Forbidden Entry

“Our polished internal shrines often compete with real events as we shape our what’s and our where’s to fit” -Anthony Williams

I completed the small mosaic pictured to the right based on this phrase from the poem “Forbidden Entry” by Professor Anthony Williams. Professor Williams gave a reading of his poetry at a recent community event here in Orangeburg. The poem was a response to a call for poetry using the phrase “Where I Was When....” Professor Williams’ poem about the futility of using negative external events to evaluate individual lives resonated with me because I, too, had some difficulty with the “assigned” topic. Although I didn’t put my ambivalence into poetry, when I recalled major historical events, I realized that they actually did not have great import on my own life nor did my life have any effect on the event. That is why I settled on writing about events of minor consequence that I had personally witnessed. Professor Williams’ words beckoned to me for a visual interpretation - a ghost-like anonymous figure at a casement surrounded by fitted gold-leafed glass pieces. The surrounding area is ceramic tile glazed ivory and white punctuated with strips of black fused glass looking like split timbers.

For the entire text of Professor William's poem click on to lothlorien1.blogspot.com

This weekend I will be teaching my second seminar on the direct method in mosaic at The Walnut House in Bamburg, South Carolina this Saturday. The seminar includes all materials, nin for the bargain introductory price of $60. This is a new school in a charming location. For more information call Julia Wolfe at: 803 245-1308