moving as if she had no bones
swaying over red clay
as if it were a lover’s body
or a child she is creating
music hums in colors
she wrings from slip
until she is sure
it is ready to mold
she rasps her bare feet
on kick wheel at speeds
that allow for shape
to make itself
knowing drying behaviors of clay
collected from caves,
she will work into darkness
with candle to add shadow
in this dance of master and mind.
she smells musky with Patchouli, sweat,
and wet mud in birthing forms
that ripple like muscles
at her touch
it is caressed, like skin
until her palms feel passionate
surrender to act of love
in alternate sexual experience
between clay woman and woman of clay
some have been burned hard enough to build walls
Author notes
(Genesis 11.3 “Go to,let us make bricks,and burn them thoroughly”)
My soulsister and I both do sculpting...both of us love either the stands or a kick potter's wheel. It is slower, but it allows the clay more of its own will.
We both come up the ranks of hippydippy ways without getting involved in the negative aspects...both of us have worn Patchouli since we discovered it in the mid-sixties
jpg = my sculptures of Gathering of Women of the Pots
In a list
A contest entry
- "MEMBERS OF HUGH WYLES FAVOURITES GROUP ONLY" No. 12 by huguenauties.
750 points, ended May 30, 2007, 19 entries
Honorable mention
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 50 of 50
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I see you are a double threat lady. Your sculptures are amazing and so are the words that match them with the hands of high caliber! This is a brilliant work. I love the descriptive tone and the wondrous feeling I got after reading this. EXQUISITE work in clay and ink! I wish you well in this challenge.
Much Love ♥
Renee
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ty poetrality... I know you to be an awesome poet and I appreciate your kind words.
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Thank you for taking the time to enter. We appreciate your talents. Best of luck to you
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ty Ann...
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I have always wished that I could sculpt clay, but I am horribly inept at anything artistic, so thank you for allowing me a glimpse into what it is like to create something beautiful. Lovely poem and best of luck!
Elisa, CB & YOKEGG -
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I wish you could come spend a day with me..I would show you how you are not in charge of the sculpting material but it is in chrage of itself..... if I tried to force these into a consignment piece, I could never do it. That is why I am a writer not a real artist.
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WOW!
I got butterflies in my stomach. And the clay figurines are awesome. It must be my creative soul. I enjoyed your poem so very much and wish you the very best in this contest. You have my vote.
Hugs and love,
Petratani
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petratani..if you ahve never worked with sculpting material, you should. You can get all kinds of material from palces like AJ Moore, that are inexpesive and do not need a kiln. Soem of my work is done in a foam material and it gives the figures a different quality because you can move them around.
I think you would enjoy it and it gives the soul another way to express itself.
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Beautiful glimpse into your creative soul. Well done
Cheers
Anne
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ty, wheezy. My midn is always busy and is a make-work boss of every minute of my day, hoenstly! Sometimes it is a hard boss. *smile*
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Both the poem and the sculptures are awesome! I think you've brought the two together in a very beautiful and artistic way, and I enjoyed reading this very much. Good luck to you in the contest with your wonderful entry.
Best wishes,
~J.
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I am going to try to use my own pictures for a bit and see if poems will curl out of work I have done. maa did a beautiful poem using one of my fishscale and porcupine pieces.
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Dear Carol, Oh golly gosh this is a fantastic poem.
You have let me see into your world and how you make your beautiful pottery.
And made it into a sensual spiritual experience.
Wonderful Carol.
Hine.
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I have done many forms of the Woman of Clay and The Women of the Pots. I have not done any for the time I have been publishing, but am excited to do some more...I find it very healing and comforting. ty pen friend.
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Dear Carol, This is a very lovely poem. Very sensual and yet very spiritual. I enjoyed reading your poem very much.
Jen.
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ty Jenelda...I find working with clay jsut that... I can get lost in the feel of palm to clay.
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You let us see that intersection between artist and art in a wonderful way! With no doubt one of my favourite entries so far
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ty gaze. It needed a tweak and I waited for the contest ending to do that....
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Still reads wonderful!
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This is exquisite, Carol. You've brought life not only to the figures you create but to your words as well. You are indeed a multi-talented lady. And in a gentle way, I envy you to hold such power of mind and soul.
Good luck in the contest
Dee
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Well, come and visit and we will do some of all the things I do..you can pick your favorite and you can teach me and I teach you.
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Well done!
Your creativity is highly evident in everything you do. Best of Luck in this contest!
Maureen
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ty maureen, what a nice compliment
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yet another great read! well done. another worthy entry. i can see why it is your favorite! good luck in the contest!
Til
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ty Am8ur,
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Dear Carol,
Your poem is exquisite and the sculptures above that you made are magnificent.
You have a wonderful gift of being both poet and sculptor.
It reminds me also of "Ghost" which is one of my favourites.
Love Joan
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ty dear heart, I do have some gifts and I always have to be working on something to keep myself feeling like I am developing them. I have started carving now, as well.
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I like this Carol, you have shown how creation feels, the satisfaction of working basic materials with hands. The work is beside the point, her body is the tool she uses for bringing her ideas into the world.
