Friday, October 17, 2008

Journal: Cyclamen and the Mud House

Pensive, looking for signs, seeing light in a cloud of darkness: Waiting. 
Write something cheerful. 
Draw something kind--of friendly of real
kind of hopeful and reminiscent of Ginsberg's wandering in "A Supermarket in California" 
"...Where are we going, Walt Whitman? The doors close in an hour..Will we stroll dreaming of the lost America of love past blue automobiles...home to our silent cottage?" 
wandering in to this house made of mud seeking the key to flags of peace flags of reconciliation amidst a country struggling to remain whole. 
A cyclamen sitting patiently waiting out the cycle of human discourse
dissent 
disagreement voting that 
come spring there are more leaves
more blooms 
fresh soil 
food for the soul 
good dirt for insulation against the cold imaginings of unkind of hearts 
© Melinda S. Esparza 10/17/08

10 comments:

Unknown said...

pretty caran d'ache... and pretty poem :)

Melinda said...

Thank you dear Elliði. I'm so glad you like this posting. Do you remember looking into the kitchen door jam latch plate and noticing dirt? When I saw the morning light and shadow illuminating this portion of our adobe today, I thought about the juxtaposition of metal on wood over mud as an analogy for civilization's imposition on nature. It made me smile.

Deb Schmit said...

Thanks for stopping by Melinda, I've been so wrapped up in these large paintings, my blog needs a little dusting off.
Seems while I was away, someone talked poor Edgar (Arty Fice) into suffering through some color charts...ow!

Lovely poem, photo and cyclamen.
You are so wonderfully creative!

Melinda said...

Deb,
It was my pleasure, of course, to stop by your blog. I really enjoy your insight and process.

Thank you for commenting here--glad you liked the post this week. I, too, have been away more than I would like. But that's okay. We keep coming back and we keep working!

I gotta say, I do feel sorry for that Mr. "Fice". He says he's getting good things out of the exercise....hmmm. Bravo for him. ;)

Edgar said...

"Draw something kind" ... wise and noble instructions for a trying time. You inspire me with your words and images, Melinda! I love these cyclamen... they always look like kids with spiked hair, running, heads lowered for speed.

Great, glowing image. Have you done flowers in oils yet? It looks like you have a good eye for it.

Melinda said...

Edgar,
I love the image you have for the flowers. Wow. I never thought of that. Very creative indeed.

I haven't tried flowers in oils. Hmmm. Printmaking, of course, but not oils. I keep promising myself that I'm going to paint sunflowers in oils as an homage to Van Gogh, but I hesitate for fear of not meeting the challenge. It is a goal not yet reached. Oops. In an effort to start a new trend, I will mention two women artists' work comparable to Van Gogh's sunflowers. I am in awe of Janet Fish and Nell Blaine

Hope you're going to post some of your work soon--maybe the watercolor of the Mt. Greylock Inn that we've been talking about.

Barbara Muir said...

Great drawing and poem. You express the feelings of many people holding
their breath tonight.

Fingers are crossed all over the world.

Barbara

Melinda said...

Thank you, Barbara, for your kind words. Yes, we are all waiting to exhale next week!

Anonymous said...

Melinda, thank you for coming by and commenting on my blog. I love your writing and your art. This piece was particularly timely this morning. We are all waiting to breathe.

Melinda said...

You're an inspiration, artistsjournal.

While a bit nervous, I'm feeling slightly lighter, more like a gear is shifting back to better days. Hope you have the same optimism.

Thank you for commenting!