Velvet Verbosity

The problem with blogs is that you have to keep giving them attention. There’s been so much activity in my life lately, and I’d love to be sharing it here, but the nature of being busy is that some things have to slip. For me, it’s been writing.

The big news is that I have embarked on an interesting art project that has been percolating in the underground of my mind for some time. 4 or 5 years ago, I saw the movie The Pillow Book. It is not a story for the feint of heart, but the imagery is stunning and left a mark on me I’ve never forgotten. The idea of writing on the body has been with me ever since. I knew then that someday this would come to some kind of fruition, and for me the idea has come.

I am still working on articulating the vision. I will be asking various men to write a piece of prose or poetry in response to women’s experience in the world, in our culture, but also throughout history and across many cultures. A world where we are often not safe simply because of our gender, and nothing more. As some of you know, I’ve gone off on a few tangents here regarding some feminist issues. I also expressed that I was never keen on being an “angry” feminist. It always left a bad taste in my mouth. On the other hand, being a woman, and not knowing a single woman, including myself, that has escaped unscathed from male to female violence, whether physical, sexual, or emotional, I cannot sit idle and silent. This has been a lifelong personal struggle for me. I know so many wonderful men who have seen the damage done to women, and who grieve themselves over it. I see no usefulness in creating more division between the sexes, and I’ve struggled with how to communicate to men what it is we women are upset about and why.

Then, in a beautiful moment, many of my passions came together at once. An opportunity to bring together many loves into one project. Men will write, from the heart, to women (as a general body of people) and I will write these “pieces” somewhere on their body and create a photographic record of this.

There are some difficulties with the project. In fact, there will be a lot of experimenting before I get it right. I am putting together a portfolio now in order to apply for an arts grant. So, here are some of the things I need to figure out.

1. What is the best paint or ink to use, and what tool will best work to administer that ink or paint. The difficulty is that it needs to be non-toxic to the skin, the tools should be pleasant enough to the skin, and the consistency should be neither too thick or too thin. Too thick makes it difficult to write legibly. Too thin makes it run or bleed on unsmooth surfaces. So far I’ve experimented with eyeliner as it is made to be used on skin. Liquid eyeliner works decently well and I’ve had the most success with that so far. However, it is expensive for very small amounts, and the brush, while allowing great control, has such a small grip that it makes it uncomfortable for me to write very long. Pen eyeliners are problematic as they actually don’t give nice sharp lines. Even the best ones tend to leave ragged edges. Today I picked up some good paintbrushes and various types of washable paints and I am now experimenting with those. I will also be experimenting with soy-based ink and calligraphy pens and a glass quill.
2. Photographing. In my first round, we got some very good shots, but I found I had to sacrifice good form shots for getting a clear shot of the writing, or the opposite. I will need to experiment with different lenses, lighting, size of writing, and poses to find the best formula.
3. The biggest obstacle will be to properly convey to the subjects what my intention is and to thus draw out of them powerful and meaningful messages to women. The ultimate goal here is to bridge the gap, to get people thinking, and to get people (men and women) to be more thoughtful toward one another, not just in their personal interactions, but in how they behave and engage generally with the world.

So, that is one big reason I haven’t been writing here very much lately. My mind is pretty engaged with this project at the moment. Feel free to write to me if you would like to make an offering of any kind to the project, whether it is an idea, materials, cashola, or just a kind word.

Well, you can’t fault me for not trying. I tried to add the Mr. Linky to my blog, but it just got too complicated and I will have to revisit that another day. With more submissions each week (ok, only three) I want to be able to make it easier for folks to link to their submissions. For this week, I’ll have to do it manually. The topic was “Generation” and here are the submissions. (Don’t forget to visit their blogs and give them some comment love!)

LCeel wrote a 100 word haiku. Are you impressed? Because I am. He says, “It details (sort of) the history, in this country, of the men who bear my family name. I guess over time I have evolved from Gung Ho Marine to Hard Chargin’ Pacifist. And I’m proud of it.”

Generation one
Fought the Civil War, he did
Died in nineteen ten

Generation two
Rough Rider at San Juan Hill
Died in fifty nine

Generation three
Came home from war in Europe
Died Two Thousand Two

Generation four
Fought the fight in Viet Nam
Not dead yet, Thank God

Generation five
My sons, will not go to war
If it is my choice

Four Generations
Have given more than enough
We will War no more

This generation
Has a larger task at hand
Than the ones before

The generation
Of more kind and gentle souls
That will war no more

Next up, let me introduce you to Secret Agent Mama. When you visit, be sure to check out her superb photography and touching poetry. I’m also super envious of her blog design.

She was a small woman standing at four foot one,
Her teeth were strong, as was her endurance of life.

Her daughter was the eldest of all her children,
She learned about life early, taking care of everything and everyone.

Firsborn grandchild was a girl whose only resemblance was in stature,
She’d only have one child expelled from her loins.

This child, the first great-grandchild, another girl,
One that would go on to have four babies of her own.

Four strong woman of four generations, within one family;
Women that are all so different, and yet all the same.

From Mama-Om who found me through NabloPoMo and I’m glad she did!

Whenever I come home from being gone - maybe for an hour or two - my children are happy to see me. They run to me and into my arms and then I am holding two children, one of them not quite five and the other just over one. I smell their sweaty heads; feel their fingers upon me, their legs woven around me. I stagger to the nearest place and sit and smile as they sit on me. I’m beneath the people I created. I catch my breath and see: Their genesis was within me; their lives are already beyond mine.

My own 100 Words:

She had created a new generation. Two children who came through her into the world with ten fingers and ten toes and each their own souls that seemed to her ancient and rich. She birthed this new generation on a table, drenched in sweat, wrapped tightly round with pain, and infused with strength she never believed she possessed. She has never forgotten those moments, nor the individual smell of each child’s head. When she kissed them now, on the tops of their heads grown taller than her own, she could still smell their birth weaved into their hair and scalp.

Now for next week’s challenge. By then I hope to have figured out an easier way to link. As I blog this from my bed, I picked up the book next to me titled, Women in Their Beds: New and Selected Stories by Gina Berriault. Using the super complicated and patented Velvet Verbosity word prompt generator, I came up with:

Lessons

While you are waiting for me to return to actual writing, check out this video by my dear friend, Chris Kowanko, and his band. You can find out more about the band at www.monsterbuck66.com or at their MySpace. Want my personal recommendation? The song Shine gets me every time. I first heard it around a campfire in the mountains of Vermont.  If you like it, send them love and tell them Velvet Verbosity sent you.

Too much work, fun, travel has left me wiped out and needing sleep and rejuvenation.  Thus the lack of posting.  I’ll be back soon with highlights from the trip, the past couple of days, 100 Words, and who knows what else. Stay tuned.

Munich - Mid-day

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