::kimweitkamp:: thoughts from a traveling mind

The Tribe Has Spoken

2011-10-20T07:16:00.005-04:00

For almost 70 years television has been telling us which stories to watch and which stories are relevant. Television networks built a consumer oriented identity, and like plump little babies we have wagged our tongues and let them spoon-feed us the expertly packaged goods. Without so much as a whimper, we went on autopilot and let them do the thinking for us.

But things are changing.

With the revolution of social media, people are now telling their stories, posting their stories, blogging their stories, and sharing their stories. This tsunami of social media has brought back the ancient ritual of gathering around the glow of the campfire to share the stories of the day...except now, it is by the glow of an LCD screen. A bit more isolated than the days of tribal gatherings...but no less impacting.

As we ride the steady hum of the electronic highway, we decide what rises to the top of our tribal chatter, not the Networks. We decide which stories go viral and which are shared the most...and these tend not to match what the Networks are throwing up on our TV screens each night.

Stray dogs dragging injured companions off of busy streets, inspirational poems and sayings about strength, life and happiness, a person dancing in every country, groups of strangers breaking into song at train stations and malls, a man bringing light into darkness by using Pepsi bottles, an old married couple playing the piano and a baby laughing. Not your prime time TV...but the tribe has spoken, and we like this stuff.

Now I know what your thinking...you are thinking that there is a lot of garbage online and that it is no better then television. Yes, there is a lot of garbage online. But there is also a lot of awesomeness online. Yes, I said awesomeness. And the beauty is that WE choose what goes viral. WE submit the stories. WE supply the content...not just a couple companies, but all of us.

Blogging, social media, and family search engines are powerful vehicles in spreading story. Our stories...not someone else's. Do not misunderstand, I realize that nothing compares to sharing and communicating face to face. But we would be foolish to ignore the impact that technology is having on story and human connection.

Next year, in March, there will be a coming together of three different tribes...each one chanting the same thing. OUR stories are important.

story@home is scheduled for March of 2012. I am thrilled to be a part of this inaugural event. story@homeis a conference that will, for the first time that I know of, bring together nationally known storytellers, genealogy giants, and blogging superheros. Three very different tribes whose lines intersect at numerous points. I hope to see you there.
story@home website

I'm Still A Beginner

2011-08-28T21:24:00.004-04:00

I just sent off the final proofs and the master CD for my new album. I haven't even held the final product in my hands yet and I'm already thinking about what is next. I have six projects I want to do. I'm never happy. I always think I could be doing better and I know, in a very real way, that there is so much I have left to learn. As freely as the creativity flows, so does the unrest. I am constantly hot and wanting to birth something new.

I love Ira Glass, I'm a huge fan. The following is from him and reading it about once a month helps me realize that I'm not alone in this process. I think I'm on the right path.

“What nobody tells people who are beginners — and I really wish someone had told this to me . . . is that all of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, and it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase. They quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know it’s normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”

Wanderlust

2011-08-26T08:17:00.003-04:00

It has been a long, long time since I sat down to drip drop a blog into cyberspace.
I don't think anyone reads them. So why write? Because it feels good to hear yourself type.

My website is being redesigned. I have to decide about content, branding, and style.
I got an invitation the other day to be a fan of myself.
I just spent three hours answering emails that were backed up into the alley.
My IPhone never leaves the palm of my hand. I hold on to it tighter than I did my kids hands when we crossed traffic. I eat Twinkies because I feel guilty for not accepting green plants and pieces of rice on Facebook.

And I want to know why I am tired and stressed? Ahhh, technology.

Thank goodness I get to hop in my car on an almost daily basis, put the windows down, turn the music up and drive for hours. I love it. Wanderlust runs in my family. My grandfather was a huckster. My dad ended up traveling the road as a salesman. And I am a traveling storyteller. The DNA of our family is based in asphalt and dirt, twisting up into lines sprawled across a wrinkled map.

I'd have it no other way. My car is like a respite. An escape. A humming spa of tire and tread, magnified heat through the window glass, Etta James in the passenger seat and wide open spaces filled with new ideas, dreams, and memories.

I love to go.

This was is a re-post of an old post. It just fit my mood today.

The Lap

2011-06-02T15:31:00.005-04:00


Me, my dad, his lap.		.

When I was a little girl, I was stick thin. My daddy used to say that if I stood sideways and stuck out my tongue that I would look like a zipper. Well, that all changed after the birth of my last daughter. My body began to change and then when I hit 45, I began to spread like unbaked cake batter. I still do some yoga and circuit training each week, but I cannot lose weight.

One evening when my oldest grandson was visiting, I pulled him onto my lap. He is 4. I cradled him and he said, “Nana, I am not a baby.” I told him that I knew he was not a baby, but that I wanted to cradle him in my lap because soon, he would be too big. He looked up at me with his deep brown eyes and said, “Nana, your lap is perfect.” And he settled in.

I began to think about all of the laps that had spooned me over the years. My mother is a small, thin woman. I loved sitting on her lap…not because it was comfortable but because it was comforting. I can still close my eyes and feel her arms around me, the smell of Avon hand cream making the air thick with scent.

My Aunt Louise was a different story. She was a broad woman with heavy, sagging arms. Her lap was very, very comfortable. When I was pulled into it, it meant that a treat was coming; a cookie, a cheap piece of costume jewelry, or a joke! It was a good lap.

