Tuesday Art Salon - June 2, 2015

“All The Words In Between” - acrylic and inks on aquabord, 9” x 11"

Artists work ahead.  Like retailers buying swimsuit inventory in December so they can put it out in February.  As we are hanging the show I’ve been working toward since March,  I am finishing the pieces for a salon show in July, “Collaboratus”, in which I am collaborating with local poet and human being extraordinaire, Amy Vaughn.  So today you get a sneak peek at mid-summer art treats.  Think of it as New York Fashion Week for art…you may not want to wear it right now, but when the season arrives, it will all make sense.

Vaughn’s poetry hits me right in my “everywoman”…the place where we are all connected as human beings, in which our experiences, though unique, bring emotions and “ahas” which are common to many.  Vaughn captures those moments in a way that resonates and validates.  Take this excerpt from one of her latest poems, “Neighbors” :

What lies in the balance
Between normal and crises?
Broken people,
All of us,
Stumbling around 
Fumbling in the dark to find our way
When what we are really doing ---
We are looking for 
Each other

Right away, I feel what she says, right where it matters.

Recently, she posted a poem titled “Words”.  Now anyone who knows me knows of my fascination with the written word.  Reading it, writing it, noticing juicy phrases and descriptions and tasting them like ripe plums eaten over a kitchen sink.  So when this poem came out, I knew I had to paint it. 

What I want
She said
Is to write,
To let the raw power of 
Words
Escape from the tips of my fingers
And bleed me dry
Like the dying corpse of a
Bluefish.

This is what I must do
To purify myself
To make myself whole,
To get it all out
The dirty crusts of words
And the lofty cloudy words
And all the words in between.

Words are the sandwich
And the filling,
The side dish 
And the drink
They are the complete meal 
For a hungry soul.

When I am done,
When all the words have been
Wrung out of me
And the last drop has
Evaporated into the summer breeze,
Then,
Then I will be able to move
Forward,
Go outside,
Do the laundry,
Run the errands,
Tackle the junk drawer.

But please, she said
Let me be
And let me write.
It is all I can do
It is all I should do.


The art began as this poem written in white ink on black-gesso’d aquabord.  Then the woman began to emerge with oil pastels and acrylics, with the words peeking though, like thoughts fighting to get out and be heard.  The finishing layer is brilliant inks, adding a glow to the face and intensity meant to convey the passion behind Vaughn’s words.   What we want… is to be heard, to communicate, so you know ...what we want.

This piece is available.  Framed.  Inquiries: imajenation@gmail.com