Wednesday, October 30, 2013

storytelling

Storytelling.


The artistry of storytelling cuts through every art form.  Typically we hear it in well woven stories, in poetry, and in strings of words that transport our thoughts.  Some writers are gifted with just-the-right words and patience to lay plots, embellish characters, and land the right lines to make us laugh or cry.  I do love a good read.  

Me, no, I am not a patient storyteller.  I love words -- they are one of my favorite mediums.  But in telling of a tale, I either rush through (out of my own excitement) or end up telling half of the story and messing up the great ending.  I know this about myself, I have more fun listening.


I am raising young men with distinctive artistic leanings.  I am learning, through their unique expressions, that the reach of story sharing is much greater than what resides in text.  One is studying computer science and is able to conceptualize and share many layers of meaning at once - creating works of dynamic art.  My oldest is a musician and a brilliant writer, and he shares things through sounds, rhythms and layers of wordy-words. Josh, my youngest, loves to do what I do, create messy kinds of art with his imagination and fingers.

And then, Joseph, my boy that helped me with this work I am sharing today, is taken with the dramatic arts.


Storytelling for me is a visual art:  I see things and stories come alive in my mind.

Perhaps you are the same way?  Do you get lost in a beautiful image?  When you see the light fall on a couple sitting on their stoop, highlighting just their heads; do you imagine what are they talking about?  When I see the crinkling brown lines form on the shepherd's smiling face, does he see something in the sheep I don't see?  Watching the old tree bend and twist with ice and snow, what could it be sharing with me?  The visual world is full of symbolism and storylines...

Capturing images of the sublime - the divine light streaming through the trees - keeps my stories moving forward.  I love photography for this reason.  In is the capturing of a single moment, a moment I want to save, it allows me to see deeply and share my own inner stories...

The layered story I am sharing today is based on the season of Fall, my young sons, Joseph & Josh (finding a way through a hard place) and the words of Walt Whitman.  May this little collection bring inspiration for your own stories to be born and shared (in any medium).


This is what you shall do...

Love the earth and the sun and the animals, 
despise riches, give alms to everyone that asks,
stand up for the stupid and crazy, 
devote your income and labor to others, 
hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, 
have patience and indulgence toward the people,  
...go freely with the powerful uneducated persons, 
and with the young and with the mothers of families, 
read these leaves in the open air 
every season of every year of your life,
re-examine all you have been told at school 
or church or in any book. 
dismiss whatever insults your own soul; 
and your very flesh shall be a great poem... 
Walt Whitman (1819-1892)


dedicated to my young sons - pianist is my husband


Is it time to share your stories?

You are a storyteller.  
You have brilliant things to share.


Don't be limited to a single way of sharing.  You are a unique artist.  Perhaps looking inside you will see ways to embed your thoughts in music, prose, photography, watercolors, quilting and stitching, art journaling, voice recordings, or writing out a few short stories.   You will find a way~  



With love and blessing,
jj



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