099. Branching out

Oh that the end is so near... it is time for a little introspection. Today I use Billie's "Day 75 - layers" as a start point to ramble on about the things I have come across during the project. I paired it with an early development stage asemic image derived from snowbound winter branches (the original here). Strictly speaking, I came across the whole idea of asemic writing while hosting an edition of the >language>place blog carnival; but when I think about finding my artistic voice in this project, this is what comes to mind. And  layers captures it perfectly, this is how I build the writing, the markings, taking shapes from images.

I conjure a moment out of time for us, another one. Sun heated river smoothed stones at the edge of the languid water, fishing with our toes. Insects, no, a pair of dragonflies, they dizzily buzz around us, you start to raise your arm to point them out to me, then realise that I saw them at the same time, turning to you with wonder on my lips to tell you. A wisp of breeze flutters coppery backlit hair across my eyes and I view you through molten sun-red riches. Your hand brushes it, brushes my face. You believe in it.
Out of time we lay down by the river.

071. Sunflower variations

While staying with my brother, I did plenty of playing in the garden with my nieces. Splashing pools, spraying hoses, swings, playing school, trampolines & hammocks. And taking pictures of some past-their-prime sunflowers, following on from Sina's series yesterday; and as always loving Billie's b&w photography & Dorothee's extreme cropping...

               come closer, come closer
                              see into the pieces of what I am
               that is no heart
                              organelles only
               more details make for
                              more fascination
                                             come closer

067. Where are the storks?

Looking for storks as a celebration today, a new nephew to welcome to the family, and I will see him in a few days... Instead a couple of squadrons of miscellaneous beach bum birds... with thanks again to Billie for her "reflection - swamis"

To the newest little (6lb 10oz) Davies xxx

054. Foam

Billie's "stay calm but alert" sent me back to look at a group of photographs taken at the end of June in the Netherlands, of foam that lay on the beach, and the idea of developing more asemic writing from them. I didn't quite get that far today but I like the image as something to be developed further...

                                       the water flows and churns,
                                                                              encapsulating the air in iridescence.
                                                          ... and fades

047. Marks

More development of the sandwritten asemic theme today, choosing the sand and water and light from Billie's day 47, and contrasting it against more experimental sand/asemic image stuff. Just practising really...

marks

washed

slates

rinsed

clean

more

marks

033 - edges

away for a long weekend but trying to keep up / not fall too far behind. Honoured to see the response that day 32 got, thank you everyone, and decided to keep up the "re-inspiring" theme and choose a piece from Billie Williams - "desolation". I'm hoping to build something although I don't know what yet... listening to "Darkness on the edge of town" from Bruce Springsteen, and remembering Michelle Elvy's "On the edge" theme for Edition #6 of the >language>place carnival (Edition #7 is my other current project, in between beach wanderings)

whether flattened by waves

sculpted into "duin"

the wind here

is what determines me,

nothing more

019. Space

The space of absence surrounds me. Last night I cleared out the toys, baskets, cushions he used; emptied the litter tray (and who would have ever thought it would be possible to get emotional about yellowed silicate with the odd dried out turd in it?)
I am so glad I had found this project far enough ahead of Monday for me to have something to focus on, to subtly finger into my mind and hold off the imagined flickers of moving orange at the corner of my perception. Even if the absence spills over here, as in the picture I chose today from Billie Williams again - Sunset Beach; positioned opposite a Rothko-esque expanse of wet sand and wet sky on the north-east coast of England. You might not recognise it as the same beach as Gone Surfing from day 015 - the wonders of photoshop (to reflect Dorothee Lang's musings in Day 19)

N

O

T

(t)here

013. Sitting

More browsing, more to see, read, mull over. Today I chose a piece from Billie Williams over at billielovesdogs2011.blogspot.com. Confession time? I am a cat person, I guess if I had seen the title of the blog I might not have clicked it, and then I would have missed out on some gorgeous black and white photography. I wanted to start with her shot of encinitas beach; but Tuesday's shot of two chairs caught my eye, reminding me (again) of last years visit to New Orleans and making a nice contrast with the silty warm colour of two chairs snapped on Southern Decadence weekend, and a haiku pair below.

Double Measures
sunned whisky and silt
muted days, writers bake thoughts
into dialogue

breezes thread cool gaps
through heated conversations,
bourbon mellows us

(see Issuu publication here for more from the writers weekend in The Big Easy)