lately i have been thinking about how much i miss creating performance art. most of my creative time has been spent making jewelry. while satisfying and money making (both very important to me as a self-employed artist), there is just something about being hunched over a dusty dirty bench that can never compare to a huge open studio space and bodies moving together.

this pic may have to be my inspirational jumping off place…

A shaft of sunbeam awakens me at dawn.
My slumber has been of one dead for a thousand years:
Deadened by thoughts of culpability and then,
Sudden innocence.

Awe and wonder overtake the moment
As the light settles in.
But fear raises expectations of loss and
Grandeur — neither of which hold a place
In this reality, nor a grasp on the epiphany.

(This is the light of choice.

This is the light of choice.

This is the light of choice.)

Opening the shades fully,
I take in the miraculous, blue of
A cloudless
Father sky.

Improv For Kirby by muz4now

dragonflies run in circles
do cartwheels

around each other
around the lilypads
around the lilies that rise above them

dragonflies rise high above
anything imaginable to this
kayak-bound frog

Today, if I could be any creature of my choosing,
I would choose the dragonfly:
For when I watch them circling about –
buffeting against one other –
I am drawn into their play and
I long to be part of it.

I know that in my current body
That is not possible.
So, for today
I will watch longingly as they
cling and bounce, to and fro.

I just finished a two-day basket workshop, and this is the result.  The material used is willow bark, and it is amazing to work with.  Beautifully grown, harvested, and prepared by our teacher, Judy Zugish.  With eleven people making a variation of the same basket, no two were the same.   Such a great creative opportunity in such a nurturing environment.

…..loves Mandala Design Works!

If he can get out of lotus position and catch a ride to Main St. in Stroudsburg this Saturday from 3pm-8pm for Art on Main, he says he promises to see you all there!

You wouldn’t want to miss him, would you? Plus there will be great handmade art with heart and Stan singing LIVE!

Too far away? Shop from home at www.MandalaDesignWorks.com

I was the non-tall kid in my grade school
And my stature has never really changed much
In comparison with my peers.

So each time I get a retail coffee, I ask
For a “tall”, hoping beyond hope that
Today will be the day.

~ by Stan Stewart

Copyright © 2011 by Music for the Moment, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Wind whistles trees,
Caverns, Trestles,
And houses along
Its way.

It carries its part well.
It knows it by heart
Or improvises;
Carefree and winsome.

Yes, I do think
The wind makes up
Its song as it goes
Along.

Not too many variations
To my ear, at least.
And yet never boring.

Drifting in and out,
Wind wafts
To the rhythm of
Its own creation.

Making an ensemble
Of itself.
A symphony for
It’s own delight.

~ by Stan Stewart

Copyright 2011 by Music for the Moment, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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In-between, there is that temperature:
Frozen water begins to drip
And liquid water begins to freeze.

Whatever its state, the water
Does not anticipate the change.
It simply flows or hardens

As the in-between requires
Of it. As if it were an artist
Responding to inspiration,

The ice or fluid begins to take
On the newness of this change
Initiated by the in-between.

This is the spontaneity of water;
That it would be ready at any moment
To shift from liquid to solid

And back again.

~ by Stan Stewart

Copyright © 2011 by Music for the Moment, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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I rarely edit my poetry.
I don’t remember why I got into this practice.
It probably has to do with my love of improvisation.

Life is like that.
We have to make it up as we go.
Otherwise, it could seem to be too twisty.
I like predictability and I like surprise.

Well, I’m not so crazy about surprises
When they’re on me and they take
The rug out from under me.
Those I could do without.
And they come along anyway.
Might as well roll with them
At least as well as I do
With the good stuff.

Spontaneity makes life easier.
Set a few agreements at the outset about
Being in agreement with each other
And off we go.

So, here we are
Thinking that the events of our lives
Are so crushing
And a friend who had been told
She was in remission
Rushes in
To tell us that her cancer count
Is rising every day.

Plan, but don’t plan too much.
Anticipate now more than tomorrow.
Now could well be all there is.

~ by Stan Stewart

Copyright © 2010 by Music for the Moment, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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