Resilience Revealed
Erasure Poetry, Experimentations, and Good News
Manuela Thames’ erasure poetry post last week inspired me to try it myself. While staying afloat from a sea of sadness and uncertainty, I was curious to explore whether or not some of my subconscious thoughts might rise to the surface. I imagine them like the sun obscured by clouds on a rainy day, and all this time its luminous glow at sunrise is visible at 35,000 feet above when you’re on an airplane.
If you’re not familiar with the technique, erasure poetry is redacting words from an existing text to create a new poem— or in my case, a line in a poem. Another example is Austin Kleon who has done this quite well in his books and posts.
What they revealed in these first attempts was a spirit of resilience, hope, and patience. I’m somewhat relieved to know they’re still there. It seems I will be leaning into this direction and see what else lies beneath. Maybe some of my fears and anxieties too? We shall see. I think that’s one of the reasons why art is so powerful—it teaches us about ourselves if we pay enough attention and dig deeper.
Life hands us a sweet gift. The answer might be in a letter.
Sometimes, sow the seeds of rich inspiration.
There is a whisper.
To shape water.
Breathing.
Do things differently
with beauty,
Quiet and thoughtful,
and more stunning.
There is a way.
I also came across some analog collages I worked on before I left for Manila last year. I was experimenting with dimensions, creating compositions with narrow rectangulars. With fresh inspiration from Amy Sherald’s color palette, I’m also exploring color combinations and placement within a frame. I’m not sure where they’re going but I wanted to share them with you.
Lastly, some good news!
This week, I received a notification through email that I am one of eight artists commissioned for the Bus Art Shelter program in my tiny city of Emeryville. Trent, the gentleman who I regrettably missed the interview with last January for an artist in residency program, passed my name to Amber who is the manager of this program. She reached out and encouraged me to apply since the deadline was not until the end of February. I had done some collages already for the residency application and decided to submit it to this call since they fit quite well with the theme.
I’m both delighted and nervous—this is my first venture into public art. After the meeting at City Hall, I walked through the empty parking lot, noticing the warm slant of warm late afternoon light, and got into the Smart Car. I whispered a thank you to God and Ate Marica for making it possible.
A few days later, I wrote a letter sharing the good news to my sister in my journal. Somehow, this practice keeps us connected, even though I know she won’t be reading it. I remember last December—the tears of joy she shed when I told her about the AIR program at the hospital, relieved to hear one piece of good news after a series of terrible prognoses about her health. I hold on to that memory.
When we were kids, we had Super 8 movie nights in my parents' room. One of the films we regularly watched was a condensed version of Disney’s Cinderella. I always loved the song A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes. Sung by Ilene Woods, with music and lyrics by Mack David, Al Hoffman, and Jerry Livingston, it always lifted my spirits—even though my young mind didn’t quite understand what the song truly meant.
But this particular line always gets me:
'No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dream that you wish will come true.'
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Stella you are remarkable. Just saying. I loved everything about this post.
well, congratulations! that is good news