Lydell Capritta
Words and Wood
"If I'm not in my workshop making sawdust,
I'm poking at my keyboard - two of the three loves of my life."
Words
"The first rule of creative writing:
don't follow the rules."
Over the years I've written or edited literally thousands of communications in virtually every channel.
I've written headlines, marketing copy, scripts, short stories, blogs, and articles. I've written for newspapers, magazines, websites, social media, billboards, posters, signs, packaging, and junk mail. Heck, I've even written for t-shirts and baseball caps!
Here's just a small taste of my recent work...
Anyone who has ever addressed a golf ball has dreamed that one day they might figure this darn game out. That golf won’t always be just ten more yards off the tee. Or twenty. Or fifty. That the bunker won’t be in play, but if it is, no problem. That three-foot putts will one day be automatic.
Certainly, some have figured it out. There are a lot of good golfers out there. We see it all the time. A guy who can hit a 300-yard drive, with a gorgeous draw, no less. A girl who can shape a wedge into the wind and drop it on the dance floor like a cat on a carpet.
One of the finest examples of a Wisconsin supper club started out quite humbly.
The year was 1943, and the Del-Bar stood as a lone sentry along a route between Wisconsin Dells and Baraboo, Wisconsin, thus the name. It was started by two gentlemen who converted a small cabin into a restaurant with just six tables.
Today, the restaurant stands out along a busy stretch of road, smack dab in the heart of it all at 800 Wisconsin Dells Parkway. No longer a cabin, but a masterpiece of Prairie-style architecture, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright protégé James Dresser, the interior is equally stunning, with intimate spaces opening up to cathedral-like dining areas. Paintings by Mary Alice Wimmer bring warmth to the space, as do the beloved black-and-white photos of the Del-Bar of days gone by.
She toed the line in her first ever trapshooting tournament. Her shotgun loaded with two Winchester AA 12-gauge rounds.
Rigid in her stance, mentally focused, but for some reason, totally at ease, the 14-year-old farm girl from northern Wisconsin, pulled the trigger once, then without hesitation, a second time. Exploding into the clear blue sky was yet another pair of bright orange clay targets.
Sometimes left. Sometimes right. Sometimes straight away, the evasive “targets” shattered into fragments and powder - one after another, after another - every time she yelled "pull.''
Wood
"I take something you would burn, and turn it into something you would save if there was a fire."
I've always been fascinated by wood and woodworking. The connection to earth and nature. The unique grain pattern in every species, every tree, every harvested piece. The smell of a fresh cut. The feel of a hand-planed surface. The warmth and character as true beauty emerges.
Here's just a small taste of my recent work...
Who I Am
I was born in Schenectady, NY, let’s just say a little bit before writing copy for a website was a thing. Soon after two more of my five siblings were born, we packed ourselves into the station wagon and moved to the Midwest as my father and mother did all they could to better our lives.
After graduating from college with a degree in studio and commercial art, I landed my first real job as a graphic artist. But with visons of “making it big,” I soon put away my crayons to pursue a career in marketing and advertising.
As president and CEO of some of the most creative, award winning, advertising agencies in the country, I had the privilege of learning from some of the best writers anywhere. In an effort to be like them, I myself began writing and even received my share of industry accolades along the way.
Funny how that worked out, though, isn't it? With pictures at the center of my world as an artist, words now became my passion.
Fast forward to today, and I’ve discovered my other real passion – wood. All things wood. Maybe it's because writing and woodworking both allow me to be creative. Or maybe I find them both to be cathartic.
Either way, if you’re ever looking for me, chances are you’ll find me in my woodshop making sawdust or at my desk poking away at my keyboard - two of the three loves of my life.
Contact
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