Art in Words

"Angels in Flight"

In two recent volumes of poetry, there are paintings whose messages refer to the poems. For each volume, I have created a handbound prototype of the book I wish to publish. Ironically, only two of the poems were actually created to reflect the subject matter of the paintings. They are "The Compassionate Sun" and the poem below, "Of My Body, Forgiveness." For all the other poems, I was able to find paintings that referred to each one because all my themes fall under one umbrella (see sidebar explaining what my paintings are about).

As the poetry and paintings inform each other, this is particularly so of the one below. I believe that the body is essentially forgiving, having found this to be true time after time. However, it takes persistence of focus to achieve a constant mind-body connection. Whenever I become distracted with too many priorities on my plate - as it were- this issue of spiritual struggle presents itself once more........

Of My Body, Forgiveness

Please forgive me and let me view

With kindness this imperfect form

Please allow me to know you

And protect you from harm

Forgive my arrogant absence of you

Yes, let's commit to this relationship

As solid equals rather than enemies

As lovers locked in friendship

Bound in trust by mutual amenities

Forgive my sad suspicion of you

Let's choose dialogue rather than war

Two as one committed to health

As I listen rather than ignore

Your legacy to me of infinite wealth

Forgive my dangerous distance of you

Forgive me, loyal body divine

For daring to desecrate what is mine

Forgive me, perfect body complete

Forgive me as we belatedly meet!

copyright 2009, Georgette Jones

What Grows in Your Garden?

In the garden of my backyard grows tiger lilies, roses, vinca, white snow, irises (fading fast), lavender (also fading), and several new babies with elusive names. All these lovelies are a joy to behold.

For whatever reason, I am not drawn to flower designs on fabrics or excited by seeing them in magazines. However, the pleasure of seeing real flowers, especially in a garden belonging to me, is just another reminder that there exists something higher than myself.

When I am looking at real flowers, I feel peaceful and removed from the often chaotic world of responsibilities and issues needing attention . At times when that other garden - the garden of my mind - is overflowing with seemingly too many things to handle, I go to the garden of my backyard.

In the garden of my mind, there sometimes grows doubt, floundering faith and hesitation. At this point in my life, I realize that developing spirituality is not static. There will sometimes be struggles between what you believe to be true and what this dream world tells you is real.

It is at these times that I need to go to the garden of my backyard for remembrance and renewal. I remember who I am, and I renew the thoughts growing in my mind. Today I choose to grow in the garden of my mind hope, unwavering faith and decisiveness.......

It is Courage

To arise each morning with anxiety

And still dress yourself well

Eat a good breakfast

Then drive yourself there

Is not only strength

It is courage

Knowing the state of the world

The state of your own life

And still function well

Throughout the day

Is not only competence

It is courage

Doing the work with all it takes

To handle the concerns

The myriad of duties

And do them well

Is not only excellence

It is courage

To continue to live

Your life well

And to love well

Under all circumstances

Is simply this:

It is courage!

copyright 2009, Georgette Jones

Here and Now

Here and now, you will ignore me

As though I am not an artist sincere

As though you will never adore me

For the prolific work presented here

You will scandalize me

You will ostracize me

You will stain my name.

When I die, you will speak my name

Praise my gifts as though you cared

For me when I walked this hard earth

Offering esteem never before shared

You will recognize me

You will eulogize me

You will speak my name.

Strangers will come as friends

Stand tall and tell my story

At this time of final amends

They will sing of me in glory

They will verbalize me

They will idealize me

They will speak my name.

Finally, my creativity will know

The highest energy from appreciation

As favor upon me death will bestow

In a plethora of posthumous validation

Death will elegize me

Death will prize me

Death will shout my name.

Yet, here and now I want you to see

How I want my living to be

Here and now, why not recognize me?

Accept the gifts I offer you

As I struggle to walk this cold earth

Why not a salute to help me through?

Here and now, please humanize me

Here and now, please actualize me

Here and now, please speak my name!

copyright 2009, Georgette Jones

Art in Nature

As late spring eases into early summer, more often than not, the inspirations for creating art are: The Japanese maple in my front yard, which provides shade for the newly-planted white begonias residing under it; the abundant variety of trees lining almost every avenue of the city; the lovely Huron River showing glimpses of herself in unexpected places; the colors of nature endlessly flaunting themselves in hues of green, purple, red, yellow and blue; the clear sky; the fresh air......Can anyone deny that a Master Creator dwells among us?

Being among nature stills my inner self, while stirring my passion to paint. How does viewing nature make you feel? What do you like most about nature?

Evolving

Having recently begun a new body of work, which will include landscapes, abstracts and figurative paintings, I now face the challenge of applying my style to exciting new genres........

On Making Art

I have always loved words, books, and poetry. Somehow, they have always seemed to be another side of music and art. When I was a struggling young mother of three small children, writing poetry or reading books always eased my desire to paint, which was not always practical to do considering the circumstances. Authors and poets such as Carson McCullers, Jack London, William Shakespeare and Maya Angelou wrote in ways that sparked my visual imagination.

My current volumes of poetry were inspired and informed by my bodies of paintings, as well as by my having found and read with awe several personal poems from those younger, leaner years. The contemporary style of those poems were left in the past, after having read "Savage Beauty," the biography of famous poet, Edna St. Vincent Millay. I favored her use of the double rhyme, while preferring other standard forms of poetry, as well.

As a poet, I tend to break many rules in order to retain my own voice in expressing a mostly philosophical style of writing based on my own experiences and vision. In choosing verse, rather than a more contemporary style of writing, I seek the entertainment factor, which I feel is vital to all art forms in order to reach and hold a diverse audience.

I choose to be somewhat clever while employing verse that is literary, a manner that is simplistic but not trite, and words that rhyme in the manner of colors in visual art. This reflects who I am.

Surreal

Some of these

paintings

resemble fragments

from

misty dreams

I sought

to keep.

Though captured

just waking,

their

lofty essence

is held only

in that
lucid landscape

called Sleep.

copyright, 2009, Georgette Jones

Alliteration for Posterity

May my song

serve solace

to an unknown

Someone.

May what I

leave satisfy

the souls

of saints.

May all my swords

sail sublime

over seas.

And strike sweetly

the spirit

of only salvation.

May my destiny

decree this

desired

dedication!

copyright, 2009, Georgette Jones