Alternative Reflections is a new category for me here at RJsCorner. It is meant to allow my creative side a little more leeway in my life. Most of the posts in this category will be where I take some of my favorite photos and expose them to artistic apps to turn them into “art”. Of course art is in the eye of the beholder, so I will wait for your judgement on whether I am doing a good job.
The first installment is a picture of me taken at a cafe attached to the Westside Market in Cleveland. It was taken last year during our trip to see Punxsutawney Phil. A full post on that soon. 🙂
I have always been fascinated by poetry. But in my early years I was taught that poetry was for sissies and no young boy wants to be a sissy. As typical with many young people, I was introduced to poetry by Edger Allan Poe and particularly “The Raven”. The words of that poem certainly painted a vivid picture. Most of Poe’s works were dark in nature, but as I learned that is not what poetry is necessarily all about.
It’s hard to put a definition on poetry. It seems there are about as many definitions as there are poets. Some want to put strict rules for writing, and some say you make your own rules. There are also a myriad of types of poems. Some rely on cadence, some on rhyme, some by just content.
If you want to give me your idea of what a poem is I will certainly welcome it. But to me “The rules of poetry are in the eye of the beholder”. So, here are my general rules:
A Poem
Is painting a picture in words.
Focuses on one primary emotion
Has an identifiable cadence
Has more than 15 words on a line
Has 4 lines to a stanza.
Has around seven stanzas.
At least getting started, I am trying to live by my rules. The type of poetry I will primarily be attempting is called “free verse”. That means it doesn’t necessarily rhyme.
My first, and only poem so far here on RJsCorner brought on some concerns about my level of depression. That was exactly the picture I wanted to paint, so I guess I was successful. The poem was meant to be depressing, but not necessarily at my current my depth.
What I mainly like about writing poetry is that it demands a greater level of thought. At least starting out, I am going to use a photo from my portfolio as the focus. The poem will paint in words what I give you in that corresponding picture.
I don’t know how successful I will be but I am going to give it a serious try. Of course, you will be the judge of my accomplishments in the new endeavor.
I hope that there is no American over 8 year old that doesn’t know where the title words come from. For this Artsy Saturday I give you the words in shoe laces! They were found at the Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville Arkansas.
I am one of those people who doesn’t particularly like looking at pictures of myself. But for this artsy Saturday that is just what I am going to do. We were in a restaurant in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia acting silly. That month-long trip to our northern neighbors was one of my most memorable.
For this artsy Saturday I give you the Avanti. It was a radical design by the Studebaker car company in the 1960s. I am a car guy and I am proud to have one in my collection. My 1/32nd scale model collection that is. 🙂 This real one was found in the Auburn Auto Museum in Ft. Wayne Indiana a few years ago.
I’m sure that all the red knobs in this pictured weren’t placed there to be artsy, but in my opinion, they are. This picture of a steam locomotive was taken at a railroad museum in Greenbay Wisconsin.
For this artsy Saturday, I bring you pure creativity. I haven’t had the pleasure of visiting Laster’s Art Shack but from the looks of the company car, I imagine it is one creative place.
For this Artsy Saturday, I bring you raw beauty. I am constantly in awe of the beauty I find in nature. This one was taken in the mountains of Colorado in 2012. Very simple, but very beautiful.
