Inspirational Circle

by

Puddles of Memory

The theme for this month’s Inspirational Circle is “Dream” and I have written a poem to reflect the ambiguity of dreams by using imagery of rain.  I hope you enjoy this reflective piece as it carries part of me with it.

Puddles of Memory

Gloomy and gray,
it’s refreshingly cool
on an autumn day.

Lost in thought,
I step into puddles
of memories,
deep as the sea,
of all the things
I wanted to be.

Splashes of hope,
splatters of youth,
ripples of anxiety
twirling around
in my puddle
of memory.

Shimmering
reflections
of the past,
of the good
and of the bad
side of me.

Sprinkles of tension,
sprinkles of joy,
sprinkles of hypocrisy,
what do you really
expect from me?

Ripples of emotion
from a teardrop falling
PLOP
into a cascading beauty,
reflecting
my questioning eyes
as I step
into a puddle
of mesmerizing
color
overlaying
the wet,
cold
truth.

Knee deep
in splashes of love,
splatters of laughter,
ripples of melancholy,
reflected in
my puddle
of memory.

Dancing in the rain,
I see sprinkles
of you and me,
refreshingly sweet
upon my cheeks,
rainbowed-colored
raindrops,
reflecting dreams
that belong
to you and me.

Dancing in the rain,
laughing freely,
seeing sparkling
crystal raindrops
of reality
kiss me
on the forehead
lovingly,
refreshingly clear,
cold to the touch.
I dance in my puddle
of memory
as the sun comes up
and hugs me.

Related articles
by

Inspirational Circle #11 – Dream

Remember being given a word, an idea or a theme and using that as inspiration? Remember the excitement that ran through your mind and traveled to your fingertips as your idea came to life?

The Inspirational Circle is back! This will be the last Circle of the year, and probably for a while, as I want to focus on compiling poems and promo videos for my poetry book starting next year.

To end the Circle with something fun and also contemplative, I have chosen “dream” as the theme 🙂  You can view it however you like (figurative dreams that you have at night, daydreams that you wish could happen, or realistic dreams that you want to pursue).  Make it fun, make it real, but most of all, make it “yours” as that is how the best art is created.  And, of course, share it with us on our Facebook Event!

All creative work will be considered – drawing, painting, photography, poetry, prose, mixed media, sculpture, etc. If you post the work of others  as inspiration, please cite the original source to give the artist credit. Please spread the word and invite others to join in.

Here’s a poem by Edgar Allen Poe that will give you some inspiration:

A Dream Within a Dream

Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow:
You are not wrong who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand–
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep–while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?

And now a cute poem about childhood dreams that I found here: http://www.gigglepoetry.com/poetryclass/dream.htm

My Bed is Like a Sailing Ship

My bed is like a sailing ship-
when I’m tucked in, I take a trip.
I leave behind my busy day
and sail to places far away.

I sail past beaches, gleaming white,
with palm trees swaying in the night.
I watch the waves break on the shore,
and then I see my bedroom floor!

I blink my eyes, I scratch my head-
my ship is home, I’m back in bed.
My ships goes sailing every night
and sails home in the morning light.

And now for some photos that I found googling “dreams”

dream

dream3

dream4

dream5

dream6

dream7

Related articles

 

by

Inspirational Circle #10 – Family

Remember being given a word, an idea or a theme and using that as inspiration? Remember the excitement that ran through your mind and traveled to your fingertips as your idea came to life?

The Inspirational Circle is back! In honor of Thanksgiving, this month’s theme is “Family.” It’s time to capture your family, whether it’s happy, sad, weird, annoying, or just plain funny.  Make it unique and tell us what your family is like on our Facebook Event!

All creative work will be considered – drawing, painting, photography, poetry, prose, mixed media, sculpture, etc. If you post the work of others  as inspiration, please cite the original source to give the artist credit. Please spread the word and invite others to join in.

Here’s a perfect Thanksgiving poem to get you started:

Riches

© Jeanne D. Rhein
They say that times were tough then
That money was very tight
But I remember my childhood
And I know that can’t be rightMom would cook our dinner
Dad came home at five
We were all sitting at the table
Waiting for him to arriveWe wouldn’t eat from a microwave
Or a restaurant down the street
We all ate Mom’s home cooking
And boy that can’t be beatWe didn’t eat in front of the TV
Or with a phone in our hand
We weren’t plugged into a stereo
bopping to the latest bandWe would all sit at the table
Everyone in their place
There were never any surprises
We recognized every face

Brothers to the left of me
Sisters to the right
That’s the way we ate dinner
Every single night

We laughed we joked we talked we ate
We were a family don’t you see
Though some may have been raised poor
You can see it wasn’t me

We ate collards we ate biscuits
We ate fatback and blackeyed peas
We said yes sir we said no sir
We said thank you ma’am and please

So when you talk of family life
Or how it used to be
Though many had more money
None were as rich as me

Source: Riches, Poem about Family http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/riches#ixzz2BIIqiXK7
http://www.FamilyFriendPoems.com

Some other interesting poems:

