poem and a painting
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detail of poem and a painting, gravity |
Last week, as I was browsing in my local second-hand shop, I came across a palm-sized book about Braque printed in 1958. It covers Braque's cubism and papier collé period from 1906 to 1920. During that same week, I also was working on a poem.
When I finished the poem, I wanted to match a painting to it. I knew which drawing I wanted to use, but what additions would I add? I picked up the book I had bought the previous day on Braque. Leafing through the booklet, sparks of ideas on a painting began to fly. Everything came together and I felt satisfied that the painting illustrated my poem perfectly.
Gravity
There are days
when I am in pieces,
broken and scattered.
And there are other days
when I am like a collapsed cloud
of dust and atoms,
full of possibility.
All the scattered pieces
get pulled in and compressed;
until from the core of my soul,
dense and hot,
a new self emerges.
Juana Almaguer
June 18, 2017
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poem and a painting, gravity |
The sparks are still flying, and I'm working on a new series of paintings inspired by this poem and a painting.
I hope everyone is having a good weekend. I'll be spending the day riding my bicycle out to a new trail system and exploring its forest.
joining Sunday sketches