Author Archives: cabinart

Book Report

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Sometimes, no matter how much planning is done, no matter how many assurances are given, things don’t go right.

The printer said it would take about 6 weeks to produce the books, so when I sent the final product off on July 18, it seemed reasonable to expect that we’d have The Cabins of Wilsonia in hand by mid September.

After receiving the book, the printer told me that they cannot bind my book and will have to send it to an outside source for that very important step. That added some time, but they could not tell me how much longer.

A few weeks ago, the printer notified me that the outside binder will not have the books finished until November 19. The printer needs to do one final step before shipping them to me, and then it will be a minimum of 5 days in a truck before the book arrive in Three Rivers.

My idea is to ask for the binder to ship directly to me and allow me to complete that final step. If they agree, that should put the book in your hands around Thanksgiving.

Meanwhile, I don’t know when the books will be ready or in your hands. All I can offer is one of my favorite cliches:  “More will be revealed in the fullness of time.”

The good news is that I have reinstated the early bird price of $70, which includes tax and shipping. This price will be good until November 19. If you would like to pre-order a copy of the book, the check can be made out to Cabinart and mailed to P.O. Box 311, Three Rivers, CA 93271.

When things don’t go my way, I often reassure myself that no one died and no one got cancer. Thank you for your kind patience and please administer dark chocolate.

Preorder your copy of The Cabins of Wilsonia using Paypal via this Add to Cart button:

Preorder price has now expired. It is $86, including tax and mailing.

An Idea

 

I have an idea. The next obstacle is getting the so-far-not-very-cooperative printer to cooperate. It could shave 2 weeks off the process, if they are flexible.

I’ve given up on the private jet rescue scenario. This one is realistic, but depends on a non-service oriented company working harder to please one very unhappy customer.

Ahem. That would be me.

Don’t worry. I have been and will continue to be professional and polite even in the face of their incompetence.

And no, they do not read this blog. My project is not of very much significance to them. However, it is of supreme importance to me and I am doing all that I can to get those books to my customers!!

Do you have any idea how much restraint it took to not shout that last sentence?

Book Report

 

On Monday, September 29, the book printer’s customer service representative sent me this message:

I have some distressing news regarding the schedule for these books.  The soonest the outside binder can get books completed and back to us is November 19.   We’ve been working with them for the past week to get a better date. They did pull it in from 11-24, but their workload is extremely heavy and that’s the best they can do.  It’s that time of year for all book manufacturers.   They did tell us that they will stay on top of it and move it in more if space should open up.  We’ll stay on them with weekly checks.

I’m really sorry.  I know this is not what you wanted to hear.  If there was anything I could do, I would most definitely be right on it.  I know how very important this is to you.

And now you know what I know.

Please excuse me for a while. I need to go smash something.

A Few More Quilt Squares As a Means of Distraction

 

The Wilsonia quilters have about 25 painted quilt squares hanging around the community.

I showed you about 10 or 12 so far. Here are the final 3 to distract you as we all hang around wondering when The Cabins of Wilsonia will arrive.

painted quilt square

The colors are not true here. It is actually purple and teal, and teal is my FAVORITE color. So, as much as I love blue, I’m sorry you cannot see the accurate colors of this square. It was the first one I saw on my last visit, courtesy of my hostess.

painted quilt square

I can’t believe I missed this one on my travels! (Thank you, Gus for taking these 2 photos for me.)

painted quilt square

I want to sit beneath this square (diamond?) and knit. The originator of this square and owner of this cabin has a wonderful sense of style!

NOW is the book almost here??

Waiting for Wilsonia Wearing Worrying Wondering

Wilsonia cabin drawing

This cabin looks worn out. I thought it belonged to the Park Service, because many of the neglected cabins do. It doesn’t. It is in some sort of family dispute.

I am in some sort of delivery dispute. The book The Cabins of Wilsonia WILL be delivered, but no one can say when.

Here is what I’ve been told:

1. It went on the press on the night of September 11. (Don’t know how long on the press)

2. It will go to an outside binder, but no one can say how long that company will take. No one is saying where that company is, so there is no information about shipping to and from them either.

