I decided to not try to get caught up on posting past art journal days (I hadn't done that many anyway) and instead...here's today's journal prompt from Misty Mawn. I'd love to hear what you think it means! We were required to use pink. It says, "One of every one hundred American adults is in prison."
6 comments:
Hey Hil,
I love the texture of the dark smudges on the pink. Congratulations on putting the time into the journaling and thank you for showing us your work!
So I just wrote this very straightforward analytical commentary.. but that's no fun... so I am going to offer a question in response.. you are free to interpret as you wish..
Who holds the keys to our soft little prisons? A soft ribbon, sneaky as a snail winds around the throat and tightens as you grow. Not nearly as strong as iron, it takes no strength to cut it, just a little laughter and audacity.
Um... sorry morphed back into commentary.
The little boy and girl remind me of seals on a flag. Like they are presidents of some strange world.
Thank you again!!
This page is wonderful. I'm too exhausted to interpret but I really like it.
This isn't an art commentary.
I see that by putting children in your piece, you are alluding to the simple fact that how we treat and care for our children can be directly associated with how our adults turn out.
If a society doesn't treat its children like they are people...our children will grow up to be adults that don't care for people.
Kathy
Hey Kathy,
Rock on.. so true!
Sarah
It saddens me to no end that majority of our society still doesn't see the connection. Children are the future! Great reflection and glad to see you back too. I'm trying...but knitting consumes me :0(
Hi everybody and thank you so much for taking the time to comment! I love it when people do. First of all, Sarah - please share your straightforward analytical commentary!!! I would love to hear straight from the art therapist's mouth. Mmmm...love your question...the key to our prisons...the prison of adulthood? Who holds the key...I'm going to keep thinking about your poetic question.
I love that the kids reminded you of seals on a flag...that's great.
Tina - thank you for commenting - I really didn't want to make anyone feel like they had to interpret...so I'm actually glad you didn't, if you know what I mean. :) It's just fun to have someone stop by and say hi.
Kathy...I loved what you wrote about the children aspect of my piece...of course, everyone who reads my blog knows how much I respect children, and Kath, you especially do. Thank you for what you said. That was extremely insightful.
Sarah...You're so right that the majority of our society doesn't see the connection! I believe there's some serious spiritual blindness there. Thank you for commenting.
So...all that to say...I actually hadn't even thought THAT deeply into the production of this piece!! You guys came up with much more than I intended, which is the most fabulous thing about art-making and art-sharing...the creator in the depth of their human experiences puts much more into the work than they first thought, and the receivers interpret the art on all of the levels of their perceptions and experiences. Wonderful! The prompt for the day from Misty Mawn was to use pink in your art. So, of course my first thought was Feistygirl, whose favorite color is pink, and I was going to do a Feistygirl tribute page...something similar to what I did with Freebird's newborn picture. But then I thought, "How cliche!" Every other four year old girl likes pink and I don't think that the first idea one has about art making is always the best idea. So I thought, "What else could I do with pink?" And because it was Martin Luther King Day, I had just read something about the state of American prisons, and how literally one of every one hundred people is in jail!! Unbelievable! So...I remembered that jail walls are sometimes painted pink, or the prisoners wear pink jumpsuits, etc., because pink is psychologically calming...and that's where the piece came from. The white lines (like bars) are ripped duct tape. The children are actually Dick and Jane stickers, which I used to reference The American Dream... like the whole white picket fence lie that the American media still attempts to portray to the world. "Immigrants, you'll be pleased to know that once you arrive, one out of every 100 of you will be incarcerated! Welcome to America! See Spot run." :)
Thank you all so much for commenting...you were so insightful and made me smile.
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