Poetic Blooms of Art September 16, 2024 480 words

Fellow poet and artist Lynda Lambert and myself have been on a journey of growth and discovery. Since January, we have been writing poems and sending them on postcards decorated with a piece of art. We are now 3/4th of the way through the project. For my part, I have grown in the scope and variety of art. Producing art on such a small canvas has expanded my notions of the art process.
At first, I used braille on color paper. The braille was the poem. The dots were the art.
I tried finger paint, pastels, crayons, sharpies, felt markers and acrylic paint. I used layers of paint and cut outs of parts of pictures to make a pleasing design on the postcard. I have incorporated photos of flora and fauna from my yard to add variety. My art is abstract. I move the brush listening to music. The feelings of the moment is reflected in the finished product. I know when the art is complete by how it feels when dried.
Since I have no sight, I rely on my other senses to feel, smell and hear the brush strokes on the paper. Occasionally, I touch my lip with a brush to feel if there is paint on it. The final layer is clear acrylic watered down to give a coat of protection.
I have pushed the limits of the postal service to what is allowed in the mail stream. One of my cards had a cloth flower that was returned needing more postage. A small bead in the centered of the bloom made the card too thick. The card can not be thicker than a quarter inch. The card itself needs to be five by seven inches or smaller. This is so the cards can be sorted by machine. My poems started out with haiku or three line poems. The poems have lengthen using rhyming, tanka and free verse. All to fit on a postcard.
My first task of each day is to find a finished postcard with art. The art may or may not relate to the poem. To find inspiration for the poem of the day, I look to the weather, visitors to the water trough and bird feeder. I print two copies of the poem, one for the card and another for a hard copy for my file. The poem is send to Lynda as an e mail.
We journal daily events in the poems. The important and small events are captured. At the end of the year, we will each have close to three hundred and twenty postcards we have exchanged.
Next year, we will combine the art by month,
adding notes of our written interchanges will add insight into motivation and the process. Below are two examples of the art and poem on the reverse side.

carolaspot@aol.com copyright 9/16/24