And it was a no-brainer as to which poet (I've loved John Keats since I first studied him at school...), and which poem (the only poem I could ever recite verbatim...), written in 1817/18, when he was about 22, and was already starting to display the symptoms of consumption, having nursed his brother Tom till his death from the disease...
When I have fears that I may cease to be
Before my pen has gleaned my teeming brain,
Before high-piled books, in charact'ry,
Hold like rich garners the full-ripen'd grain;
When I behold, upon the night's starr'd face,
Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,
And think that I may never live to trace
Their shadows, with the magic hand of chance;
And when I feel, fair creature of an hour,
That I shall never look upon thee more,
Never have relish in the faery power
Of unreflecting love!—then on the shore
Of the wide world I stand alone, and think
Till Love and Fame to Nothingness do sink.
Before my pen has gleaned my teeming brain,
Before high-piled books, in charact'ry,
Hold like rich garners the full-ripen'd grain;
When I behold, upon the night's starr'd face,
Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,
And think that I may never live to trace
Their shadows, with the magic hand of chance;
And when I feel, fair creature of an hour,
That I shall never look upon thee more,
Never have relish in the faery power
Of unreflecting love!—then on the shore
Of the wide world I stand alone, and think
Till Love and Fame to Nothingness do sink.
So I began by photocopying the poem from a favourite edition (yes, I have several Keats books...), and coffee-staining it...
Then I made a charcoal sketch of the famous Keats portrait by his friend Charles Brown which you can see on the bookcover in the lower-left corner of the pic above, and tore round it...
...no mean feat one-handed, I can tell you!
Then I found images in various magazines to illustrate different lines...
The 'high-piled books' you can just see along the left-hand edge of the above image...
An image of 'the night's starr'd face' and 'Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance'...
And an image of a woman standing alone 'on the shore/Of the wide world'...
Then, I added, what I think is one of the loveliest epitaphs I've ever read...
... 'Here lies one whose name was writ in water'.
John Keats died of TB, aged only 26...
And here's the whole journal page...
As always, it's never as good as I imagined...
in part, due to my lack of finesse, working one-handed, my frustratingly bad left-handed writing, and using poor-quality adhesive...
But, it is what it is...
the representation of a deep love for a particular piece of poetry, and an abiding admiration for a wonderfully gifted man, who died way too young, almost two centuries ago...
Wow!! The power of art, eh????
14 comments:
it turned out quite lovely. i do believe you are a bit rough on yourself. your left hand's writing is no worse than my right's. the slight jaggedness adds a bit of welcomed intrigue. and i love the torn paper and white on black illustrated lines.
a worthy tribute.
cheers!
Claire, I wish you wouldn't be so hard on yourselve, it looks very good as it is + the way you created it is interesting.
i find your piece very moving! I love it! and thank you so much for entering the challenge!! :)
and i also liked seeing the process of your piece too!
It's beautiful to see that this young man, who was so faithful to his brother, still has a place in the hearts of the living. He hasn't been forgotten! I really like what you put together!
Woah, that was quite a project you took on! I think you did brilliantly, and I love the creative mix you produced :)
I was totally impressed. For someone who doesn't draw and hates to write even a few words, I'm in complete awe of not just the finished piece, but the process you went through to accomplish it. It is wonderful. And of course, I learned something about Keats, because I am not much of one to appreciate poetry. It's a fairly new subject to me.
Wow - you did that drawing with your "wrong" hand?! I'm in awe! I love your piece; the words, the understated colour scheme and the feeling behind it.
I love poetry too. Though I haven't read much of Keats, he certainly wrote beautifully for one so young.
I think your piece came out very nice--a lovely tribute to a favorite poem and poet.
I like the poem you chose, it's a good reminder 22, 42, 72, etc. it's all going to be over at some point. Your sketch is terrific, and the whole piece is a beautiful tribute!
I'm excited that you also took inspiration from a pre-existing wonderful writer! I think your piece is beautiful-- did you write and draw the whole thing with a non-dominant hand? It's very well shaded and excecuted, so no matter what hand you used, it is a success! Beautiful work, and it was a wonderful homage to Keats.
I'm excited that you also took inspiration from a pre-existing wonderful writer! I think your piece is beautiful-- did you write and draw the whole thing with a non-dominant hand? It's very well shaded and excecuted, so no matter what hand you used, it is a success! Beautiful work, and it was a wonderful homage to Keats.
Good for you for trying something difficult to accomplish and persevering. The result is so cool and creative and reflective of your appreciation of the poem. Though I'm not a fan of poetry, I can certainly enjoy your representation of it. Great job!
Hi claire - as they say on "Strictly C D" - "be proud, very proud".
Meredith
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