Inspired By My Own Poetry, Fairies Come Alive

Ever since I was a little girl art has been my world. I made mud pies, paper-dolls of fairies and mermaids, and connected with any of my mother's friends who seemed creative. I remember a friend of hers who lived down the street from us who painted her bathroom black and wore crazy clothes. I LOVED her! I loved her yet stood afar from her because I was a little girl and she was this elusive figure that I hoped to become someday. She was not afraid of criticism she just did what came to her. Gads! I struggle every time I paint or sculpt or write an email. I struggle and then remind myself that it's only paper or it's only clay and that approval of what I do and how I do it is solely up to me.

"Stop It!", I say, "Forget about everything outside of your heart"

Sometimes that works!

I often pull ideas for art projects from emotions expressed in my own poetry. I pick out phrases and try to convey the words done with graphite's into colors on canvas or mold a figure from a cool block of clay. I paint women mostly so sometimes a poem I have written is just an expression on her face.

I would like to share my idea for my next painting and my process of getting to that space. Right now I especially connect with these lines in the poem below:

Pointing in the direction of the sky
I expected beyond
But the treasure was in the trees
My eyes gathered them
standing beneath and within
I bend my branches

I love the idea of 'becoming' a tree. Pulling from Greek Mythology where everything seems logical and meaningful I accept that I actually can become a tree. I go through fashion magazines all of the time and tear out anything that feels dramatic, colorful, inspiring and file the pages in categories. These files often to get me triggered for my next work. The emotions stirred up by the colors, mood or even specific things, in this case a tree, spark me up and I am ready. I then pull photos of models I have taken and blend all of these elements together. Make sense? To me it does... and I guess that is the point I try to make within my own self. Ha! Just paint! Just sculpt! You have the ideas and all the elements ready. Just accept who you are and what your personal inner being is about and EXPRESS IT!

The full Poem:

"Defined By So Few Words"

Neon Blue continues on
I am neither sad nor happy
I guess I find myself relieved
waiting for tears if I need them

I never realized her poems to be so short
so inconclusive
so undefined
she always seemed so magnificently tormented

Ahhh Zelda
where are you when i need you?

Pointing in the direction of the sky
I expected beyond
but the treasure was in the trees
My eyes gathered them
standing beneath and within
I bend my branches

Born with a melancholy
poets charm that pathway
Books and paintings
sculptures of flight
rounded off with a drunken stupor

My fingers feel numb
I approach the station to arrive
I have been there and back
I am coated with the very same torment
said with few words
on the pages you sent to me