A poem about generation gap

A poem about culture 

A sweet poem full of similes

Here’s a silly photo of my family:

My Family

My Family

And the beloved dysfunctional Family Guy

Related articles
by

Once Upon a Time – Found Poetry

Since this month’s Inspirational Circle was “found art,” I decided to take a shot at writing some found poetry.  I had recently read an article in Entertainment Weekly about the show Once Upon a Time and loved the descriptive words that were used.  With that as my inspirational source, I started to jot down every single word that spoke to me, filling up an entire journal page entry.  It was fun.  I didn’t know where to start, so I started using the words to describe the show itself.  While it’s not one of my deeper poems that I would publish, it was a fun exercise nonetheless.  The next time I attempt to write a found poem, I reckon I will try to use fewer “found words.” 🙂

Portrait of Humanity

Once upon a time,
characters yearned
for happy endings
as they were believers
of childhood fairy tales.

Motivated by love,
boldly hopeful,
they went on a quest
to fulfill their longing,
only to be
misunderstood.

They realized humanity
was full of flaws,
tons of drama
and lots of deceit.

Overwhelmed
by the moral
complexity of life,
they felt cheated and cursed
the narrative
of their childhood
favorites,
this traditional sentimentality
was far
from the truth.

Life resembled
the acid-tongued soaps on TV
filled with demonic alcoholics
tormented by the repercussions
of their sins, taunted by
the beast within,
cynical
about love.

Damsels in distress
don’t find Prince Charming,
but rebels and villains instead.

Over time, their beauty declines,
literally crushing
their sense of identity,
taunted by magic,
incredibly jealous of youth,
a trippier development
reside in the princess’ mind,
resulting in a dark twist
of events, as she tries to tame
the beast
that she has become
and seek redemption
as the anti-hero, who was
blinded by emotion,
simply yearning
for
a
happy
ending.

For your reference, this was my journal page entry:

found words

 

by

Inspirational Circle #9 – Found Art

Remember being given a word, an idea or a theme and using that as inspiration? Remember the excitement that ran through your mind and traveled to your fingertips as your idea came to life?

The Inspirational Circle is back! This month’s theme is “Found Art!” Go find some cool stuff and make a collage or a sculpture. Go walk around the streets and take photos of street art and graffiti, or make a photogram. Go find newspaper scraps and magazines and create a poem from it. Let go of your creative block, and let the Inspirational Circle inspire you. So go ahead and brainstorm brilliant ideas and share them here with your fellow peers on our Facebook Event!

All creative work will be considered – drawing, painting, photography, poetry, prose, mixed media, sculpture, etc. If you post the work of others as inspiration, please cite the original source to give the artist credit. Please spread the word and invite others to join in.

To get you started, here are some links that you can visit:

Street Art Utopia on Facebook has a lot of inspiring art done on the streets all over the world, utilizing the landscape to the fullest aesthetic beauty: http://www.facebook.com/streetartutopia?fref=ts

Etté Studios has beautiful butterfly sculptures composed of found art: http://www.ettestudios.com/2010/02/found-object-art-michele-stitzleins.html

The Broken Doll series has some interesting pieces
http://karenswhimsy.com/found-object-art.htm

And for the writers, here are some ideas on how to write Found Poetry: http://www.creative-writing-now.com/found-poetry.html

Collage work that I previously made in college:

collage

collage

collage box

collage box

Photos taken at the NY MOMA

coke bottle sculpture

Blanket Collage

Chair on the Wall

 

 

Related articles

 

by

Random Food Posting

Last month’s Inspirational Circle was food, so i have some random postings for you 🙂  While I didn’t have time to do anything “amazing,” it’s nice to realize how the simplest of foods can appear beautiful under the right circumstances.  It can be pretty melodic.

Here is a simple image of lettuce and tomatoes in a bowl.  The contrasting colors and the juiciness of the tomato makes it very refreshing and appetizing.

lettuce

refreshing vegetables

This following photo was taken from my camera phone and not under the best lighting, but it deserves to be posted because it’s a sushi called “Little Jenny” (which reflects me) and also tastes pretty good.  This can be purchased at Cha Cha Sushi in San Jose.

Little Jenny

Little Jenny sushi dish

This next image was taken at BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse for a friend’s birthday dinner.  The candle on top of the pizookie glowed in the dark and looked magical.

birthday pizookie

birthday pizookie

Now for something interesting, my friend found this link about S’mores Spaghetti, which was pretty awesome.  It’s a new twist to a traditional snack.

http://www.foodiggity.com/smores-spaghetti/

s'mores spaghetti

Related articles
by

Inspirational Circle #8 – Food

Remember being given a word, an idea or a theme and using that as inspiration?  Remember the excitement that ran through your mind and traveled to your fingertips as your idea came to life?

The Inspirational Circle is back!  This month’s theme is “food!”  Let go of your creative block, and let the Inspirational Circle inspire you.  So go ahead and brainstorm brilliant ideas and share them here with your fellow peers on our Facebook Event!

All creative work will be considered – drawing, painting, photography, poetry, prose, mixed media, sculpture, etc.  If you post the work of others as inspiration, please cite the original source to give the artist credit.  Please spread the word and invite others to join in.