My fathers lap was a place of conflicting feelings. It was used for two extremes. I can still hear his voice singing to me, “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy….,” as he rocked me in his lap. But I can also remember being asked to bend over that lap so that a firm (and usually well deserved) swat could be administered. I preferred the first use.

Laps are amazingly engineered pieces of living furniture. Man has tried for centuries to replicate the perfection of the lap through chairs, couches, benches and settees. They have failed. Even the most well crafted piece of furniture, no matter how deeply comfortable, cannot compete with the lap.

In these man made attempts there is no soft childbearing pouch, no sweet low humming, no stroking of the hair, no stories whispered, no warmth from the arms, no perfectly placed pillows of rest that echo the heartbeat and never, from any chair, will you receive a kiss on the crown. The lap is perfection.

The first throne of a king is on his mothers lap. The first seat of a congressman or president is on his mothers lap. The greatest inventors, artists, and leaders were formed while sitting in someone’s lap.

I looked down at my grandson and smiled, “That is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.” And I began to sing, “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy…”

The Fate of Festivals...

2011-04-14T11:15:00.001-04:00

On a carpet of wildflowers, revival style tents were raised in salute to the ancient art of storytelling. As tales flowed from the stage you could, with one turn of the head, gaze out onto the mighty Mississippi. The deep drone of barges and the turn of steel tires on the track provided a memorable underscore to this annual event.

The Cape Girardeau Storytelling Festival never disappoints. This is my second time being allowed to play a part in this well organized, well attended festival. Considering it is only in its fourth year, the Cape Girardeau storytelling festival has experienced success that some festivals only dream about. It helps that the staff and volunteers put their heart into it. Plus, they always offer a diverse and stellar teller lineup. It also helps that it takes place in a quaint town that offers an abundance of history, great shops, and quirky eateries. But there are many other festivals that can tout the same qualities…without reaping the same attendance.

So what makes Cape Girardeau different?

I think it is the fact that they treat their festival as a business. They care enough about the art of storytelling to handle it with professional gloves. They reach out to their main demographic using well thought out, professionally crafted marketing tools. They continually strive to pull in new people by way of print, news, web site, emails, social networking and radio. Their commitment to good marketing is proven in that they brought in a teller this year just to do PR in local universities and retirement communities. They think outside of the box and are always looking for new ways to reach possible audiences. They work closely with local business’ and merchants – helping them recognize the beauty of storytelling AND what it can do for the local area. They are realistic and patient, knowing it takes time to grow good stuff.

This serves as a good model for other festivals.

In these tough economic times, people have only so much ‘entertainment’ money in their pocket. When they pull that $20 out and look at it, they have to decide where they will spend it. With this general mindset, festivals are up against a lot of competition to get a seat filled.

As a storyteller and story lover, I try very hard to help festivals and story events not just survive, but thrive. I feel it is my duty as an artist to not just take, take, take but to also give, especially in this economic climate. If you make a living (part time or full time) as a teller, it is easy to fall into the mode of, I want paid. Where is the pay? How much is the pay? I want paid! mentality. There is nothing wrong with that, we need to survive as well, but we also need to realize that we get back what we put into our business and all festivals, events, and shows are our business. It would be terrible to wake up one day and find out the tank has run dry.

I want to encourage you, as a teller, to try some of the following:

Donate 10% or more of your earnings back to the place that hired you.
Offer a free workshop while you are there. Just an hour, to the business people in town. Have the event director set it up, they can go through the Chamber or the town. Using story in business is a hot topic and it can be a gift from the festival to the local merchants and non-profits.
Offer to come a day early to the event, at no charge, to do PR work. Tell stories for the Lions Club, retirement communities, to educators, etc. Ask that only your expenses are covered…but help them get the word out by telling. It works and in the end we all benefit.
Do your part to market the event. It is just as much our responsibility, as it is theirs, to fill the seats. Use your email marketing list and send out an e-blast, put it in your quarterly newsletter, do a Facebook filtered search and send an invite to folks who live in that area, post in your status where you are going and what is happening…believe me, people will come because of this. I had a guy and his wife come all the way from Pittsburgh to a Virginia festival because of a status update. Tickets, lodging, food, and gas helped the local commerce and seats where filled.
Mingle. Yes, mingle. I know that at an event you are tired, nervous, road weary, whatever…but you must mingle. Shake hands, hug the cute old ladies, joke about the weather, whatever. If people feel welcomed by the talent they feel special. When they feel special they come back (with friends) and the event survives which means work for my friends (and hopefully me) in the future.
Fuel the grassroots organizations. Become a member of story organizations, donate to local guilds, give them product for giveaway at their events. I can’t attend the functions of these groups, but I can pay the membership. Most events and festivals are held together by folks at the grassroots level. They are my hero’s. They usually cart my butt around, feed me, set up chairs, take tickets, and make sure I feel like I am at home. $25 bucks a year gives them a new member and helps their cause.

Listen, I’m not some story martyr. I have failed miserably in all of these areas at one time or another. But, no matter your belief system, we reap what we sow. By scattering a few seeds as we travel this lovely road, we leave it better then we found it. Now that’s something I can live with.

Welcome to the Year 2011 (insert space sounds here)

2011-02-21T09:58:00.001-05:00

When I was a little girl the year 2011 seemed space ages away. Instant food, hovering cars, and robot maids were things I thought I would never live to see. Well, here we are, 2011. Maybe things are not as advanced as they were for good old Judy Jetson, but they have definitely moved along.

