Translation (for Montserrat Roig), poem by Kerfe Roig (SAME NAME Poetry and Prose Series)

Silver Birch Press

Translation (for Montserrat Roig)
by Kerfe Roig

Translations are necessary.
The blood begins in Catalan.
Roig becomes rojo becomes red.
You knew these three songs of the tongue.
You knew about women. You knew
translations are necessary
between silenced lives of women
and loud words from the lives of men.
You knew relationships always
contain questions. Never simple:
translations are necessary.
The same meaning? Not exactly.
What language do I really speak?
Is it contained in the center
of the journey from roig to red?
Translations are necessary.

AUTHOR’S NOTE ON THE IMAGE: Me (left), Montserrat Roig(right), and the transition from roig to red, Catalonia to America.

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: Montserrat Roig (1946-1991) was a fiction writer, essayist, TV journalist, and political activist committed to Catalan culture and feminism. She was especially interested in the generational relationships between women and the marginal nature of women’s writing. I did not become…

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City of Dreams

Not to stay.
Temporarily.
Studying.
A few years–
that’s all—I would be moving.
Moving on.  Going.

Here still here
impersonating
the gaudy
ambition
the loud colors expanding
reflected maelstrom

I always like to make art from other art, so Jane Dougherty’s illustration to her challenge this week of the shadorma form was the starting point both for my painted collage and my poem.  I did a drawing in neocolor based on Matteo Da Vinci’s “City of Dreams” and then cut it into squares and reimagined it.

I like the result and I think I’ll try it again.

Improv #44: reply from Nina

When I saw Kerfe’s crazily complicated collage (the top one) I knew better than to attempt to draw it. What to do? 

I printed a couple of color copies of it. This piece has a lot of detail! First I cut it up into a grid of 4 x 4. Yes, I thought, Kerfe will like this. The next copy I cut into stripes because K is a stripe genius.  

 
I took the next copy and did a grid of 5 x 7 squares. Well, they aren’t really square.  

 
So I trimmed that one and placed it in stripes. I think it was the most successful one.  

 
Hope you like it Kerfe! Have a great weekend, beautiful WP people!

Improvisation #4

Finally!!  I’ve been working on this in my mind for a month.

When I saw Nina’s drawing, I immediately saw pharaohs, so I needed some references I could cut out.

Luckily, one of the local libraries had a sale where I acquired some used and inexpensive Egyptian art books.  There’s lots of other inspiring art in there in addition to the pharaohs too (which may show up in future projects…)

Now, I’m officially out of sneaker references.  I’ll either need a new influx of fashion magazines to cut, or…I have plenty of high heels left!

Your move, Nina.

Two Cliffs

A memory from the town of Roussilon, France, which has the most beautiful ochre cliffs. I thought of doing it as a miniature by doing the painting inside a drawn in box. This gives it a ready made white frame. 

Whose Shoes?

crumbling shadows
vacant eyes
whose shoes?

Inspired by the photo in Wordgathering’s prompt this week.  The collage is actually larger, but as soon as I looked at the photo I took of it, I realized the top part still needs some work.  I’ll have to ponder it for awhile I think.

Squiggles

The painting on my work table was just a bunch of lines and colors I put down on paper. I brought it in to work (slow day) and started messing with it.

Colored pencil doesn’t really work well on watercolor paper, especially the Arches rough 140 lb kind that I like. It is fun, though, to have something I started painting at home to bring to work. I also used black and yellow markers, the only colors I have here.  I may have to acquire some markers for here at work.

Here’s the little piece before I messed with it. Almost better that way with the white space around it.

Worktable: Nina

You know I am always copying Kerfe. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. So I drew my workspace today also. Lots of paint, brushes, colored pencils etc.  It is usually not very neat. This is a posed shot. 

on my drawing table

Glue is essential.  Also many kinds of needles.

Three Hawks

Just a little drawing over two sheets in the sketchbook. Nothing special but I like the negative space around the birds.