I've been quite busy with travel and puppy and revising a verse novel (sci-fi adventure, coming 2021!) and of course, ARTSPEAK: Happy! my 2019 National Poetry Month poem a day project, in which I am responding to pieces of art that make me happy. Read why in my introductory post. This has been one of my favorite themes for sure, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm gonna miss it! Not a bad way to start each day, with a happy dose of yellow.... though the videos drove me a little crazy, especially for the first half of the month when they featured my face... I am MUCH happier with the i-movies I'm creating now, using the art and audio. Whew. I knew I would learn something about video this month, and I did. I'm still the shy girl I've always been. :)
Poems so far:
Girl in a Yellow Dress after "A Girl in a Yellow Dress, 1917" by Amedeo Modigliani
When the Stars Come to Town after "Cafe Terrace at Night" by Vincent van Gogh
On a Golden Day in May after "Checkered House" by Grandma Moses
Beach Time after "Children Playing on the Beach" by Mary Cassatt
The Weight of Happiness after "Flower Seller" by Diego Rivera
By the Sea "Coastal Scene with Gulls" by Maud Lewis
Sister Song after an untitled piece by Henry Darger
Two Cows after "2 Cows" by Maud Lewis
Girl in Hat after "Girl in Hat" by Norman Lewis
Backstage after "Dancers in Green and Yellow" by Edgar Degas.
"So Many Suns" after Kohbar of Mithila
"To an Olive Tree" after Olive Trees with Yellow Sky and Sun by Vincent van Gogh
"Three Black Cats" after Three Black Cats by Maud Lewis
"When Grandma Reads" after Mrs. Cassatt Reading to her Grandchildren by Mary Cassatt
"On a June Afternoon" after Pigeon on a Peach Branch by Emperor Huizong
"On the Water" after On the Water by Mary Cassatt
"Autumn Prayer" after Red Vineyard at Arles by Vincent van Gogh
"Julie Manet with Cat" by Pierre-Auguste Renoir
"When a Horse Writes a Poem" after Horse Head on a Yellow Background 1953 by Fernand Leger.
"Fiddle Song" after The Fiddler by Marc Chagall
"A Dream of Yellow" after Tree Against a Yellow Background by Odilon Redon
"The Letter" after The Letter by Mary Cassatt
"To a Sunflower" after Sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh"Only in Summer" after The Yellow Boat by Gustave Caillebotte
"Wish I May, Wish I Might" after Starry Night Over the Rhone by Vincent van Gogh
Today's piece is "Girl in Yellow and Blue with a Guitar" by Henri Matisse. I drew on my own experience as a cellist for this one... and also my memories of the early years of playing piano, of which my grandmother said I couldn't pass by the piano without playing it. And... American Idol! Alejandro, anyone??! Paul and I love watching the show. :)
The Guitarist
- after “Girl in Yellow and Blue with a Guitar” by Henri Matisse
I strum across morning –
I thrum for cardinals
and for squirrels.
How the strings buzz!
Across the bridge
of afternoon, my fingers
don't stop plucking,
picking, twanging.
Dogs sing along.
As night noodles in,
my notes call to frogs
and crickets, who rub
their own happy tunes.
And then we all rest –
the dogs, the crickets,
me and my guitar –
every single one of us
dreaming
of the next day's song.
- Irene Latham
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