When winter was my friend

                                                              inspire me, wednesday! week 37

sunrise, winnipeg, january 18th, 2011

 When winter was my friend it would hold its hand out to me

suggest a walk to see the sky, gleaming at the horizon.

I love the tracery of branches-

sometimes threaded with snow like lace, sometimes swaying like seaweed-

making conversation with that sky.

by Maureen Harris


 For the whole poem, please visit the website above!
Enjoy your Wednesday, 
Karen :)

                      

Inspire Me Wednesdays, Week 36

 "If you're a dreamer, come in..."

Shel Silverstein was first brought to my attention when my son was going into elementary school. On the first day of grade 2, his teacher had posted a verse from a poem from Shel Silverstein's poem "An Invitation" which both affected an inspired both my son and myself. From then on, his collections of poetry were a staple in our house.

Shel was a songwriter, poet, artist, screenwriter and playwright. We loved his funny, thoughtful and irreverent writing style.

Accompanying almost every poem are beautiful line drawings by Shel himself, which often compliment or even complete the poems themselves.  They are filled with themes that children and adults alike can relate to, but not in a boring way - they're SO much fun to read aloud. His wordplay and ability to go openly and unhampered into the world of children with playfulness, imagination, hope and tenderness makes his work loved by all ages.

If you haven't yet, check out Shel Silverstein. I'll even make it easy - here's a link to the Shel Silverstein site!

Happy reading, 

Karen :)

Where the Sidewalk Ends

There is a place where the sidewalk ends

And before the street begins,

And there the grass grows soft and white,

And there the sun burns crimson bright,

And there the moon-bird rests from his flight

To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black

And the dark street winds and bends.

Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow

We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,

And watch where the chalk-white arrows go

To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,

And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,

For the children, they mark, and the children, they know

The place where the sidewalk ends.

-Shel Silverstein

Inspire Me Wednesdays: Week 31

First of all, congratulations to my good friend JAN for winning the ArtRocks paper contest! 

Contact me to choose your prize! Thanks to all who entered. xo

A couple of days ago, I decided that the topic for this week's Inspire Me Wednesdays would be one of my favorite poems (the first verse is in the picture above!) by e.e. cummings. I love this poem because it is  joyous and grateful. (The full poem is at the bottom of the post!!)

Naturally, I turned to my old friend Google to find out a little bit more about the poem. While doing this, I discovered something awesome.  First, I found out that a composer put the poem to choral music. Then I found out that a high school choir in Japan sung this song in a competition and won. (I throughly enjoyed this video. Check it out!)

Afterwords, I found out that Eric Whitacre (the fellow who composed the music ) was also the conductor of a "virtual choir", in which people all over the world sing his composition in their room in front of a camera, and then he puts it all together as a group. The actual visuals of the video aren't the best, but the
concept is wonderful and the music is worth taking a listen to.

I hope you are as inspired by this as I am!
Have a great Wednesday,
Karen

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i thank you God for most this amazing 
day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything 
that is natural which is infinite which is yes


(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun's birthday; this is the birth
day of life and love and wings: and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)


how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any--lifted from the no
of all nothing--human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?


(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of eyes are opened)


-e.e. cummings

Inspire Me Wednesdays: Week 8

As a kid, I loved words that flowed together lyrically.

Then I reached my teenage years and I lost most of that love. My struggles with  english class and Mr. William Shakespeare quickly drained any enthusiasm I once had.

But slowly, my love for poetry and literature has creeped back into my life. Many poets and writers have affected me, which encouraged me to dust of the ol' high school stuff and left me to wonder why I didn't get it. (My son's explorations of everything literary as he was growing helped reawaken my interest!) 

I hope to share some of these new and old discoveries over the weeks. A

 favorite is this poem by Billy Collins... clever, engaging and a story about the creation of art.

 CANDLE HAT

 In most self-portraits it is the face that dominates:

Cezanne is a pair of eyes swimming in brushstrokes,

Van Gogh stares out of a halo of swirling darkness,

Rembrandt looks relieved as if he were taking a breather

from painting The Blinding of Sampson.

But in this one Goya stands well back from the mirror

and is seen posed in the clutter of his studio

addressing a canvas tilted back on a tall easel.

He appears to be smiling out at us as if he knew

we would be amused by the extraordinary hat on his head

which is fitted around the brim with candle holders,

a device that allowed him to work into the night.

You can only wonder what it would be like

to be wearing such a chandelier on your head

as if you were a walking dining room or concert hall.

But once you see this hat there is no need to read

any biography of Goya or to memorize his dates.

To understand Goya you only have to imagine him

lighting the candles one by one, then placing

the hat on his head, ready for a night of work.

Imagine him surprising his wife with his new invention,

the laughing like a birthday cake when she saw the glow.

Imagine him flickering through the rooms of his house

with all the shadows flying across the walls.

Imagine a lost traveler knocking on his door

one dark night in the hill country of Spain.

"Come in, " he would say, "I was just painting myself,"

as he stood in the doorway holding up the wand of a brush,

illuminated in the blaze of his famous candle hat.

8

Billy Collins
(click for more poems!)

8

&

Take care,

Karen xo

I

Semblance of a Whole

Two months ago, my son was browsing the internet when he found the tickets to see Conan O'Brien had just gone on sale. In a moment of uncharacteristic spontaneity (I'm working on it!), we ordered three tickets. The simple "yes" turned into so much more than just this concert!
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Here's a photo journal of our trip!

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Oh, Minneapolis - you've captured my heart!

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Look at this fantastic architecture! Old and new so beautifully merged.

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Spoonbridge Scuplture, Minneapolis Sculpture Garden

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 These words are written on the side of the Walker Art Center. Great quote...isn't it cool how a brown brick wall can be transformed into something else simply by the addition of words?

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Walker Art Center: We saw an Andy Warhol, a George Segal, and even a Yoko Ono!

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View from Walker Art Center roof patio. (note the bridge in the background!)

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The Nicollet Mall

This is where the famous hat throw in the opening credits of the Mary Tyler Moore Show was filmed.

Who can turn the world on with a smile?
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Quick stops at Mall of America and Ikea (can that ever be quick?)

Record shopping at both Cheapo and Shuga Records :)

Magers and Quinn Booksellers - the best independent bookstore in Minneapolis!!!

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AND NOW FOR CONAN!

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(the sculpture my son made)

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The beautiful Orpheum Theater was built in 1921 and has staged such acts as the Marx Brothers and Jack Benny!

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Yeah! An old style marquee added to the anticipation of the show that evening.

In the three days we were there, the marquee named Barenaked Ladies, The Goo Goo Dolls and Conan!

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The stage is set...

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Conan and guests put on a hilarious show.

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Another gorgeous cityscape as we walked home after the concert!

Thanks for browsing and check out my flickr for a few more pictures!
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"I imagine that yes is the only living thing." -e.e.cummings

Karen