Nebula the Muse: Part 3

Homelight. Nebula 2019

A bird does not sing because it has the answer.  It sings because it has a song.  Chinese Proverb.

Every life has a soundtrack. Jodi Picoult








I've spoken before about music and how it can uplift my spirit.  Below is my playlist for Nebula:

Nebula the Muse’s Playlist:

Attacca Quartet. “Ent’acte.” Caroline Shaw: Orange, New Amsterdam/Nonesuch, 2019

Bareilles, Sara. “Brave.” The Blessed Unrest, Epic Records, 2013.

Bedingfield. Natasha. “Unwritten.” Unwritten, Phonogenic Records, 2004.

Benatar, Pat. “Invincible.” Seven The Hard Way, Capitol/Emi/Sbk/Chrysalis, 1991.

Caillat, Colbie. “Brighter than the Sun.” All of You, Republic, 2011.

Chapman, Tracy. “Talkin Bout a Revolution.” Tracy Chapman, Elektra Records, 1988.

Coldplay. “A Sky Full of Stars.” Ghost Stories, Parlophone UK, 2014.

Collins, Judy. “The Times They Are A-Changin’” Amazing, Chrome & Nickel, 2015.

Coltrane, John. “Stardust.” Stardust (Remastered ed.), Prestige, 2007.

Cravalho, Auli’i. “Know Who You Are.” Moana (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), Walt Disney Records, 2016.

Crow, Sheryl. “All I Wanna Do.” Tuesday Night Music Club, A&M, 1993.

Crow, Sheryl. “Soak Up The Sun.” C’mon C’Mon, A&M, 2002.

The Cranberries. “The Pressure.” In the End, BMG Rights Management (UK) Limited, 2019.

Donovan. “Lady of the Stars.” Golden Tracks, Purple Pyramid, 2000.

Earth Wind and Fire. “Star.” That’s the Way of the World, Columbia, 1975.

Etting, Ruth. “Life Is a Song, Let’s Sing It Together.” Easy Come, Easy Go, (Original Recordings 1931-1937), Open Spotify. 2012.

Florence and The Machine. “Shake It Out.” Ceremonials, Republic, 2011.

Jett, Joan and the Blackhearts. “Don’t Surrender.” Notorious, Blackheart/Epic-Sony, 1991.

Hackman, Marika. “i’m not where you are.” i’m not where you are, Sub Pop Records, 2019.

House, Rachel and Auli’i Cravalho. “I am Moana (Song of the Ancestors).” Moana (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), Walt Disney Records, 2016.

Khan. Chaka. “The Woman I am.” The Woman I am, Warner Brothers, 1998.

La La Land Cast. "Another Day of Sun."  La La Land (Original Motion Picture Sound Cast), Interscope Records, 2016.

Lambert, Mary. “Secrets.” Heart on My Sleeve, Capitol, 2014.

Latifah, Queen. “U.N.I.T.Y.” She’s a Queen: A Collection of the Greatest, Motown, 2002.

Loper, Cindy. “Girls Want to Have Fun.” She’s So Unusual, Portrait, 1983.

Lovato, Demi. “Confident.” Confident (Deluxe Edition), Hollywood Records, 2015.

Madonna. “Express Yourself.” Like a Prayer, Sire/Warner Bros,1989.

Michaelson, Ingrid. “The Way I Am.” Girls and Boys, Original Signal, 2007.

Naim, Yael. “New Soul.” Yael Naim, Atlantic, 2008.

Panton, Diana.  “I Believe in Little Things.” I Believe in Little Things, Independent Label Services, Inc. 2017.

Panton, Diana, “So Many Stars.” If the Moon Turns Green, Independent Label Services, Inc. 2017.

Ross, Diana. “I’m Coming Out.” Diana, Motown Records, 2017.

Spice Girls. “Wannabe.” Spice, Virgin Records, 1996.

Sting. “Sister Moon.” ...Nothing Like The Sun, A&M Records, 1987.

Tank and The Bangas. “Interlude (God Push Me).” Think Tank, Feedbands, 2017.

They Might Be Giants “Put it to the test.” Here Comes Science. Disney Sound/Idlewood, 2009.

Van Morrison. “Moondance.” Moondance (Deluxe Edition), Warner Bros. Records, 2013.

Weather Report. “Milky Way.” Forecast: Tomorrow, Columbia, 2006.

Wonder, Stevie. “Another Star.” At the Close of a Century, Motown Records, 1999

Yellowjackets. “Emerge.” Raising Our Voices, Mack Avenue Records, 2018.

Nebula the Muse: Part 2

Homelight. Nebula. 2019

“Did you know that the center of a Protostar (the star in the middle of a nebula) is called a Nuclear Furnace? So you can call that the star's "heart." The heart of a star is a furnace. Not much unlike the human heart.” ― C. JoyBell C.

"I am just learning to notice the different colors of stars, and already begun to have enjoyment.” -- Maria Mitchell

Stages of Completion 

Painting provides me another way contemplate and reflect.  Each brush stroke is an opportunity to dialogue with Motherfather Spirit.  I stand back or sit and stare at the painting and ponder different questions.  During my painting of Nebula, I thought about 1) how can I have a life filled with joy and happiness? 2) Does the lack of laughter and silliness a result of life without my muse?; 3) what does life feels like when the two are working as a team?

I want to acknowledge that my critic is needed to inquire and think logically through a problem, and my muse is needed to be a little off the wall for solving a problem. However, my muse can tolerate my critic only so much. She has a tipping point with unnecessary crap and frequent bad news and negative feelings found in meetings or back to back conference calls. These are what my critic thrives on. But, my muse’s heart wants space to dream of orange-vanilla globules and gales of candy pink bubbles. My muse wants to dance under the stars or at least pirouette in her office chair.

