Poetry to Art Dialogue

I had a video piece in a group show at the Seymour Gallery a few years ago. Below is a piece that a local poet, James Witwicki, wrote in response to 'Monument for the Land'. 

A woman is piling,

then unpiling, rocks

she has been

unpiling rocks

against the backdrop

of an ugly concrete wall

bristling with reinforcing

steel and barbed wire.

In a vacant field

in a quiet corner

surrounded by yellow wildflowers

vivid yellow on gangly stalks. 

This woman unpiles rocks.

This is not entropy;

you can play it backwards.

But time will march forward,

--- Please --- I must know ----

In a vacant lot,

in a quiet corner, 

in a bitter war-

torn country. Soothing words

in Arabic, soothing words

words in relief - mother to child,

ones who survive, piling rocks

carefully.

Old, gnarled trees preside

over cairns,

monuments left. 

This woman wears

a simple, modest,

earthtone shift. Sometimes

she stumbles slightly

while walking away

from the camera.

Doesn’t mean that she is not sure.

She has been unpiling rocks; and if,

and if unpiling rocks is sufficient,

she will continue ---

droopy fences and chainlinked lace

The artist life is funny. Two months ago while being interviewed for a magazine article, I apologized for having zero shows on the horizon for them to promote. I told my friend (the interviewer) that I was just making the artwork, and anything on top of that was a bonus.

This week I've had two openings, both with new work that has never been shown before. Both are group shows that I'm excited to be involved in. 

A month ago, I made a commitment to another artist friend to always be in my studio Friday mornings. We call each other in the morning before starting. It's been a huge gift to have the accountability and the reminder that this is worth spending time on. 

I'm churning out linoprints from drawings I made in Belfast. I'm not a printmaker so I don't feel tied to traditional forms of printing and displaying. I love the strong, graphic quality of the black line. I'm experimenting with abstracting lace doilies. The connection between lace patterns, some of which look more like maps or droopy chainlink fences, and the repetition of the barriers, are working for me. I might need a chiropractor eventually from the labor but its worth it. 

Two art shows on the horizon

And you're invited!