The Mosaic

In our backyard shop/artroom, I am working on a mosaic for our Copper River cabin; a stylized salmon spawning scene that is played out year after year when the reds run aplenty, and we are blessed with the bounty of the catch.  A few more months of cutting, shaping and molding until the piece is complete & ready for installation.
Because so many ideas and projects get backed up in my shop, I feel compelled to assign a completion date so I can move on to the next piece.  What I’ve discovered lately is the fun of working on multiple projects at once; if the creative juices begin to lag on one, I can crossover onto another for a while and go back and forth between painting and cutting glass.

I listen to music often, noting lines from favorite tunes and writing them on the walls (no worries; the walls are unfinished and meant to be scribbled on) as I’m dancing about from light table to glass grinder to work bench.

So I had the idea of extracting lines from some of my favorite songs, and doing a sketch or painting or collage to match the mood and content.
One day I was viewing art in a local gift shop when I saw my idea being played out…well, almost.  The artist rendered lines from various songs in a cornucopia of fonts, each one attractive and unique.  Fonts have their own reach and beauty (http://www.fontspace.com) and designers from all over the world are happy to share their creations with crafters and artists.  It’s captivating how a font in and of itself can carry so much emotional weight.
Back to my idea of taking a song line and crafting a piece of art.  Spontaneity is key…listen, feel…turn up the volume, listen some more and then paint, draw, collage.

The Bittersweet

“The bittersweet between my teeth, trying to find the in-between…” is from the song, Young Blood by The Naked and Famous.  I am indebted to my adult children for continually keeping me in step with their generation of music.  I absolutely love these guys.  Ah, youth.

Angry Eyes

“What a shot you could be if you could shoot at me with those angry eyes…” from the song Angry Eyes by Loggins and Messina.  An oldie’s favorite.  Grrr.

River

“And it’s good and it’s true, let it wash over you…” from the song, River’s Edge by Great Lake Swimmers.  Their music is down-to-earth and ethereal at the same time.

Across the Universe

“Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup…” from the song, Across the Universe sung by Fiona Apple.  I admit, I like Fiona’s version better than Lennon’s (blasphemy!)…it’s mellow and hauntingly dreamy.

Live vibrantly, not perfectly.  Dare to bare it, as Jan Phillips says.  Her inspirational words of wisdom never fail to provide guidance:
“We are healed by creation and the creation of others. We are healed when we transform the events of our lives into other shapes that can be of use – into stories and poems, music and films.”

David DiSalvo offers a more straight forward thought on the human heart’s longing to create:
“Anyone who says, I don’t have a creative bone in my body, is seriously underestimating their skeleton.  More to the point, they are drastically undervaluing their brain.  Creativity is an integral part of being human, and to deny its expression is like denying the expression of other crucial human elements that we intuitively realize we’d be miserable without.”

Or, on a lighter note, consider Albert Einstein:
“Creativity is simply intelligence having fun.”

And there is always more room for fun in this world.

Monica Devine

What keeps me afloat:

Exploring art, playing music, living in the mountains, wandering (following the trail ahead), wondering (looking up at the stars)…and writing it all down to share here, with you. I write poetry, children’s books, fiction, memoir, and non-fiction. We are so much more than muscle and bone…we are made of our stories.

I consistently wander off the beaten path, and go nowhere without my camera.

© All rights retained by this author/artist.