This document describes Mary Ann Miller's process of compiling her travel sketches into a self-published book called "Travels with a Blue Vase." She enjoys sketching scenes from places she visits around the world and seeks out locations associated with famous artists. After receiving rejections from publishers, she decided to publish the book herself, compiling her sketches, stories, and recipes into the finished product.

1. “A Picture is Worth 1000 Words”
The Story of
the Blue Vase
Books
presented by Mary Ann Miller

2. When I travel, I like to sketch.

3. In Paris...

4. ...in Provence

5. ...on the Cote d’Azur

6. ...in Tuscany

7. ...in Venice

8. ...in Assisi

9. ...in Greece

10. ...or even sitting in a vineyard. You can sketch anywhere!

11. I like to seek out the places great
artists lived and worked.
Van Gogh’s “La Marie d’Auvers”
...and mine

12. The hospital where Van
Gogh stayed in Arles: his
painting of the courtyard
and mine. It is now the
Hotel Dieu.

13. The sites of his last
paintings in Auvers-sur-
Oise... and mine.

14. In Paris, the site
of Caillibotte’s
“Paris on a
Rainy Day”

15. In Monet’s garden at
Giverney...
...or in a museum in Paris.

16. Cezanne’s studio in Aix

17. ...or the same
quarry near Pisa
where
Michelangelo
mined his
marble.

18. My supplies are minimal. Everything
fits in my travel bag/purse.

19. I work hard to complete a sketchbook each trip.

20. Sometimes the sketches are made into full-size paintings,
but mostly they are just to recall beautiful memories.

21. I like to have fresh flowers in my room, so I always travel
with a plastic vase.

22. A fellow traveler noticed
my blue vase in many of my
sketches and suggested I
combine my sketchbooks
into one book called
“Travels with a Blue Vase.”

23. Since I am a visual person and much better with pencil and
paper than computer, I copied, cut and pasted to make a
mock-up of my book.

24. Limoncello
7 medium-size lemons
1 liter or 1 quart vodka
2 c. water
500 grams or 2 c. sugar
Peel lemons thinly (no white). Place peels in a jar, add vodka and leave
10-30 days. Boil water and sugar until it makes a syrup. Cool and add to
lemon mixture. Strain through cheesecloth into bottles. Keep in freezer
and serve very cold.
An Italian lemon liquer, produced mainly in southern Italy around the
Amalfi coast, it is traditionally served chilled as an after-dinner
digestivo.
Frangipani Chocolate-Orange Biscotti
Krishna’s Refresher
“Twice-baked Cookies”
Infuse orange juice with crushed mint 1 fresh or frozen pie crust
leaves and whole
orange. Strain and serve over ice with a mint leaf. Perfect 2 cups
after a long hot day of sightseeing.
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened flour
1/2 c. confectioners’ sugar 1 1/2 t. baking powder
2 T. cornstarch 1/4 t. salt
1 whole egg 3/4 cup sugar
1/2 t. almond extract 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 T. sugar 2 eggs
3 ripe pears or peaches, sliced or halved 2 T. Grand Marnier
(can use canned)
1 T. grated orange peel
Preheat oven to 375. Mix cream cheese, 1 cup almonds, sliced, slivered or chopped
confectioners’
3/4 c. in a medium
sugar, 2T. cornstarch, egg and almond extract bittersweet chocolate pieces
bowl. Spread on bottom of pie crust. Arrange pears on top
and sprinkle with sugar. Cook until crustLine baking sheet with parchment. Blend flour, baking powder and salt together. In a large
is golden and pears
are soft, about 40 minutes. Cover looselybowl, mix during the
with foil butter and sugar together with electric mixer. Mix in eggs, Grand Marnier and
last 10 minutes to prevent overbrowning. Servepeel.Add flour mixture and beat until blended.Stir in nuts and chocolate. Divide
orange warm or cool.
dough in half, wrap in plastic and freeze 20 minutes until firm.
This may also be made with any combination of fruit: berries,
apricots, cherries, rhubarb. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using floured hands form each dough piece into a log,
about 14 inches long by 2 1/2 inches wide. Transfer logs to baking sheet. Bake about 30
minutes or until light golden. Transfer parchment with logs to rack, and cool 20 minutes.
Reduce oven to 300 degrees.
Place 1 log on cutting board. Using serrated knife, cut log diagonally into 3/4 inch slices.
Stand slices upright on baking sheet. Repeat with remaining log. Bake about 30 minutes
more until golden. Cool completely on rack.
From MORE Travels with a Blue Vase: Paris and Beyond
Food plays a big part in my sketching, so I added recipes.

25. I dedicated it to a friend who traveled with me for
many years. When I asked her to name her favorite
place, her wise answer was, “My favorite place is
wherever I am.”

26. I talked to other artist/authors and researched publishers. I
sent my book off to three and got three rejection letters.

27. I was told, “If you believe in your book, publish it
yourself. There is no shame in self-publishing.”

28. I did... and this is the result!

29. ... and this one!

30. Now I am home and working on another one!