Microwaves pop food out in 30 seconds, a Roomba can do your cleaning while you're at work, we can plug our cars into outlets, and video phone calls are not only a reality but they can be done anywhere, anytime using a small hand held device called a smart phone. I pay my bills while standing in line at the pharmacy, I send pictures of my grandson to my mother (who lives 6 hours away) in 5 seconds, we move standing still on conveyors in airports, and I can transport myself anywhere on the planet just by typing www.

Amazing. And yet, in the midst of all this change and advancement several things remain constant, one being the use of and the need for story. Avatar, a groundbreaking movie in the area of special effects, would be nothing without the story. Web sites are just electronic billboards of a companies story. Facebook is just millions of people shouting, "Look at my story...read me!".

In a recent edition of Scientific American Mind, there was an article stating that today's children are so advanced, in the use of video game hardware, that game designers are realizing they cannot create anything new that will challenge them. So, they are going back to the story of the game and making the story deeper, more complex, more meaningful, and more textured.

There is a buzz about technological advancement hurting the art of storytelling. I somewhat disagree. Yes, it's a bit harder to grab attention of the wired child/adult, but they are reachable. Watch any kid/adult sit down in front of a good storyteller and in 30 seconds they are hooked.

Humans can decorate themselves with all types of electronic gear, surround themselves with all types of cool toys, gadgets, and robots...but they are still human. And other than love, story is one of the basic elements of human survival.

Even the most extreme gamers recognize that.

Blank Page

2011-01-08T11:46:00.000-05:00

When my mom used to put a fresh box of Crayolas and a clean piece of paper in front of me I would get giddy. I would smell those crayons and take attendance of the colors like a banker counting his money.

Then, after a deep breath, came hard concentration. All of my focus was on that sheet of white waiting for me to bring it to life.

I still get that giddy feeling. Except now I color with a #2 PaperMate mechanical pencil and some words.

Oprah does it, why can't I?

2010-12-04T11:00:00.000-05:00

12 Days of Kim's Favorite Things!

Its been a great year. No, wait...a fantastic year.

I would list all of the wonderful things that have happened, but then I would come dangerously close to sounding like one of those Christmas newsletters that proclaim how grossly perfect someones life is. So we'll skip that part.

Bottom line: It has been a good year because of you! My friends, fans, and family. Thank you for your support, for buying tickets, coming to the show, purchasing CD's, sending encouraging emails and for just being there. Because of this I want to spread some cheer, ring the bells, deck the halls, fly the sleigh, dress like an elf!

Wait, maybe not.

Seriously. It all comes down to giving back to the people who have given me so much!

It's what Christmas is all about. Giving. (warm, soft music inserted here)

12 Days of Kim's Favorite Things!

Here is how it works :

1. You have to have a Facebook account. If you don't have one, I'm sorry, you can't participate. I know, I know...some people refuse to conform to the Facebook phenom, but I have one foot in GenX and can't help myself. Plus, it is the biggest social network tool in the universe. Even Captain Kirk has a facebook fanpage!

2. If you are not already a friend on my personal page or a fan on my public site, shame on you. You are on the naughty list. :o) But you can redeem yourself AND be qualified for the giveaway by going to

http://tinyurl.com/yb6fenq and clicking the 'like' button. You will automatically be transferred from naughty to nice.

3. Then stop by each day to see the daily video. Each video will showcase one of my favorite things. Some I have found while traveling on the road this year, others are just good ole standbys.

4. Watch the video ALL the way through. Listen for the secret word. Leave a comment using the secret word and you will be entered into a drawing for the item! Easy.

Merry Christmas to you and a peaceful, productive new year to all, and to all a good night.

Giving Kids A Headstart

2010-11-23T20:09:00.000-05:00

I can't be home for long until I start roaming the streets looking for places to tell stories. So, I did some free shows for the local Headstart. I was grateful to get some story relief.

When I finished telling my stories and singing a couple of songs, I asked the kids if they had a story to tell. They went ballistic, throwing their hands in the air and sharing their stories. The teachers were thrilled.

Headstart is a non-profit community pre-school who's mission is to maximize the strengths of families, their health and well being and the social skills of children. I believe that story plays a large part in strengthening families plus it is the perfect tool to educate children about health, social skills, and many other important life skills. And I'm not even going to start on my tangent about story exercising right brain thinking which helps grow ethical kids. I clear a room when I get going on that one.

Most of the children in the Headstart program come from low income homes. When I worked for the police department one of the things we noticed was that when we entered low income homes we never saw books.

If you are a storyteller...look up your local Headstart. Give them a call. And go share a story. If you have books or tapes...donate them to the class. Help give a kid a headstart.

Home

2010-10-18T00:51:00.000-04:00

It is a mystery, the line that divides home from away. One only knows it by the note that is plucked when your heart crosses over.
Kim Weitkamp

Jonesborough Bound

2010-09-28T12:10:00.000-04:00

Hey folks! Getting ready to hit the road for three weeks.

I will be posting pics and checking in with updates throughout the National Storytelling Festival, the Four Corners Festival and the Forest Storytelling Festival.

Up first? The National Festival located in Jonesborough, TN. Stay tuned for pics and behind the scene footage.

What is Storytelling?

