Believe it or not I get my education on contemporary artists from Pintrest. There are always fantastic artists being posted there that really catch my eye. I'm terrible about remembering where or when I see new art so it is convenient that I can save (or Pin) artists in a folder and revisit them.
The artist I would like to feature today is a woman named Katherine Bowling. She was born in 1955 in Washington D.C. but gets her inspiration in my NY backyard of the Hudson Valley. She has a rented home there where she spends time taking pictures which she then uses to transform into great pieces of art. Her work is primarily landscapes, but the effect is very ethereal and dreamy. It translates those moments when you have a seeming out of body experience in nature. I know I have had these when I am overtaken by the beauty of nature so much that I do not feel as if I have a separate existence. Our atoms mix. Nature and body are but the same thing. When I saw Katherine's work it reminded me of those feelings.
Bowling works in oils but has a process that uses spackle and sanding to create the texture that catches my eye. Her work is also primarily on wood panels. You can read through Katherine Bowling's career achievements at her website.
She has two primary collections called Ether and Divide. Here are some selections from both of those collections:
"Curve"
"Moon"
"Petal"
"Pond"
"Shine"
"Storm"
"Vacation"
and the prompt today is "departure" which can be interpreted in any way you choose. Leaving is leaving, right? I happened to find this poem today and the original notes were from 3 years ago, but I reworked it today in my present state of being.
Smooth Scars
Sometimes the poem is dead inside.
It’s lifeless carcass staring at me
with great longing.
It’s lifeless carcass staring at me
with great longing.
I circumnavigate its bulk
not willing to captain
the ship of words
needed to resume it.
not willing to captain
the ship of words
needed to resume it.
Part of me feels like weeping
over its smooth black tombstone,
the other half smiles in the satisfaction
of being all consuming in living.
over its smooth black tombstone,
the other half smiles in the satisfaction
of being all consuming in living.
The poem flourished when I rotted
from the inside, living off the purification
of dreams.
from the inside, living off the purification
of dreams.
This has healed
clean and pink and filled
with smooth scars
that don’t need
another stack of words
to validate my existence.
clean and pink and filled
with smooth scars
that don’t need
another stack of words
to validate my existence.
Aleathia Drehmer 2015
April 4, 2015
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