This painting felt more intuitive than The Woman with the Flowers in Her Hair. I turned the canvas around and around after putting in the initial color brush strokes. Her face appeared in the canvas and all I had to do is follow the lines to draw her and her hair in. Initially, I saw her as a cross between Cyndi Lauper “Girls want to have fun” and a Joan Jett “Don’t Surrender.” I placed rune marks throughout her hair: peace, love, joy and balance; and only one grouping remains. The runes are symbols for having a peaceful and joyful relationship between the muse and the critic.

Following the first glaze, the colors revealed a different story. She became Nebula: the one who births stars out of dying stardust. Nebula, the muse, is a creator.  It is very descriptive of what I do.  How often do I see something new in broken pieces?  I see the potential of a new star.  As I glazed over the canvas two birds appeared.  I left them as outlines and interpreted them as an awakening. 

The painting is an awakening for the muse, critic and I to be better team players.  I have a strong compassion and love for both.  These two in balance make a better me.  

~~~

Nebula (April 2019)
by Homelight

I am the spark, the seed, the first notion of a wish.
Exploding stars, dark giants, orange-vanilla globules, knots of lime green;
primal ephemeral - transformed gas and glitter into fiery lights.
I am the universe of unlimited possibilities.

Exploding stars, dark giants, orange-vanilla globules, knots of lime green,
gales of candy pink bubbles melting metal and sand;
I am the universe of unlimited possibilities.
I lose myself twirling, spiraling in a celestial dance.

Gales of candy pink bubbles melting metal and sand,
primal ephemeral - transformed gas and glitter into fiery lights;
I lose myself twirling, spiraling in a celestial dance.
I am the spark, the seed, the first notion of a wish.


Nebula is written in pantoum form. “The pantoum form is a Malaysian verse form adapted by French poets and occasionally imitated in English. It comprises a series of quatrains, with the second and fourth lines of each quatrain repeated as the first and third lines of the next. The second and fourth lines of the final stanza repeat the first and third lines of the first stanza.” (Poetry Foundation)

Reference:

1. Poetry Foundation. “Glossary of terms.” Poetryfoundation.org, retrieved 7 May, 2019 https://www.poetryfoundation.org/learn/glossary-terms/pantoum

Nebula: The Muse Part 1

Homelight. Nebula. 2019.

“I am my own muse. I am the subject I know best. The subject I want to know better.”  ― Frida Kahlo



“The golden anchor beckons, the blue sail rises
Like the wing of a dream unfolding to a new day.
Let us depart, my muse!
Beyond an anxious prow, the sea stretches itself out…” ― Delmira Agustini

My first encounter with muses was in Mrs. Bloomer’s eighth grade English reading Homer's Iliad and the Odyssey. The muses, were the nine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne. I believe Mrs. Bloomer’s discussion centered on the gifts these nine women brought to humankind: the humanities and astronomy.

Literature, science, and art classes I took, explained that each of us had a muse. The inner muse was described as the spark of inspiration that gives writers, inventors, artists, and me the idea. This spark was the creative impulse that drove one to bring an idea into existence. Teachers, professors, and family members assured me I had it. Everyone had a muse. Inspired by the joy of creating; I would paint and write and crunch numbers and garden and knit. However, more often than not, I would receive less than an A or someone would scrunch their face and tilt their head to the side and tell me “perhaps my gifts was in another field” or maybe I needed to get in better touch with my muse by listening harder. Similar to Shakespeare, I thought my muse was dried up or she was partying somewhere out of my reach.

~~~

Sonnet C (1609)
William Shakespeare

Where art thou Muse that thou forget'st so long,
To speak of that which gives thee all thy might?
Spend'st thou thy fury on some worthless song,
Darkening thy power to lend base subjects light?
Return forgetful Muse, and straight redeem,
In gentle numbers time so idly spent;
Sing to the ear that doth thy lays esteem
And gives thy pen both skill and argument.
Rise, resty Muse, my love's sweet face survey,
If Time have any wrinkle graven there;
If any, be a satire to decay,
And make Time's spoils despised every where.
Give my love fame faster than Time wastes life,
So thou prevent'st his scythe and crooked knife.

~~~

Since the beginning of April, I’ve been working on a painting entitled: Nebula. The theme of this painting module was to focus on being in contact with my inner muse. Truthfully, my inner muse has been out partying. The last time I saw her was in the opening dance scene for the movie La La Land singing “Another Day of Sun” on top of a car roof. She recently sent me a postcard from Lucca, Italy with a recipe for homemade tomato sauce and inquired about the status of my inner critic.

Life has been serious. The subject matter of my work is serious. My inner critic somehow managed to acquire super powers that sucks the joy out of everything. This inner voice has turned against me and nitpicks everything I seem to do. It echos people critical of my work from back in school. I can’t blame my muse for taking off. My critic doesn’t believe in howling at the moon, “what will people think?”

What will people think indeed.

I found this module a creative means to invite the muse back into my life. 

La La Land Cast. "Another Day of Sun."  La La Land (Original Motion Picture Sound Cast), Interscope Records, 2016.

Reference:
Homer. Illiad. Translated Samuel Butler, 800 BCE, retrieved 7 May, 2019 http://classics.mit.edu/Homer/iliad.html
Homer. Odyssey, Translated Samuel Butler, 800 BCE, retrieved 7 May, 2019 http://classics.mit.edu/Homer/odyssey.html
La La Land Cast. "Another Day of Sun." La La Land (Original Motion Picture Sound Cast), Interscope Records, 2016. retrieved 7 May, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CVfTd-_qbc
Shakespeare, William. “Sonnet C.” 1609 retrieved 7 May 2019. http://shakespeare.mit.edu/Poetry/sonnet.C.html