Monday, August 3, 2015

ARTISTRY AND POETRY

Blending my two passions of art and poetry is a challenge as well as a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. Right now I am reworking some poems into haiku that I can incorporate in my art. I'm also experimenting with different color combinations--some dark and think, others bright and light. The piece here originated with a poem I wrote for my next poetry collection:

CONNETQUOT RIVER

Stones crunch and shift beneath my feet
Along the path that hugs the curves of shoreline.
The black ruffled surface of the river
Throws off silver reflections of sunlight
Diamonds scattered by a distraught lover.

The white heron wades in the mud
His slender beak
Stabs at unsuspecting insects
Emerging from winter’s frozen den.

Memories slip between the breezes
Remind me pain is transient
Fading in time
Like the ripe color of this fallen leaf.


I took the middle stanza and honed it down to a viable haiku. I really have worked this image over a number of times to get a poem I could live with. It so fascinating to go to the arboretum and watch the heron wading through the banks of the river, or into the water to go fishing.

I began with a lovely blank white page of my watercolor art journal and added pastel colors with stencils and collaged a few pieces of tissue paper. I used a script stamp to get some detail into the background. I made the heron with a stencil and molding paste and gesso.


 I'm looking forward to creating more art and poetry like this and hopefully an altered board book of haiku and art. I'm also looking forward to seeing your comments and thoughts on my process.



copyright by Renee Howard Cassese

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