2010-07-15T19:07:00.000-04:00

"What is storytelling?"

This is a question that was asked by an audience member after a show I did. This is a WIDE open question. To the general public, storytelling is a little librarian reading to kids draped over beanbags. To a salesman it is a tactic he uses to make a big closing. To a parent it is a fabricated tale to get out of trouble. To the ancients it was a way to pass on values and heritage. To people at festivals it is an escape from the normal hum drum.

This particular question was asked by an audience member at a storytelling concert...so we know in what context he was asking it. I gave my answer...and thought I would post it here and see what you thought.

I look at the world of storytelling like a wheel.

Dinner table stories of the day, dreams whispered to a baby, memories spoken to a bride before they take the aisle, front porch tales from my grandma, children telling make believe, a squealing girl on the cell phone telling her friends about her date or families sharing stories on a long trip. These are just a few of the examples that make up the hub of the wheel. It is a type of storytelling that cannot be performed or boxed and sold. It is the very center of humanity. It fuels each and every day and is the basic, bottom line of communication that keeps us glued together as a society.

Now, out of that hub comes many, many, many spokes. None of them are wrong. None of them are better than the next spoke. They all are attached to the hub and they are all needed to keep the wheels on straight.
Performance telling, tall tale telling, Folk telling, therapeutic telling, applied telling, educational telling improv telling, telling with music, narrative dance (yes, I said narrative dance), telling for entertaining, telling for healing, telling to bring peace, reading stories (yes I said reading stories), comedic stories, historic stories, fairy tales, story in marketing, digital storytelling, storytelling pod casts, storytelling open mics, fringe festivals....should I stop?

I could go on and on and on. Now, some people may disagree with me and say that one of these spokes does not belong. Who decides what is and is not, storytelling? If my story makes you laugh, is that bad? If my story makes you cry, is that bad? If my story was written hundreds of years ago, is that bad? If I stand in front of a mic with an audience, is that selling out? If I sit at a campfire making something up to a bunch of badge hungry Boy Scouts, does that count?

We say storytelling is an art form. Well, art cannot be contained by borders and rules. That is what makes it art, it is interpretive.

I say...bring it on. There will be new spokes that appear and disappear, new forms of telling and new styles of storytelling that come and go. It is all a part of something much bigger. I am not threatened and I don't want to debate...I say bring it on.

No matter what pops up in our 'storytelling' world the main thing is that it will lead the listener back to the hub.
And they will be inspired to go and tell a story. And that is what makes the big wheel of this world go 'round.

Which is all I really care about.

I am a Storyteller

2010-01-27T23:58:00.000-05:00

Not to long ago I was interviewed for the Art of Storytelling podcast. Below is the written portion of the interview with Eric Wolf. The recorded interview was entitled, "Reaching Troubled Youth Through Storytelling". If you'd like to listen, here is a link

By Kim Weitkamp:

For 15 years I saw first hand the amazing power of story. The right story deposited at the right time is like a time release capsule. I cannot count how many times one of the teens that I was working with would come back to me, after I told them a story, and they’d say, “Hey, you know that story you told me the other day? Well, I’ve been thinking about it…”

When I would hold group discussions, a story would bring together opposing sides. When I was digging into a person’s heart, trying gently to unearth the pain that was causing them to act out in anger, a story would be the trowel. When I looked into the angry hurting eyes of teen, a story would prove to them that I understood and that I had been there too.

I loved working with at risk youth and found great satisfaction in using story to bring healing. It was a worthy calling. But, after 15 years, it wore me out physically and emotionally, so I retired. From youth work, not storytelling. You cannot retire from what you are, you can only retire from what you do. So what I was had to release itself in another form.

I pulled out journals that I had kept over the years and started going over stories that I had written for no other purpose than to make me smile. I started sharing those stories with people outside my family and friends circle. After a few years of puttering around state festivals, schools and libraries, I branched out and before I knew it I was telling full time. But inside of me there was a struggle going on.

For years, I had used my stories to help teens who were suicidal, self-mutilators, violent offenders, lost, lonely and at their breaking point. I had used my stories for a worthy cause, but now I was telling for the sheer pleasure of it. I was using my stories to entertain and to make people laugh. I was at odds with myself. How could I go from one extreme to another? Was I selling out? Was there a purpose to what I was doing? I was constantly asking myself these questions.

One evening I was telling in a tent that was draped in white lights. The night was cool and still and the audience was perfect. I was in the middle of one of my favorite stories, right at a part where I pause for effect, when I had the most beautiful experience. As my gaze swept across the crowd I could see each face individually, expectant and ready. It was like slow motion, a hard thing to explain really, but they were there…with me… in the story, not in the tent. They were waiting to turn the corner with me and see what I saw and laugh at what I laughed at and smell what I smelled and taste what I tasted. They were there with me, in my story, walking with me.

It was at that moment I knew that what I was doing was just as worthy as my previous work. No matter how long I have them, no matter how large or small the group, no matter how funny, sad, silly, or heartbreaking my story is…it’s a miracle.

Each time I tell I have the privilege of taking my listener away from this world. For a few minutes I provide a much needed break from the rent payment, from the knee pain, from unemployment, from the wayward child, from the death of a loved one. It is a form of medicine, therapy, whatever you want to call it I don’t care. I only know that it is good. And to be a storyteller is a worthy calling.