You make me glad for the ceramics course I took many years ago.
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There is a beautiful relationship between the sculptor and the sculpting material. I have always lvoed it whether using paper, clay, sand, material, or foam....
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Dear Carol,
I have to admire a poet who can write a NEW poem in less time than it takes her to choose which she considers the best of what she had already written but I am a little disappointed that you didn't choose the one poem of yours which, for me, stands out like the face of Crazy Horse against the mountain of your writing and will always by MY shewolfnative favourite.
If you don't know which that is, look through my past comments but never ask.
Good luck in the contest and the voting.
Applause, much love and hugs, XXX Hugh R.
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ah, Sire, I had to choose my 'newest' favorite... You will like the next poem I post, though, perhaps it will be a favorite of yours too.
I have removed a great deal, considering I am at # 1740 that I have posted on AP and it now shows a much lwoer number. Many are published, many are waiting...and I am trying to remove those as I put them into collections.
Ty, Sire, for reminding me. -
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Dear Carol,
Oh! I well know the intense feeling for the latest born of our brain children but, when the initial euphoria of new creation calms, some of the older works, albeit of less prolific burst, stand aloof like a totem pole, proudly displaying (unless felled) craft and message which their younger siblings, whatever their number, can only attempt to emulate.
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This reminds me of Demi Moore in that movie where she is working at her wheel and having a really intense experience...makes one want to pick up the hobby!!
:-) Very sensual, and the last stanza is, indeed, thought provoking.
I especially like this:
"knowing drying behaviors of clay
collected from caves
She will work into darkness
with candle to add shadow
in this dance of master and mind"
.....taking this clay woman back to a basic primitive instinctual communion with nature, with a sense of power and wholeness.
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ty for such a great comment. Ghosts was a favorite of mine. If I needed a really good weep, I coudl watch that movie and get the job done.
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the story unfolding was certainly detailed and kept me interested in the poem -- the conclusion though, the strongest part that almost surprised me a bit. (not as a lack of your ability as the strong writer that I know you are, but just seemed a bit different than the rest of the poem.)
So, the ending seemed to shift us from the adoration of the person in the process to the contrast of past lovers having not tended so kindly to your world (yourself).
an interesting story told - all so well in this piece.
- Kimmie
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Ah, but the ending was to support the fact that workign with clay is an almost spiritual passionate experience.
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A beautiful conclusion that sits comfortably, crowning the whole with ease. There is even a meta-metaphor (is that a word ... well, it is now) in that you have sculpted something of words, from the clay of your hearts' mind. Just wonderful - as always.
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I love your new word....I dubs it queen of new words. and ty for your great comment.
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what are the chances?- only 6 entries in this contest and each of them this high caliber- a very good write which leaves my hands feeling dried and achy-
thanks so much for entering
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ty Mary, I appreciate that you enjoyed it.
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Ah...Hah! I knew...
I knew you had some Hippy in you! Hahaha...This is some of your work? Or Night Hopes? The Picture.
The poem fits excellently.
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Yes, indeed, I created these women of the pots that are a whole series with many mediums. You ahve met a few in my painting, I think.
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Alive with Feelings!!!
You took the art of sculpting
and made it sensuous...
"she smells musky with Patchouli, sweat,
and wet mud in birthing forms
that ripple like muscles
at her touch
it is caressed, like skin
until her palms feel passionate
surrender to act of love"
A precious penning, Poet ~ Nicholas ~
P.S. Your sculptures are divine!
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ty gp mom, when the Muse strieks, I am bound to shape these women through words, paint, clay, carvings...well...any medium I can get my hands on.
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Wonderful
This reminds me so much of my clay days...I did used to work with clay, but my hands can't do it anymore. It also reminds me of the scene from Ghost where Demi Moore is working in clay and her lover is there with her, and it is so passionate and free and fierce. I enjoyed this one very much. Well done, little Sister, well done... Spiritsong
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ty, dear heart.... Oh, how you msut miss that experience.... I have made these women in sand on beaches...my children and I made women crawling out of the ocean... they will never forget the stories that went with those creative acts.
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Incredible imagery ....!
she rasps her bare feet
on kick wheel at speeds
that allow for shape
to make itself
knowing drying behaviors of clay
collected from caves,
she will work into darkness
with candle to add shadow
in this dance of master and mind.
Healing hands that take the time needed in a task of love and desire to create from the order of nature.
BEAUTIFULLY painted.
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If only we could shape all things so easily, so spiritually. and thank you.
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"moving as if she had no bones
swaying over red clay
as if it were a lover’s body
or a child she is creating"
Ahhh, I knew you'd nail it, my Friend...As soon as I saw the contest, I thought of your sculptures & your patchouli. 
This is a gorgeous penning, Sweetie. Hard~fired you may be, but you hold so much more than water & I can see the shining glaze from here...Good luck in Mary's contest... Wanda
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Aw, thank yo, dear friend..oh for the day when you and I could gather up all these mediums I have and spend a week jsut exploring the alternate side of our Muses.
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