Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Tuesday Poem



0.0000000406 light years away





Moon calligraphy


The images in this short clip are a tiny fragment of an ongoing poem titled Alphabets of Light - a 'poem without end' if you will. I began this piece in 2004 when my life took a series of dramatic turns. I found myself traveling, unexpectedly and to far-flung places (Antarctica, Edinburgh, Berlin, the US, back to Africa. . . ). I'd always thought of myself as a home-body so being away from my nest required some adjustment, not only for me but for my loved ones.

I took to photographing the full moon as a way of documenting where I was at different times, whether at home or away. It was like throwing out an anchor, I suppose - a 'sky hook' (to borrow a term from a friend) - that offered me a sense of comfort and connection. As a child I can remember feeling reassured by the thought that no matter where in the world we are, we're all under the same sky.

The twenty-six moons featured in this sample clip were captured in our Northern and Southern hemisphere skies between 2004 and 2007. (Meantime, I'm continuing to take photographs... )



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8 comments:

  1. I can't get anything but blackness on the video, alas.

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  2. Sorry, T - the blank black screen might have happened when I took the post down for a few minutes. Hopefully it's doing what it should now.. L, C x

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  3. Exquisite and calming. I love the auras with their dissolving weave! Yes, please post more.

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  4. Claire, you never cease to amaze. These are thrilling and beautiful. Thank you for you infinite imagination.

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  5. I found this very haunting - lovely!

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  6. Is the moon writing a light-script across the black parchment of the night? I wonder what's being written.

    That you thought to capture this in exactly the way you did is a measure of your sheer artistry.

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  7. Adorable - maybe the night isn't so bad after all! I take some comfort in that in this after after noon! (in bed!) With a wine in an hour at 5 as you suggested ... :)

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  8. T. Clear, Mim, Vesper Sparrow, Helen, Lentenstuffe & Kay. . . we're oceans apart, yet puzzling similar conundrums (which must be why we've all 'met'?)

    Kay, the night can be a place of light, too? I hope you had a good sleep and woke in time for that early wine! xx

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