swan song

i know the heavy ballast

of feeling out of step

with your companions,

those who would try

to tame your wildness

and make of you a pet

they do not understand

that you have been infected

with the desire to see

the beauty in all things
-the oyster and the pearl-

or how, like the swan,

you are able to drink

only the milk from a

saucer-full diluted with water

i know it isn't easy, but persevere

in learning to sing your own song

-stacy wills (2/25/2011)

the sap is rising

the trees of the lord are full of sap...(psalm 104:16)

winter is passing

and in the trees

the sap is rising

sticky and sweet

even the old one*

feels young again

i saw her this morning

radiant and glistening

with jewels

-stacy wills (2/23/2011)

spilled ink

the bald cypress trees

spilled their inky reflections

love poems to the moon

-stacy wills (2/21/2011)

the art of play

the weather has been glorious this week in our neck of the woods with clear skies and temps in the 70's. yesterday's weather was perfect for getting outside and making some new citra solv pages. don't they look lovely drying in the sun? it's always great fun to see how they turn out...all the various colors and patterns that emerge.

i took several photos of my new bumper crop, downloaded them into my computer and began playing around with them in photoshop elements. i can explain my process to that point, and then...i just play with various effects and settings. for me, making art is often a series of happy accidents...it's a game of "what if...?" it's always a surprise to see what happens next...to watch how this (see above) becomes....this (see below).

spring thaw

to learn more about how to work with citra solv, visit their website and click on the "artist page" link for more information, how-to's and tutorials.

the mystery at work

darkness and light

dance on the edge

of a razor-sharp blade

the mystery at work

no dull sword here

every movement - precise

-stacy wills (2/18/2011)

the robin

life and death intermingling

captured in a moment, fleeting

'twas not a sparrow

who fell that day

but rather a robin,* so young

though it's tempting

to think otherwise,

even the briefest life

does not go unnoticed

the shortest song, unsung

-stacy wills (2/9/2011)

*the source image for this mandala is from a photograph of the feathers of a juvenile robin (juveniles lack the distinctive red breast of an adult bird) who met an untimely death after flying into my kitchen window. his mother and i stood watch, hoping that he was merely momentarily stunned (as occasionally happens), but he remained still. though it may seem macabre to some, there is something about creating mandalas from decaying things in nature, and then working with them digitally, that somehow captures and reanimates their essence - brings them back to life, as it were. it is my hope that in some small way my work honors this one life and brings awareness of the sanctity of all life.

dancing moon

i love the way you

wax and wane

dancing yourself

whole again

-stacy wills (2/8/11)

inspiring women

i recently had the privilege of taking part in a unique project celebrating the importance and value of women's circles. the project is the brainchild of ceramic artist, janet akers of vicksburg, ms. she provides each member of a participating group with a bisque figure to decorate. janet plans to exhibit the completed project in march 2011 at the southern cultural heritage foundation. the figurines you see here represent the amazing and inspiring women i am blessed to call my friends.

this is my contribution...her name is "blossom."

there came a time

when the risk

to remain

tight in the bud

was more painful

than the risk it took

to blossom

-anais nin (1903-1977)

thoughts on creativity

...i found i had to give up my idea of what a painting should be: portraying a beautiful scene in a pleasing way. instead, it is about the alive act of moment by moment listening to the flashes of thought at the periphery of perception, and responding in color and form...creativity is a process...it takes practice and intuition...it is full of surprises and discovery and cannot be known ahead of time.

-natalie goldberg (b. 1948)