Art on the Plateau: Local Author Publishing Fourth Children’s Book, Plus Three Calls for Art

Local author and poet of children’s books, Eric Ode, has a fourth book coming out April 2 from Sasquatch Books, and a fifth book is in the pipeline with Pelican Publishing. On Saturday, Jan. 26 at 10:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Eric will be book signing at the Kane Miller/EDC Booth at the American Library Association Midwinter Meeting at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle.

Ed Note: Mr. Ode's book signing date above has been corrected from an earlier version of this entry.

Some of you have witnessed Eric’s creative energy and wit, and have bought his books. Your children are his fans. Hang on to these books because this is one children’s writer who I believe is destined to be on the best sellers list of children’s books.  

Eric is a popular children’s entertainer and his website indicates he travels and tours a lot, up to nine engagements just this month in December alone, many performances at schools and libraries.

I went searching for Eric last week and found him busy laying flooring in the building he has been renovating on Cole Street in Enumclaw for many weeks - between performances. He and his wife, Kim, bought the building and the bottom half will be opening soon as a nutrition and natural health store, a branch of Jubilee Naturals in Sumner where they currently live that herbalist Kim founded in March, 2011.

The day I spoke with Eric he told me he was to appear that very night as a speaker at the highly-popular Third Place Bookstore in Seattle to members of a long established and exclusive club, Seattle Free Lances.   

Later I asked publisher Erik Korhel, president of Seattle Free Lances, how it went. “Eric Ode's Seattle Free Lances event on December 4th supplied a renewed energy to our group of professional writers,” he stated. “He brought with him the same engaging, charming spirit that enchants his younger audiences, leaving many of our esteemed members expressing how he made them 'Feel like a child again.'"

Getting your books in print by an established book publisher is a coup for anyone who started out small, selling at public appearances and online at his website at www.ericode.com.  Now, this former school teacher’s books are also available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and, most importantly, through your local independent bookstores.

Books published: Three titles are currently available - When You're a Pirate Dog and Other Pirate Poems (Pelican Publishing); Dan, the Taxi Man (Kane Miller); and Tall Tales of the Wild West and a Few Short Ones (Meadowbrook Press). 

I have a copy of the Pirate Dog book which I highly recommend for grandkids who like pirates. This particular poem of rhyme and wit makes me think twice when reaching for the coconut milk in my fridge.

Marooned on Coconut Island

There’s coconut sandwiches,

coconut steaks,

coconut puddings

and coconut cakes.

Coconut fritters

and conconut hams,

coconut jellies

and coconut jams.

Coconut sherbert

And coconut custard,

coconut sausage

with coconut mustard.

Coconut gravy

on coconut roast

and coconut butter

on coconut toast.

I’ve been on this Island

for seventeen years

with mountains of coconuts

up to my ears.

My stomach’s a wreck

And my brain is like putty.

Rescue me quick

Or I’ll go coco-nutty!

CALLS FOR ART

Vera Art Gallery The Ver(A)rt Gallery is excited to announce a call to artists for group and solo shows for 2013!  Emerging artists and curators of all-ages are encouraged to apply with a cohesive body of work or themed group exhibit. Have fun with it! Vera’s a great place to show your work for the first time, experiment with different mediums, and work with other artists to transform our gorgeous space.  Deadline: Email by January 1  

Artist Trust: Artist Trust is accepting nominations for the 2013 Irving and Yvonne Twining Humber Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement. The annual award of $10,000 is given to a Washington State female visual artist, age 60 or over, who has dedicated 25 years of her life to creating art. The award recognizes creative excellence, professional accomplishment and dedication to the visual arts. The Twining Humber Award is open to all visual artists who meet the eligibility requirements of the program. Nominations will be accepted for artists working in all genres of the visual art discipline. Any U.S. resident may nominate an artist. Artists may NOT nominate themselves. After all nominations have been received, one nominee will be selected by a selection panel comprised

The Irving and Yvonne Twining Humber Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement is made possible by a generous gift from Yvonne Twining Humber to the Artist Trust Endowment Fund. Yvonne, who passed away in May 2003, was a painter of both urban and rural landscapes, and was employed by the Works Progress Administration from 1935 to 1943. Originally from New York City, Yvonne was raised in England and New England and then lived in Washington State for over 50 years. With the estate she and her husband built together, Yvonne established this award as a means to recognize female artists who have dedicated a lifetime to their artwork.

Sanchez Art Center  Calling all California, Oregon, and Washington fine art visual artists! Sanchez Art Center invites you to enter the 2013 Left Coast Annual, juried by Lucinda Barnes, Chief Curator and Director of Programs and Collections, University of California, Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive. Awards: 2 Artists receive $250 plus an exhibition; 2 artists receive $250. Deadline February 12, 2013 Fee: $15.00 (Application Fee First Image - Sanchez Art Center) Entry Deadline: 2/12/13