Tanka Challenge Day Ten

Tanka Challenge Day Nine

Taking on this challenge sometimes feels a bit overwhelming and I wonder what could I have been thinking. But it encourages me to carry through on creative commitments I make to myself. It pushes me not only to write at least one new poem a day but to hone the poems so they are worthy of being exposed to the world. And it pushes me to find more and more creative ways to express myself in paper and paint. Hard as it may be at times, I'm glad I did this. I like the challenge. I should do this to myself more often.

Tanka Challenge Day Eight

Tanka Challenge Day Seven

Tanka Challenge Day Six

Lesson to be learned. Do not print poem on white tissue paper when attaching to a darker background. There's a reason tissue paper comes in many colors --one of them is to match gift bags and cards the other to assist artists in making the art come out right. But you have to think ahead and choose the right color. Attention to detail needs to be added to my intuitive artistic process.

Tanka Challenge Day Five

Tanka Challenge Day Four

Once I set myself a challenge I am committed to following through. This is a tough one. The tanka come easily but the art takes time. Each night I have to prepare a new canvas for the next day's post. It's work and play at the same time. But as the paint spreads and the colors blend and images work their way into the piece I feel tension drain, my muscles relax, and my head is free of worry and stress. So here's to art.

A tanka that came to me as I drove to work this morning. No art for this one yet.

golden sky
yellow blossoms
honeyed horizon
hope and joy
in this new day