I'm a 60 year old artist in Memphis, Tennessee. I spend my life trying to catch stories, give them form, color and light, then send back out into the world.
It’s been a busy month and I’ve gotten a chance to do a lot less doodling, drawing and writing than I wanted. However, I’m getting really excited about A Festival of Stories presented by The Portland Storyteller’s Guild, June 1 & 2. We had a rehearsal last week-end and the stories range from hilarious to poignant and back again.
Here are a few recent doodles I’ve managed in my latest sketchbook:
The Most Prolific Flower
I drew this in pencil after dreaming of strange plants all night
These chilis were painted on a plate at a meeting I attended
I got a chance to tell an original story of mine at the Bridge Meadows’ storytime. I usually read books to the children, but once in while I like to pull out the stops and do an original one. The story I told today is about Iris and Aurora, a girl and her seeing eye dragon. I created it for an art and disability show, so it has a nice fabric sculpture of the characters, complete with embroidered Braille signage. There aren’t a lot of stories that have a hero who is blind, so this was a fun one to write and tell. And for a dragon story that doesn’t have a lot of battles, the kids were remarkably absorbed. A young blind girl’s wit in befriending dragons can hold their interest as well as a big battle — at least for 20 minutes. Children and grown-ups both really seem to enjoy the story’s message that change is scary but not always bad. There are good things that happen when we learn to cooperate and value everyone’s strength and beauty. The last line of the story is “A dragon’s not such a scary thing once you see it clearly.”
This story encourages learning by touching
After a good story the kids head straight for the books
Last year for my Easter greeting, I drew a lily bursting out of an egg. This year, I decided to make it a tradition and draw it again. And like last year, I waited til the last minute — a traditional thing for me.
Last year, I did a collage drawing with markers and ink:
Easter
This year I used ink, watercolor, gouache, and colored pencils. I was inspired by a crow’s egg because crows are the birds I see most often and they fuss at me if I don’t write or draw. They fuss at me if I do, but that’s another story.
Have a happy Easter, and I hope something magnificent breaks open for you this year.
joy murray art~stories~life 