Friday, June 26, 2015

Poetry Friday -- Hello, Sketchbook! Let's Get Reacquainted!


I got my sketchbook out for the first time in 3 years, and look what I found:



We call them "glads"
because they are;
because they make us so.

They show us
process and stages.

They teach us vulnerability --
reaching, bending, falling
with the weight of what they've become.

And yet,
they are beautiful.

They are glads.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2012




How do I sketch heat?
   oppressive heat
   blanketing heat

How do I sketch a hawk?
   flap, glide, soar
   scree

How do I sketch the trees?
   so many shades of green
   holding still as the storm builds

The sky is easy: violet.
   darkening
   darkening

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2012






Today I made this:



Because of this book (thank you, Amy LV)...


...and because this other book has inspired me to doodle with wild abandon and much happiness...

...and because of this blog post (thank you Kimberley Moran)...

...which has this video embedded (scrub to 1:30 if you just want the Black-Eyed Susan lesson)...


Life is good.
Happy Friday.
Happy Poetry.
Happy Doodling.


Carol has the Poetry Friday roundup this week at Carol's Corner.

The July-December roundup schedule is in our sidebar, the code is in the files at the Kidlitosphere Yahoo group, and everything's set and ready to go (and January-June is archived) at Kidlitosphere Central. Let me know if you want me to send you your very own copy of the code. (marylee DOT hahn AT gmail etc etc).


19 comments:

  1. Can I say how eye-opening this, and Wednesday's posts are? I just wrote up some order cards for the library.

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  2. I love to doodle (Zentangles), and I've already got Doodle Revolution on reserve. Will be putting Nature Anatomy on hold, too. Thanks!

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  3. PS I love your darkening, darkening violet!

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  4. Lovely poems and sketches, ML. You are such a creative soul :).

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  5. What a joyous post! This made me smile and feel glad and now you've got me off to doodle-land. Summer goodness indeed. xo

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  6. How great that you are dusting off your sketchbook. You make me want to run out and buy the Nature Anatomy book this weekend. Gladiolas are one of my favorite flower. I love the truth in these lines:
    They teach us vulnerability --
    reaching, bending, falling
    with the weight of what they've become.
    Thank you!

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  7. Hats off to you, Mary Lee, and your creativity! Have you heard of Sketchbook Skool? Lissa at Bonny Glen raves about it. (I'm with Laura -- love your darkening violet!)

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  8. So much creativity, Mary Lee - something about sketching just loosens words and images. It certainly has done so for you!

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  9. I love how our paths cross. I saw the post and the video and would love to pull out a sketchbook. You've inspired me to draw and write, write, and draw. It is so true of the hawk. It perches so high and is camouflaged by the tree. I can hear her protective screech. I feel a poem coming. The muses among us.

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  10. Anonymous8:00 PM

    I was intrigued by this book when Amy shared it on her blog, and then enthralled when I watched the video Kimberley shared. Now I'm just going to cave and order the book. Love the imagery in your sketch-inspired poems!

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  11. I love seeing your doodle. (It reminds me of Amy's notebook series too.) But my favorite part of this post is this beautiful stanza:

    They teach us vulnerability --
    reaching, bending, falling
    with the weight of what they've become.

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  12. I worked with the doodle book (from the library) for a while, & now with all of your inspiration, need to get it. Your poems are lovely, Mary Lee. I think you already sketch beautifully with words, so now guess it's time for the paints, right?

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  13. I almost posted some flower watercolors and poems I'm putting together. Seems everyone is on the same page...or close to it...lately!

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  14. This post makes me smile, too! Thanks for sharing treasures new and re-discovered. (And I'm not sure how I missed this book at Amy's - glad to find it here.)

    The lines Carol and Laura highlighted are the ones that jumped out at me, esp. "the weight of what they've become." Beautiful.

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  15. My license to doodle has taken my far– not sure where I'd be without doodling, actually. Sounds like your summer is off to a great start, Mary Lee!

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  16. How special is this, Mary! "glads" and sketching heat... I'm inspired! Thanks for digging this out. I have a sketchbook somewhere...

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  17. It's so much fun to pick up an old sketchbook or notebook and find treasures inside! Have a fun summer of sketching!

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  18. Hello inspiration! You inspire me, Mary Lee. =)

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