Artistic Interpretations with Margaret - Sketchbook Poetry

Chelsea's first day of sketching - Arch of Septimus Severus,  Rome, Italy

The Artist

I turn my back, throw a coin
over my shoulder, "splash"
ensure I'll be back

to this city arching over me,
thrilling me like gelato
on the tongue,

but no peanut butter.

The people are golden
like sun-kissed stucco, features stamped
with strength of the ages.

I just want to sit,
timeless as La Fontana Di Trevi,
sketchbook open,

capture the enchantment, gather the love.

by Margaret Bednar, May 28, 2014

Welcome to "Artistic Interpretations"

For May's challenge, I ask you to write in a poetic style I think of as "sketchbook" poetry.  One definition of "sketch" is a brief, often hastily executed outline of facts, occurrences, etc, giving essential features without many details.

As you can imagine, I adore thumbing through my daughter's sketchbooks, stumbling across a two page spread that encompasses a whole day - I have quite a few from over the years set aside that I want to write a poem for - some are from when she was a small child!

My daughter, Chelsea,  texted me from Rome, Italy, with the above sketchbook page this week.  The Arch of Septimius Severus another link is HERE -   She made me laugh at her observation that apparently, Italy does not have peanut butter - of all things to journal (how she DOES love her peanut butter!).  I did include her journal text and a reference to the fountain - La Fontana Di Trevi - that she drew a detail of on another page. 

I was surprised to see the Latin origin of the word sketch, "schedium"… means extemporaneous poem!

Clearwater Beach

I realize not everyone has a journal or sketchbook, so I am providing a few images of my daughter's pages for you to use for inspiration if you wish.  You may also use the photography on this page as well.  CLICK ON ALL IMAGES TO ENLARGE.

How does one approach this challenge?   It is wide open, but I do have a few ideas:

You can specifically observe what is on the journal or sketchbook page, the colors, the curve of the lines, the journal text.

You might imagine what was surrounding the artist as he drew - what he saw, smelled, heard.

I also started thinking "out of the box" a bit.  Perhaps an old yearbook could qualify.  It is a journal of sorts - as you scan through the pages jot down thoughts, memories, comment on the style of "back then"…  I was looking at my middle school year book from the  1970's… What is left of my memory is a bit "sketchy"…

"The only way to become your own (artist)
is to defy your teachers" 

Perhaps a poem is loosely inspired by a diary post with doodles in the margins.

Maybe you are the artist, pen poised, blank piece of paper spread before you preparing to sketch what you see and write what you feel about your day.  What are you thinking, feeling, smelling, seeing?  What does your watercolor palette look like?

Clearwater Beach, FL - Springbreak

Perhaps you are just sitting absorbing a scene and have NO drawing talent… well, what would you draw if you could?

Keep a journal of your day and sketch what you see, jot down your thoughts, and collect them all in a poem at the end of the day.

Don't forget - journaling is often as important as the sketches themselves.

"Inside the Sketchbooks of Famous Artists" is a neat link that highlights Andy Warhol, Guillermo Del Toro, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, John Lennon & Yoko Ono… and many more.  Feel free to go "google exploring" on your own.

Below are several images from my daughter's sketchbook while in Rome and Florence.  Feel free to use them, but please give her credit.  (click on the image to enlarge)

I googled "Sculpture Italy rape of women" - Well, there are quite a few in Italy, it seems - "The Rape of Persephone", "The Rape of the Sabine Women", and "The Rape of Polyxena" among a few.

This marble sculpture stands in the Loggia die Lanzi, on the Piazza dell Signora, in Florence, Italy, and  is based on "The Rape of the Sabine Women" (a different link than the one above).  It is a tragedy of an early period in Roman history.  When the Sabine refused to allow their women to marry Romans they were abducted and "persuaded" to accept their fate.  Giambologna, the artist, portrait the scene with three vertical, intertwined figures.  The work is considered to be his masterpiece.

I  believe the above is a sketch Chelsea did while at the Galleria dell' Accademia.  Two of the words I can decipher in this sketch are Vanity & Atonement.  If I decipher the cursive in the top right corner I will add it here.

This marble sculpture, The Elephant and Obelisk, was designed by the Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini - the Egyptian obelisk was uncovered during nearby excavations.  It was unveiled in February 1667 in the Piazza della Minerva in Rome, Italy, just outside the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, where it still stands today.  A humorous side note is the tail end of the elephant faced the Benedictine monastery - quite a view for the monks!  If you would like to read more about "Bernini's Little Elephant" HERE is a nice blogpost about it.  

Ostica Antica, at the mouth of the Tiber River - it served as Rome's busy commercial port.  HERE is a well written blogpost about this ancient ruin.   I believe the sketch below represents Ostica Antica as well.

A 9 minute "Need to Know" tips on Rome, Italy




An 8 minute "Florence in a nutshell" part 1 of 2



A 4 minute "Florence in a  nutshell" part 2 of 2



For this challenge, I do require the poem(s) be new and created for this prompt.  Please link your specific post to "Mr. Linky" below and feel free to write more than one poem.  As we know, Friday is often a hectic day, so please feel free to submit late and remember, Monday is "Open Link" here in the Garden.  Thank you, and I look forward to your artistic interpretations.