Dreams
Deep imagination.
The kind that
shows up in dreams
the anchors of our reality.
Floating in our sleep
images, near and far
new, unsought after,
appear.
A pathway to the soul
sometimes explicit
other times fuzzy.
Still important.
Now to connect
the inner world
to the outer one.
Breathe in deep
and trust to imagination.
Soften to the soul
let it permeate life.
Open, be aware.
Last year's troubles
are behind you—
a new world is opening.
“What would you do
if you knew you
couldn't fail?”
Start a blog ; )
©Sherrie Lovler
I wrote this poem on December 31, 2009. Then, with the final question, and my answer, on New Year’s Day 2010 I began a blog. I had two rules for the blog: 1. I would post my poems with no other words and 2. Every poem had to have a painting to go with it.
It was a devious way to get me to paint more. I had been writing poetry—this time around—for two years. I saw it as a way to live a deeper life, a way to engage my intuition and creativity. It felt like I had opened a doorway into this other worldliness through writing poetry, and I wanted to keep that doorway open to help me paint.
Over the course of twelve and a half years, both my poetry and paintings have grown. It is as if one discipline pushes the other to new depths. Along with that, life has opened up in many new ways, including having two solo art shows with many of my paired paintings and poems, publishing a book of 24 paintings and poems, participating in many poetry readings and even reading poems with music accompaniment. I am part of several poetry groups and have taught workshops combining painting and poetry.
That blog, NatureArtandPoetry.com, has over 125 posts. Now I am beginning a new blog. This time, I will write about what inspired each of those poems, beginning with the first one, and about the art as well. Sometimes the poetry inspired the art, a few times it was the other way around, and lately, they are both born in the same week and have a serendipitous connection to each other.
I begin writing by setting the scene. Twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays, I plan on writing. In order to not be side tracked, I don’t look at the news, my email or other distracting things. I make some tea, and go back to bed. There, I welcome my guiding poets to sit with me, and then I read from an inspirational book. I read until something in the book inspires a poem. Then I write. It is not important if it is a “good” poem or not. It is important that the writing happens. After writing thousands of poems this way, just 125 have made it to the blog, but still, I have written 125 poems that I like enough to share.
At the end of the session, I thank my guiding poets, knowing that things don’t happen in a vacuum. I am part of the world that goes on; other poets, and writers and thinkers influence me, as do other artists.
ABOUT THE POEM
I was reading Nature and the Human Soul by Bill Plotkin. It is a 450-page book that took me four and a half years to read. This book inspired hundreds of my poems. Plotkin, a depth psychologist, writes about his philosophy of the circle of life and living from an eco point of view instead of an ego centered one. Without realizing it, I was also being introduced to Jungian psychology. For this poem I am reading the chapter called The Explorer in the Garden, what he calls “Middle Childhood” stage.
On page 129 he writes, “We don’t choose our deep imaginations—our dreams, our waking imagery arising from subconscious springs, or our intuitions, visions, and revelations. And we don’t, as a rule, choose our emotions. Bodies, deep imaginations, and emotions all ‘happen.’”
The words, “deep imagination” began my poem, and from there, the words just flowed. It is not as if the poem is “given” to me, I am very much involved, but there is a conscious act of opening and letting the words come. They come as quickly as I can write them, and I often speak the words out loud as I write. After the poem is written, and this is by hand in a notebook, I go back and edit. Sometimes I edit it throughout the day. I am after a rhythm, a cadence to the poem, not form or any particular pattern.
ABOUT THE PAINTING
With the poems coming so fast, I wanted the paintings to have that same spontaneity. The first paintings were quick and small and easy. Later on they took much more time and care. This first one was my reentry into painting, as I felt lost in my direction. I had come from a very controlled calligraphic background, studying with some of the world’s masters. My vision opened up in 1986 when I saw the calligraphic paintings of Dick Beasley, who then became my teacher. Through him I learned about abstract painting and started weaning my calligraphy skills away from words into pure letters as subject matter. This painting has some of that. Over the course of the next twelve years, my art developed further, to the point of leaving the letters out and using the calligraphic marks as my subject.
This painting has the youthfulness of the poem, the lightheartedness, and the freedom of a new adventure at hand.
ABOUT THE TECHNIQUE
The tool for the black strokes is a piece of wood veneer handmade into a pen. The background has some sink art. It is a method of putting ink on paper and while the ink is still wet, running water over it and rinsing off the ink. The ink sticks to the parts of the paper that are dry, forming the marbelizing effect. Then I did some quick lettering with pencil and filled in some shapes with gouache (opaque watercolor). There is also a little bit of gold leaf on the right side. 7x4.5 inches.