Saturday, August 27, 2011

paper bowl and mourning pages

Two weeks ago, Mim brought paper clay to KJ's house where four bloggers and JB met to talk and have fun, and we all made paper bowls. I let mine air dry for a week or so, then painted it. The inside might need another coat as I see a few white spots.

I've been working on my mourning pages in my unbound sketchbook and have finished them. I can always go in and add more details though. For now I am glad to have these pages finished. They were hard to do emotionally. But I think it is good I did them.

The first page with a poem by Emily Dickinson. "In this short life/That only lasts an hour/How much-how little-is/Within our power." I did another page with one of Dickinson's poems too.

For my sister-in-law. She loved blue and hummingbirds.

Miss Emily and other cats who have died.

A poem by Kay Ryan.

Things Shouldn't be so Hard

A life should leave
deep tracks:
ruts where she
went out and back
to get the mail
or move the hose
around the yard;
where she used to
stand before the sink,
a worn-out place,
beneath her hand
the china knobs
rubbed down to
white pastilles;
the switch she
used to feel for
in the dark
almost erased.
Her things should
keep her marks.
The passage
of a life should show,
it should abrade.
And when life stops,
a certain space---
however small----
should be left scarred
by the grand and
damaging parade.
Things shouldn't
be so hard.

by Kay Ryan

My next sketchbook section will be: Taking Action or What would Pippi Do? I look forward to this theme.

12 comments:

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Your bowl has such rich colors it is beautiful. Your moring pages are great. I love Emily. I am glad she appears in your art. That last poem has much truth. I would love to see how you bind these pages.

Robin said...

You have joined *The Bowl Club*! This is wonderful.... the colours and the irregular edges make it have a "Cloutie Glen" Medieval look about it.

The Mourning Pages...are gorgeous....full of love and loss....full of longing, full of release. Emily's page - (and for your other cats) is such a tribute....she is proud!

You always choose the right poems for accompaniment.

I am so in awe of your book-making skills.... you are a wonder!

I am off to another rehearsal today - a day one, following a night one... we are doing a world premiere - "Heart of a Soldier"....I am already moved to tears and loving it.... will post about it soon...

You and Bibs stay dry and safe tomorrow!!! (Make sure yo have extra water and food in case you lose power)

Love,

♥ Robin ♥

Lynn Cohen said...

I can feel the grief on these pages Suki...what a meaningful and perhaps powerful way to process these losses. I can imagine you going back to the pages again when you want to reconnect to those loved ones.

Your bowl has such character!

I love that the group of you gathered to make art together.

Now I hope all you east coasters are safe and dry.

Mystic Meandering said...

Artistically "working through" those long-held griefs and sorrows as part of the healing process can be so therapeutic. It's an interesting way to bring awareness to those wounded places. I once did a scrapbook for myself called "Healing the Wound" (the Heart wounds). It got filled with pages and pages of grief, woundings, anger and sorrows. Somehow getting it down on paper in a creative way made a difference. Now I look back at the book with a different View...

Batten down the hatches! Hope you don't get slammed with that storm!

Christine

Cris, Artist in Oregon said...

What a lovely bowl. I feel our Nikki is amoung the mourning pages there. Are you in the line of Irene? I sure hope not. stay safe.

kj said...

wow wow the bowl, suki. you have made it magestic. you have such talent. ♥

this poem is astonishing, at least to me. it makes me want to cry at the mundane ways we make our marks. and i find myself agreeing that the tracks are worth a deeper imprint. just beautiful, suki, and i thank you for it.

stay dry and safe tomorrow.

Annie said...

Suki, that poem made me cry and I love the Emily poem too. Your pages are beautiful. I should do some mourning pages too, but I am not near ready. Lovely bowl Suki.
On to happier times. xoxo

Lynne with an e said...

What a touching, and deeply personal, tribute to your loved ones who have passed on. I like, as well, your clever naming of them as "Mourning Pages."

But oh my goodness--that bowl! That blue!!! And you must know by now that I am a sucker for gold paint. Truly a treasure.

Blue Sky Dreaming said...

This bowl is a magical beauty...almost a crown shape! Perfect for so many keepsakes. All your mourning pages speak so richly of love and loss...what was once felt on the inside is now beautifully placed on the outside. Bravo!

Mim said...

The bowl came out beautifully! the colors are lovely and it's swoopy and unstructured and wonderful. Enjoy!

I like the idea of a mourning book, and should probably do one myself. much loss over the past 10 years.

enjoy the "storm"

Tess Kincaid said...

I love the vibrant color of your bowl. I've been immersed in Dickinson this week, as well.

studio lolo said...

I love this post. The Mourning Pages really touch me. I know how hard yet cathartic this must have been.
Sweet Emily and all the others before her.♥

The poem really knocks my socks off. I so so so resonate with it. Thanks so much for sharing it.

I'm glad you made it through the storm but my heart goes out to the Vermonters. We have a mess but we're all fine.

I love the bowl Suki! I really enjoyed our time together.

xo
lo♥