painting

New poems, and a new painting

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This being the last Friday of the month, I have written poetry with my lovely poetry sisters. They are Liz Garton Scanlon, Sara Lewis Holmes, Tanita Davis, Tricia Stohr-Hunt, Andi Sibley, and Laura Purdie Salas. It’s been my pleasure and privilege to know them and write with them for the past 15 years or so. (Seriously? Seriously!)

This month, we were writing ekphrastic poems. An ekphrastic poem is one that is based on a piece of art—a painting, a photograph, a statue.

We mostly settled on two photographs of sculptures: the first is Sara’s photograph of a piece called “Spider Dress and Serpent” by Isamu Noguchi. The second is Tanita’s photograph of a piece called “El Hombre Grande” by Roy De Forest.

I decided to write to both images, and did so using a new-to-me form called the 4x4, which was invented by Denise Krebs. The rules of the form are as follows:

  • 4 syllables in each line

  • 4 lines in each stanza

  • 4 stanzas

  • 4 times repeating a refrain line–line 1 in the first stanza, line 2 in the second stanza, line 3 in the third stanza, and line 4 in the fourth stanza.

  • Bonus: 4 syllables in the title

  • No restrictions on subject, rhyme, or meter.

Here are the two poems I wrote for the “Spider Dress and Serpent” piece, which is not just a sculpture, but was meant to be worn—and to be danced in. Noguchi created it for a performance of the story of Medea (the woman from myth, not Madea from Tyler Perry’s movies). You can see snippets from the ballet at around the 40 minute mark in this presentation at the Library of Congress.

“Dance in the Cage”

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“Poor Medea”

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The next poem is based on El Hombre Grande, a seven-foot tall sculpture made up of all sorts of things. I loved the colors and shapes, but also the way his one arm expanded to hold up so many things.

“To be a man”

To be a man a grande man Tallness isn’t All that’s required There’s something more. To be a man Demands that one Expands, stretches arms open, makes A safe haven. To be a man takes willingness To be tender, A defende.png

You can find my sisters’ posts by clicking on their names below. (Not all of us wrote this month.)

Sara Lewis Holmes

Tanita Davis

Laura Purdie Salas

Tricia Stohr-Hunt

Liz Garton Scanlon

New painting! 11:11

OH! And I have a BRAND NEW PAINTING that is completed and I have to list her for sale. She is on a 24” x 36” gallery-wrapped canvas that is 1-5/8” deep, and this one is called 11:11. She’s all about angel time, and has lots of delicious energy to her. She isn’t yet certain which way she wants to be hung, but likes both of these aspects quite a bit. Will be going into the Paintings portion of the website shortly at $750 plus shipping. If she really calls you, let me know—for the next few days, she will be available for $650, including US shipping.

Oh happy day!

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One of my happiest things to do is to create new art. Right now, I have three pieces under way, and they are not done (or necessarily near done), but here they are:

All three of these pieces were once other (finished) works of art that weren’t working for me, so they’ve been splotched and splashed and dabbed and this is where they are now. Which goes to show that in making art, as in life, you can always start over or have another chance.

Of course, one of the reasons I called this post “Oh happy day” has nothing to do with starting over and everything to do with following through: I GOT PAID! Because of course I like making art, but I also really like selling it, and I got paid for pieces that sold at Olde Pear Primitives in Cape May and at MADE. Artisan Marketplace in Woodbury. Yay!

If you are looking for pieces, you can check either of those shops or shop online here.

And don’t forget you can sign up for my newsletter to get updates and offers and such!