Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Stuff of Life



Stuff of Life
(for Mary Pratt)

she
was the
artistic sort
who agreed
preserving
an iridescent
jar
of red
currant jelly
was just as
important as
capturing a
sink full of
            dishes
or even a
half dozen
            cracked
eggs
the
stuff
of life
            little
truths
a
world full
of small
domestic
ceremonies
made
extraordinary  

***

I penned this small verse after I heard the news that East Coast artist Mary Pratt passed away at age 83. She was so good with light and turning the most ordinary objects into beautiful works of art. As I said to a friend who is drawn to her work, “Mary Pratt, to me, is the Carol Shields of painting.” That is a high compliment coming from me because I adore Carol Shields and the seamless way she was able to shape sentences into incredible stories about ordinary things, common things. It was their execution of their perspective art-forms that made them extraordinary creatives and women.

She left behind a spectacular body of work.

In propinquity,
Nic

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