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The Branch Museum of Architecture & Design Hosts Lecture, Sketching Workshop with Celebrated Architect Frank Harmon

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 The ‘Native Places’ author will be in Richmond Nov. 21 – 23.

FH hi-res by f8 Photo Studio FRANK HARMON, FAIA (photo by f8 Photo Studios)

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November 13, 2019 (Richmond, VA) – Frank Harmon wants to transform the way we see and enjoy the world around us. That’s why the multi-award-winning architect from Raleigh, NC, wrote Native Places: Drawing as a Way to See. That’s also why he’ll be in Richmond this month.

On Thursday, November 21, The Branch Museum of Architecture & Design will host a lecture and book-signing event with Harmon from 5:30-7:30 pm. Then on Saturday, November 23, Harmon will lead an Urban Sketching Workshop around the Museum’s vicinity on Monument Avenue from 10 am-1 pm. Both events are open to the public.

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Native Places: Drawing as a Way to See is a collection of 64 of Harmon’s watercolor sketches – of buildings, landscapes and cityscapes, everyday objects and ordinary places — paired with 200-word essays. The pairs first appeared in his popular online journal NativePlaces.org. The sketches, some over 30 years old, convey the delight he finds in each subject. The brief essays offer his fresh perspectives on topics inspired by those sketches, especially places and things that we take for granted.

For Frank Harmon, sketching has always been an element of his education and his practice. He has made sketches “as a way to see” since his university days at the Architectural Association in London. Since then, he has kept a sketch pad, pens, and a pocket-sized water-color set in a small bag wherever he’s gone, from fields along rural highways where he spots old barns and sheds to urban centers and lush gardens throughout Europe.

“Usually I sketch something I’m curious about,” he notes.

As an architect and a professor of architecture at North Carolina State University’s College of Design, Harmon has conducted Urban Sketching Workshops for the American Institute of Architect’s National Conventions; for various AIA chapters and sections across the nation; and at Auburn University’s renowned Rural Studio in Hale County, Alabama. He began combining sketching workshops with book-signing events soon after ORO Editions published Native Places: Drawing as a Way to See.

In his workshops, Harmon helps participants learn to look more closely at the particulars of a place and the nuances of objects, then express both through sketching.

Ticket options for Frank Harmon’s lecture and Urban Sketching Workshop are available at branchmuseum.org. Click on “events.”

For more information on Native Places: Drawing as a Way to See, visit nativeplacesthebook.com and follow the book on Facebook.

The Branch Museum of Architecture & Design is located in the historic 1919 Branch House at 2501 Monument Ave., Richmond, VA 23220 (804-655-6055).

AIA Austin Welcomes Architect/Author Frank Harmon, FAIA, and His New Book “Native Places: Drawing as a Way to See”

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Frank Harmon, Native Places
Frank Harmon, FAIA. (photo by William Morgan)

Frank Harmon, FAIA, (right) a multi-award-winning architect from Raleigh, North Carolina, and the author of the critically acclaimed book Native Places: Drawing as a Way to See, will be in Austin Tuesday, November 12, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. for a lecture and book-signing event hosted by the Austin chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA Austin).

As the architect of the modern, thoroughly sustainable AIA NC Center for Architecture & Design building in Raleigh, he will also address AIA Austin’s plans for a similar structure.

Frank Harmon’s appearance is part of AIA Austin’s “Design Talks” Luncheon Series held in the Lake | Flato-designed Austin Central Library.

“AIA Austin is thrilled to welcome an architecture and drawing master like Frank to Austin,” said Ingrid Spencer, Executive Director of AIA Austin and the Austin Foundation for Architecture. “Because Frank designed the only ground-up Center for Architecture in the country, and we’re striving to create such a place in Austin, we are extra excited for his visit.”

After a brief AIA Austin Annual Meeting, architect and professor Lawrence Speck will introduce Harmon, who will then discuss and read excerpts from Native Places and share his reasons for writing it. One of those reasons is his lifelong belief that drawing offers the opportunity “to transform the way we see” the world around us.

“Sketching allows us to see what we might not have noticed,” Harmon says. “It allows us to be present.”

