Friday, May 23, 2014

Ephemeral II



When it's over, I want to say all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.
I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.

When it's over, I don't want to wonder
if I have made of my life something particular, and real.

I don't want to find myself sighing and frightened,
or full of argument.

I don't want to end up simply having visited this world.     

~ from "When Death Comes" by Mary Oliver



Ephemeral II
ingredients: vintage book cover, antique photograph, vintage/antique ephemera, vintage buttons, acrylic ink, pencil, artist pens, vintage textiles, pin, lace, leaves, feather





Ask the questions that have no answers.
Invest in the millennium. Plant sequoias.
Say that your main crop is the forest
that you did not plant,
that you will not live to harvest.
Say that the leaves are harvested
when they have rotted into the mold.
Call that profit. Prophesy such returns.
Put your faith in the two inches of humus
that will build under the trees
every thousand years.


from "Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front" by Wendell Berry











16 comments:

  1. Beautiful! I love all the old materials you used and I love that poem, one of my favorites. xoxo

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    1. Thank you Annie! That is one of my favorite poems, too; Mary Oliver is wonderful.

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  2. It's as well to contemplate the end of one's life. Let's all hope it has been a celebration most of the time.

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  3. WoW! this has a really strong and regal look! NICE!

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    1. Thanks so much, Sue; I'm glad you like the piece.

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  4. Put your faith in the two inches of humus
    that will build under the trees
    every thousand years...... Food for thought.
    Your latest mixed media piece is striking, Sharmon. The vintage book cover is so deliciously rich and a great background for your exquisite bird skeleton.

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    1. Yes, whenever I can't rememeber what's really important, I try to think of this poem.Thanks so much for the kind words, Robyn.

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  5. that poem speaks to me utterly.
    the skeletal bird is just perfect for the piece.

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  6. Thank you, Monica. That is one of favorite poems.

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  7. Great way to organize, preserve, and present precious bits and pieces, and perfect poems to underline the intent of the piece, in particular the Mary Oliver one. (gee, I think I used up my quota of the letter "p" for the day!)

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    1. Thanks, Lynne, for all the kind words, especially all those "p's"! I do love me some alliteration! :~)

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  8. I love your work! Every little piece is part of a
    larger puzzle...or 2...and it just makes perfect
    sense to
    me. ♥

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    1. Thanks so much, Lisa; I'm happy to hear that my work touches you that way...

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