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His first love, adult and young adult fiction, tackles diverse subjects from the world of horse racing to politics, focusing on characters as much as a page-turning plot. His novel, Abingdon's, was a bestseller and a Literary Guild Alternate Selection. His young adult novel, Pursuit, was awarded the California Young Reader Medal. He has also co-written two screenplays for Amazon Prime.
Receiving his Bachelor of Arts in English from Stanford University, he focused on creative writing and studied under Wallace Stegner. He received a Master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University. He later served in the United States Army before marrying Patricia Goodkind, an educator and entrepreneur, and starting a family. Working under his wife, Patricia, ten years ago they created a non-profit foundation, Dollar4Schools, which continues helping support Santa Fe public schools and its teachers. An avid trekker and traveler to developing countries, French loves diving and snorkeling, and for the last decade began studying endangered marine and land mammals. He believes climate change is currently the world’s greatest long-term problem. He and Patricia divide their time between Santa Barbara, California, and Santa Fe, New Mexico.
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We just completed author Rebecca Pott Fitton's book trailer for her book "Wave Rider: Poetic Journey from Abuse to Wholeness." Her video had a "world premier" yesterday at a private reading with friends. Rebecca was abused by her uncle (and father figure) as a child. Her journey is one of inspiration and rising from a childhood filled with abuse. We are so proud to work with Rebecca and of all the work she's done, both internally and in writing her book. She is a voice against childhood sexual abuse. We hope her book touches many... As part of our author marketing services we offer professional head shots to our clients. Today we took Fiona Simon's head shots. Fiona is in the process of publishing her business memoir about Fiona's Granola and her journey to introduce quality granola to the US market. You can find the granola at Whole Foods Market. For now, stay tuned for more as we work with Fiona to publicize her upcoming book. #author #authormarketing #memoir #businessmemoir #bookmarketing #santafenm We just put the finishing touches on the photos we recently shot with author Shirley Melis ('Banged Up Heart' 2017). Presentation is key! That's why we include head shots in our author marketing packages. P.S. Adobe makes an excellent backdrop! #authors #authorphoto #shirleymelis #bangedupheart #photoshoot #santafe We are working with Shirley to promote her upcoming memoir "Banged-Up Heart." Click the photo to visit Shirley's website.   We provide marketing and publicity for authors and their books. It’s a fascinating endeavor that provides us a chance to work with smart, creative, individuals who are dedicated to a noble profession.. It also gives us a chance to read some great books before they enter the market. Throughout time, writers like artists, have been the chroniclers of history and all aspects of society and civilizations. Whether it’s fiction or non-fiction they have provided a way to objectively see our world. They teach us new perspectives and ideas through the lenses of their books. They challenge us to seek within ourselves the attitudes and implications that their characters bring to life. Simply put, they make us think about ourselves. If the book is non-fiction we are brought along for the ride with actual living and breathing people, places, and times. We get to glimpse the perspectives of people who have experienced things we may never have imagined. We walk in their shoes and see what they saw. We are challenged with the question of what would I do? How would I react? What decision would I make? Unlike films, books force us to construct internal visions of the people, places, and situations they depict. The description of a house may be detailed but we build the total picture in our minds of what that house looks like. We personalize our experience with the writer and sometimes that connection can be magical. If you are a book lover you know exactly what this means. It can be like finding a friend and finding a place where you too fit in and feel comfortable. Or, like the character you feel the discomfort that they feel. Empathy is a powerful emotional connection. Writing a book is hard work. It takes dedication and a great degree of creativity. It also takes a willingness to put yourself and your work out there to an unknown audience who can respond in a multitude of ways online or otherwise. We are finding that most authors are happy to have your response whether it’s positive or negative or somewhere in between. All that dedication to the craft of writing makes them pretty resilient. Books Obviously we love books and we know they make a real difference in our lives. It’s our distinct pleasure to present a few of the authors and books we work with.
 Francisco is one of our newest client’s at Artotems Co. A talented artist, his speciality is the ancient greek method of encaustic painting. Francisco Benitez considers himself an atemporal archaeologist who excavates lost and forgotten styles of painting long assigned to the shadows to reveal the ever-transient nature of the human psyche. Trained in a rigorous atelier program at the Art Student’s League in New York, he frequented museums and copied old master paintings in order to master their techniques and conceptual strategies. However, impelled by an emotional/psychological impulse, he initially embraced a Caravaggesque approach to his subjects, in which narratives were weaved about the subjects as light sculpted their forms out of shadow. Always concerned with presenting the human psyche in all its complexity, Benitez later discovered the ancient Romans and Greeks, and in his desire to fuse the gravitas of history with the psychological narratives of his subjects, he embarked on a new series of works in encaustic, one of the most ancient painting techniques known to humanity, and one of the most difficult to master. As the Fayum portraits of Ancient Egypt attest, wax not only served to embalm the dead but to resurrect and revivify the subjects represented. By using the ancient tools and restrained palette of the Greeks, Benitez has isolated the psyche and placed it on center stage, whereby the viewer brings his/her subjectivity to the work and in effect initiates a complicit relationship with memory, history, and the geological layering of the collective human experience through the represented individual. Born in 1967 in Taos, New Mexico, into a family of performing and visual artists—Maria and Cecilio Benitez—he obtained his BFA from the University of New Mexico, after having studied in Granada, Spain, the Art Student’s League, and St. John’s College. Besides actively showing in the US, he has also lived and exhibited widely in Europe, especially in France and Italy, where he has participated in a number of museum and gallery shows.
