so that they will last forever.
Step 2. Categorize and Create Chapters
Once I've preserved my recordings, it will be time to categorize the stories and create my tentative chapters. This is both a difficult and exciting process. Some stories go really well together thematically while other have very little in common. For my upcoming book on the heroes of Native American folklore and Mythology, I've decided to categorize the stories based on what the protagonist were. Some of the old champions were cultural heroes who saved their people or civilizations from certain doom. Other heroes were demi-gods and super heroes, easily on par with Hercules or Gilgamesh. These men (and women) were the monster-slayers. Others still, were powerful deities like Hinon the Thunderer or Tricksters like Grandfather Coyote. These beings helped shape the foundations of the world by destroying or containing the wicked agents of chaos. But my favorite heroes were the common men and women who rose above their stations in order to protect those they loved. So, as of right now, my chapters/categories are:

1. The Gods of War
2. Monster-Slayers
3. The Lords of Thunder
4. Heroes of Old

This could change over the next few months but I like the chapter sequences and I can't wait to share some of these stories with you.

Step 3. Find an Editor (Upwork and Thumbtack)
Easily the most costly element of writing is hiring a proofreader and an editor. Because an editor's fees can be astronomical, some writers will attempt to bypass this step altogether. But let me tell you, even if you are a great writer, you will become blind to your own syntax mistakes, misspellings, punctuation errors and citation problems. You have to have an editor, there is no way around it. I've found that the most economical way to go about the editing process is to use websites that list freelancer's services. The two that I will be using this year are Upwork and Thumbtack. I like these particular websites because you list your project and freelancers will then bid on the chance to work with you. I've found the price point to be reasonable with most editors and I like that these freelancers are vetted by the sites themselves. Another way that I will attempt to offset the price point is by having an editor work on one chapter at a time as opposed to the entire book. I don't know about you, but I'd rather not take a $500-$800 hit for every full book edit. This time, I intend to treat each chapter as a completely self contained story. I'm okay with spending $70 here and there throughout the writing process.
Step 4. Artwork
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Creating the artwork for the book is the most exciting and time consuming part of the entire process for me. Whenever I listen to or read the old stories, I can see images. I can see formations of Thunderbirds, wreathed in lightning, soaring through the ethereal clouds above. I can see mighty Glooscap in his titanic struggle against the World Toad; and therein lies my problem. I have artistic talent but I don't always have the artistic ability to bring the images in my head into reality. Here is a little secret, for every successful illustration that I've created, I have ten more illustrations that I can't stand to look at so I've thrown them away. This year will be different though. I will still be creating most of the artwork for this book, but I am also working with several other talented Native American and First Nations artist who will be helping me bring the old stories to life. I won't list all the artist yet but you will get a chance to see them soon as I will be including an "Artist Spotlight" page to this website in the next couple of weeks. 
That's it for now. Be sure to check back next month as I will be posting some preliminary sketches and a few excerpts from my work in progress.
9 Comments
John Richardson
1/15/2019 06:38:30 am

I was wanting to find out if you can help me to find info on a artist. This artist came to my father looking for work in the 1940’s. My father had no openings but allowed him to use his artist tables to draw . My father purchased a few of his paintings and screen printed them. I have a few pieces. His name was White Buffalo but nor the same Bobby Hill. It could have been his father but no record shows his fathers name or if the family passed on the “White Buffalo name. His style was the old traditional style. Do you know anything about this person?
Thanks,
John

Reply
T.
1/17/2019 09:03:12 pm

Hi John,

I heard back from members of Bobby's family yesterday and I learned a little bit more about him. Bobby was born in 1931, despite the 1933 date that is listed on many of his biographies. He was given his Indian name from his mother Alice Littleman. And as far as anyone knows, Bobby has been the only Native American artist named White Buffalo that has come from the Caddo County area. He did leave western Oklahoma for a bit when he joined the military at age sixteen. This would have been around 1947. Was the artist who came to your father's workplace an older gentleman? Did he put his signature on the painting? Again, thanks for the interesting question. Hopefully we can identify this artist.

Reply
John
1/18/2019 05:42:10 am

Not sure of the dates in the 1940’s but he seemed to be older than 16. His signature is different and his style is different from Bobby. I have a couple pics of his art. Unable to copy and paste. Will try on another computer.
I also have a letter that my dad wrote and will send if I can figure out how to post it. Do you have a email I can send it ?

John
1/18/2019 09:35:18 am

IMG_3748.jpeg
IMG_3753.jpg
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Not sure if these will open but if this does not work, you will need to supply a email I can send them to.

Reply
T
1/18/2019 10:28:14 am

Hi John,

Try sending to the email address: info@nativetales.com

Reply
John Richardson
1/22/2019 10:46:04 am

Did You receive my pictures?

