sting,
grind, natural, addition, plenty, warning,
rival, course, quartet, broken, response, blunt
rival, course, quartet, broken, response, blunt
A Mended Heart
Hearts can be broken
Like a favorite teacup
Sometimes in response
To blunt trauma
No warning
It will take more than string
To hold it together
Maybe super-glue
Perhaps grind up the pieces
Mix with an adhesive
Cast another in a mold
As natural as the original
It can happen in an instant
But the sting felt a lifetime
A mended heart
Nice addition to any collection
No longer perfect
Like Rick Dillingham’s pottery
Broken
Mended
Put back together
It wears its' history
On the outside for all to see
Traces of the cracks visible
Each broken piece retrieved
Treasured
Some smooth
Some repainted
Often fired again
In it you can see
Greys of the morning
Greys of a feather
Greys of a tiny mouse
Note: The Harwood Museum here in Taos has the most beautiful piece of Rick Dillinhgam's pottery, so interesting in its' reconstruction, one could look at it forever. The piece of pottery shown is not the piece in the Harwood, but you can see his process.
Rick Dillingham
Also Known as: James Richard Dillingham II
Born:
Lake Forest, Illinois 1952
Lake Forest, Illinois 1952
Died:
Santa Fe, New Mexico 1994
Santa Fe, New Mexico 1994
Biography
Working in New Mexico, Rick Dillingham found a source of inspiration for his ceramics in the ancient Mimbres culture. Excavations of Mimbres sites in southern New Mexico have produced beautifully painted low-fired pottery punctured with holes; archaeologists believe these pieces were ritually "killed" in order to release the inherent life force that would otherwise have been trapped in the clay or decoration. In his mature work, Dillingham would break and reassemble his ceramic forms, creating objects with a patchwork appearance. Dillingham found beauty in the commonplace and the ugly, as we see in his appropriation of the form of a gas can for this piece [Gas Can, SAAM, 1991.19.3].
Kenneth Trapp The Renwick at Twenty-Five(Washington, D.C.: National Museum of American Art, 1997).http://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/online/renwick25/index.html
___________________________
Poets United Poetry Pantry #194
___________________________
Poets United Poetry Pantry #194
The Tradition of the Painter
I carry an idea as precious as
A monarch’s jewel
Wrought by a member of the Guild
I wasn’t the first to find it
Another carried it as long as she could
I follow in the tradition of the
painter
The first ones who painted
On walls of caves and canyons
On skins
I came to the Southwest
Right to the foot of Taos Mountain
Because of Georgia
Agnes
Doris
Lady Brett
And Mabel
I dreamed I would be embraced
Would find my home
The place where I could work
Where I belonged
I follow in their footsteps
I place my foot
Next to their trace
To measure my worth
Boldly
I hold up my
Shiny truth
For you to observe
With brush in hand
I sign my name
Note: I included
Mabel Dodge, though she wasn’t a painter, but she brought others. She wanted
them to tell the story of New Mexico. I
also had in mind the tradition of artists
linking themselves with inspiring predecessors.
12 comments:
oh I found this so interesting....love the poem...
it is very cool art...the breaking and putting back together...
something very human in that...smiles.our cracks, the mosaic of us
def tells our stories.
I really enjoyed reading your poem, and thinking about the mended pottery. Thank you.
I think we all wear our histories on the outside to some degree..and are all patched together in some way..i love the greys..particularly the little mouse having fun..
As all wonderful poetry should provide a completely different take on the world and in this case a handful of words inspired a truly unique journey - Thank you and bravo!
All of us are broken pots. Some of us are blessed enough to be put back together by a master potter.
Raven Quartet
Fascinating art! As to hearts, they are a bit like broken bones. When they heal correctly, they are often stronger than before.
Lovely piece about the pottery Annell - it brought to mind the work of Grayson Perry, who works over here - have you come across him? With Best Wishes Scott www.scotthastie.com
This is interesting! These lines really hit me:
It wears its' history
On the outside for all to see
That's such a honest way to live. We try to hide the imperfections, but they always show through no mater how hard we try.
Imperfections can make for a beautiful piece of art or story. And I have always loved the reality of strength in those broken places. You already know how I feel about the second piece...a wonderful tribute to a place that has become home, because you chose it to be so...
Elizabeth
Annell, I adore your declaration as a painter and the trek you made to the foot of Taos Mountain.......placing your foot in their footsteps to measure your worth. Wonderful writing!
I suppose we can be broken and put back together again, though we are most definitely altered, aren't we. Lovely poem, Annell. I also enjoyed the backstory on the artist.
Pamela ox
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