Thursday, April 13, 2017
Crisis
Crisis
Hi there!
Thanks for popping in today,
on this sunny Sunday in October.
Ahh... you thought I was having a crisis.
Funny how titles can make you inquisitive, isn’t it?
No crisis here today, I’m happy to say.
The title of the blog is the title of a poem
I was reading last night when we finally got home
from Harrogate at midnight.
Reading poems at midnight?? Really?? Yes, really.
It’s from a beautiful book which was given to me by a very thoughtful lady called Myra.
It sits by my bed and I dip into it every evening before lights out,
just to redirect my thinking away from work.
I simply let the book fall open
and read whatever it wants to give me,
and last night it was
CRISIS
Will future generations understand
The turmoil of these days, the strain and stress,
The dawn’s despair, the night’s uneasiness,
The greed of itching palms throughout the land?
Will they conceive the fired fanatics fanned,
Of time the universal wastefulness,
The strange philosophies the mobs confess
That every throat cry out some new demand?
Time was when man held saner counsel here.
Will that time come again? Shall we behold
From this grim madness some new love unfold?
We pray for gentler times, when man shall cease
His brother man to bully or to fear.
Great God, among ourselves let us have peace!
Max Ehrmann
The poem really made me think,
not only because of its stabbing aptness today in general,
but because it was written a hundred years ago,
by Max Ehrmann, best known for Desiderata.
A hundred years ago.
So this morning, I have come up to my little artroom in the trees,
and spent an hour pondering the poem,
and making a little piece of art whilst deep in thought.
Since Sundays blog is a step by step,
let me show you how I did this.
It started with a scrap, a mop up from another project.
Never throw these bits away!!
I picked my Thoughtful stamp set.
These are the stamps which always work for me
when the thinking process is more important than the art,
if you get my drift.
poppies
Meadow Grasses
I love these stamps.
There is something kind and delicate about them.
Stare at the scrap and decide what you can see, Barb.
Black Archival ink for the stamp.
Anchor the flowers to the ground, with a little torn paper
and ink on a make-up sponge.
Not much - just a touch.
Colour in the flowers.
Yellow for hope....
For without HOPE,
we have nothing.
And out of nowhere, the clouds roll in and the sky is overcast...
Let’s wrap it round a little A6 canvas board.
After all, it’s only a scrap of copy paper.
Decide where you want to place the art on the little board,
and pencil mark it on the back
Cut the piece back and cut the corners.
Paint the board with Mod Podge
It’s the best gear for this job.
Place Mod podge face down on the back of the artwork
Flip and rub the front flat.
Turn back to the back, and wrap around,
using MP on 2 sides at a time.
Very easy.
It’s no masterpiece, but it reflects Ehrmann’s poem in my head.
It speaks to me of hope in worrying, clouded times.
And now for a walk in the warm sunshine with Dave.
Thank you for joining me today,
and thank you Myra Sanders, for the book of poetry.
Love & Hugs,
Barb
xxx
Available link for download
