Pearls from artists* # 109
* an ongoing series of quotations – mostly from artists, to artists – that offers wisdom, inspiration, and advice for the sometimes lonely road we are on.
A BOX OF PASTELS
I once held on my knees a simple wooden box
in which a rainbow lay dusty and broken.
It was a set of pastels that had years before
belonged to the painter Mary Cassatt,
and all of the colors she’d used in her work
lay open before me. Those hues she’d most used,
the peaches and pinks, were worn down to stubs,
while the cool colors – violet, ultramarine –
had been set, scarcely touched, to one side.
She’d had little patience with darkness, and her heart
held only a measure of shadow. I touched
the warm dust of those colors, her tools,
and left there with light on the tips of my fingers.
Ted Kooser in Art and Artists: Poems, edited by Emily Fragos
Comments are welcome!
Posted on September 17, 2014, in 2014, An Artist's Life, Creative Process, Inspiration, Pastel Painting, Pearls from Artists, Photography, Quotes, Studio, Working methods and tagged "Art and Artists: Poems", "Broken", box, colors, cool, darkness, dusty, Emily Fragos, fingers, heart, hues, knees, light, Mary Cassatt, measure, painter, pastels, patience, peaches, Pearls from Artists, pinks, rainbow, scarcely, shadow, stubs, Ted Kooser, tips, tools, touched, ultramarine, violet, wooden, work, worn down. Bookmark the permalink. 5 Comments.
Great photo from your studio and cool poem to boot .
Hi – Barbra I’m moving back to Maine to be closer too Family here is my new E – Mail – peterherley6@gmail.com maybe we can meet for coffee when I’m visiting N.Y.C till then keep up the great work and Blog yours truly – Artist – Peter Herley .
Sure, Peter. Stay in touch.
Thanks, what a wonderful poem. Love Ted Kooser and this is a gem I have never read before!
Cathy, “Art and Artists: Poems” is a wonderful little book.