by writing classes at Blue Mountain Community College, in Eastern Oregon.
…when you take a writing teacher who thinks it’s more fun to teach a class when 
you don’t go through the same frigging song and dance every single term, and who is either a Renaissance Woman (as her friends in college maintained) or just plain scattered (as her Not Friends have suggested). At any rate, this woman (who shall remain nameless, since she’s me), keeps body and soul together for herself, The House Leroy, The Boy, The Girls (our formerly feral cats who now mostly like to lie on their backs and have their tummies rubbed), and the Magic Dog by writing, designing, and illustrating books when she’s not teaching. So long story short, there’s something of a talent pool there just waiting to be tapped, and by golly, was it ever tapped for this bad boy.
This term we talked about Comfort Food–those foods that remind us who we are, that are a part of our history. I don’t know if you know this, but writing classes are structured around a variety of writing styles. One of those styles is the “How-to” paper. Everybody brought a family recipe for that. And then we talked about processes, and how to write about them, and how to edit, and how important it is to provide clear, concise instructions, and oh, all sorts of things. And then 
the real work started. I made a boatload of illustrations (all of these are my own original work, so if you like them let me know and we’ll work something out), and then designed a book that reflected something of my own history with
comfort food–the yellow and white tiles remind me of my grandmother’s kitchen. And then we printed it up, and part of the money this baby earns (if any) will go to support future projects like this with my classes.
(For the record, next term we’re talking about Finding Home–how traditional houses reflect the culture and climate that give birth to them, and new ways of thinking about houses and how to make them.)
Sherry, I love how you CARE about your students and find creative, fun ways to engage them in the writing process. Your illustrations are beautiful! As a book publisher and editor, I so appreciate your work and all that you do for NewSage Press. YES, you are an amazing resource and anyone who has the opportunity to work with you is blessed. Your talent and resourcefulness never cease to amaze me. Plus, you are an honest woman who walks through her life with solid integrity.
Thanks for sharing your latest creative endeavor with your students. They are lucky people!!!
Maureen Michelson
Publisher, NewSage Press
Check out our web site to see some of Sherry’s book design work.
http://www.newsagepress.com
Thank you, Maureen–that means a lot. I’m very eager to see what my students say when they get their books. Next term we’re going to be talking about homes–how traditional houses reflect the culture and climate in which they evolve, how we can use some of the traditional–and non-traditional–solutions to develop homes that work more cheaply, efficiently, and effectively with our world, and why it’s important. The research paper is going to be the same challenge I posed when I did this sequence before–I ask my students to plan a house that works with our climate and culture–and it has to be one they can build primarily from things they find lying around on the ground–natural, abundant resources. Last time they had a blast, and the variety of homes they came up with–all of which would work well in our climate–was amazing. It’s the only time I’ve ever had students ask if they could share their papers with each other; they were fascinated. Some even said that they were planning to incorporate some of the things they learned into the houses they were planning to build.