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My Most Resent Art Fixation

1/13/2023

NEUROGRAPHIC ART* Super calming and by far the coolest thing I've learned in a while... and, I learned a lot of cool stuff about octopuses today, but that's a whole other blog post (maybe, if I remember to do one). As a substitute teacher, I have a gig teaching art to middle schoolers for a couple of weeks. I was left this amazing lesson on Neurographic Art, which has both calmed my soul and pushed my art practice forward...

* So, I could work real hard to find my sources and post the slide show that the teacher I covered for sent me, but then I would never post this blog and I would get all hung up on all that other stuff when I really just want to share the art. And I also cannot figure out hashtags but I really just want to post and not worry about that. So, whatever. Just Google "neurograpahic art" to be as inspired as I was!

Then I decided to apply it to an old artwork left abandoned. And I think it has been sufficiently resuscitated.

Thank goodness for ART:)

Starting NaPoWriMo 2022…

4/2/2022

A day before and going strong… and then...
we’re back to 2 days behind😊

I’m always excited by the idea of and anticipation for NaPoWriMo, but the reality is such that

life happens
to get in the way
and I have no time
to write what I want to say

I've come up with a couple options that incorporate poetry each day for 30 days:

WORDLE as a poetry prompt – for 30 days à wordle in the AM; do a poem
Work on poetry course
Poetry Group Business

March 31st…
I’ve decided to try Wordle for the first time… but I will use the word as a poetry prompt for #NaPoWriMo2022.

So, on the last day of March, the eve of National/Global Poetry Writing Month, I have written a poem:

Lowly ol’ me
couldn’t get thee.
Oh, Wordle! You see –
I’m no longer free!

Also, there is a bit of talk about Emily Dickinson on the NaPoWriMo site…

An early-bird prompt, based on the poetry of Emily Dickinson. Dickinson is known for her elliptical style, unusual word choices, and mordant sense of humor. Over the past year, I’ve experimented with writing poems based on, or responding to, various lines from her poems. Today, I’d like to challenge you to do the same! Here are a few lines of Dickinson’s that might appeal to you (the slashes indicate line breaks):

From the official website:
NaPoWriMo, or National Poetry Writing Month, is an annual project in which participating poets attempt to write a poem a day for the month of April.
This website is owned and operated by Maureen Thorson, a poet living in Washington, DC. Inspired by NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month), she started writing a poem a day for the month of April back in 2003, posting the poems on her blog. When other people started writing poems for April, and posting them on their own blogs, Maureen linked to them. After a few years, so many people were doing NaPoWriMo that Maureen decided to launch an independent website for the project.
This site was designed by the very nice people at 2the9design, who know waaaaayyyyy more about back-end coding stuff than Maureen does. But this site isn’t meant to be “official,” or to indicate ownership or authority over the idea of writing 30 poems in April. There is no corporate sponsorship of this project. No money is intended to change hands anywhere. Maureen just likes poems and wants to encourage people to write them. The site doesn’t ask for your email address, or any other personal information. Heck, you don’t even have to give your name.
Need more information? See the Wikipedia entry for NaPoWriMo, or check out our FAQ!
https://www.napowrimo.net/about/

At the start of Pandemic Times, I started watching “Dickinson” on AppleTV… and was inspired to delve deeper…. I read poems watched the series and was inspired to write this poem after seeing this random picture...

SHE & ME
(Honouring Emily Dickinson)

Notions niggle and needle at the edges
of restlessness — nibbling.
She, in her white gown, gazing out,
absently rubbing the silky-smooth surface
of her newest stone
that only earlier she’d seen surfaced
amongst the sprouts,
sparkling in the sunlight --
beckoning like her words,
trickling and dripping down,
tickling the paper,
shiny as the diamonds that dot
the midnight skies.

Truly awake now, she relents.
The poem gushes forth, flowing
from her soul made of stars --
And of dirt from the Earth and
of all the spirits that stir in the night.
There was no rest for the poet —
Until she closed her eyes for good.

** Published in 2 poetry publications, some time in the last 2 years (Tower Poetry Society and The Ontario Poetry Society - but I suck at record-keeping, remembering stuff, and finding stuff, so ...)

Happy Poetry Writing Month!

Some of my first creative endeavours...

11/28/2020

I found a journal from way before... talk about a time machine!

NaPoWriPo2020 - Poem 28

5/8/2020

NaPoWriMo2020 - Poem 27

5/8/2020

NaPoWriMo2020 - Poem 26

5/8/2020

NAPOWRIMO2020 - Poem 25

5/1/2020

I am not ignoring the prompt, but merely deferring it until another time in the future. It is an intriguing prompt that I wish to devote some time. Later, so I will use this opportunity to share two poems that I wrote in Aug. 2019 for an entry into a local art walk.... our local art gallery, Carnegie Gallery in Dundas, Ontario does an annual Art Walk, during Art Week, in which they team up with the Tower Poetry Society. Poets choose artworks to inspire poems and both are displayed on a walk through Dundas BIA.

Beverly
In response to “Beverly Swamp” by Lynne MacIntyre

I peer into the murk and see many me’s,
And reflections of trees.
The trees are upside-down,
And so is my frown;
When I look into the swamp.
I listen with my eyes:
Water waves with a splash
and there’s just a flash
as you dash away;
To where the wild things are,
in the dark, dark wood.
And I wonder where are you, now?

Hidden
In response to “Stoic” by Ralph Heather

So much unseen amongst your green leaves.
In your proud boughs
you gather all the creatures
that I see with my ears:
Squirrels crunch nuts;
Blue jays squaw and screech;
Chickadees chime in;
Cicadas preach;
Interrupting the blackbird’s speech.

Leaves sway,
And they give away
the spot where you play

A tree is a house, an umbrella and a playground,
interconnecting
the lives that exist within and around.

Ouch, a chestnut knocked upon my noggin!
And, I know that if a tree branch crashes to the ground,
it certainly makes a sound.

Can you see the forest for the trees?

NAPOWRIMO2020 - Poem 24

5/1/2020

Opticks

The prompt was ‘fruit’ and this somewhat recent and unshared poem has an apple in it, so I count it(;

NaPoWriMo2020 - Poem 23

5/1/2020

The prompt was to play with the alphabet (more or less). I was going to cheat and use a poem from when I did this before. Instead, I tried a new one, and Aha! I like it, but I also like the other one, so here are both...

A is for Apocalypse

Architect of anarchy, asshole archetype; And
another apeshit angry anti-asshat holy epiphany --

Aaaaarrrgghhh --

After all the awesome angelic altar-egos
effectively alienate the aliens, isolating with the best of ‘Em,
but only if it’s after eight
and, only if you’re arboreal, all upright and sturdy strong,
can you truly see all that’s wrong.

Ardent animalistic instincts above all else — so I attack,
aggressive and artfully with much ado.
Ammunition needed to amass amenities amongst
the average anomalies in this after-lifetime of allegorical irony.
No glory, like getting schmucked by a lorry, asterisk...
It might have been a bus, but it doesn’t matter when I’m dust --
Awesome August allergies in April —

Aaaachoooo --
Boo hoo. Me too.

(April 24... first write/word gathering, April 25, 2020... arranged, edited, finalized, again Apr 30/May 1)

Mouthful of Marbles

Poem in your Pocket Day 2020

4/30/2020

It’s “Poem in your Pocket” day.... Check it out, here!
... aside from writing poetry all month, I’ve been trying to read more poems and find poems that speak to me — having time to do this is definitely a plus to these Pandemic Times — today, I read the saddest & loveliest poem...

RIP Miss Punga 💕