Food is a wonderful subject as you see it multiple times in a day and everyone loves it.  Food is one of the elements that brings people together – strangers, family and friends.  You can never go wrong with food (well, unless it tastes bad).  So go ahead and do cool things and inspire everyone with your thoughts and images of food.  Make us hungry, make us happy, make us sad, just feed us with your ideas of “food.”

While looking up food – I found two really cool websites that I know you would love 🙂
Amazing shots of yummy food – http://experimental-food.tumblr.com/
Cute Japanese food (so adorable) – http://www.xcapedcat.com/28-pictures-of-cute-japanese-food/

Here are also some random photos I got off of Google

In addition, here is a poem that I wrote about German Chocolate Cake.

like no other

sniff, sniff, inhale,
take a whiff
of the sweet aroma,
an addiction
like no other.

the scent of cocoa
drifts in your nostrils
as you tremble
with longing,
salivate
with desire,
reaching
for the cake
of your dreams.

soft
and gentle
to the touch,
crumbling
in your hands,
melting
on your tongue
a sensation
like no other.

sandwiched between
layers and layers
of coconut pecan frosting.
cool, crisp, rich,
super, super, creamy,
a burst of flavor
in your mouth.

tickling
your taste buds,
tingling
your tongue,
a lingering moment
of bliss.
savor it!

shut your eyes,
more, more, more,
you just can’t resist
licking your lips.

licking your lips
in orgasmic pleasure.
no one does it better
than betty crocker.

While looking up German Chocolate Cake, I also came across this website that was pretty cool – http://barbarabakes.com/2010/05/easy-german-chocolate-cake/

Related articles
There is Magic in the Mundane
by

There is Magic in the Mundane

Timing is the “magic” that encompasses every important moment in life.  That first kiss that you had wouldn’t be as special if it didn’t take place at night in the park, under the stars.  That song may not have been memorable if you didn’t hear it on the radio after you broke up with your ex while you were driving in the rain.  That adventurous trip wouldn’t have been amazing if you didn’t see lightning in the sky and took a photograph of it.  Photography, art, music, and poetry all utilize timing to create a special moment – making mundane events and imagery seem magical.

Who would have thought that a simple plastic water bottle could look “magical?”  I didn’t, not at first.  Since last month’s theme for the Inspirational Circle was texture, I was just randomly hanging out in my porch taking random photos of things that had texture.  While walking around, I came across my dad’s recycling bin where he kept water bottles.  There were a collection of bottles that had condensed water that looked like dew drops clinging to the surface.  With the sunlight shining on it, the dew drops sparkled like magic, mesmerizing to the eye.  With the macro setting on my camera, I took a shot.

condensed water in a plastic bottle

It was a simple beauty, but clearly recognizable as a water bottle.  To make it a little more abstract, I decided to crop the image and remove the “red wrapping” and add a little bit of contrast in Photoshop so that the image will only detail the “texture.”  At first glance, you may not know what this image was.  One friend guessed jewelry and another friend had guessed rain on my windshield.  What do you think?

by

Discovering Fleece

In honor of this month’s Inspirational Circle, I have written a poem inspired by “texture.” I hope you enjoy this simple, elegant piece. 🙂

Discovering Fleece

Soft and warm like fur,
I wrap my blanket around me
like a Tootsie roll.
It falls on the bed with
the softest sound,
light as a feature.

I stroke the blanket
from edge to edge,
feeling the little bumps
and waves that go in and out,
so subtle and so soothing,
like stroking the back
of my loved one’s neck
and feeling the blood vessel,
feeling the pulse.

It’s like running
my hands through pebbles
of sand, feeling rhythmic dots,
swirling and soothing
against my fingertips,
my very own
zen garden.

I wrap the blanket
around my arms,
around my legs
and imagine a puppy
beside me
with fur so soft.

As the fleece brushes my
cheeks, I feel content
and dreamy,
mesmerized
by the softness
that engulfs me
as I fall asleep
on fleece clouds,
drifting away
into Utopia.

by

Inspirational Circle #7: Texture

Remember being given a word, an idea or a theme and using that as inspiration?  Remember the excitement that ran through your mind and traveled to your fingertips as your idea came to life?

The Inspirational Circle is back!  This month’s theme is “texture.”  Let go of your creative block, and let the Inspirational Circle inspire you.  So go ahead and brainstorm brilliant ideas and share them here with your fellow peers on our Facebook Event!

All creative work will be considered – drawing, painting, photography, poetry, prose, mixed media, sculpture, etc.  If you post the work of others as inspiration, please cite the original source to give the artist credit.  Please spread the word and invite others to join in.

Alright, to get started, here are definitions of texture.  This is a fun theme to experiment with, whether you choose to focus on something two-dimensional or three-dimensional (slabs of paint on canvas, some mixed media work of random material, a sculpture, a descriptive poem, a photograph, a photogram, whatever you choose).  Don’t be afraid to do something out of the ordinary 🙂

Here are some images that I found online that will inspire you.  The first four photos are mine. :)

Related articles