Susan M Gibbons

11-22-18 I'm sitting in my kitchen, reflecting over this past year and a half.  All is quiet.  Soon the hustle and bustle of Thanksgiving activities will be underway.  But until that starts, I'm able to just be, just sit here and take a deep breath, grateful for all that has happened - both the good and the bad.  This past year and a half has been one of many distresses and blessings. Family deaths, almost losing my husband earlier this year, my own health problems, moving, starting a business, new grandbaby, wedding, and of course, art - all part of life with but each brings it own unique element into the fabric of existence - I couldn't be more grateful.  What all this has taught me is that so much of my time is spent doing, spending it on activities - all important - but what I need is to be able to just spend time being, resting, rejuvenating myself before all the activities begin.  It has taught me to be dormant - like winter - waiting for the buds to bloom later

It was such a lovely sunrise this morning.  Not one of those sunrises that makes you say, "Wow", but just a beautiful, subtle transition from dark to dusk to morning.  Watching the colors brighten and fade, making coffee, I thought of just how fortunate it is to be able to take the time to watch such beauty.  I just wanted to exist within it.  It was beautiful.  The day was dawning.  The day's pressures and plans would be upon me soon enough.  But for now, in the quiet and stillness of the morning, I was sitting with my coffee, reflecting on the beauty of the day's dawn. It made me think of good days in the studio, when I can come to that place of stillness when working.  As of late, my process has been an emotional one, relying on painful emotions to create my work.  Stillness does exist within creating such work for pain is a part of every person's life at some point.  It is a part of this world.  So how does stillness come from after painting pain?  For me, i

10-22-18 I’m taking a chance.   While I’ve written poetry that reflects my bipolar ups and downs, I haven’t shared much pertaining to the journey I’m on with it.   It’s a bit intimidating to be sharing such intimate details about oneself, especially when such vulnerability can be rejected or misunderstood.   It is within that vulnerability though, I feel I can be most honest about who I am and what I do with my work.      My art work is taking on a new direction.   I’m allowing myself to be the subject matter of the work.   I always felt that I had to hide or try to stay ‘positive’ within my work so not to bring me or someone down in the process of viewing the pieces.   As a woman of faith, I wanted to my work to bring glory and beauty to God and not discredit Him in any way.   What I discovered was, I was being somewhat dishonest with myself as to who I was and how I was created.   I am in the process of realizing that I am enough.   This last two years have been a particu

Written 10-13-18 Darkened Dreams Waves move In and over Deep chasms Unsettling ancient Rhythms within  Troubled waters Glimpses of Faint echoes Haunts wearied Memories  Stirring bitter  Despair Cacaphonies of Mirrored screams Wrestle with Deepened depths of soulful Yearnings Yielding to Subtle piercings of quiet Breaths Shattering Darkened dreams

10-19-18 Inner Jazz (per request from W. A. G.) You want some of my Inner Jazz… The inner beatings of                 Sync –  o – pat – ed                                 Be bop                                                 Scoo be …  de doo                                                                 Wrestlings To keep my mind from                 SCREAMING Per – cus – sion                 Rhy – thms to keep                                                 The                                                                 Heart  ** **                                                                                 Beat  ** ** Going to Maintain                 Just enough sanity                                 To FAKE IT Just enough breath To allow the                                 Breathable                                                 Intake of                                                                

9-11-18 Seventeen years since your soul was silenced Seventeen years of tears and emptiness Seventeen years of mourning and grieving Seventeen years of remembering and reflecting Seventeen years of wondering and honoring Seventeen years of rebuilding and remaking Seventeen years since you were taken Seventeen years of moving forward, yet looking back Seventeen years without you

9-6-18 I'm heading into a new season: A new house, a new studio, a new body of work! I'm so excited! So many things are coming together, converging now that I'm a bit overwhelmed with it all - it's a good thing but at the same time, I feel as if I'm treading unknown waters to some extent.  With my new series, LAMENTATIONS, I'm exploring grief, loss, angst, sorrow with new and more familiar media.  These works are oil and cold wax with fabric (burlap, muslin, and cheesecloth) and delve into my personal and public laments for me and society.  Within this exploration, I'm referencing experiences that have touched me deeply.  I also grieve for my nation with the division that is occurring at this time.  This visual lamentation expresses all of this. So much of our experience in the world deals with loss.  Loss is something that no one can avoid. It is a human condition; we all deal with it at some point.  Sometimes loss has very little affect on us but oth

3/8/17 Pharaoh Light refracts On fur deeper Than night Mystery surrounds Ancient voices Coming from within Gentle nudges With silky blackness Softens hardened days While quieted memories Fill the sadness Of yearning hearts

2/24/18 - 3/2/18 Breaking Grips Relief sighs With tense Apprehension As contentment Battles for Its place Darkness schemes Against The light Denying joy Within body And soul Peace yearns While unease Fingers through Recesses of Memory erasing Cherished hope Dawn flickers Morning rises Breaking grips Shattering defiant Clutches of Unyielding dread

2-17-18 Dawning Joy Light peering Over the horizon Breaking into The morn Quiet nestled Within soulful Yet peaceful Contemplation Resting upon Wearied fatigue Reviving verve By dawning joy