Be an astronaut, film director or designer of New Mexico museums. By Mari Angulo for her Techie Corner in Tumbleweeds: The Quarterly Newspaper for Santa Fe Families
When most people think of technology, they probably think of computers, electrical grids, new medical devices and high-end electrical innovations. We may forget that technology exists in virtually every area of our lives. When I began contacting New Mexico organizations for great “techie” options for local and visiting kids and families this summer, Elena Baca, External Relations Coordinator at ¡Explora!, responded: “What’s interesting about ‘technology’ is that, to us, a rubber band is technology.” And she’s right. the word “technology” needs to be defined in an appropriate context. As it relates to educational programming and events for children and families, technology is about discovery and about the tools that enable imagination, creativity and learning. Here are a few of the best places where your family can explore technological innovation this summer and learn more about how it transforms our lives. • The Santa Fe Children’s Museum (1050 Old Pecos Trail, (505) 989-8359) recently added two programs that involve both new and “classic” technologies. The brand-new Makerspace is a place where, as its name suggests, kids can “learn how to bring things from their imagination to life,” according to Franki Williams, Makerspace coordinator. e creative space, geared toward youth 8 to 18 years old, is outfitted with familiar and not-so-familiar technologies including sewing machines, soldering irons, digital cameras, a 3-D printer and a computer lab. Workshops by skilled members of the community teach young people how to use available tools to create whatever they imagine. Since opening in February, Makerspace has hosted workshops in 3-D printing, paper stop-motion, game programming and sewing. Ultimately, the museum hopes that “the space will really be run by [youth],” Williams said, and that newer generations will see older Makerspace members as mentors who can help them bring their ideas to fruition. Access to Makerspace is available during workshops, with museum admission and a small fee for materials. Call Williams at 989-8359 x 117 for information about upcoming workshops. On the third Saturday of every month, the Children’s Museum hosts a Kid’s Night Out, focused on animation and film, giving kids 4 to 11 extra time at the museum and giving parents a few hours to themselves. The evening begins with a healthy dinner, after which the young participants break up into groups to work on film projects. Past activities have included claymation, pixilation and stop-motion animation. Sometimes children watch examples of the project at hand or a short instructional film. At the end of the night, everyone’s finished work is shared on a projector screen. Parents are invited to come early to watch the work of their young filmmakers. These hands-on film projects allow participants to learn about the technological process and creativity behind the illusion of animation, in a way that gives them deeper appreciation of the final products. For example, when museum staff initially asks the children how they think a film like “Fantasia” is made, they always respond, “with computers.” The film series teaches them that for every few moments of the film, there are multiple frames, each hand-drawn with extreme attention to detail. Cost per child for the workshop is $30, and space is limited. Those interested in having their child participate can call 989-8359 x 112. • Bradbury Science Museum (1350 Central Avenue, Los Alamos, (505) 667-4444) allows free public access to a plethora of historical, technological and declassified scientific information from the Los Alamos National Laboratories. Exhibits include artifacts and documents from the Manhattan Project and models of atomic bombs. e museum features historical projects as well as current projects and research conducted at the labs. e “TechLab” offers hands-on activities and science exhibits for all ages. Visitors can watch several films, including one about the origins of the “town that never was,” dating back to the early days of Los Alamos in the 1940s. is summer the museum will be open until 8 p.m. on select evenings and will feature demos and talks on subjects such as high-speed imaging and nanotechnology. e museum also hosts a monthly lecture series, along with many other community events year-round. To learn more about specific dates and events visit the Bradbury Science Museum’s website www.lanl..gov/museum. • Challenger Learning Center of New Mexico (1776 Montano Road NW, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, (505) 248-1776) provides year-round programming on outer space for schools and the public. Programs include space mission simulators in which participants form teams that act out the roles of astronauts (in a model spacecraft) and Mission Control, to cooperatively complete an assigned mission. Missions, typically undertaken by whole school classrooms, are available and open to the public every other month, and groups 15 and over can inquire about scheduling their own. During the summer the center offers over 10 camps, including Junior Rocketry and Robotics, and International Space Station Camp where participants are taught to construct a 22-foot model of an International Space Station, or ISS, underwater. Visit www.challengernm.org or call the museum to see a full list of camps or to inquire about missions and other events. • ¡Explora! (1701 Mountain Road NW, Albuquerque, (505) 224-8300), a family-friendly science center, describes itself as part learning center, part children’s museum, part Grandma’s attic, part Grandpa’s garage and part laboratory. ¡Explora! prides itself on table-top sized exhibits with manipulatives that are hand-sized and designed to be engaging. For example, one new exhibit explores the properties of light. You can make a green chile appear black or a yellow flower appear red. Experiments with light, optics, color and perception offer clues into the principles of physics, math and biology. Other activities in this exhibit include refracting light with different lenses and exploring how various lights and movement can make interesting and surprising shadows. Educational programs include camps, after-school clubs, field trips and outreach. Prices vary, so call or visit www.explora.us to inquire about summer camps, youth internships, special events and visitor information. This is just a sampling of the many “techie” related explorations on which families can embark this summer. For additional options, check out our Summer Calendar, beginning on page 30.
