CREATIVE INSPIRATION
There are Always More Questions
Getting out from under the weight of someone else’s rules.
I have always enjoyed watching cloud formations, and the feelings of wonder and awe they evoke. I took this photo of Montana skies in 2018.
Instead of photographing the summer clouds that I see in Florida skies, I am trying to paint how they make me feel. It began with a bit of poetry two weeks ago,
As I watch clouds silently rise from the horizon
at dawn they grow then bloom
like gigantic hydrangeas.
Last week I posted a peek at an early iteration of that painting project.
This week, I continued to apply more layers of paint, but got no closer to the feeling(s) I was after. I tried on words like joy and awe and wonder. But those words felt ethereal and vague. Too insubstantial for what I experienced.
So I dig deeper. What is the feeling of white? of blue? of sun glow rimming the edge of the world? of water? How does an abstract shape have presence? The challenge is like a problem to solve. To resolve it, my mind hovers near the original experience, vigilant. Ready to recognize a solution, a feeling, or a clue in my memory. Rather the way a new mother stays close to her sleeping infant, lest she miss some small sound or movement.
Even as I continue to paint, write, sleep, eat, read, walk, work without knowing how to get where I want to be.
A poem I have been revising for a long while.
Wishing you a fantastic summer week with cool breezes to offset hot days. Go! make something you love. Many thanks to friend and creative knitter, Jasminka, for letting me photograph one of her projects.
I appreciate your reading through to the end! If you value the content please subscribe (always free!) and share your thoughts in the comments. Celeste
One more thing to think about:
Beautiful paintings and words. Love the cartoon "Are we there yet?"
Good Morning Celeste, as I send this message from Winter Harbor I am reminded that the skies both in Florida and Maine have enveloped my heart and are definitely the basis for deep feelings-I have yet to name them. I love your poem and wonder if it's ok to share it if I make sure to give your name as the author? I am part of a group-15 +-artists who meet one 3 day weekend a month June through September to offer our art for sale at a Barn in Sullivan, Maine. It is called Farmstead Barn, we are the Farmstead Artists, our works vary in style, quality and price but it is very nice being a part of this group and at the same time a huge stress to get ready for each show. I usually show new works each time. Anyway thought I'd ask if I may share your poetry with others. Hope your week is wonderful, full of inspiration and joy. Carol