It is with great pleasure that I introduce you to Christina Sbarro, author of the blog My Topography and a long time reader of Gypsy Girls Guide. Christina is a great writer and she is currently working on a lovely book project: “A Field Guide to Now”. Read how she explains the intriguing premise of her book below:
What if you could look for the present moment in a field guide, the way you might look up the name of a tree out your window?
For as long as you can remember, the tree has just been a tree, but in looking it up, it becomes something: a Sassafras maybe, or a Tulip Maple, and suddenly, you can feel the way your attention towards it shifts. You notice the shape of its leaves in precise detail; or the texture of its bark. You recognize the way its pollen gathers fine and yellow in the weft of your bedroom screen in May; or the way its shade freckles the dying grass at the end of summer. In the act of looking it up and naming it; in discovering its traits and marks, the tree becomes something to you.
What if you could do this for the moments that fill your life? That’s what this book is about. It’s a collection of illustrated essays and prose exploring the fabric of the present tense.
Like a real field guide, you’ll be able to flip through the pages of the book at random, finding glimpses into the present; or you can read it cover to cover and unravel the narrative thread of present moments that stitches each essay to the next.
I don’t know about you, but that is my favorite kind of book, especially when I have only tiny little gaps of time in which I want to scape and get inspired.
In addition to doing all the writing, Christina is also illustrating the book with a collection postcards she inherited from her father when he passed away, that are in themselves a glimpse into a handful of extinct moments.
Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it?
As a hostess of this community of gypsy dreamers, I’m more and more creating a space to support wonderful ideas from all the wild women that have the guts to follow their calling. So many of us are reaching out and unfolding our dreams and that is only creating more space for more dreams and more of us!!! You may be thinking right now that you’d love to find your own dream project someday or you may already have a project underway that you’d like to find support for… So here is what I think:
From personal experience, by supporting others, we are preparing the ground for our own dreams to flourish. The more you give, the more you shall receive! Join our tribe and watch your own miracles unfold ~
Like all of us who have a dream, Christina needs your help to make her book come to life! She is close to her goal, but she still needs some backing. You can contribute with any amount (she honors each offer (even 1 dollar helps!), but if you can contribute with US$21 (which I personally find reasonable)or more, you’ll also get the following package of generous goodies.
“behind the scenes backer updates”: including videos, photos, and some sneak peaks at works-in-progress, a LINK on her popular beautiful blog, a PDF of a selected essay and an illustration from the book and a PODCAST that will help you to launch into your own creative exploration of the daily moments that make up your life. Not to mention the good Karma AND a special offer for GGG readers (a print of one of her lovely mixed media postcards).
If you contribute, please leave a comment as I will enter you on a giveaway for a 8×10 print of my own gypsy girls guide collection.
You can read all about the project and the rewards for your various options of contribution here.
And don’t forget to watch the video!! You’ll fall in love with Christina’s gentle spirit!
Support Christina’s book project [here]. Your dream could be next!
I love this! I couldn’t agree more that supporting and creating space for others to flourish is part of creating the space for our own dreams to grow and flourish. Thank you for doing it so beautifully!
I’m off to check out Christina’s link.
It’s sooo true if you give you shall receive!!! You’re wonderful for being such an awesome support for lots of awesome people. :)
I have been a backer for a little while now- I have really enjoyed following Christina’s journey and I am really looking forward to reading the book!
great way to gain support for such an amazing project. i’ve also been a backer for awhile and really hope christina makes it to the goal!
Well spoken. I never thought I would agree with this opinion, but I’m starting to see things differently. I have to research more on this as it seems very interesting. One thing I don’t get though is how everything is related together.
I became a backer this morning ~and~ discovered the Gypsy Girls. I’m off to explore your site…
i became a backer and am so excited about this field guide! what an inspiring person christina is!! i felt totally inspired while watching the video and found myself nodding a long as she spoke.
wonderful! thanks so much for sharing!
I want to say thank you for pointing out just one more way to help support creative endevors. I love contributing to other writers in anyway that I can. My mom turned me onto your blog and I find it inspiring to read and helps to direct my own compass in the things I want to be doing. I became a backer this morning, so thank you again for the direction.
Good luck to Christina on her wonderful book project! I will be looking forward to it immensely!
Congratulations on having one of the most sophisticated blogs Ive come across in some time! Its just incredible how much you can take away from something simply because of how visually beautiful it is. Youve put together a great blog space –great graphics, videos, layout. This is definitely a must-see blog!
Hopefully I can get this to work for me. It sure can’t hurt to try to implement some of these tips.
Very helpful, I look forward to researching this a little more. Hopefully I can see some good results with trying this and putting my own spin on it.
I watched a program about this on TV yesterday. Thanks for covering it in greater depth