What's in your cigarette?

A dear dear friend tagged me in a note on FB:

In Asbury Park, NJ

by Edwin Romond

It is the end
of my first day
without a cigarette
and I've come here
to breathe
the ocean air; feel
my lungs fill with life
instead of smoke and,
at Asbury Park,
swear to myself
I will never again
inhale what subtracts
even one future chance
to walk this beach,
see these waves,
and feel my heart beat
to the music
of this boardwalk
carousel turning
like the earth
where tonight
I live.

{You can also read it here}

Its a lovely poem, isn't it? I love it when my friends tag me to beautiful posts.

But that was not all. After the poem, she begs the question...

What is your cigarette? What is the smoke that fills your life?

For me, it had ever been doubt.

I smoked doubt
wrapped in sheaves
of self worth.

But not anymore.
Not anymore...

The sheaves
have since unfolded
and the ashes, scattered
to the winds.

Art Challenge Day 3

Today's prompt - Idiom literalized.

Once in a blue moon.

Did you know,

 "A blue moon is a second full moon in a single solar calendar month, which happens every two to three years (seven times in the Metonic cycle of 19 years)." - Wikipedia.

Pretty cool, eh?

Art Challenge Day 2

Today's prompt was 'Body of Water'.

Oh dear, I am in trouble already. Anything that moves or is the least bit ephemeral is simply beyond me.

I think I have a 'deficiency'. I seriously cannot grasp the subtleties between light and shadow when an object is transparent or semi-transparent. Like the Iris from yesterday's challenge. I have to rely a LOT on my imagination to fill in the shadows, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but, it does render the object a bit askew or plastic-ky. But that's okay too I suppose because once my "inner critic" accepts that that is my version of the iris, its all good. Its all in the name of art after all, eh? ;)

So here's my imaginary (it really isn't all that imaginary. Pretty standard stuff really.) drawing of a Body of Water...

All in all, I spent an awesome 30 minutes doodling in the shadows. It did do my soul a lot of good. And that's always a good thing!

10 Day Art Challenge.

A friend of mine recently set up a FB page called 10 Day Art Challenge - a drawing a day. Since I LOVE, nay, ADORE spur of the moment creativity, I jumped right in!

Some of the best ideas, I find, come after running smack dab into the face of a deadline. I personally lose some of the spontaneity (and perhaps enthusiasm too) when I have time to mull things over. Last minute work always has an element of surprise that is appealing. Not to mention, that thrilling dash of adrenaline.


The way I see it, this particular challenge is more of an exercise. To be taken lightly and in the spirit of fun. It is meant to help us keep one foot in the world of creativity so we don't lose ourselves in the dull humdrum of daily life. To take a few moments from the day to simply pay attention and BE.

To keep a finger on the pulse.

So this is how it works:

For each of the 10 days, there is a prompt. You draw, sketch, paint, collage, crayon....the prompt.
You can give it a minute, 5 minutes, an hour or a day.
The idea is to put that pencil on that paper and scribble happiness. :)

Today's prompt was 'Flower or Plant'.

And here's my mad dash scribbling...

And the inspiration....