After that experience I went to Jonesborough for the first time and in the glass shop on Main Street I found an art print that brought tears to my eyes. The artist had drawn a picture of a woman and beside it had written: “In the midst of the song she heard every heartbeat and knew she was a part of something bigger.” Nough said.

Time, Is On My Side...Yes It Is

2009-11-20T13:10:00.000-05:00

I guess it was about 5 years ago that I bought my first tube of anti-wrinkle, hope a miracle takes place, cream. It was about 3 years ago I became a grandmother. That term still makes me slightly queezy even though I love my grandkids. And it was sometime last year that my doctor started using words like, high blood pressure, calcium intake, and regular visits.

There are two things that are unstoppable. A woman at a TJ Maxx one day sale and time.

Time. Not enough of it. Precious. Tick tock.Winding down. Sands in the hourglass.
Unlike Mick Jager, I do not feel like time is on my side.
Actually, after seeing him on TV recently I think even Mick would rethink those lyrics. But I digress.

As I type this I notice defined wrinkles on my hands where at one time, smooth young skin stretched out to handle my daily tasks. The wrinkles remind me that my time is running out. What do I have left? 25 years? 30? 45? No idea. But it does make me aware of the fact that I had better get a move on. What dreams have I not yet given life to? Who have I failed to forgive? What stories have I not shared? What places have I not seen? What words have I not yet whispered?

Although growing older does have it's snags, I wouldn't trade it to regain my youth. It used to be that I greeted the day with a distant nod, no proper courtesy...I was cocky and invincible.
Now, as I rise with each sun, there is a reverence towards the blessing of having another 24 hours. I used to think I knew everything. Now, there is a hard, fought for wisdom that is rooted in the soil of clueless. At one time I ran amuck, now I am more careful where I place my feet, the footprints I leave holding great value. I hug harder, listen closer, laugh louder, talk less, think carefully, and care deeper. So I guess, in some way...time has been on my side. It has been a great teacher.

As I travel the country sharing The Wrinkles Project, I am in awe of the beauty, wisdom, humor, and history that I am honored to see in each of the seniors I meet. With paper thin hands and raspy voices they share with me things that only time can teach.

www.thewrinklesproject.com

Work

2009-09-30T08:43:00.000-04:00

I have a lot of fun doing what I do.

I love doing what I do.

But it comes with a price. I work really hard. I mean 24/7. Emails, booking, contracts, contacts, networking, creating, creating, creating, practice, travel, tell, tell, tell.

Sometimes at 3am my husband will walk into my office and ask when I am coming to bed...but the mojo is flowing and I cannot stop.

My daughter told me that it is like having divorced parents, she only sees me 2 days a week. (Don't feel to bad about this, she is 20 for goodness sakes.)

My friend told me she might be moving. I said that it would be sad if she moved. She said that it shouldnt matter...we never see each other anymore.

My dogs are shifting their loyalty to my husband. Now this smarts.

My gardens are not what they used to be.

But I wouldn't change a thing.

I had a woman come up to me with tears in her eyes and tell me that she was so touched by my story that she is going to start visiting her mother more. Her mom is in a nursing home.

A little girl named Jeannie kept her head down and shuffled her feet as she told me that she was a tomboy too. And I told her that was okay. And she smiled up at me.

A roomful of people laughed and then cried as I told them how I danced with my mother.

These three things happened in one day. One day of many.

So, sleep can wait. My daughter will build her own life. My friend will always be my friend. And the dogs, well...they keep my husband company.

I cannot stop. I love what I do.
Actually, it is not about what I do....it is more about who I am.
I am a storyteller.

Dwelling On the Past

2009-09-14T23:12:00.000-04:00

Be forward focused, keep your eye on the prize, reach for the goal, move forward, look to the future. All wonderful little zips of encouragement that help us build momentum so we can jump the hurdles that are to come.

Face forward, don't look back, do not dwell on the past!

Can't. I make my living by dwelling on the past. Dwelling on the past normally has a negative connontation to it, but in my world dwelling on the past is a delight. It is where I pull most of my material from. Memories dangle like ripe fruit in the recesses of my mind waiting to be plucked and squeezed.

The coming times are covered in a thick-mantled mist overcast with doubts and uncertainty. But the green paths of the past, the cool meadows of memory is all my own. Nothing is uncertain. On quiet hills the past has bloomed and I can choose to stop and smell the good and tread over the bad.

I think I will keep dwelling in the past. I have found many treasures there.

2009-06-15T23:01:00.000-04:00

Wow. It has been a long, long time since I sat down to drip drop a blog into cyberspace.

I don't think anyone reads them. So why write? Because it feels good to hear yourself type.

My website is being redesigned. I have to decide whether or not to put a blog on it.

I got an invitation the other day to be a fan of myself.

I just spent three hours answering emails that were backed up into the alley.

My IPhone never leaves the palm of my hand. I hold on to it tighter than I did my kids hands when we crossed traffic.

I eat Twinkies because I feel guilty for not accepting green plants and pieces of rice on Facebook.

And I want to know why I am tired and stressed. Ahhh, technology.

Thank goodness I get to hop in my car on an almost daily basis, put the windows down, turn the music up and drive for hours. I love it. Wanderlust runs in my family. My grandfather was a huckster. My dad sold RV's on the road. And I am a traveling storyteller. The DNA of our family is based in asphalt and dirt, twisting up into lines sprawled across a wrinkled map.

