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Thursday, July 19, 2007

Locals Get Work in Print

By Lee Ross
Mountain View Telegraph
    The art and writing of East Mountains residents are featured in three new publications this month.
    Carla Ward of Tinkertown published a children's book that focuses on the whimsical museum. Another Place 'n' Time, a small curio shop in Tijeras, had a book signing for a recipe book that includes stories, lists of favorite books and even gardening tips.
    And Gabriel Martinez, a 15-year-old East Mountains resident, had a winning photo published in albuquerqueARTS magazine.
   
Photo pros
    "He didn't think he could win ... I said, 'Why don't we just do it?' '' said Barbara Martinez, Gabriel's mother.
    Gabriel is currently in Guatemala with Mountain Christian Church to do volunteer work and teach Bible stories. He took his camera, and his mother is looking forward to seeing the photos he takes.
    Gabriel's photo printed in albuquerqueARTS is a close-up of the textures and text on an old newspaper. It shares the page with the work of professional photographers and photo instructors. The magazine even has a plant pathologist's black-and-white photo of microscopic rust fungus on a fern.
    The jury for the magazine's photo issue comprised three artists, two of them professional photographers, who rated the photos. Of the 80 winning entries, only the 27 highest-ranked photographers had their work displayed in the magazine.
   
Across generations
    Photography is also a big part of Ward's children's book "Emily Finds a Dog— A Tinkertown Tale."
    "It took a lot of detail work," said Carla Ward, who wrote the book along with Megan Ward.
    "We worked closely together ... three generations (of Wards) and a dog," Carla said.
    To create the book, Carla worked with the next generation of Wards, photographer Megan Ward and Megan's daughter, Hedy Rose Ward. Hedy portrays the little girl, Emily, in the book.
    The dog, Radar, appears as himself. Radar, named for his big ears, is the official mayor of Tinkertown and has lived there since 1997. Hedy is the granddaughter of Tinkertown creator Ross Ward, Carla's late husband.
    Carla's book— which took close to a year to complete— takes place inside the carved sets that make up the museum Ross created. Ross died in 2002.
    The book was published July 1, and Carla had a book signing Saturday at the museum. She sold 74 copies at the signing and 125 copies of the $15.95 book in all.
    Carla said she wanted to make a children's book because it would be more light-hearted than something like a coffee-table book.
    "Tinkertown is just a fun place and we wanted to make a fun book ... Tinkertown is for children of all ages ... from ages two to 90," she said.
    Tinkertown is a display of Ross' work, both as an artist and a collector. A prolific sign painter and artist, Ross created the museum in his spare time.
    "His motto was, 'I did this while you were watching TV,' '' said Carla Ward, who currently runs Tinkertown.
    The museum is constructed with scraps of wood, horseshoes and more than 50,000 glass bottles and other recycled materials.
    The majority of the displays are intricate miniature sets, many of them animated. The scenes are made from a combination of Ross' carvings and artwork and his collection of trinkets, stickers and dolls.
    In Carla's book, photos of Hedy and Radar are transposed over the sets. In the story, the two interact with the characters of Tinkertown.
    Copies are available at www.tinkertown.com or at Tinkertown, located on N.M. 536 on the way to Sandia Crest.
    The book is also available at Another Place 'n' Time, a store in Tijeras that has worked out an exchange with Tinkertown.
   
Deadline pressure
    Bonnie Parks, owner of Another Place 'n' Time, also held a book signing Saturday.
    According to Parks, the scheduled date of the book signing was the reason the book came together.
    "It takes deadlines," Parks said.
    The book, "Another Place 'n' Time and Friends: Reminiscing Over Tea," is a collaboration of stories, gardening tips, recipes and even lists of favorite books.
    The authors were Parks, Linda Barker, Sandra Stangle, Suzy Irwin, Shirley Johannsen, Mary Schwappach and Harriett Chambers.
    Parks said she and her friends began telling people they would make a book about five years ago. Around that time, she began collecting stories and recipes, then finally set a date for a book signing several months ago.
    As the signing date approached, Parks knew she had to edit and compile the numerous writings and recipes. She said the deadline forced her to complete the project.
    Many of the stories in the book relate to cooking.
    In "Seven Minutes of Fame," Chambers tells about how, as a child, she got her hair caught in a blender while making seven-minute icing. In a plan hatched by her and her brother, Chambers submerged the blender, and herself, in the bathtub with her clothes on.
    Apparently the plan worked.
    "There's no fabrication there (in the book) whatsoever, except when my brother tells it," she joked.
    Many of the recipes are for meals to be served with tea, which is a specialty of Another Place 'n' Time.
    Parks and a number of the authors host tea parties at the shop, generally on the second and fourth Saturdays of every month at 1 p.m., which cost $19.95. The next party is called Mary Poppins Tea, and parasols are recommended.
    Another Place 'n' Time is on N.M. 337 just south of Old Route 66.