monikers: a4peace, melacey, m

Previously referred to as “the computer lady”, “the paper lady”, “go-to-gal”, “the lady behind the camera” publisher, editor, poet, and graphic artist, and lifelong learner/scholar Marlene is now semi-retired but continues to  provide a number of creative and IT services. Her work marries technology and science with creativity.  She once referred to herself as a “technartualist.” Adding a continued focus on environmental issues, with a particular interest in sustaining the natural world, she now prefers the descriptor, “inter-media artist for peace” (a4peace) where artist refers to a broad range of creative areas such as writing, painting, crafting, exploring, film, photography, ….  She is currently described by others as “the designer of many things.”

She has published multimedia websites since the mid-90s and has worked closely with many award-winning artists (authors, musicians, poets, and visual artists) and published a small number of titles as an independent Canadian book publisher under Professional Informatics, Blue Grama Publications Corp., and Blue Grama Publications imprint.  

Book cover and book layout had been a large focus of her work, in addition to her detailed editing and fact-checking particularly for those writing master and doctorate theses.  Her creative, academic, and corporate editing experiences serve to provide a professional and scholarly level of editing (skilled in APA). She is described as having a keen eye for detail.  Creatives embrace and value her introspection; researchers and scholars appreciate her determination to locate source archival information in addition to a 7-Cs (clear, consistent, coherent, concise, cohesive, cogent, and complete) editing practice in a flexible manuscript style that allows for fluid and interactive editing. Final output satisfies author, editor, and publisher and benefits readers with an easier-to-read product.  

She was a work partner (Professional Informatics) with The University of Lethbridge’s professor of biology, William Sharp (Bill) primarily on his Flora of Northwestern Great Plains project from the time of his retirement in 1993 until his death in 2016.  She created a flora database as a tool for Bill to organize his photographic cataloguing of wildflowers in the various natural habitats primarily in the southern Alberta region having accompanied him on many of his photographic excursions in southern Alberta natural reserve areas. 

Under the Blue Grama Publications imprint, she published Alberta Wildflower calendars and an Alberta Views calendar which featured Bill’s photography, in addition to featuring his images on Blue Grama websites.  Selected daily flora (#fotd) from the database were used in conjunction with a Thought for the Day (#mq4td) and a daily inspiration word (Mother’s Inspiration Word—#MIW) in her 2017 and 2018 daily thought for daily posts where selected flora images were described using AB Conservation Information Management System ranks & taxonomy for vascular plants using ACIMS rankings and taxonomy.  An epub, Tattarrattat, will be published in its stead.

Her attention has drifted to the employment of AI, especially with the recent release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT 3. Privacy and security, particularly of the most vulnerable increasingly takes her attention particularly in the era of war, misinformation, confusion, increasing social anxiety, physical and mental illnesses that are facing today’s society. This drift is a result of her continued desire to create harmony and peace in any environment she finds herself in. She is rising above a strong introvert-style to find her voice to support those falling around her. She is too familiar with the reputational harm caused by gaslighters and is working to bring awareness of the use alienating techniques to damage the reputation and relationships of kind and empathetic personalities.   

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