I'd have it no other way. My car is like a respite. An escape. A humming spa of tire and tread, magnified heat through the window glass, Etta James in the passenger seat and wide open spaces filled with new ideas, dreams, and memories.

I love to go.

The Mothership

2008-10-06T20:48:00.001-04:00

I have just returned from the mothership.

Jonesborough.

It is the hot spot, the portal, the magnet for storytellers, storylovers, and people who just want to investigate the spoken word.

It was wonderful.

I had the priveldge of telling on the Exchange Stage. A lovely crowd of 1500 or so folks, on the edge of their seats hungry for a good tale. What a great audience.

All of my friends were there to support me and cheer me on. I think that one of my favorite things about going to the National Festival each year, is seeing all of my friends and co-workers from around the country. If you can call this work.

My new CD is out, "Freckles, Fibs, & Family." I am pretty proud of it.

Drop me an email and let me know whats going on in your neck of the woods.

Kim

I have a secret...

2008-09-18T09:09:00.000-04:00

I have a secret. A confession of sorts, not the type that will make you lose face or end in repentence. Just a little secret between me, mother nature...and now you.

When I travel to a new place, which is frequently, I like to settle in and then wait for the moment when the evening tucks it's grey blanket over the fading blush of day. Then, I kick off my shoes and pad quietly outside and walk barefoot. I also indulge in this little habit early in the morning, when the grass is wet and cool. I love to find warm spots where the yawning sun has already smiled upon the earth.

Something happens when you walk barefoot...a kind of intimacy, kisses on the toes, a thrill in your heart as if any moment you might come upon a tiny bearded man sitting on a mushroom offering you a sip of port from a whittled mug.

I have dug my toes into the ash of a spent volcano, examined my steps etched in a million grains of sand, dried my toes on the orange stones of Utah, and felt the dew of cushioned steps alighted on the moss of Williamsburg. A hundred years of history becoming my pedestal.

So now you know, my little secret.

Poetic, but not a poet.

2008-09-14T22:26:00.000-04:00

I fancy myself to be a bit poetic. I think everyone at one time or another feels poetic. If they don't, then that is sad because anytime you are inspired beyond repair you should feel poetic. Even if nothing comes out of your mouth. So the people who have never felt poetic, have never been inspired beyond repair and in their brief wisp of life they have missed 'it'.

I digress.

I fancy myself to be a poetic person, but not a poet. Words are constantly tumbling out of my mouth and some actually tend to land on the floor in an interesting pattern with some moderate flare. This does not happen often.

I had the opportunity to visit a vineyard on my last trip. This is one of my favorite things to do when traveling. I had the luck of passing one of my favorite vineyards and I stopped in. It had been 2 years since I had been there and I had completely forgotten how stunning it was.

After I had a beautiful Riesling delivered to me, I walked to the lake and crossed the bridge where a small table beckoned me to sit and breathe and listen and see.

So I did.

And the world received my attention and in turn, inspired me beyond repair.

And I became poetic.

And words tumbled out.

The weeping willow wallowed against the sky,
As it's tendrils traced over the surface of
the waters
Undulated with the cadence of comfortable lovers,
Made so by the turning of time &
its winds
Brushed my skin cooling the drops,
Called forth from my body by
the heat
Of the sun kissed my face spreading warmth,
like the touch of a new lover & friend.

Poetic, but not a poet. And that's okay. As long as you stop and breathe and listen and capture it with your heart.

New CD!!

2008-08-20T12:58:00.000-04:00

Finally!! The day is approaching for the new CD release!

It has been a long process, but worth every minute of it. Be on the lookout for information on how to get a copy.

Other than that, it has been go, go, go. It feels like I have been on the road non-stop and it is just beginning. That wonderful busy time of the year is here. Next week I am off to the TimpFest in Orem, Utah. I am honored and very excited to be a part of this event. Things are moving so fast, that I am finding it hard to keep up at times. Several years ago when I decided to do telling on a professional level, I would have never dreamed that so many wonderful opportunities would open up.

On the horizon: A book entitled, "You Have My Heart" is being worked on. This book tackles the issue of interracial adoption and interracial families. For children ages 0 - 4 and beyond. Of course it is dedicated to my beautiful grandson who is a glorious mix of Cherokee, African American, German, Scott Irish!!

A new CD project is underway entitled, "Stories on Skin". I am uber excited about this one. More information to follow. I am keeping it under my hat a bit. Letting it simmer.

A tour with Andy Offut Irwin and Bil Lepp is coming up next spring. During the months of Feb - April we are booking the "Uncalled for Tour" anywhere they will have us.

So, things are going very well. My car has been giving me a bit of trouble - but considering I put almost 37,000 miles on it last year, I guess I can't get upset at it. If you have a dependable car that you would like to donate to a traveling artist...give me a call!! Thankfully I will be flying a lot this fall.

Thanks for stopping in, your support and care mean a lot. I appreciate those of you who faithfully stay in touch with encouraging words.

Kim

Doc McConnell

2008-08-20T12:50:00.000-04:00

What a shock, losing an icon within the world of storytelling. Doc McConnell passed away recently. I still cannot believe it. Just about a month ago, his wife and I were talking about him and his health and about how he was doing better. When I got the news, it literally took the wind out of me.

Within our little subculture of storytelling, Doc was an anchor. I cannot begin to imagine what it will be like in Jonesborough this year as I walk to the spot that is 'his'.

