Dancing of the Selves
What is the self?
Peel away to nothing.
Only energies,
inner winds and flames
streams of thought
a body of cells of earthdust.
Who am I?
Am I my memories
shifting and changing like ice flows
or the sand of the desert?
We are transducers, relay switches,
cross-currents of selves.
I deconstruct in paint across the canvas.
Am I what I offer--
scrawl of words, strokes of paint,
a flash dance through the air,
a few ideas, a point of gravity
where the light bends?
My children who tumbled out of me?
I am a link
in the generations,
an ancestor's grand daughter,
great aunt of the future,
a name for genealogists.
A living person
breathing on this page
where I write quickly.
A slight tangle
in the gangalia
of cells, and
my memories,
gone.
That's not me.
I am only
who I am
loving you.
__________
For Sparky's Self Portrait Marathon. Thank you, Sparky, or Wally Torta, for all the time and care that you've put into this marathon. Take a look at the slideshow of all the entries in the marathon, fabulous! Thanks to Natalie for conceiving this marathon.
Dancing of the Selves, oil on canvas board, 22" x 28".
We are transducers, relay switches,
ReplyDeletecross-currents of selves.
Just stunning. And the painting ...
I think I understand the 'coming round' you mentioned - the impact of having created such profound change in the external world, out of our internal world ... quite shocking sometimes. Shocking that we dare to be so bold? To speak out in a strong voice.
I'm glad you have the courage :)
Stray, as an artist you know that it's a challenge to produce something that works. Sometimes I think painting is like tearing a bit of my soul off, and it's always a risk! I hope that's not too strong an image :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad the marathon is over, I put away all my newly bought paints, threw out the ragged paper towels covered in oil paints, cleaned up, and had a bath by candlelight.
I'm moving everything from one storage space to another Tuesday, so no painting for a few days or longer. Though I am determined to keep it up!
And you? Who have such a website full of work that one could get lost there... has this marathon changed your direction at all?
You made me laugh Brenda, I have never thought of myself as any kind of artist ... ! In fact - that is the biggest change the marathon has brought ... first tentative steps in approaching a task with the word Art inextricably linked. No ducking the fact that the act of posting, if not taking, the pieces is some sort of acknowledgement of engaging in a creative process ...
ReplyDeleteYour analogy wasn't too strong at all - I think the idea of simply putting pencil to paper can be overwhelming sometimes. I understand why people draw with a thousand feint lines, hedging their bets and fudging the exposure ...
Good luck moving space - and we shall badger you if it seems like the painting has been forgotten after that - you can count on it ;)
xx
Stunning twist back to the basics at the end. And I love the flow and reflections and sheer color saturation of the painting.
ReplyDelete"Sometimes I think painting is like tearing a bit of my soul off, and it's always a risk!" -- I identify strongly with this, particularly in terms of my fiction. That bath by candlelight sounds perfect -- in a sense, the cleansing of the palate/palette. Good luck with the move!
I love the artwork, and the insight into the creation, and the words, which are, of course, another view inside. Multiple roots to the expressions of Brenda are what make all of your art - the visual, the literary, the movements, the essential things that they are.
ReplyDeleteLa danse ...
ReplyDeleteUne belle voie pour se dépasser et aller vers l'Infini !!!
I'm at work today - temp reception - and am surprised at how little detail there is of the painting on a PC. The painting looks like it does at night. Boosting it for a screen like this would wash it out on the iMac. Someone offered to help me with setting the colour palette - perhaps I should give it a try (even though I suspect there is no way to present an image that looks 'true to life' on both types of computers).
ReplyDeleteStray, while we get high when something's finished, and we well deserve to I think, taking the initial leap is very difficult. We put ourselves entirely on the line...
e_journeys, thank you! I'm glad your computer screen held out long enough for you to drop by! The poem I don't think is one of my 'best' - I sat to do my daily 15 min meditation; after 5 minutes I opened my eyes and wrote the poem and then closed them again and continued meditating for the remaining 10 minutes! Painting takes hours and hours and there was no other time to compose something for the last day of the marathon!
narrator, we're all composed of a complex set of emotions, thoughts, energies and talents huh. Thank you for taking these offerings as part of a whole.
Jean, the dance, yes the dance! Nothing like dancing. Infinity in the grace of movement. Beaucoup de mercis!
Brenda. This is beautiful. Rich and vibrant and full of movement and passion.You have created real beauty.
ReplyDeleteAnd I am encouraged that the poem came to you while meditating ....