T
1/22/2019 10:02:54 pm

Hi John,

I did receive the pictures and I was able to get them to a couple of authorities on Bobby Hill's paintings, his two eldest sons. Both sons studied and admired the artwork but they are just as mystified as I am about the identity of the artist in question. Both sons agree that the artwork is probably not that of Bobby Hill. The sons are of the opinion that Bobby would not have displayed that level of skill at such a young age in 1943. I have a quick question. When your grandfather ran his ad in the paper, which news paper was he talking about? Was this the Anadarko Daily News or the Daily Oklahoman? I wonder if this artist is a member of one of the Northern or Southeastern Oklahoma tribes. To me your art pieces look like the Bacone style. There are actually three older Native American flat styles of art. The one most people are familiar with is the Southern Plains Flat style that was made famous by the Kiowa Six. That style is dynamic as it had its origins in hide painting. Another flat style called the Studio style is distinctly Southwestern as it is based on the pottery and mural paintings of the Hopi and Pueblo tribes. The Bacone style looks the most modern of the three flat styles as it was influenced by Art Deco. Here is nice definition: "Casein on illustration board was a popular medium, as well as gouache and watercolor. Technical skill in draftsmanship was emphasized, as was the ethnographic accuracy of subjects portrayed. Paintings were aesthetically pleasing, with contours of a certain hue often surrounded by outlines of lighter tints, to emphasize the spiritual nature of the subject. Figures were brilliantly colored with backgrounds of a "subdued palettes of greens, blues, and browns," as Ruthe Blalock Jones writes.[6] Blue, in particular, is a color representing sorrow, loss, and memory for some Southeastern tribes, and is often a preferred background color. Implied narrative gave the Bacone style a sense of drama." If the art is Bacone in style you could potentially find the artist. There is a solid list of Bacone artists on the internet:
Archie Blackowl, Southern Cheyenne
Fred Beaver, Muscogee Creek-Seminole
Acee Blue Eagle, Muscogee Creek-Pawnee-Wichita
Woody Crumbo, Potawatomi
John Gritts, Cherokee
Franklin Gritts, Cherokee
Albert Harjo, Muscogee Creek
Joan Hill, Muscogee Creek-Cherokee
Ruthe Blalock Jones, Shawnee-Delaware-Peoria
Barbara McAlister, Cherokee Nation
Solomon McCombs, Muscogee Creek
Jackson Narcomey, Muscogee Creek
Terry Saul, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
Jerome Tiger, Muscogee Creek-Seminole
Dick West, Southern Cheyenne

Reply
John Richardson
1/23/2019 05:38:39 am

Thank you for taking a look at these pieces and investigating.
The newspaper he would have advertised a want ad would have been the Daily Oklahoman. Not sure of any other newspapers at that time.
I agree with the style. We collect many of the older styles. And they are similar.
The Kiowa 5 style does look similar in color and style. The Dorothy Dunn Indian school students had a similar style but some of them were not as brilliant in color.
That is interesting about the Blues and it’s meaning. I have a Tiger and the whole back ground is blue.
Maybe I can look and see if a old hotel in the area had advertised his paintings in the newspaper. I wonder who may have information on him. He did do amazing work. You would have thought he would be famous. Maybe he passed away before getting enough pieces complete to get know.
Thank you for reaching out and if you ever find anything more about him, please let me know.

Reply
John Richardson
1/27/2019 06:06:07 am

I think I have found the artist. I contacted Adobe galleries in Santa Fe and he suggested several artists. I found Herbert White Buffalo , he was Kiowa. His signature looks like the ones one my pictures. Do you know anything about him?


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    T. D. Hill (Wichita, Kiowa, Pawnee) is a Native American artist, writer, and motivational speaker

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What Reviewers are saying...

"The Age of Myths and Legends will take you on an exciting journey through Native American folklore. T.D. Hill artfully draws together characters from many indigenous traditions including his own, exposing both the uniqueness of each story and the commonalities across them. Hill’s beautiful paintings also give these fearsome creatures full visual effect. A valuable and thorough collection of the earliest folktales and teachings of Native American elders."

-Lindsey E. Schell, former Literature Librarian at the University of Texas at Austin​
"Hill takes you on a mesmerizing journey through the tales of monsters and evil beings in Native American folklore. The similarities among the tales across peoples fascinated me and gave me goose bumps, especially when great distances separated the peoples! Hill's art masterfully adds a visual chill to the image his words paint, eliciting an extra shiver of delighted terror."

-Lola Cowling
Faculty Librarian/Associate Professor
Austin Community College
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"Perfect for those who love mythology, and especially mythology of the First Americans. I’m definitely looking forward to the next in the series."

​-Dr J. Aislynn d'Merricksson
Author, Professional Book Reviewer-San Francisco Book Review, Manhattan Book Review

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