Frank Harmon book

Published by ORO Editions, Native Places: Drawing as a Way to See is a collection of 64 of Harmon’s watercolor sketches paired with brief essays he’s written about architecture, nature, everyday objects, and ordinary places. The pairs first appeared in his popular online journal NativePlaces.org.

The sketches in Native Places, some of which are 30 years old, convey the delight the architect finds in these places and things. The short essays, inspired by the sketches, offer his fresh interpretations of what most people take for granted.

Seattle architect Tom Kundig, FAIA, calls Harmon’s book “a masterful legacy on all levels.” Architect Marlon Blackwell, FAIA, of Fayetteville, Arkansas, offers this:

“Native Places provides a reflective pause in my busy day to consider the humanity of buildings and places. I find my sense of hope and possibility renewed in these simple, evocative drawings and the wisdom that accompanies them.”

BookPeople, the leading independent bookstore in Texas since 1970, will make copies of Native Places available for purchase so attendees can get them signed by the author.

Advance tickets for the November 12 “Design Talks” event are $30 for AIA and Allied AIA members, $15 for Associate members and students, and $40 for non-members. Tickets purchased at the door November 12 will be $40 for AIA and Allied AIA members and $20 for Associate members and students. To register and secure advanced tickets click here.

Austin Central Library is located at 710 West Cesar Chevez Street, Austin, TX 78701 (512-452-4332). For more information on the November 12 event and AIA Austin, visit aiaaustin.org.

For more information on Frank Harmon and Native Places: Drawing as a Way to See, visit nativeplacesthebook.com.

 

Scuppernong Books in Greensboro Welcomes Native Son Frank Harmon and ‘Native Places” on January 27

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FRANK HARMON (Photo by Christine Simeloff)

Multi-award-winning architect Frank Harmon, FAIA, grew up in the 1950s on Rolling Road in Greensboro. In the introduction to his new critically acclaimed book Native Places: Drawing as a Way to See, Harmon relates that he “discovered reading in the Greensboro Public Library” and that he “learned most of what I needed to know to be an architect” playing by his favorite stream, which “ran between rocky banks in East Greenway Park.”

A professor in the NC State University College of Design as well as a practicing architect, Frank Harmon has called Raleigh home for many decades. But on Sunday, January 27, he will return to his hometown when Scuppernong Books hosts a special book-signing event for Native Places and its native son. Free and open to the public, the book-signing event will begin at 3 pm.

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Delight in Ordinary Places:  Published by ORO Editions, Native Places: Drawing as a Way to See is a collection of 64 of Harmon’s watercolor sketches paired with brief essays he’s written about architecture, nature, and everyday objects and places that first appeared on his popular online journal NativePlaces.org. The sketches convey the delight he finds in ordinary places. The short essays, inspired by the sketches, offer his fresh interpretations of what most people take for granted.

Harmon’s goal for Native Places is, in fact, “to transform the way we see,” he says, and to promote his belief that hand drawing offers “an opportunity to develop a natural grace in the way we view the world and take part in it.” He will explain both concepts in his presentation.

What others are saying about Native Places: In a letter to the Harmon, poet, author, and former North Carolina poet laureate Fred Chappell wrote, “Native Places…has afforded me happy pleasures, different from any that I have before derived from a book. It is unusual in many ways, one of which is that it defies strict classification. It is a sketchbook, a memoir, travel journal, aesthetic experiment, a collection of small familiar essays, and maybe in some respects even a manifesto.”

Mike Welton, the architecture critic for the Raleigh News & Observer, calls Harmon’s book “delightful” and suggests that it is “destined to change how we see this world.”

Tom Kundig, FAIA, of Olsen Kundig Architects in Seattle, WA, praises Harmon and his book for “reminding us in brilliant, thoughtful, quiet meditation our unbelievable luck to be alive and to think. A masterful legacy on all levels.”H

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Scuppernong Books is located at 304 South Elm Street. For more information: www.scuppernongbooks.coim (336-763-1919).

For more details on Frank Harmon and Native Places: Drawing as a Way to See, visit the book’s website (nativeplacesthebook.com) and Facebook page.

