Thursday, July 06, 2006

Idaho Bound

I leave tomorrow for my big trip out west. Unbelievable the amount of paperwork I've had to copy to take with me, let alone the amount of time spent on the internet tracking down possible leads for rentals or houses to buy. Two possible options surfaced just a few days ago, so I am suddenly hopeful this may turn out well, instead of being an expensive bust.

As anticipated, the creative journey went nowhere this week. Not even a musing over my Chinese poem challenge (see previous post). Oh, I guess that's not totally true. While gathering things to pack, I picked up a small sketchbook to toss in, just in case, and rather than get on with my trip plans, I sat with it for a few moments, made a few notes and even sketched out one thought for my last setacolor painted piece. Talk about avoidance behavior! I didn't allow it to distract me long, but it gave me hope that perhaps I'll use it while I'm gone. Visions of sitting along the lakeshore sketching...

I'll be back on the 16th and try to post something here soon thereafter. In the meantime, here's a little something for you to muse over while I'm gone. It's a translation of the Chinese poem that is inspiring my challenge piece. I felt it was pretty obvious how to portray the dark woods, but the disembodied voices? To my amazement, I think I've come up with an answer to that one too (part of what I noted in the sketchbook), thanks to something I'd found in a magazine long ago and filed with my design ideas. You'll have to wait to see what that is.

Deer Park Hermitage
Deep in the mountain wilderness
Where nobody ever comes
Only once in a great while
Something like the sound of a far-off voice.
The low ray of the sun
Slip through the dark forest,
And gleam again on the shadowy moss.

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