Day 179

Return Our Wings, 6 x 6 inch oil on panel

© 2012 Kathleen Coy

I was in the mood to do a figurative piece, and was looking around on http://artists.pixelovely.com/practice-tools/figure-drawing/ for a pose that caught my eye, and this was it. Is there really any other shape that is as compelling, powerful, or precious as the female form? This is a theme I've been interested in exploring - capturing the power and emotion and movement of the human spirit with paint. We'll see what happens with this in the future, (there are so many things I want to paint!) but it will definitely be with my own models and photos. Still, this was a very enjoyable piece for me. The title is taken from from Jewel Mathieson's incredibly powerful poem, We Have Come to Be Danced:

We have come to be danced

not the pretty dance

not the pretty pretty, pick me, pick me dance

but the claw our way back into the belly

of the sacred, sensual animal dance

the unhinged, unplugged, cat is out of its box dance

the holding the precious moment in the palms

of our hands and feet dance

We have come to be danced

not the jiffy booby, shake your booty for him dance

but the wring the sadness from our skin dance

the blow the chip off our shoulder dance

the slap the apology from our posture dance

We have come to be danced

not the monkey see, monkey do dance

one, two dance like you

one two three, dance like me dance

but the grave robber, tomb stalker

tearing scabs & scars open dance

the rub the rhythm raw against our souls dance

WE have come to be danced

not the nice invisible, self conscious shuffle

but the matted hair flying, voodoo mama

shaman shakin’ ancient bones dance

the strip us from our casings, return our wings

sharpen our claws & tongues dance

the shed dead cells and slip into

the luminous skin of love dance

We have come to be danced

not the hold our breath and wallow in the shallow end of the floor dance

but the meeting of the trinity: the body, breath & beat dance

the shout hallelujah from the top of our thighs dance

the mother may I?

yes you may take 10 giant leaps dance

the Olly Olly Oxen Free Free Free dance

the everyone can come to our heaven dance

We have come to be danced

where the kingdom’s collide

in the cathedral of flesh

to burn back into the light

to unravel, to play, to fly, to pray

to root in skin sanctuary

We have come to be danced

WE HAVE COME