Charleston’s Blue Bicycle Books Hosts Architect/Author Frank Harmon and ‘Native Places” on January 17th

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Architect and author Frank Harmon, FAIA, who designed the modern, award-winning Sunday School addition to the historic Circular Congregational Church in Charleston and the “Seven Sisters” residence on St. Helena Island, will present his new, critically acclaimed book  Native Places: Drawing as a Way to See when Blue Bicycle Books hosts a book-signing event on Thursday, January 17, beginning at 5 p.m.

Free and open to the public, the event will begin with an introduction of the Raleigh, NC-based author by South Carolina architect Whitney Powers. Harmon will then give a presentation about his book and his passion for hand sketching. After a Q&A with the audience, he will sign copies of Native Places, which will be available for purchase in the bookstore.

Frank Harmon bookDelight in Ordinary Places:  Published by ORO Editions, Native Places: Drawing as a Way to See is a collection of 64 of Harmon’s watercolor sketches paired with brief essays he’s written about architecture, everyday objects and sites, and nature that first appeared on his internationally popular blog NativePlaces.org. The sketches convey the delight he finds in ordinary places. The short essays, inspired by the sketches, offer his fresh interpretations of what most people take for granted.

Harmon’s goal for Native Places is, in fact, “to transform the way we see,” he says, and to promote his belief that hand drawing offers “an opportunity to develop a natural grace in the way we view the world and take part in it.” He will explain both concepts in his presentation.

What others are saying about Native Places: In his review of the book, Charles Linn, FAIA, architect, writer, former deputy editor of Architectural Record, wrote, “For those who love drawing, seek enlightenment and inspiration from the things they may pass by every day, and perhaps want to capture them in their own sketchbooks, I give Native Places my highest recommendation.” (Linn also helped Harmon select and organize the sketch-essay pairs for the book.)

Mike Welton, the architecture critic for the Raleigh News & Observer, calls Harmon’s book “delightful” and suggests that it is “destined to change how we see this world.”

Tom Kundig, FAIA, of Olsen Kundig Architects in Seattle, WA, praises Harmon and his book for “reminding us in brilliant, thoughtful, quiet meditation our unbelievable luck to be alive and to think. A masterful legacy on all levels.”

Owned and operated by Jonathan Sanchez, Blue Bicycle Books is located at 420 King Street, Charleston, SC 29403 (843.722.2666); bluebicyclebooks.com.

For more details on Frank Harmon and Native Places: Drawing as a Way to See, visit the book’s website (nativeplacesthebook.com) and Facebook page.

Pamlico Writers Group Welcomes Frank McNair for Workshop, Book Signing

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The author of the award-winning new novel Life on the Line: Football, Rage, and Redemption will join the group on October 24th

The Pamlico Writers’ Group in Washington, NC, will welcome author Frank McNair of Winston-Salem and Bath, NC, as Featured Author on Tuesday, October 24, from 7 to 9 p.m.  McNair will read from his new, award-winning novel Life on the Line: Football, Rage, and Redemption, sign copies of the book, and conduct a mini-workshop on “Plotting and Keeping Up with Characters.”

Open to the public, the event will be held at historic Turnage Theater, 150 West Main Street, Washington, NC. 27889.

Set in the rural South in 1965, Life on the Line is the story of two middle school boys struggling to understand themselves and the world around them as they meet on the football field and immediately despise each other.

A former football player himself, McNair draws his readers into play-by-play action during grueling practices and often violent, bloody games as the boys lead their team towards an undefeated season — despite the tension and animosity that escalates between them.

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McNair’s novel is built around football, but it also contains themes of family and faith, love and loss, and how all of that leads the boys to hard-won reconciliation. Earlier this year, it was named “Best Book” in the Young Adult category for the Spring 2017 Pinnacle Book Achievement Awards.”

Frank McNair grew up in Laurinburg, NC, where he was a member of the Scotland County High School “Fighting Scots” football team. A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Morehead Scholar, he received his MBA degree from Wake Forest University. He has published successful non-fiction business books but Life on the Line is his first venture into fiction. He is currently working on a second novel, this one exploring the life of Christian faith, entitled A Creeping Certainty.

