Friday, November 30, 2018

Artwork and Wordwork

Friday.
Poetry.
Yes, please.
Mouse on the movie "The Gruffalo"... you have to see this one if you haven't...mother squirrel concocts a story for her two youngsters, somewhat based on what she's seen that day...the mouse in her story does the same.  Keep a sharp eye out as you watch and listen.  It's a storyteller in a storyteller's tale, all based on things they have seen that day.  The more you see it, the more you see.

This is my 4 year old granddaughter's picture of the mouse.  She sat and studied him for awhile, and I watched her as she looked back and forth from tv to paper and considered his shape, features and color.  She had a few attempts before this one, that I wasn't aware she'd done until peeking in her notebook.
You can see here, her continuous line for the body and the 3-D legs (both sides, not just sticks)


My poem to a Gruffalo and friend:

Imaginary Fiend?
 
the imaginary Gruffalo
came to eat me, don't you know...
he's very tall with knobby knees,
a poisonous wart and spines like trees;
though I'm a mouse, I'm pretty sly,
and with my tricks, I walk right by
that owl, fox and snake who try
to snack on me
'cause I rely
on Gruffalo who follows me
so I'm as carefree as can be.

 by Donna JT Smith, 11/29/18

My other poem, thought in part while watching granddaughter draw...and thinking about the arts...and what it means to be a human that creates and thinks:

Heart

When I draw, 
I watch as my heart
colors and shapes
the page.

When I write,
I listen to my heart
color and shape
each scene.

When I live,
I love with my heart;
color and shape
are unimportant.

by Donna JT Smith, 11/29/18

More, more, more...encore, you say?  Head on over to Carol W. at Carol's Corner where more poems are awaiting.

16 comments:

  1. My granddaughter turns four today!!! I wish she was close enough to share special times like you seem to be doing. I love how you used "color and shape" in your second poem.

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    1. We ARE having some really special times. I am grateful to be able to do this.

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  2. The Gruffalo is new to me! Your granddaughter's artwork is amazing. Only four?? She is really paying attention (and drawing with her heart).

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    1. It was amazing, too, to watch her look at the character on the show, and then turn to her eyes back to her drawing to try to replicate it. I could see later that she had drawn a few "bodies" and then discarded them when she wasn't pleased with the shape evidently. She never said a word, though, just kept on trying until this appeared to her liking. She has always been a studier - even as an infant (and somewhere I wrote about this) of only a few weeks old, she could look into your soul! She initiated Peek-a-Boo with me one day at 5 months old by peeking around the sides of her highchair with one only eye and then turning her head to hide... I have always been somewhat taken aback by how she studies people and things - and she's quite the Jenga player!

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  3. Love seeing your granddaughter's picture, really cute, Donna, as is that Gruffalo-escaping mouse and then your heart-filled own poem, covering all of life, at least mine.

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    1. These two kids give me so much! I just need to open my grandma/writer's brain when I'm with them...jot a few notes or lines...and then there it is - a piece of life.

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  4. What great art by your grand girl. And the poem that cam from watching her draw is beautiful.

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  5. Your granddaughter's mouse is adorable (and impressive for a 4-year old!). I love both of your poems, but the second really captures the essence of our craft: live with an open heart and good things will follow. Thank you, too, for reminding me of The Gruffalo. I haven't read it in several years.

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    1. You can watch it here (I'll add this link in my post):
      https://vimeo.com/219409543
      GD has suddenly made enormous leaps in her drawing over the course of the month. I'm amazed by her ability to study and experiment with colors. She's always asking what two colors together will make, and has a page of those experiments in her journal. She owns multiple journals and draws every day.

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  6. Wow--that's a talented 4-year old! I can see how she would be inspiring to you. It's so great that you share creative time together!

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  7. I love how you're capturing her art alongside yours!

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  8. So much fun seeing your granddaughter's art and your poem side by side!

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    Replies
    1. I'm looking forward to doing more...it's fun together time.

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