Tuesday, July 29, 2008

INSPIRATION

At the moment I'm enjoying Geoffrey Gorman's sculptures, Nick Bantock's assemblages and Anne Westlund's poetry.




I loved reading Gorman's artist statement. It captures exactly what he's all about.

"A broken bent tree branch, bleached from sun and rain, makes me think of weathered bones: fingers, legs, backbone, and hip bone. Old stained strips of cloth act like bandages and clothing, hiding and holding it all together. Sculpted wax covers the frame and joints of wood. Found and lost objects assembled into curious and evocative shapes is what excites me.

When I am making objects, I think of model airplanes made of balsa wood, then covered in thin transparent paper. Or I see decoys and shapes made to attract wild animals. I visited a museum in Alaska that had drawers filled with toys that had been put together, used and collected from previous cultures. I also think of a forest of tall, dark trees covered in moss and moisture, a silent, meditative place".

The Artful Dodger by Nick Bantock is a book that I dip into frequently.

Anne Westlund is a writer I "met" over at Coach Creative Space where she runs a group called Writers Clique
for "all the unpopular kids."


BLOCKED

I wait for inspiration
Like waiting for the electricity
to come back on
But the light bulb stays dim
And I sit here in the dark
Cold and alone
And bored out of my skull.

There are candles
Like some desecrated church
With candy wrappers and pop cans
And graffiti on paper if not walls
For anyone to see
If they would just look
But it’s dim in here
I can hardly blame them
For their disinterest
It’s my own
That I find so distressing
Unable to write
More than this note
To self—take out the garbage
Tomorrow—when it’s light.

For now I sit and smell
The incense, marginally better
Than the litter box, I listen
To music sung by rock gods
Now six feet underground
Death carries a tune
Better than I ever have
Still uninspired, stale
Unrewarded.

So many poets,
Not near enough rotten fruit
To go around this theatre
Of the faintly amused
With cynical smiles
Painted in silver greasepaint
Everyone’s a clown,
Turn that smirk upside down
I can’t even muster tears
Tonight, not exactly sad,
Just annoyed that I can’t
Check my email for Nigerian
Bank scams and Dell communiqués
How many computers can one
Person use?

One.

As far as I can tell
But don’t quote me on that
Cyber Sunday is long past
I missed out on all the good deals
The light is burnt out in the bathroom
I don’t suppose that matters now
With the blackout, outage, 75 mph
Wind gusts shaking the house.

The neighbors finally break
The quiet, some altercation punctuated
By truck doors slamming and a cold
Engine going into gear
I’m fabricating a little here, just
For my own amusement
Of course you can’t really tell
What’s the truth, and what mere falsehood
Don’t even try
Most days I can’t either
With all those creativity articles
I should be able to come up
With something.

No, I can’t think of anything
To write about, not nature, love,
I can’t even write one of those depressing
Goth teenage poems about heartbreak
And suicide. Not tonight.
This dim bulb has gone out.

December 4, 2007
© 2007 Anne Westlund


16 comments:

  1. Great poem!! And art!!! The rabbit is fantastic. Your posts are so delightful, Robyn.

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  2. What a wonderful poem. It relates to so much more than artistic block too! The rabbit is fantastic and I loved Nick Bantock's Griffin and Sabine series - all the wonderful envelopes and stamps and things. I agree with Willow - your posts are just fantastic.

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  3. Hi there Robyn, excellent post. Thanks for sharing!

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  4. Hens teeth, Willow, Heather and Thinker, thanks so much for the great comments. Anne is really talented. Click on her name to read more poetry. There's a great poem called Hansel and Gretel which is very clever.

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  5. That poem is an excellent piece of writing- I very much enjoyed it.

    Took a peek at the book you mentioned too. I'm thinking you have quite an interesting library, Robyn. Thanks for letting us "snoop" through it.

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  6. Robyn, thank you for sharing this amazing stuff! Oh what people do...it excites me when I feel a 'connection' through art and poetry...look forward to reading more of Anne's poetry.

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  7. geoffrey gorman and nick bantock! what wonder!!! to me their work touches on that Real Thing that art must touch... and now anne westlund. oh my goodness-- that woman is speaking my language.

    thank you robyn...

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  8. Shayla, Jo and Lynne, I love finding artists that make my heart race....thats when I know I'm onto something. Love sharing too!

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  9. I like the way you contemplate creativity. It makes me think. I like the stream of consciousness poem too.

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  10. Oh Robyn... to get lost in creating!! The rabbit is inspirational.. and the poem.. I know the feeling!

    Need more Time... give me time!!

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  11. Thanks so much for sharing such great stuff Robyn! I was not familiar with Geoffrey Gorman and it is a treat to be introduced to his work. His creatures seem so vulnerable to me and very poignant. Nick Bantock's images are always so rich. I didn't know he had a gallery on Saltspring. Love the poem.

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  12. Hi Robyn, I loved reading that poem by Anne. I like the rabbit very much too. Intersting to see what inspires you.

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  13. mm! You maylike this woman, Linde Ivimey:http://www.martinbrownefineart.com/Ivimey07Ex.htm

    She works with bones..making a giant horse and rider from chicken necks. I went to se her, and her work was angelic as opposed to gruesome.

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  14. hi from Santa Fe, this is the rabbit guy, geoffrey gorman and I now have a blog that I would love you to visit:
    http://geoffreygorman.blogspot.com/

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  15. Thanks Geoffrey, I'm delighted you have a blog now.

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