Archive for the ‘Words’ Category
Pink Marshmallow Heart
This mornings inspiration could be summed up in this little poem.
Marshmallow hearts and sea urchins
the giant turtle returns
she is in a trance
tears on sand
she’s multiplying
so she might survive
then disappears again
into marshmallow hearts and sea urchins.
Mariannne Potterton October 2008
The Wall paper scroll series
While we were living in Spain, I made a series of works on wallpaper. Much of these were of words repeated over and over like: Love and Unity,using the Burgundy stain from an almost black corn on the cob, which James had bought for some exotic cooking!Sorry I stole it from him! Along with indigo pigment. I mixed these two colours to get the transitional colour, so there would be kind of waves of colour going down the scrolls.
I also made this drawing of a woman (left) as if from the inside out; thoughts and feelings are brought to the surface with words. I did a piece about sort of New Years resolutions, which hints at the almost absurd expectations that we and society put on each other! This is called Be Good! I wrote a Shamanic type conversation I had with a tree, called advice from a tree. Followed by piece where I wrote single words I chose from Herman Hesse’s book, The Alchemist, and which I also questioned the idea of using other peoples’ work in the piece itself. I also did on on the possibilities of a Free hour, and some of the this I could have done! The scrolls are all 6 or 7 feet in length.
I have recently bought another roll of wall paper, so I will see where this elongated series of work goes to! The first attempt has been as a very long piece about the difficult and dangerous journey that many Tibetans have taken from Tibet to Daramsala through the Himalayas, including the Dalia Lama. This piece has been inspires by James and his site Peacerider, to be inspired too!
Poetry along The Burren Way
Old foot road from Fanore
to Ballyvaughan
Four windmills
Rock flowers
brown bird
first raindrops
yellow fern
young bull
two magpies cross
Stone boulders lay silently
Fast moving grey cloud
over grey mountain
rock slope shines for a moment
Low stone walls crisscross
a seagull glides on air currents
leaving no trace of where it has been
A dog barks across
a low rocky mountain
wind gnarled thorn trees
Hawk great sky navigator
suddenly a second hawk
flies low over
the sloping rock fields
Wind dried
sky road
The ocean is covered with cloud shadow
rain in the sea
A single tree clings
to the mountainside
Stillness almost
Chirps from a hidden bird
taking shelter with wild strawberries and mint
Rain drops cling to
flower petals
I wrote this on 26 July 2000
This day 6 years later our son was born! Much has changed since then in our lives but the Burren appears much the same as it did that day!
A three day walk in the Burren, Co.Clare
Goats beard or meadow sweet orchid rust wheelbarrow for air hair bell clack of stones wind shaped tree white
orchid summer grass smell herb Robert thistle meadow milk wort butter wort
bird foot trefoil dog daisy cuckoo spit bloody cranes bill rock hill corn crakes meadow cutting
sunlit valley blue at last blue bell low flying butterfly only foot print memories song bird
field of low lying rocks
portal tomb door way rock rose self heal pea-like flower speed well swallows
dry river bed wind whistling through the valley silver weed meadow brown butterfly bramble faintly pink blue butterfly winding down a path
nectar from fusia flower scent of white clover sun scorched dock leaves winding stone walls
scented air white butterfly feet brushing the grass
The Power of Words
I think of the words we use as being very powerful, that they go out into the universe whether they are written, spoken or sung. Positive words have positive vibrations and so with the opposite. I try to use positive words in my art practice or at least neutral words. Names of places often seem to influence what happens in the place, such as in Northern Ireland could it be possible that if “Stormont” had another name (Starmont maybe?) would peace have been a little bit easier to achieve? To me millions of people writing and saying a word that conjures up images and feelings of torment, and the mount of storms! (tormenta being the spanish for storm) cannot be helpful when aiming for peace! Peace talks in such a building, sounds like starting at a disadvantage! What are we calling for? The words I used in the “sheet in the sea” pieces were based on this idea, as well as for me of being a visual affirmation of harmony between humans and the rest the natural world.
Love Unity Love Laughter Love Live Love Light Love Love Love!!
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