Week 10: Death. Writing.

What is death, but life,
and what is life,
but death?
In every moment
we are born
and reborn again
our shadows undulating
across the many souls' paths
that we cross.
We prepare
again and again
for birth
without acknowledging that first
there must be a death of an old self
a self that it would seem did not serve us
but in fact,
a self that paved the way
for this very birth.
The union of these two
fated to forever be the twin tides
of our Universe
cannot be pulled apart.
There is no gulf between.
The tide cannot be separated from the ocean,
nor from the surf.

Week 10: Preplanning

You can find it here (along with a lot of resistance!):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kateswoboda/2327153794/

Resistance

Speaking of "death," it's been a tough week for me in considering whether or not to continue with this project. On one hand, it has informed a lot of my artwork this year and stretched me, forced me to practice, etc. On the other hand, it's a pain to feel bound to something (ugh, control issues!) and have a deadline. Did I make a mistake by asking myself to come up with new work every single week? Or is this keeping it fresh, keeping me from trying to make something perfect before I try the next thing?

This week I have no photo. I just simply did not make the time. I almost typed "didn't have the time," but I find that this is a false statement that 99% of the world makes, and it bugs me.

I plan to catch up by posting a photograph, later. But for now, a visual and some writing will (hopefully) do.

xo,
K

Week Ten: Themes

Death. Metaphors for death, literal interpretations of death. Anything to do with death or endings.

Week Nine: Energy. Photo.

Week Nine: Energy. Visual.

Because of the size of this particular piece, I am uploading it to flickr and providing a link (rather than waiting for my grandchildren to be born while Blogger uploads it).

I hate wasting leftover paint and these colors were available to me from another painting I was working on, so I began to integrate all of it. Before I knew it, this was what I had:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kateswoboda/2311133770/

Week Nine: Energy. Writing.

What has been on my mind in terms of energy this week has been an upcoming trip to Europe.

"It will be a wonderful vacation!" people tell me.

I am sure that on some level it will.

On another level, it will be weeks of navigating foreign lands, trying to figure out how to communicate basic needs in a language I can barely speak (I am memorizing, in particular, "Mi dispiace! Parli prego lentemente! Aprendo Italiano.")

It sounds very romantic, like a montage of Amelie and Under the Tuscan Sun and any other wonderfully romantic movie about another country that you've ever seen...complete with a set of those quirky Europeans.

And yet, I also know that the exhaustion will have me to my knees, that there will come a time when I practically beg and pray for something "normal," when just being among people who don't speak the same language as myself will exhaust me.

These are my thoughts on energy--a post of writing this week that is not particularly beautiful or flowing, but related to the topic all the same.