It is things like this that confirm in my heart that I have done the right thing in following my dreams. Doc followed his, right up to the end.

Thank you.

2008-07-03T19:30:00.000-04:00

Just when I forget about this blog...someone reminds me that I have not updated it in awhile. Thank you to the faithful few who take the time to actually stop in.

Big news on the homefront. Here is the update:

The Wrinkles Project has been nominated for the Governors Award for the Arts 2008. Keep your fingers crossed. The results are scheduled to be announced by the middle of July.

The Junebug Center for the ARts in Floyd Virginia is teaming up with me to help boost the New River STorytelling Festival to a new level. Very cool.

I have been asked to perform on the National STorytelling Festival on the Exchange Place stage. Yee haw mama! I made the big time!

Other big gigs coming up...Four Corners, New Mexico; Timpanogas Festival, Orem Utah; Williamsburg Festival, Williamsburg VA; Talespin, Chatanooga TN; Southern Ohio SToryfest, Chillocothe Ohio; and on and on.

I was accepted by the Virginia Commission of the ARts to be an approved artist in their 2009-2010 tour directory. A big deal and an honor. IT comes with funding. Very cool.

Anyway, I mention all of this for one reason. To thank you. IF you are reading this, then you probably have had something to do with helping me reach all of the goals of the past year.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Just to much....

2008-02-18T19:21:00.000-05:00

Okay folks...lots going on!

Just got back from TN - The Smoky Mountains Storytelling Festival. It was a wonderful event. I enjoyed myself very much and made some lovely friends in the process.

While I was there I got to take part in the National Youth Storytelling Showcase. I did a workshop and got to see the youth in telling action! They were amazing. Our future is secure! I have taken on the honor of being the Virginia rep for NYSS. If you live in the Virginia area - get ready! Next year I want our state to be representing at the Showcase. Please contact me if you would like to help me in this endeavor.

Richmond Virginia has a new venue for storytelling. After working with the owner of The Camel, Alan has decided to dedicate the third Sunday of every month to storytelling. There will be a featured teller followed by an open mic. This past Sunday (Feb 17) was our first night and it went wonderfully. Check out Ellouise Schoettler's blog for a full run down ellouisestory.blogspot.com

There are some great upcoming events! Be sure to check out the event page at www.justkissthefrog.com for all the latest information.

Thanks for your support!

2007 Highlights

2007-12-10T17:13:00.000-05:00

The 15th is a week away. I am excited. It marks my last performance of 2007. I will have a four week break! It has been a phenomenal year. I have had the opportunity of sharing the stage with some magnificent talent and I do not take that for granted.

I have met so many wonderful people this year and I am so blessed to have a tight circle of storytelling friends to whom I owe a debt of gratitude in one way or another. Whether it be for encouraging words, recommending me for a gig, critiquing me with a smile or giving me a place to sleep...the list goes on.

2007 had many highlights for me. To many to list. I thought that having Carmen Deedy start a standing ovation for me was going to be the highlight of my year.

I was wrong.

Last weekend I performed at 4 stages in Colonial Williamsburg. The first stage had about 500 people at it. A nice crowd that responded well. The second stage had about 800 people at it and they responded well too. But the third stage...aah yes... the third stage had 4,200 people at it. And they were so quiet as I told. The cold midnight air filled with a misty rain. They laughed at all right places, applauded lightly at the best spots and gave off an energy that fueled my telling to a new level.

But even that was not the highlight of my year.

The highlight was when I went home for Thanksgiving and my mom, dad, brothers and sisters talked me in to telling a few stories in the family room at a plastic table with my nieces and nephews there.

That was the highlight - although, I could get used to crowds of 4,000 real easy!

Happy Holidays.

Getting Better

2007-11-20T21:27:00.000-05:00

Just returned from a WONDERFUL weekend trip. Hit Richmond, went to The Camel for a storytelling show then slept in my friends living room. Woke up headed to Courtland, enjoyed a ton of kids from the gifted program. We had a blast as I told stories and hopefully awoke in each of them the storytelling bug.

From there took the ferry across the beautiful James River and went to Williamsburg where I rounded out the weekend with a wonderful time of telling at the Williamsburg Tellebration. A lot of great tellers performed and I was honored to be featured with them. Stayed at a friends house - always an adventure. Thank God for people who will let you stay for free!

Now on to a little soapbox.

Artists (any type, but here we will mainly focus on storytellers) always want to get better at their craft. It is important. If you want to make a living doing what you love to do, then you better be good at it. To get good at it you better be open to criticism. I love criticism - even when it comes from a wrong heart, because usually there is truth in it. And truth brings realization and realization offers up the choice to change and get better or stay the same and stagnate. I prefer realization with the outcome of change.

I think, and forgive me if I am wrong, that many tellers seek out the kind, positive words of admiration when they are done performing. Some of these comments are offered up to them only out of kindness, not truth. So they walk around duped - believing that they are better than what they really are. This leads to confusion, because in the end they do not get the call back or get the gig.

I encourage you, no matter what your art medium is, to surround yourself with people who will tell you the ugly truth because they love you and want you to succeed. I am so grateful that I have friends who will do this. It has enabled me to fine tune much of what I do. And just when I think I am really hitting a home-run, they make sure I am brought down to earth with a few loving comments that let me know I have a long way to go before I hit perfection.

