wyldhoney

Hello and welcome to the second article in the Light Up Their Eyes series, honouring the birthday of LadyofGaerdon!



Known and loved for her work at DailyLitDeviations, Lit-Visual-Alliance and TalentedWritersGuildshe is, indeed, a Lady in the true meaning of the word! And don't just take my word for it; here's what others have to say about her:

LadyofGaerdon is a force of positivity here that the Lit community would be remiss to underestimate. Her comments are always helpful and honest, and se dedicates herself 100% to whatever project she decides to undertake. And let's not forget her beautiful ability with words!

She is one of the sweetest, friendliest deviants I've come across, mostly because she's so iincredible selfless. She's got her fingers in so many projects and groups around the site, like DailyLitDeviations, all of which work to promote the art of fellow dA members. And she's a wonderful writer to boot.

Her enthusiasm for the community is only matched by how sweet she is.

So, Happy birthday LadyofGaerdon, and here's to many more!

Check out some of her gallery:
The Ballad of SerenityA nightingale in a birch nearby,
sang a song that made her cry.
"Another note and I shall die!"
Her threat was met with no reply.
And so she rested by the stream,
and heard the crickets softly dream.
She watched the cattails kiss the stars,
believing heaven not so far.
"And here is where I shall be free,"
whispered fair Serenity.
The orphaned child, the strange young girl
born into an ancient world.
No elegance or skill had she
but the ballad, of Serenity.
She was cursed with just one song:
a ballad haunting, soft and long.
The words were never hers to hear,
but danced always beyond her ear.
On harp, flute, lyre she wiled away,
the notes that only she could play.
Yet she grew tried of just one song
and ran away before too long,
into a wood with stream of gold
where rumored lived the bards of old.
She found the caves of deepest blue
and told them, "I have searched for you."
Serenity the bards admired.
They gave to her the sacred lyre,
which bound her soul between its strings,
to find th The Virgin and The WhoreOur first kiss- my first kiss - was behind a school dumpster. That really should have told me something. 
He liked me. Somehow, despite my less-than-inspired attempts at fashion, despite my pale skin (no one is allowed to be pale in California), my hopeless, boring-brown hair, my never-small-enough waistline, he liked me.
He was all light spiky hair and blue eyes. He was one grade below and that suited me just fine. I'd never liked older guys, especially ones who actually looked older. I was a sucker for baby faces, lanky builds and boyish charm. Perhaps somewhere deep in my subconscious, I'd decided that a boy who was just a boy, and not really a man, couldn't hurt me. My subconscious was wrong.
We dated for two weeks. Then he dumped me through his sister. 
I pined for him, all spring and summer and into fall. He was a  highschool freshman now, and some part of me hoped that now that I could see him every day, I co Tragic BeautyI remember lying in my hospital bed at the physical rehabilitation facility, far too many years ago,  staring at a picture of a little girl. Someone had brought it in for me, though I didn't remember who or why. In the picture she was wearing shorts, and leaning to feed bread to the ducks gathered around her. I stared at the little girl's legs and cried. She was beautiful.
"I broke you," I whispered to her. "I'm so sorry I broke you. I never meant to. Please, forgive me." And she did, of course. But I'm not sure if that made it better or worse.
There was a poet staying in the room next to me. He was a brain trauma patient, unlike me. For some reason they'd moved me out of the spinal cord injury section of the hospital and into brain trauma. I never actually met the man, and yet some days I can't stop thinking about him. My mother brought me a book of his poems, a little pamphlet made of thick, sturdy paper. She said she thought I would like them. And I did. They were so hopef December RainThrough mist, through my eyes, I see I am blind
my soul hath no knowledge, heart hath no sight
through my ears the wind blows, cold as the night
deafening me to the sounds of my mind
The sun, his face shining, mocks me with light
his bright severe finger pointing at me
illuminates things I can't bear to see
nowhere to hide, I am faced with my plight
But rain falls, empathic, drowning my cry
her icy chill numbs me so I cannot
feel memories of a heart so distraught
thus consoling me with tears from the sky
And if the rain cannot drown my sorrow
She will cry with me until the morrow
Copyright 2010 Julia Rain Jeys Wellman. All Rights Reserved.


Disclaimer:
I plan to do these features on a regular basis, so if you know an awesome deviant who has a birthday coming up and you'd like to see featured here, please send me a note with:
- their username
- their date of birth
- why you think they're awesome!!

Cheers,
wyldhoney

Today's (first ever) edition of "Light Up Their Eyes" focuses on... StJoan!!



Alicia is a long-time deviant, known for her kick-ass tenure as a volunteer and as founder of Texasdevmeet. As much a go-to person as you'll ever meet, she poured her heart, soul and love into this community; thereby helping to shape the LIT community into what it is today.

But don't just take my word, here's what others have to say about her:

StJoan has always been a wonderful mentor and dear friend. I had the honor of working along side her for a little over two years on the community relations team, and she was our team's strength -- and heart. I will never have the words to properly thank her for all she has done. Her heartfelt determination to see us be successful made such a world of difference, and I cannot thank her enough.


Ali is one of my IRL BFFs. She's one of the most supportive people I know, with the biggest heart in the world. Also, awesome hugger. Everone should get an Ali hug at least once in their life!
xE

What strikes me about StJoan is how approachable she was during her tenure as a Literature CV. When I'd first joined the site in 2006, the lit community was a bit more insular and a lot more defensive; they were fighting against a general perception that words were somehow less artistic than drawings and photos, and were less appreciated as a result.

Alicia was one of the first to change that: by welcoming everyone into the fold, by seeing that lit DDs were once again featured on a regular basis, and by putting together contests and prompts such as 'Gourmet Lit'.

Even now, with her time online far more limited, she still has the community's back. For instance, when Sta.sh Writer was launched last year to underwhelming fanfare, she campaigned directly to spyed about what its shortcomings were, and why such things mattered. Partly as a result of that, the version we have available for use today is far more reliable and robust.


She is also an expert birthday cake cutter, which is convenient as her birthday is TODAY!



Happy birthday, StJoan, and here's to many moar!

Check out some of her gallery:




Disclaimer:
I plan to do these features regularely, so if you know an awsome deviant who has a birthday coming up and you'd like to see them feature here, please send me a note with:
- their username
- their date of birth
- why you think they're awesome!!

Thanks!
wyldhoney