The Spatio Temporal Modeling Center
2013 EventThe 2013 event will feature talks by two widely recognized biomedical scientists, the neurobiologist, Mark Ellisman from the University of California in San Diego and the cell biologist, Angela Wandinger-Ness from the University of New Mexico. Dr. Ellisman founded and directs the National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR) at the University of California in San Diego. He is a world leader in the development of three-dimensional, light and electron microscopy and the application of advanced imaging technologies and computational resources to achieve greater understanding of cellular structure and function. Dr. Wandinger-Ness is a cell biologist who has made stunning use of advanced microscopy, in combination with biochemistry and flow cytometry, to understand how proteins traffic within cells. Her work has revealed abnormalities in intracellular trafficking that are associated with multiple human diseases including polycystic kidney disease (PKD), endometrial cancers, and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. These abnormalities provide new targets for drug discovery and therapies.
His work will be complemented by other powerful images generated by noted photomicrographer (and Ellisman collaborator)Thomas Deerinck, also from UCSD. His award winning imagery has been featured on the cover of many top scientific journals as well as in popular periodicals such as The New York Times, National Geographic, Scientific American, Discover and Time magazine. As nature-inspired works of art, his images have been exhibited in galleries in New York, Paris, and London as well as in numerous museums throughout the world. Other images generated by UNM and LANL scientists through the use of contemporary microscopes, nanoengineering technologies and computational data visualization methods will also be displayed. A “National Nanodays” program for kids from 10:00 AM to 2:30 PM on Saturday will be led by graduate students from the UNM Nanoscience and Microsystems degree program and will feature hands-on nanotechnology activities along with interactive visualization tools to share developments and discoveries in the materials and biomedical sciences. ConnectionsFlickr
Facebook and Here SponsorsThe New Mexico Spatiotemporal Modeling Center The New Mexico Cancer Nanotechnology Training Center 333 Montezuma Arts UNM Cancer Center UNM Nanoscience and Microsystems Engineering Graduate program The Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies First Mile Institute University of Wales, Newport European Center for Photographic Research  Tucked away in the El Castillo caves in Spain, first discovered in the 19th century, scientists recently re-tested the hand stencils painted in one of the caves. Much to their surprise they were far older than previously thought. They were so old in fact; at an estimated 40,800 years, Neanderthals may have created the stencils. Whoever created them and for whatever reason they proclaim, “We were here and if you find this we want you know it!” Looking at the hand stencils one can’t help but marvel at the connections across time that these simple human intimate representations signal to us. The hand, our most unique physical way of making a mark becomes the mark they make to speak to us. Who doesn’t understand a signature as universal as that? The cave painter’s accomplishments in the caves don’t stop with hands but represent the world they lived in and what mattered to them. Like other archaic cave paintings discovered throughout the world these marks speak to us about their creator’s unique abilities and leave many of us with a deep appreciation of those who came from a time so long ago. We see their incredible skills at carefully rendering elements of a world whose difficulties we can’t really imagine. They took the time to create these and surely they knew others would find them.  Instagram - Our virtual cave wall. We all in one-way or another want to make our mark. Whether personally, or within an organization or a team we want to leave a legacy that says, “I/We did this.” The ways to do this have vastly multiplied. Communication avenues have increased like never before. There has never been a better time to make your mark and have the ability to tell the world that you have done so. Each time we create a web site or post on Facebook we are making a declaration that says this is what matters and unlike the hidden cave paintings the potential audience is unlimited. Each Flickr photo or Pinterest post makes a statement and reaches out to others and like the cave paintings visually proclaims, “I/We care about this and want you to know it!” It’s any ones guess how long these digital proclamations will last but there is no doubting the potential reach they have in the present. Like the cover photo we created in chalk for this blog post they may easily disappear but for that short time the audience is enormous. The cave paintings on the other hand have now lasted for tens of thousands of years and have the advantage of being presented to this much wider audience. Wow, we are impressed and are glad they are still there! As we work with others throughout the world we are continually inspired by what our customers accomplish and what they create. We are honored to help them proclaim, “We did this and we want you to know it!” The Cave of Forgotten Dreams by Werner Herzog
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