Escape...is not an option
“Escape” is part of the Journal, Abstract Symbolism, and Graffiti and Altered Images Collection…how often do we feel trapped within our own skins…find it impossible to “peel away the layers” to get to the heart of things..we are with ourselves alone…escape is not an option...
Watercolour, Masa Lace paper, Onion skins and Pigment Inks, on an Altered Journal page…
Challenge winner..
868 Views
Escape is such a thankful Word
I often in the Night
Consider it unto myself
No spectacle in sight
Escape…it is the Basket
In which the Heart is caught
When down some awful Battlement
The rest of Life is dropped
‘Tis not to sight the savior
It is to be the saved..
And that is why I lay my head
Upon this trusty word ..Emily Dickenson
NEIL says it another way…listen…
“I am,” I said
To no one there
An no one heard at all
Not even the chair
“I am,” I cried
“I am,” said I
And I am lost, and I can’t even say why
Leavin’ me lonely still
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Janis Zroback
The Layers
I have walked through many lives,
some of them my own,
and I am not who I was,
though some principle of being
abides, from which I struggle
not to stray.
When I look behind,
as I am compelled to look
before I can gather strength
to proceed on my journey,
I see the milestones dwindling
toward the horizon
and the slow fires trailing
from the abandoned camp-sites,
over which scavenger angels
wheel on heavy wings.
Oh, I have made myself a tribe
out of my true affections,
and my tribe is scattered!
How shall the heart be reconciled
to its feast of losses?
In a rising wind
the manic dust of my friends,
those who fell along the way,
bitterly stings my face.
Yet I turn, I turn,
exulting somewhat,
with my will intact to go
wherever I need to go,
and every stone on the road
precious to me.
In my darkest night,
when the moon was covered
and I roamed through wreckage,
a nimbus-clouded voice
directed me:
“Live in the layers,
not on the litter.”
Though I lack the art
to decipher it,
no doubt the next chapter
in my book of transformations
is already written.
I am not done with my changes. Stanley Kunitz
VanSnuG
Profoundly Beautiful, Janis.
Surely Fave @ the 1st Sight.
Janis Zroback replied
Thank you Steven…what a lovely compliment to my work…
blamo
Another gem …................ night Janis writings on the wall for me too lol
Janis Zroback replied
I know it’s terrible to stay up so late…sleep is so essential and I never sleep in either….always up by 6 or 7….but I always have the feeling that I don’t have enough time to get it all done…whatever “it” is…glad you like this one too.
blamo
p.s. love the mesh effect Too
Janis Zroback replied
It was great for trapping the onion skins, and keeping them there…...
Karin Taylor
beautiful art work Janis..very insightful words also
someone once said that being a highly sensitive person
is like living without skin…everything gets in…like ink into the chalk…
i feel like that…their are no more layers to peel back…it is all there, all visible….
there is no escape
Janis Zroback replied
Well said Karin…although sometimes people wrap themselves in tight layers, so as not to get hurt…they also feel trapped…
Glad you like the work…it’s really a play on words…there are the actual layers in the painting, plus the layers of the onion skin, the layers you just mentioned, and the layers in the poem above, and also the ones we hide ourselves in, so much that when we look we see “no one there”..
Ron Fitzgerald
Hi Janis
What a great image and addittional poetry/song lyrics as always your contributions leave me in awe and make me think (Sometimes deeper that I want to)
Regards
Ron
Janis Zroback replied
Have not seen you here for a while Ron…welcome…so pleased you like the series…
Karin Taylor
congratulations on your feature Janis!!!!!
Janis Zroback replied
Thank you so much Karin…
Van Cordle
Excellent all round!!
Janis Zroback replied
Thank you Van…
Alison Cornfor...
Just when I think I’ve chosen my favorite series of yours, you go and upload a new one that just blows me away. I love this series, as I love all of your work Janis! I think this one appeals to me so much because of the importance of both visual and written art in my life (I trained as a journalist but then moved back to my first love photography). Gorgeous work and I look forward to seeing more!
Janis Zroback replied
Thank you so much Alison…that’s a lovely comment on my work…
I tend to interrupt the different collections to give you something different to look at…the Journal series started a while back and now I’m posting a few more…I’m pleased that it resonates with you.
Paul Stephen ...
Profound statement art and writings accompanied by a good song. If I can get up in the morning see the man in the mirror and like what I see,as is, I am satisfied, for too many years I had to add layers of explanations to why I was seeing ,what I saw, thankfully , I don t anymore. Paul
Janis Zroback replied
One of the blessings of getting older and there are many, is that [for some of us at least], you not only begin to accept what you see in the mirror, you begin to really like it a lot, “warts and all”....you prioritize your life and realize that what you felt was so important does not really matter at all…
That’s why I posted the song..he had lost himself waiting for someone else to make him happy…it’s a trap many of us fall into.
Geir Floede
So very beautiful abstraction. But also powerful. Great done.
Janis Zroback replied
Thank you Geir…glad you like it…
ElYPares
Vibrant and interesting image!!!
Janis Zroback replied
Thank you Ely…
LindaMcCarthy
Powerful work and one many of us can relate to. Gorgeous combo of color and texture.
Janis Zroback replied
Thank you Linda…thanks also for visiting my pages and complimenting my work…I really appreciate it.
bongo
Beautiful art
Janis Zroback replied
Thank you so much…
Alison Pearce
Fantastic!!
Janis Zroback replied
Thanks so much Alison…
Joanne Bradley
So clever, so inspiring, so thought provoking! If we can only learn to find and use the freedom within!
Janis Zroback replied
That’s very true…thank you Joanne.
camerahappy
I love your use of color janice…the textures are divine!
Janis Zroback replied
Thanks again and welcome to my pages…
Jolie
Wonderful words and quite the inspiring accompaniment Janis
A wonderful presentation!
Janis Zroback replied
Thank you so much Jolie…I’m reall pleased you like it..
Elizabeth Bravo
Janis, I love this piece. Escape is a word that evokes thought. Should I, I would like to, but then where would I be, in another place with the same thoughts all over again. Hmmmm.
The color is very nice and love the texture.
Janis Zroback replied
Thank you so much Elizabeth…I’m really pleased this piece resonates with you…it’s quite that true that every where you go, there you are…
emel
Terrific imagination and technique!!!
Janis Zroback replied
Welcome and thank you so much…very nice of you…