“One of the great delights of poetry is that when you’re really functioning, you’re tapping the unconscious in a way that is distinct from the ordinary, the customary, use of the mind in daily life.”
Stanley Kunitz, The Wild Braid
Last night I dreamed of a blue frog. A tiny fingertipped size creature of the brightest hue, and splotched with darkest black. It stuck to my finger and wouldn’t let go no matter how hard I tried to fling it away. Finally, all I could do was accept that it was there on my finger — the brightest most beautiful thing in the world.
I like to assume it was not a poison dart frog.
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A Lunch Break Photo
Streamer Glass
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The book was rather unassuming yet lovely in its simplicity. A maroon red book cover emblazoned in gold with the figure of a young boy leaping, and beneath him the words, also in gold, “Patrick and the Golden Slippers.” I don’t remember how much it cost in the antique store. A couple of bucks, no more. A first edition 1951 book by Pennsylvania children’s book author and illustrator, Katherine Milhous.
Turns out that Ms. Milhouse created Pennsylvania posters for the Works Progress Administration during the 1940’s. 
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I admire Frida Kahlo for two things, her bold use of vibrant colors and her ability to make her physical self the center of so many of her paintings. She is quoted as saying: “I paint myself because I am often alone and I am the subject I know best.” It’s one thing as a writer, photographer, painter, etc. to create a work based on one’s perception of the world. It’s different and harder, I think, to place one’s self at the center of the creative work. For me, when I try my hand at self-portraiture in writing or photography, I feel both empowered and very vulnerable. The vulnerability stems from “putting myself out there” and … (gasp!) what if people don’t like me and don’t like what I do? What if the image I present is different than the one currently held by friends and family? In short, the vulnerability stems from fear. The empowerment emerges from a more solid and powerful place.
For me, self-portraits are like a shout-out to the world that I exist and here I am at this given point in time. If I do a self-portrait tomorrow, then that will be me at that point in time. Maybe happy, maybe not. Maybe beautiful, maybe not. In pain. In love. Celebrating life.
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Red plus yellow equals orange. Yellow plus blue equals green. Red plus blue equals purple. And so on and so forth. I can’t remember when I first learned the various recipes for creating colors but I do remember the childlike joy I experienced last week when I cracked open “The Color Kittens,” a 1940’s Golden Books Classic. Most of the Golden Books I buy I share with the young children of close friends, but “The Color Kittens” I purchased and sent to my adult friends. Why? Because that book which is so well-written by Margaret Wise Brown and beautifully illustrated by Alice and Martin Provensen reminds the reader of what it means to be a child and to look upon the world with complete openness to discovery.
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Food has been an inspiration of late. More can be found in the Arts and Crafts/Food Gallery here: http://photosbycynthia.smugmug.com
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On a day when I received numerous “nice work but not our style” rejection notes, it was wonderful to receive word from Rambler Magazine that the editors liked one of several pictures that I had sent and would like to, possibly, use it in the future. Meanwhile, the current issue of the magazine is available, and as always, it appears to be a beauty of text and imagery.
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I’m happy to announce that the Winter2009 issue of Life Images is on newsstands. Inside you’ll find a picture by moi. While proud to have a photo on display, to be honest, I am mostly humbled to be included in the company of such great photographers. The beautiful cover only gives you a hint of the glorious images that are in between.
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