Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Sleeping Where the WIld Things Are

A couple of months ago we had a screened porch added to the back of our house.   The other night I decided to sleep out there because it was really warm and stuffy in the house.  My husband didn't feel like waking up and moving himself out to the porch, so the cat and I went alone.  All was well -- we admired the fireflies that were so high in the trees of the woods behind our house;  there were the usual frogs and other rural night noises (still amazing and strange to me, having grown up in a city and never spent more than a few weeks in rural areas until moving to Asheville, where the countryside erupts all through the town as well as the outskirts where we live).  But then around midnight Jesse and I both shot upright in the bed at the ululating cries of coyotes.  They were so close!  I've heard them before at night but always on the other side of the house, where they seem to be up on the side of the mountain at the end of the block.  But this time I could tell they were in the woods of the house next door, where our neighbor frequently is host to black bears, wild turkeys, and many birds because he has bird feeders, and the ground beneath them is full of bird seed, which attracts the bears and turkeys. I managed to go back to sleep, but we woke up several more times when the cyoytes began singing again.

Last week when we were in New York visiting, a friend had taught me a way of working in a journal that helps circumvent critical thinking and over-intellectualizing.  I had passed the method on to a group of friends that I had met with last night at a journal group. 

The method of working was something my friend learned in a workshop held at MoMA a few weeks ago.  You begin by collecting images from books and magazines with no plan in mind, just a random collection of whatever has some resonance for you.  Then you trim or cut or tear the pieces that grab you the most and paste them down.  Then, still not thinking it through or planning or trying to Make Art, you paint, stencil, draw, write, whatever else seems to want to come out.  I began mine with the image of a building under a deep, intense blue evening sky.  I had also cut out a snarling animal and painted it roughly all across the bottom.  I added a large moon-like slice of sweet potato, then covered it up (mostly) with a little fragile grass hut, also cut into a moon-like circle.  When I looked at the page afterwards I knew right away how afraid I actually am of the backyard at night.  Sleeping on the porch is going to take some getting used to, in spite of how cool and lovely it is!

15 comments:

  1. Great journal page! So sad that I missed your NYC visit this time. My little wallet that you gave me went back and forth to Venice - just the right size for ID, a little money, and a few credit cards.

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  2. Yes! Great journal page. I'm not too fond of my backyard at night either and all I have are the random neighborhood strays and a 'possum.

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  3. your night outside sounds wonderful! i used to have a screened in porch when i lived in atlanta but now i'm in arizona and they aren't as popular here. your college is very "outdoorsy" and makes me want to start tearing some paper.

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    1. Are the nights too cool for outdoor sleeping? Our nights cool down a lot, and it's only now that it's warm enough to sleep out there. I tried another non-thinking collage this morning while sitting at my mechanic's place getting my car's oil changed. I just rifled through the old magazines on the table till I found an image that grabbed me. All I had with me were my journal and a black pen, so I tore out the image and then drew watery lines and fishy shapes. I will probably go work on it some more with some paints. It's REALLY hard for me to not know where I'm going with a piece of work!

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  4. Some of my fondest memories are those of sleeping out on our screened porch with my older brother on warm summer nights. We'd stay up late into the evening playing cards and listening to records, sleep on chaise lounges, and sometimes sneak back into civilization (the kitchen) for ice cream. But the best part was the symphony of birds serenading us just before dawn, loud and clear in anticipation of sunrise.

    I'm not sure I'd enjoy a symphony of coyotes quite as much.

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  5. Teri and Shirley- Pat and I and Phil missed you both very much! Shirley, glad the wallet gets to travel to interesting places even if I can't seem to get out of this country these days. Teri- your porch nights sound great! And really, those birds are amazing! They start so slowly, just before daylight, and then explode as the sun comes up.

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  6. I live in metro Atlanta - City of Atlanta, actually, and have been awakened by the coyotes singing just beyond my backyard. When I asked the vet (a neighbor) about it, he explained that we had a pack that ran along the Peachtree Creek corridor, and that the only time one would hear them would be when they were having territorial disputes. I grew up in South Alabama, and I find it amazing that I see hawks, raccoons, snakes, opossums, deer, fox and now hear coyotes much more often than I did at home. Anyway, we had a sleeping porch when I was growing up, and it was wonderful. I hope you grow more comfortable with yours!

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  7. Thanks, Molly! We didn't hear any coyotes last night; maybe the dispute has been settled! Our cat Jesse even spent the night outside with no midnight demands to be let inside in a hurry.

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  8. We live in a small town near the river that's the border between upper Michigan and Wisconsin. We have roaming deer families in our yards, but as rural as it is here----I'd be pretty unnerved to hear coyotes next door! People in the woods nearby have lots of bear visitors raiding their bird feeders.

    We're still getting frost warnings---so nobody's sleeping on their screened in porches yet. Open windows maybe, but no porches.

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  9. i frequently slept on the porch, even into the fall and early in spring (under down), though now i use th eporch only for naps. if you learn to love it, beware, you will want to always sleep "outside". i'll take coyotes any day over fighting nighttime cats.

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  10. My grand daughter (age 7) and I slept out there last night, and it was pretty chilly-- probably in the 50s. But we slept under two down comforters and a couple of blankets, and we slept really well. It was a quiet night, and when the rooster down on the farm crowed around 5 we woke up and watched the sky lighten and the listened to the birds. Maya heard a woodpecker. I think I want to get a folding screen to keep out there and use as a headboard/breeze screen . The futon unfolds to a flat platform, very comfortable, but feels a little wide open.

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  11. Oh, Gwen......ERRHM.....I think this is where I might be sleeping in September. ..... Better get some lessons in night photography to catch those coyotes - or maybe some strong sleeping pills!! Just started a course via Distant Stitch on Creative Sketchbooks and will keep you posted, will send you the blog link when it's up and running! Notice my name change from Lin in Portugal to Lin the Pink - I was on a course with Ruth Isset in Preniac, France last week and this was the name that seemed to evolve naturally. All will be clear in September!!!

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    1. It's an option! Anyway, they don't howl every night. This week it's been too chilly to sleep out there, and the coyotes seem to have moved too. Send me your dates!

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  12. Hi Gwen, I discovered your blog by following a chain that started with your most recent book. Along the way I see that you lived in Indiana and now in Asheville (two places I use to live) and I see that you also have a connection to Lyric Kinard. All three of these coincidences pushed me to reach out. Lyric uses a product Citra Solv (our product) to do transfers onto fabric. It also happens to alter the pages of National Geographics into some really fun, funky papers. I couldn't help but think that they would be fun in journaling. So there you have it. In the meantime I plan to share your blog with my daughter who is an Art Student. This is just the type of thing she would love! Melissa

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  13. Hi Melissa- Funny that we have these connections! I use Citristrip for transfers of photocopies to wood as well as to paper. I don't think I've ever used Citris Solv though. Will look for it and I'll try out your National Geographic idea too! I met Lyric in person earlier this year when she was in Asheville. If you ever come here, let me know!

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