poetic therapy

'healing with words' mixed media on canvas 11"x14"

 tired? worn out? in pain?

lost? hopeless?

just a bit confused?

need a break?

 things that heal:

lighting a candle

listening to the music of the rain

the warmth of another

writing it down

a cup of tea (with honey and lemon for extra points)

morning sunshine

water (drink it in, immerse yourself in it,

jump in the puddles)

time with your lovely self - intentional

playing in the studio - no purpose, just fun

that juicy piece of fruit

a piano and cello playing together

getting your hands dirty

giving without expecting anything in return

a good stretch

walking barefoot in the grass

the smell of camp fire in your hair

a glass of red wine

kisses - lots of kisses

a good cry

a good laugh

time

words

 

 quite exhausted 

after an intense week of work on the house.

we made room for the baby,

organized and cleaned everything in sight,

and are now ready to open our home

for lots of visiting friends

for a whole week.

a reminder of the things that

refresh and restore

is in order.

amongst these,

developing a new daily art practice,

loads of stitching,

playing with small abstracts,

finding poetry.

have a wonderful weekend, friends!

'give up' -daily poetry

'little things' -daily poetry

'words to fall' -daily poetry

how the light gets in

 "there is something in october

sets the gypsy blood astir,

we must rise and follow her

when from every hill of flame,

she calls

each vababond by name."

- william bliss carman

so it is that october beckons me.

i put on my boots

and an epic audio book,

grab the camera,

and venture out into the snappy,

musty, earth scented air.

no plan,

no expectations,

no thinking even.

just walking

and watching

where october takes me.

and what an alluring

companion she proves to be

under fragile arches

that trap the essence of the sun,

over gilded rustling carpets,

through forgotten alleys

teeming with the magic

of the derelict.

i am once again drawn

to the broken things,

to the cracked, the neglected, the forsaken.

 and once again i find inspiration

by the bucket loads.

 

 "forget your perfect offering
there is a crack in everything
that's how the light gets in."

-leonard cohen

monday moodboard. poem about a beloved ghost.

 

  

 images via pieter estersohn, lidewij edelkoort, the gifts of life, besotted blog, molly fishskins

weathered. beautiful.

 i put on the boots,

opened my eyes,

and started walking.

 magic unfolds

from unexpected places.

  

the weak, beat up,

torn, broken, chipped,

discarded, rusted, abandoned,

weathered things

of the world

shame the rich,

the complex, the brand new.

 

  

unspeakable beauty

is to be found

in the dust.

and dust we are.

the trail of beauty

led me to a door.

the door opened into

a quiet space.

a space for letting go.

for resting.

for being.

a space of freedom

to find

the beauty

inside.

i will share more about this space.  soon.

goings on in the studio

 beginnings of art prize piece. clearly

more egg shells are necessary.

omelet anyone?

 progress on 'irrational season' piece.

at least i hope it's progress.

hard to tell sometimes.

 

finally pleased with where this one's at. it took

a week of staring to figure out

what was needed.

mixed responses to this piece

make me wonder.

i fight fiercely

against the objectification of women.

is it possible

for my work to be interpreted

otherwise?

i would love your input!

stashes and stashes...

as per, jennifer's invitation,

here is a glimpse of the

stacks and stashes around my studio. 

 and then there are the stashes

in my head.

and this giant pile

of everything beautiful

on the internets.

playing with textures

out of work at my part time job

(painting/remodeling/construction)

(yep, when i'm not painting, 

i'm painting)

which means no money

and plenty of studio time.

large scale abstract textured work

beckons me.

a 4'x8' piece for grand rapids' art prize

is in the making.

i have been saving egg shells

for months for this one.

working on a couple of other pieces

to add to my as-of-late-neglected etsy shop

as well.

it has been fun experimenting

playing with acrylic, latex,

coffee, tissue paper, egg shells,

pulling paper off wet paint

to discover wondrous patterns,

embedding random objects,

dipping, stretching, dripping...

it has also been

a bumpy ride.

dabbling in doubt

and feelings of inadequacy.

stuck, staring at the canvas

for eternities.

for this too, i am grateful

for i have the privilege

of being an artist.

what excites you

and haunts you 

in your work today?

 

ok! monday mood board

ok!

say yes to life.

the fullness and 

delicacy of it.

also,

keep this

and all other lists

with open hands.

listen.

your heart knows.

photos via: red tea pottery,batixa,elemenoP,the vintage season,english pearl