I've always loved the sensory quality of your writing! I also can’t draw worth a damn. My kids have my husband’s artist skills, and they’ve each spent countless hours sketching during childhood. Natural ability gets amplified by practice. But the fun thing with writing is you can be, make, or do whatever you want. And I love the sketches you drew here :)
Ha—not an ounce of artistic ability between the two of us—no wonder we both became writers! But you're right: As writers, the world's our oyster. Glad to hear your kids and hubbie were able to develop and nurture their sketching talents. And thanks for your kind words!
I was going to say ‘words are your paint, duh’! I have occasionally written sketches like yours. I feel like it stretches my vocabulary in the attempt to catch each vivid detail. It can also be a good warmup exercise when the writing you want to do feels intimidating. I love the image of the cactus fingers and their flowers that know living is the celebration. (I need the reminder more often than not.)
Yes, Grace! I love how you phrased that. "Stretches" is the exact right way to describe it. The tension of the challenge but also the release of the writing muscle being posed in the right configuration for growth. (Agree it can be a productive warm-up too.) And when I need the reminder that life is miraculous (we all need it), I often look to the natural world. That's why I think Wendell Berry's poem "The Peace of Wild Things" is such a masterpiece because he captures the solace of nature so perfectly.
If you were a painter, you’d be an Impressionist. If I were a painter, I’d be an Expressionist (as in Action Painter). Different, pardon the pun, brush strokes for different folks. I appreciate your still lifes. They’re very good. But they represent a kind of writing that is foreign to me. As poet Philip Whalen said, “A poem is a graph of mind moving.”
The expressionist painters are my favorite—I love the way they capture the emotional interior rather than the material exterior. No small feat. I also like the idea of playing with different schools and mediums as writers. An impressionist today, an expressionist tomorrow, and the next day who knows?
I've always loved the sensory quality of your writing! I also can’t draw worth a damn. My kids have my husband’s artist skills, and they’ve each spent countless hours sketching during childhood. Natural ability gets amplified by practice. But the fun thing with writing is you can be, make, or do whatever you want. And I love the sketches you drew here :)
Ha—not an ounce of artistic ability between the two of us—no wonder we both became writers! But you're right: As writers, the world's our oyster. Glad to hear your kids and hubbie were able to develop and nurture their sketching talents. And thanks for your kind words!
I was going to say ‘words are your paint, duh’! I have occasionally written sketches like yours. I feel like it stretches my vocabulary in the attempt to catch each vivid detail. It can also be a good warmup exercise when the writing you want to do feels intimidating. I love the image of the cactus fingers and their flowers that know living is the celebration. (I need the reminder more often than not.)
Yes, Grace! I love how you phrased that. "Stretches" is the exact right way to describe it. The tension of the challenge but also the release of the writing muscle being posed in the right configuration for growth. (Agree it can be a productive warm-up too.) And when I need the reminder that life is miraculous (we all need it), I often look to the natural world. That's why I think Wendell Berry's poem "The Peace of Wild Things" is such a masterpiece because he captures the solace of nature so perfectly.
Yes, what a great poem.
If you were a painter, you’d be an Impressionist. If I were a painter, I’d be an Expressionist (as in Action Painter). Different, pardon the pun, brush strokes for different folks. I appreciate your still lifes. They’re very good. But they represent a kind of writing that is foreign to me. As poet Philip Whalen said, “A poem is a graph of mind moving.”
The expressionist painters are my favorite—I love the way they capture the emotional interior rather than the material exterior. No small feat. I also like the idea of playing with different schools and mediums as writers. An impressionist today, an expressionist tomorrow, and the next day who knows?