McNair and his wife Laura are active members of their church community, where they teach and contribute in other ways. They live with their beloved lab, Buddy Brown, in a house overlooking the woods in Winston-Salem when they’re not in residence at their coastal home in Bath overlooking the Pamlico River.

The Pamlico Writers Group is affiliated with the Arts of the Pamlico and meets twice a month. Its mission is “to help other aspiring writers accomplish their goals in writing.” For more information on the October 24th book signing and workshop: https://pamlicowritersgroup.wildapricot.org/event-2671367.

For more information on Life on the Line: Football, Rage, and Redemption, go to www.lifeonthelinebook.com.

 

 

WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL: “First-time novelist draws on experience as football player for coming-of-age story”

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By Lisa O’Donnell 

Frank McNair’s debut novel, Life on the Line: Football, Rage, and Redemption, was 10 years in the making.

 

After lots of stops and starts, McNair fought through writer’s block and crafted a young adult novel set against the backdrop of something he knows well — football.

 

“I thought football was a good petri dish in which to tell a story about adolescence and coming of age,” said McNair, a native of Laurinburg. READ MORE…

Award-winning Novelist Mark Spano Joins 2017 “Meet The Author” Series June 25th

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NC Author, lNC Filmmaker

Chapel Hill novelist Mark Spano will read from his new book Midland Club. 

June 8, 2017 (Raleigh, NC) — As part of the Raleigh LGBT Center’s 2017 Sizzling Summer “Meet the Author” Series, novelist Mark Spano of Chapel Hill will read from his critically acclaimed and award-winning novel Midland Club on Sunday, June 25th, beginning at 1 p.m.

After the reading, Spano will sign copies of the 120-page book that GayBook.Reviews.com critics have called “a dark and cynical tale that reads like a film noir classic,” “…a small jewel…melancholic, lyric, flawlessly smooth and realistic,” and “…more than just a murder mystery. It speaks to the human condition.” Most recently, ReadersFavorite.com reviewer Romualdo Dzemo praised the book as a “pure delight, composed of beautiful social commentaries and wonderful themes.”

Published by Thunderfoot Press, Midland Club has maintained a 4.2 (out of 5) rating on Amazon since it appeared there in December of 2016. Earlier this month, Midland Club received a Pinnacle Book Achievement Award from the National Association of Book Entrepreneurs (NABE), one of only two books honored for Winter 2017 in the Mystery category.

Set in a midwestern city in 1958, Midland Club has all the elements of a good mystery: vibrant characters, a familiar setting, and a plot in which the solution to the mystery is ultimately revealed. Beyond a good mystery, it also addresses the pain of one gay man, alone in a town that despises him. And if the reader is paying attention, that pain foreshadows the conclusion.

Midland Club is now part of the LGBT Center of Raleigh Library.

This and all other “Meet the Authors” events this summer are free and open to the public.

The LGBT Center of Raleigh is located 324 South Harrington Street in downtown Raleigh. For more information: www.lgbtcenterofraleigh.com.

For more information on Mark Spano and Midland Club, go to http://blog.markspano.com.

About The Author:

MARK SPANO is the author of five works of fiction and a memoir. As a filmmaker, his work includes The Quality of Light: A Biography of Claude Howell and the definitive documentary on Sicily, “Reimagining Sicily.” He holds advanced degrees from Marymount University of Virginia and the American University in Washington, D.C., and now resides in rural Orange County, North Carolina.

 

A Small Jewel…Flawlessly Smooth and Realistic…An Engaging Work of Noir Fiction

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mc-cover_smCritics and readers alike praise Mark Spano’s Midland Club.

(Chapel Hill, NC) — Thunderfoot Press author Mark Spano’s new 120-page book, Midland Club, officially released just one month ago, is already receiving rave reviews from critics and readers and remains ranked at 4.3 stars out of five among Amazon Customer Reviews.

“I’m stunned and humbled by the favorable critical responses to Midland Club,” Spano said recently. “What, though, is of greater consequence is that the book has struck a chord with its readers. That is surely every writer’s ambition.”

Set in 1958 in a Midwestern town, Midland Club is a 120-page mystery novel about corruption, lies, and murder. The protagonist, Rich St. Pierre, is compelled to expose the truth about a friend’s death knowing he’s risking his own life in the process. The protagonist is a gay white man and a member of a highly respected family. The deceased is a gay black man.

