EMBATTLED…
June 2009 BATTLE WORN by Lesley Humphrey
We had a wonderful summer planned: House boating in Hot Springs in June, a cruise to Mexico next week, Hawaii in August… Then my mother had a terrible accident on the boat and sustained a compound fracture. In an instant, life changed, as life does. We have her home, she’s mending well and I am now a 24-hour nurse. I am learning a lot, not just about nursing but about love, pain, suffering, healing and managing one’s own fears…
I had to do a painting for our local 6 Figures Show hosted by the Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Arts. I had to paint my situation, and the result is above… The following is a journal entry from 5 days ago…
The fear demons are banging at my door,
Lest I have but one moment of peace and surety,
If calm and serenity soothes my heart for a fleeting moment
They draw their clawen fngers down the pane
Drawing light down in to their cold abyss,
As if weighted by the gravity of doom.
The wound ripples over the leg like ancient scarred earth,
Jagged edges, like earthquake’s renting
In its wake, a rented lament for smoother times,
Forever now a reminder of tragedy,
Locked into sinews and never forgot
How then, does the healer lead the battle against disease?
A heart so worn with doom and dire?
How does the winder of the wraps
Lend rays of light to heal a body, mind and soul?
Am I able, am I enough?
Responsibility! Thy yoke is heavy
and my shoulders tremble from its press
Please, please let up just enough,
That I can lift up my head, and see the road ahead,
And know at least where to place my feet,
That I do not stumble, but find my heart
Adequate to this task; this load I’d love to pull
If only I had hands to guide me.
I am blind, I am blinkered, yet pull I must
I pray my burden stays aloft, before my journey’s done.
_____________
See, if you do this sort of thing, you feel better afterward without having your own emotions run roughshod over those you love. Anyway, it works for me. Recommend Julia Cameron’s "Artist Way" and "Finding Water" for learning how to dig in, write, and paint.
August 30th, 2009 at 7:32 am
I discovered your website by pure accident while researching old masters style and techniques…since I have fractured my right wrist I’m not able to paint, so thought this is the time to change and challenge myself to a looser style, actually making an attempt to use my left hand and my braced right hand, this just might help me. Admiring and wishing to paint like Klimt, Fetchin, Russian Icon Painters, Munnings and A.DeDruex, my realization of the lack of art education has been frustrating. Having said that, I do hope to be able to take a class with you someday and maybe to achieve my goal in my artistic expression(before I meet my maker)…by the way I know exactly how you feel about your mother and the poem, hope she has mended well.
December 13th, 2009 at 9:25 am
My Mum has mended well… Thank you. I sincerely hope you have too! It’s interesting to me that your journey has led you to admire the Russians also. I think that, whether painting realism or abstraction, their work oozes soul, somehow. Warm regards, and thank you for posting on my blog. Lesley
March 22nd, 2010 at 2:50 pm
< a href=”http://yourworker2007.ru” > < /a > In an instant, life changed, as life does. We have her […….
Вы допускаете ошибку. Могу это доказать. Пишите мне в PM, пообщаемся….
April 12th, 2010 at 2:36 am
отлично то что надо…
In an instant, life changed, as life does. We have her […….
May 4th, 2010 at 1:02 am
старые фото…
In an instant, life changed, as life does. We have her […….