SPARK- My Art and Writing Pieces

The new SPARK: Art from Writing, Writing from Art challenge is up. Amy Souza started this creative venture to unite artists and writers and inspire them to create off of each other. This time around, I entered as an artist and as a writer, so I had two different partners- Marty McGihon was my art partner, and you can see our page here. And Urmilla Khanna was my writing partner, seen here. There are so many amazingly talented people on this project, so go check it out.

These are the poems I entered:

Reclaimed

Scrape deep, chip away

Remove the years of grime

Expose the raw material

Intended for a different purpose

Splinters tear the flesh

That lovingly strokes,

Pouring lover's blood

Into the restoration

Ragged and rough as sandpaper-

Yet the lightest touch is fire,

Salt in the open wound

Painful purification

Smooth over reclaimed surfaces

Kissed with sweetest silk

And gently unveil

The undiscovered me

Survival Mode

Where the heck am I going?

Driving blindfolded,

It's hard to stay on the road

Walking zombie, arms outstretched

Snatching anything I feel

Willing this to be it-

The place where confusion lifts,

Epiphanies rest

Frustration! Agh!

When, oh, when will this fog disperse?

Stand on that mountain-rock

Breathing clean air, vision restored

I'm tired of drudging in circles,

Survival mode

Let it end, no more!

My foot is firm, my brow is set,

Refusing to take that sedative

This patient will obstinately

Insist on a change

And these are the art pieces I made:

"Idealism"

The little girl is running down a road of song lyrics about fairytales, towards a sparkly castle in the distance. She hopes that when she reaches her destination, she will live happily ever after. I identify all too well.

"Survivor"

I wanted to portray people who have survived great trauma. Not to show them in despair, but to show the strength that exists in spite of it, even the joy that comes in the rescue. The images clockwise: holocaust survivors, girls marching for children's labor rights, a black slave, girls released from sexual trafficking in Asia, "Hope" with her anchor, a group of impoverished families receiving food from the Salvation Army during the Great Depression, and a picture I took of a tree with birds and an open cage.