The premise intrigued two reviewers with Gaybook Reviews.com. One described the book as “a small jewel…melancholic, lyric, flawlessly smooth and realistic… an excellent piece of gay fiction of exceptional quality.”

The other reviewer called the book “a dark and cynical tale that reads like a film noir classic,” adding: “The beauty of Midland Club is the telling of the tale, rather than the answer to the mystery…There’s a bit of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil amidst the melancholy and I highly recommend this book.”

Mark Spano admits that he set Midland Club in his old neighborhood in his hometown, Kansas City, MO. But in his book, he refers to the location only as “a Midwestern city.” Yet one Amazon reader, also a Kansas City native, said he immediately recognized the city’s “repressive social strictures of decades ago, designed to prevent the intersections of ethnicity, class, and forbidden love at the heart of this tale of passion and loss.” Spano “can be proud of his story,” he wrote, “as it perfectly captures that place and time to create an engaging work of noir fiction. It kept me reading non-stop until the end, meriting this hearty recommendation.”

Another reader echoed that sentiment, adding, “This book is more than just a murder mystery. It speaks to the human condition.”

Midland Club is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle editions. Review copies are available by emailing publicist Kim Weiss of Blueplate PR: blueplatepr@gmail.com.

About The Author:

MARK SPANO is a filmmaker and author of five works of fiction and a memoir. As a filmmaker, his work includes The Quality of Light: A Biography of Claude Howell and the definitive documentary on Sicily, “Reimagining Sicily.” He holds advanced degrees from Marymount University of Virginia and the American University in Washington, D.C., and now resides in rural Orange County, North Carolina. (Headshot available on request.) For more information: blog.markspano.com.

Nine-Year-Old Book Critic Praises “The Mahogany Door”

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Author J. Mark Boliek reaches, and impresses, his target audience.  

August 31, 2011 (Durham, NC) – A positive review from a professional book critic is any author’s dream-come-true. Yet for J. Mark Boliek, author of “The Mahogany Door,” a new fantasy-adventure book for young readers, no review will mean as much to him as the one he recently received from the kid in Pennsylvania who writes the blog “This Kid Reviews Books.”

In early August, nine-year-old Erik (last name withheld for privacy) requested a review copy of Boliek’s 353-page book and the all-original soundtrack CD that comes with it. Delighted to have the chance to hear an honest opinion from a member of his book’s target audience (nine to 20-something), Boliek quickly obliged.

This Kid Reviews Books blog logo.

Erik’s synopsis of the book: “What would you do if you could save someone who was lost in a different world? Years ago, JT, Kali, Michael and Charlie traveled to the world of Bruinduer through The Mahogany Door, a magical portal. The friends thought Charlie died in Bruinduer, but he didn’t. He is just trapped and the others now realize it and they vow to get him back. JT, Kali and Michael have to travel back through The Mahogany Door. They’ll face old enemies, fight in a war, cross a desert, have to find trust in Billy (their guide in Bruinduer) and convince Charlie (who wasn’t happy to see them) to come back home.”

Erik was so pleased with the book, in fact, that he wanted to interview the author.

“I liked ‘The Mahogany Door’ so much that I asked Mr. Boliek if he would answer some questions about his book and music. He was very nice to let me do the interview,” he wrote in his post on August 25.

“I have to say, when I first started into the story, I thought it was going to be too much like ‘The Witch, Lion and the Wardrobe,’ but it wasn’t,” he writes in his review. “The story of ‘The Mahogany Door’ is unique. The story really kept me reading (seriously, I couldn’t put the book down)… I recommend it to everyone!”

He even gave “The Mahogany Door” his highest ranking, “5 out of 5 bookworms,” which means “You have to read this book!” according to the blog description.

Erik also liked the accompanying CD so much – “The songs are really great” – that he posted a link to Boliek’s website so his readers can hear the songs for themselves.

“This is it,” Boliek said after Erik’s review was posted. “This is straight out of the mouth of a member of my target audience. I can’t even say how much Erik’s review means to me. I’m also extremely impressed by Erik’s love of books and his writing quality. He’s an amazing kid.”

