The final movie

I've heard that a person's life story flashes before her eyes in the last moment of life. If this is true, I'm all about making that final movie phenomenal. I think I've already had enough conflict for a good story arc, so yeah, I'm all in for the sappy, happy, and lengthy ending. That's what I'm shooting for.

And what makes me happy is writing.

I'll be updating this blog only a few times this year because I've decided to focus the little free time I have to work on the novel, and also, possibly, add to and rewrite Musical Chairs--I'm inclined to do this every five years, Montaigne-style, adding new realizations and perspective with time. And because my contract with All Things That Matter Press expires in 2013, I figured this was a good time to work on it. I haven't yet decided. What I know is that I need to write, and so I'll be here less often, but I wanted to check in to say that my wrist is healing. I have a little nerve damage that I'm working to correct with physical therapy and a slightly modified lifestyle that means less time roaming the virtual landscape. So, I'll be back in full effect next year. In the meantime, Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone. Have a beautiful year, and I'll be checking in.

Responding to Art: Language and Place on the Edge



Image by Mark R. Knox, KnoxworX Multimedia

I looked to her for definition. The artificial. The perfect. She redefined delicacy when she found her place in nature, in images around my home. She held my own rough image, magnified, enlivened, so that I only wanted to close my eyes in front of the mirror, hoping for smoother lines. Fragile, younger then, I looked to her, to art, to the place of light. I look still. And sometimes the light peeks out, around the trees, above the moist and fragrant ground. It begs reflection, tells me to seek other forms of beauty. Look to the whole, it says, redefine.

This image is one of my father's "Mannequin Series". Each piece within the series stars the same mannequin--sometimes pieces of her. She is often photographed in natural scenes or against gritty backgrounds. She creates smooth, gentle lines, always in contrast to the enviornment. In this piece, I like the juxtaposition between the artificial perfection of her hands as they hold up a fragile, mirrored orb and the dark, textural beauty of the forest. I wrote this to examine the juxtaposition as well as my own definition of beauty in art.


More about Language and Place on the Edge here: http://michelleelvy.wordpress.com/