Loving criticism is really just pruning. Pruning brings growth . If you are interested in being pruned, give me a call. We can take turns clipping each others branches.

Whew!

2007-10-09T22:19:00.000-04:00

Whew! Take a deep breath...what a month.

September was amazing. I did a ton of shows. For one festival I did 10 shows in three days. It is exhausting but oh so much fun.

I was just at Jonesborough (if you don't know about Jonesborough it is the mothership for all storytellers). It was like being a professional bubble blower and standing in the middle of a bubblegum factory and someone saying - you cannot touch the gum. Just look at it. Ahhhh!!

I enjoyed my time there and all the tellers were great but the desire to be on the stage...any stage was overwhelming and exasperating. I came home and looked at my calendar and saw that my next gig is not for two weeks. TWO WEEKS!!! That is a lifetime when you have an itch to scratch.

So...I will make some calls and go somewhere and tell. Dinner tables, campfires, parking lots. The world is a stage.

Upcoming news:
Berry Hill Plantation (private show) and Smithfield Plantation are the next gigs on the map. Not my regular type of shows but it is good to be stretched.

After performing at the Colonial Williamsburg Storytelling Festival, I was invited back to Williamsburg as the featured teller for Tellebration. An honor. I will be performing in South Boston on November 16th and heading to Colonial Williamsburg on the 17th.

Hope you can come.

An Update

2007-09-01T22:17:00.003-04:00

Thanks for stopping by. Lot's of great things going on. Just finished writing several new pieces of material. It's odd how the creative flow comes in waves.

Uncle Cigar makes an appearance for the first time. The Dandelion Festival in Pitscreek runs into trouble. Songs start showing up at the end of stories. Flying sleds, UFO's, inner tubes, Gollywhopper eggs, and more crazy Uncle Norm contraptions have been added. Grandma Anna shows her crazy side and the squirrels come home.

Confused? Well, you'll just have to check the events calendar and find a date that suits you and come out and hear what is going on.

I have some pretty good gigs coming up, and if you are a story lover, I will probably see you there. Williamsburg VA, Gettysburg PA and Bluefield VA are just around the corner. Real exciting news, I was just added as a featured teller for the Smoky Mountains Storytelling Festival in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee this coming February. An honor.

I will be sharing at the Swapping Grounds in Jonesborough. If you are going to the National Storytelling Festival, check in and see when I am telling. I need all the support I can get!! I will be doing my performance on Saturday at some point. Don't know the exact time till I get there.

The new CD should be out this month. Thanks to all of you who pre-purchased. I appreciate your patience. It will be worth it, I promise.

Thanks for your support! Keep checking the web site for updates.

Laughter

2007-08-10T08:35:00.000-04:00

I recently had someone ask me a great question. What is the one thing you couldn't live without doing?

Well, that may be an easy question for you...but for me it's real tough because I like to do so much. I write, perform, paint, read ( a lot), sing, play three instruments, camp, travel, entertain, and on and on it goes.

That one question made me pause, in the midst of the busy, and really think.

And I figured it out.

Laughter.

I could not live without laughter...mine or other peoples laughter.

If every word I said made you laugh, I would talk forever.

I love performing and hearing the response of laughter. It fuels me. To know that I can entertain people for 30 - 45 minutes and take them away from the hussle and flow of life, relieve them momentarily of pain, make them forget the job-arguement-sickness...is a wonderful thing.

So I will keep on writing, telling, performing and laughing.

Make 'em laugh. Laughter is the best medicine.
Laugh as much as you breath and love as long as you live.
The human race really only has one effective weapon, and that is laughter.
Nothing shows a mans character more than what he laughs at.
The earth laughs in flowers.
A laugh is a smile that bursts.
Laughter is the shock absorber that eases the blows of life.
What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul.
Laughter is an instant vacation.

The Little Voices...

2007-05-23T16:43:00.000-04:00

I was talking to a reporter the other day. She was interviewing me and asked how I get the ideas for my stories. I proceeded to tell her that I keep a notebook by my side at all times. I told her that there is a constant flow of thoughts in my head, mostly humorous, that I try and keep at bay when I am doing the daily routine of life. But sometimes, a really good one just pops to the front and I jot it down in my notebook. When I take time to sit down and allow those thoughts to come to the forefront, I have more ideas than I have time to work into stories.

She was quiet for a minute and then I realized that she probably thought I sounded a little...uh, well...nuts.

But if you are an artist or a writer, then you understand. It's not little voices or anything like that. It is just the glaring reality of life, filtered through a creative eye, and then bounced around on the facets of a creative mind and a wild imagination.

I love it.

The Tale is Wiser....

2006-11-13T12:23:00.000-05:00

The tale is usually wiser than the teller.

Boy isn't that the truth. The tales I usually hear or tell contain a lot more wisdom in one tiny sentence than what I have in my whole head. The tale usually conveys a deep truth in a way that is easy to swallow. The listener takes in the story, rolls it around in their mind, pulls out the truth, has an epiphany and is suddenly inspired to make a change in their thinking or behavior.

How wise the tale is. We usually shout the truth in anger, hurling it like a verbal fist and then expect the recipient to thank us and change - hopefully making our life easier.

We usually speak truth out of selfishness and hurt.
Stories speak truth with no conditions, asking nothing in return.

We have a lot to learn from these spun tales.