Erik began reviewing books in January 2011 because “I love books, so that’s why I have this blog. The reason I’m doing this is for parents to approve of a book, and for kids to find an excellent book, too,” he writes on the “About” page.

Who reads his blog? “Other kids, parents, teachers, librarians, authors, publicists, publishers, illustrators, and people who just like books have all visited my blog,” he said via email. “I think it’s actually pretty cool how people from all over the world visit my blog.”  (The latter statement is confirmed by his blog’s statistics.)

Erik’s entire review of “The Mahogany Door” and his interview with the author can be read at http://bit.ly/pcyMAA.

“The Mahogany Door” is currently available at The Regulator Bookshop in Durham, NC, Quail Ridge Books & Music in Raleigh, NC, and The Moravian Books & Gifts shop in Winston-Salem, NC. Ebook versions, including an enhanced version with imbedded music, are available at the iBook Store, Amazon, and other outlets. For more information visit www.jmarkboliek.com.

Facts about The Mahogany Door:

Author: J. Mark Boliek.  Publisher: Split Rail Books.  Publication Date: May 2011.  Genres: Fantasy-Fiction, Adventure-Fiction.  Illustrator: Lauren Gallegos.  Age Group: 10 and up.  ISBN: 978-0-9832900-0-1.  Paperback: 353pp.  Retail Price: store’s discretion.  Website www.jmarkboliek.com. Ebooks are available at Barnes & Noble, Amazon and iBookstore.

“Staying Crazy” Sponsors Anticipate Book Release

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Cary author receives community support.

August 25, 2011 (Cary, NC) – As humor blogger and columnist Cris Cohen looks forward to the

Cris Cohen

publication of his first book “Staying Crazy To Keep From Going Insane” in September, he has many businesses and individuals in the Cary, NC, community and beyond to thank for support.

In March of this year, Cohen announced that he was going to publish a collection of his humor columns – some written while he worked for several newspapers in California, others written since he and his wife, Michele, moved to Cary in 2008 – in book form as a means of raising money for a local baseball league for children with special needs, including his own son, Max. He announced that he would donate proceeds from sales of “Staying Crazy To Keep From Going Insane” to the league, where he has been serving as a volunteer.

“We’ve gotten a lot from the League,” Cohen said. “It’s a place where Max gets to have some independence, to leave Mom and Dad in the stands and head out to the field. And we have made a lot of great friends, people who understand the challenges of being the parents of a special needs child and can offer advice, support, etc. After receiving all of that, Michele and I wanted to give something back.”

To offset the expense of publishing the book, he put out a call for sponsorships. And they came – from the Cary community to his native California and points in between.

The primary local sponsors for the book are: The Behavior Exchange, Raleigh; Anfield Inc., Raleigh; The Avilez Family in Iowa; Chambers Arts, Cary; Dr. Ben Schemmel, Cary; Hooper Law Firm PLLC, Raleigh; and The Garden Supply Company, Cary. Primary sponsors outside the Triangle are: Live A Little More Enterprises, Marylin Cooper, Digi-Q and Evantac of California; the Cannata Family of Georgia; the Sadler Family of Virginia; and Mommy and Me Are A Family of Texas.

A host of other individuals have contributed small sponsorships and Cary artist Darla Yancho created the cover art.

“The sponsors really made this book possible,” said Cohen. “Their contributions gave us the extra push we needed and also served as a wonderful vote of confidence.”

Cohen is publishing “Staying Crazy To Keep From Going Insane” through his own small press, Tyrannosaurus Max Press, in early September. To learn more about the book and the baseball league for kids with special needs, visit www.stayingcrazy.com.

About Cris Cohen:

Cris Cohen of Cary, NC, is the author of the “Nothing In Particular” blog (criscohen.typepad.com), the humor columnist for Cary Citizen.com, and the author of the upcoming book “Staying Crazy To Keep From Going Insane.” Cohen and his wife Michelle are co-owners of Tyrannosaurus Max Press and regular volunteers with the Miracle League of the Triangle. For more information on Cohen and his book, visit www.stayingcrazy.com.