Muse ..... poem

Muse

Some artists shine
inspired by their muse
in making amazing creations
hung in a gallery
for the art world to see 
where critics can sing adulations

Like Serendipity
the goddess in science
delivering unexpected discoveries
that were not sought
and arrived all unexpected
making for a hearty round of revelries

Like a flight of imagination
the muse dancing around the studio
may have sprung from a dazzling vision
or risen from memory
to haunt the mind's mirror
like sirens singing sailors into destruction

Driving hand to brush
to cast the magic palette live
however plain the dreamer's compositions
however wild the meanderings
however masterful the renderings
the spirit of the muse inspires new creations

And the artist, bemused, laughs
and wonders how that happened
and how this moment can be recreated
when the light flows onto canvas
when a window is seen beyond each stroke
when dreams fly from a heart wild and liberated

Should the artist get tired 
should red wine flow in bitter sorrow
then the muse may weep at the loss of zest
fade in the mirror 
and climb to the window
seeking another to serve on their quest

Maybe the artist falls out of bed
and shaken awake, rekindles the light
like a dog out of the water that shakes like mad
drenching everyone around
new work begins, new fire unsheathed
and the artist laughs, where once had fallen sad

Distracted in flight 
the muse stops, turns around 
flies back through the mirror, the studio
to join the frivolity 
the drawings that make the art
the new inspirations that are ready to go

The artist knows
that the muse will depart 
if the art slides away into sorrow  
if the brushes fall
if the palette hits the floor
if they lose the song of the morrow


Jaqi
Bluh

Tuesday 
20
November
2018

NOTE ~   The idea of the muse in art is a whimsicle notion, and a way to describe inspiration. The art historian, Kenneth Clark, once wrote ~ “Facts become art through love, which unifies and lifts them to a higher plane of reality; and, in landscape, this all embracing love is expressed as light.” (‘Landscape into Art’, 1949, 1976, page 33). It is the love the artist devotes to a work, along with skill and passion, that can turn a picture into a work of art, and a creation that other people come to love. It is this connection of love which also lifts a work of art in value. A painting will not stand the test of time to grow in value, because it is quite good with excellent technique. A painting will rise in value and be seen as truly great, through the love connection, that so many people love that work, and would be prepared to buy it, if they could. Lesser works by the same artist will then increase in value, because they are part of the body of the artist's work. And when the artist is gone, their work may increase in value, if the work of the artist continues to inspire love and attract passion for the work. In this mix, the inspiration that has filled the work of the artist, may be a form of muse. For Salvador Dali, his muse was a person, with Gala his wife and lover, who featured in his art many times, and who inspired his creative aspirations. For other artist's the muse may be more ethereal, a play of light that dances in their life, inspiring thir imagination. Can anyone have a muse, an inspiration in their life? If the living of a life is a walking work of art, then yes: anyone can have a muse to inspire and amuse them. It is the love that is lived, and shared, that makes a life into art, and give a life greater value.