4th Annual Art-Poetry Pairing 2020 – How It Works

This is our fourth annual art-poetry show! This page here explains how the show works, for the artists and poets who are interested in participating.

The show is a “traveling” show which will be at the Blackstone Library in March 2020 and then the Millbury Barnes & Noble in April 2020. In previous years we had been at the Worcester Public Library to start in February, but they are undergoing renovations. If you have any thoughts as to where we could be in February, please let us know.

The artists are drawn from our Blackstone Valley Art Association. The poets are drawn from the Sutton Writing Group and the Worcester Writers Collaborative.

Anyone interested in participating please let Lisa know by MONDAY OCTOBER 28 2019 of that interest. Let her know if you prefer a partner you can meet in person or if you prefer to work remotely, staying in touch via email.

Soon after that, each artist is paired with a poet. They form a team for the duration of this project.

Sometime before December 1, 2019, the poet provides the artist with a poem. The poem can be custom-written for this project or it can be a favorite the artist already has written. The poem will be hung in the show on a maximum size of 8.5″ x 11″ piece of paper so it should be short enough to fit on that paper at a reasonably sized font. With that being said, the poem can otherwise be as short or as long as the poet desires. It can be a short haiku or a long sonnet.

The artist now has until January 31, 2020 to create a work of art that represents that poem. The art can be a literal interpretation. It can convey the emotion of the poem. It can focus on one aspect of the poem. It is up to the artist to choose how to present their interpretation. That pairing of poem-plus-artwork will be hung side by side at the show.

In parallel:

Sometime before December 1, 2019, the artist provides the poet with a piece of art (a JPG photo of it is fine). Again, the artwork can be custom-created for this project or it can be an existing favorite.

The poet now has until January 31, 2020 to write a poem based on that piece of art. The poem does not need to literally describe the artwork. It can convey an emotion. It can create a story based on the scene. It can be whatever the poet wishes. Again, the poem will be hung in the show on a maximum size of 8.5″ x 11″ piece of paper so it should be short enough to fit on that paper at a reasonably sized font. With that being said, the poem can otherwise be as short or as long as the poet desires. It can be a short haiku or a long sonnet.

When each poem and artwork is complete (both in the first and second round), please also send a copy to Lisa so she can work on the Tetris-like logistics of seeing what will fit where. For art, let her know the dimensions of the piece when you send the JPG.

Here are the pairings from previous years to see how this works:
2017 Art-Poetry Show
2018 Art-Poetry Show
2019 Art-Poetry Show

Since we are not restricted in size this year by the Worcester Library cases, our size restriction is primarily the Blackstone Library cases. Half of the artwork needs to go in the cases there while the other half can hang on the wall. Lisa will coordinate who will go where once we determine the pairings. We’ll try to ensure that people who “went small” in previous years to fit the space constraints have the opportunity to “go large” this year if they wish.

If anybody has any questions or comments, please let Lisa know. Let her know if you’re interested in participating! You can participate just as one half (i.e. just an artist or just a poet) or as both halves.

My current roster is:

Poets
Christine Beauchaine
Michelle Benjamin
Linda DeFeudis
Richard Dresden
Sarah Beth Guimond
Daria Hamelin
Andrea Lettic
Madeline Poitras
Sheryl Kimball
Kara Emily Krantz
Luke MacNeil
Nasim Mansuri
S. M. Nevermore
Jane Nozzolillo
Evan Plante
Malt Schlitzman
Lisa Shea
Charles Smith
Trisha Wooldridge

Artists
Christine Beauchaine
Laura Cenedella
Linda DeFeudis
Bob Evans
Holly Fabbricotti
Young Farwell
Sarah Beth Guimond
Daria Hamelin
Sheryl Kimball
Kara Emily Krantz
Jennifer MacNeil
Luke MacNeil
Carole Plante
Madeline Poitras
Lynne Randolph
Malt Schlitzman
Pam Siderewicz
Lisa Shea
Dennis Smith

Let me know if you’re interested in joining us! Last call is Monday, October 28th, 2019 at midnight EST!

Enjoy!

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