3. There will be work done to finish up the cover back at the printer. No one is saying how long that will take.

4. It will take about 5 days in a truck after that.

I spent 3 years making something, and then turned it over to strangers far away who will turn it over to other strangers even further away. I don’t remember the stress, angst, and flat out anxiety of this part from my other book. But, my other book was printed in California, it only took a year to do, and I had a partner to share the burden with.

Am I beginning to look like the cabin in the drawing above? Don’t answer that, please!

Fancy Drawing of a Plain Cabin

 

There is a very sweet woman whom I have never met, but we seem to have become pen pals. We write notes to one another about Wilsonia, particularly about the upcoming book and about her cabin.

She asked me to draw her cabin, and let me know that it is very plain but means very much to her.

Because it is so plain, and because there are more cabins than I could possibly fit into the book and have it be interesting (that is for another post), I opted to not include hers in the book.

She is gracious and kind and honest. She bought 4 books in spite of the fact that her cabin is not in it, and then asked me to draw it for her.

You can see it doesn’t have many details architecturally:

wilsonia cabin photowilsonia cabin photo

I photographed it at 2 separate times of day, looking for the best light and best angle.

She asked for a collage, which shows different angles, views and details, all in one drawing.

I came up with 2 ideas, both quite pleasing. Now the ball is in her court!

Wilsonia cabin sketches

Do you have a preference?

Nothing to See Here, Folks

 

Several cabin folks in Wilsonia have asked me to draw their cabins. One wasn’t built yet, one is very plain, and one is almost impossible to photograph or see.

Today I’ll show you the one that is almost impossible to see because of the wall of cedar trees. I tried and tried to find the right view for the book and finally said to myself, “Never mind! This is too hard, you cannot include every cabin anyway, so just move on.”

wilsonia cabin photo

wilsonia cabin photo

Just move on, folks. There’s nothing to see here.

But wait! There must be something. I did several sketches from different angles, scanned them, and wrote to the cabin owner. No word back yet.

cabin sketches

You can see these are just sketches as opposed to drawings. Scribbly, loose, lots of trees pruned or removed, missing detail. . . good thing the owner knows I can draw.

Now, I just need to hear from him so I can begin the actual drawing.

There is one I like the best and hope he picks. Do you have a favorite angle?

Full Price

Pull up a chair.

Pull up a chair.

The pre-order price for The Cabins of Wilsonia expired. The new price is $86, which includes tax and mailing (within the USA). If you are someone I see regularly, deduct $5 because instead of putting it in a fancy-pants box and taking it to the Post Office, I’ll simply place it in your hands.

This button will take you to Paypal. Or, if you prefer, you can write an old-fashioned check, put it in an old-fashioned envelope, address to my old fashioned P.O. Box, and put an old-fashioned stamp on it. That’s P.O. Box 311, Three Rivers, CA 93271 

And no, I still don’t know when to expect the books! Thanks for asking, and thank you for your patience. I could use a little bit of that myself.

What It Is and What it Isn’t

 

pencil drawing of Wilsonia cabin

What it is:

The upcoming book The Cabins of Wilsonia is an album. It is a collection of pictures designed to show the overview of a cabin community. It is pictures of the typical, pictures of the unique, word pictures of cabin life expressed in stories from cabin folks. It is designed to show the many architectural styles within the community.  It is a medley of little details, such as the way the sun lands on something ordinary and makes it beautiful. It shows things that are ordinary to cabin life that may be unusual in “normal” life. It is a picture of cabin life in the 20th century. It is pencil drawings made from photos that I spent days and days shooting, editing, cropping, choosing, and three years putting together. It is the celebration of a very special treasure of Tulare County and Kings Canyon National Park.

wilsonia cabin photo

What it Isn’t

It is not a directory of cabins. It is not a comprehensive, all-inclusive list of every cabin. It is not a history book. It is not a complete representation of every one of the 214 cabins in Wilsonia. It isn’t photos. It isn’t a list of cabins that used to be there. It isn’t a collection of cabins that currently belong to the Park. It isn’t a hastily thrown together piece of work.

And it isn’t yet in our hands.