LittlePurpleCow Productions

Ole's been working on the "The Wall" numbered series of paintings for many years. It was initially inspired by a polaroid image of a canvas stretcher shot in his studio (without much thought) by a peer UGA art professor and friend Art Rosenblum. Ole taped the polaroid to the wall for inspiration – something to paint – and a powerful body of work began to emerge.

As I'm slowly processing all that Ole and I discussed during our time together this past week – topics ranging from visions of Vietnam to the intensity of cadmium red – what I remember most is the quiet. He said nothing as he painted on the wall. And I said nothing as I moved through his studio, attempting to preserve the energy contained within the space we shared... the magic made visible on the wall.

rising from a wooden bench
she moves with purpose
bare feet on concrete
eager hands
clutching plastic grocery bags
and crumpled cans
the screened door slams
scattering mismatched cats
beneath a mighty presence
where the roses bloom
drenched in heavy scent
easing into the leather seat
consuming space and breadth
she affirms, "I am blessed"

* * *

Poetry is really intimidating to me and I honestly have no idea what I'm doing, but I'm playing with words and phrases in my mind these days – feeling inspired by my friend Sage Cohen's latest book, "Writing the Life Poetic". In the introduction to her book, she writes, "The poem gives us a kind of cosmic canvas to savor a moment, make sense of it, put a little frame around it, and digest our experience more completely." This rings so true for me. It feels like photography.