Poetry

Royal

Spring Bloom in Saguaro National Park

Beth Cash

I was enthralled with a visit to Saguaro National Park in the spring. I had never seen the desert before and the flowers were breath-taking. I felt very lucky to bear witness.

Essence_of_Nature_II

Essence of Nature

Michael Roberts

In the last several months, I have been exploring minimalism as a way of projection and abstraction in my photography. The simplicity of minimalism reduces nature to its essence to reveal the underlying beauty of structure and form. These three images were made while hiking trails in the Sonoran Desert.

Image

Dragonfly Out in the Sun

Tracey Dean Widelitz

Hold On To Me,
Sunlit Beauty,
and Rose Petals and Golden Wings

Refugees DRC

Despair Paintings

Owen Brown

The world seems to carry on as if there aren’t a million reasons to be shocked. But because I don’t want to go numb, I try to paint them, at least a few. For these, I paint figuratively, as I was trained, even though now, often, my desires, and my output, is abstract. Still, how can we ignore the drought in Afghanistan, the strife in Sudan, the war in Gaza, the invasion of Ukraine? Or even what goes on in our own lives?

Finding a Pathway

Finding a Pathway

Mark Rosalbo

As an emerging artist, the art form I work with is primarily abstract painting and large-scale installations. My artistic process involves using various mediums and techniques to create physical manifestations of internal dialogues and personal judgments. In my abstract paintings, I use house paint, various tools, and textured canvases. The technique involves creating overconfident brushstrokes that mask my imposter syndrome, with multiple layers of paint partially hidden under the surface. The inner turmoil arising from self-doubt is expressed as geometric shapes woven together with texture.

In Between

Wholeness Through Fracture: Sculpting the Human Condition

Aleksandra Scepanovic

Three works in clay by Aleksandra Scepanovic.
Each of these works tells a story of the complexity and beauty found in life’s fractures, embracing the wholeness that emerges through resilience.

Image

Coastal Grey

Miki Simic

This series of photographs, titled “Coastal Grey,” depicts elements of summer themes. My goal was to capture a vibrant setting and allow the viewer to realize it remains vibrant even though color is lacking.

Image

Symphony in Green

Patrice Sullivan

I paint landscapes, interiors, exteriors, still life’s with figures interacting and posing for the camera displaying memorable moments with families, friends, and neighbors.

friends

Friends, Triplets, and Family Narrative

Tianyagenv Yan

Tianyagenv uses light clay to make miniature figures and wishes to capture the characteristics of femininity, vulnerability, and resilience in potential.

Image

Green Canyon Bridge 1993, Thrive, and Tarot Deck: The Moon

Robb Kunz

My paintings explore the abstract simplicity of ordinary life and the deductive impulse to see ourselves reflected back in art.

Image

Metamorphosis

Marianne Dalton

The photographs are from the series, Metamorphosis. Each painterly creation constructed from dozens of layered photographs is driven by my reaction to nature’s extreme seasonal change.

La Huasteca

La Huasteca, Roots in Nuevo Leon, and Frames

Tee Pace

La Huasteca, Roots in Nuevo Leon, and Frames

Image

Cherry Blossoms

Annika Connor

Cherry Blossom Forest

Les Femmes Mondiales Black and White

Les Femmes Mondiales Black and White

Janet Brugos

Les Femmes Mondiales Black and White
Hurricane
Chicago Ice

Sunset over the Pacific

Three Photographs

Lawrence Bridges

UNDER THE PIER, MALIBU CA
SUNSET OVER THE PACIFIC
and POOL, POST RANCH INN, BIG SUR

Image

Joshua Tree Project

Holly Willis

The images are part of a larger series created in the Mojave Desert around Joshua Tree in the fall of 2023 that explore the shifting state of the desert.

October Still Life

Chasing Paradise

Marianne Dalton

This series, Chasing Paradise, draws upon my work as a fine artist in painting, as I create stylized photographs of flowers and plants found in my rural environment.

Turtle Light

Ocean Sleep and Turtle Light

Maite Russell

Turtle Light and Ocean Sleep are works of multimedia and sculpture mediums, respectively, depicting the natural world with fantastical elements.

Poetry

Featured image for ““The Comforts of Gravity,” “Daydreamer” and “Resonance””
Dennis Perry Clark

“The Comforts of Gravity,” “Daydreamer” and “Resonance”

I see the autumn leaves falling. I ponder chance as they release.
Watch as they glide, then gently come to rest. A shading life,
clung to a branch, in the final moments breaking free.

May 2021
Featured image for ““Intrepid Dreamers,” “Meanwhile” and “Variations on Nineteen Words””
Alison Jennings

“Intrepid Dreamers,” “Meanwhile” and “Variations on Nineteen Words”

Starved for art,
we were made for poetry;
we are mad for poetry.

Study this hunger;
learn how to feed it.

May 2021
Featured image for ““Fossils,” “Equinox” and “a beautiful thing””
Melissa LaDuc

“Fossils,” “Equinox” and “a beautiful thing”

250 million years ago
an ancient cephalopod
once stretched upon granite
and Time remembers
a tail dragging in thirsty sand.

Meanwhile, She is getting away from us:
a child no one sees

May 2021
Featured image for ““What is Poetry?,” “Tongue Fire” and “Faucet Father””
Olivia Klein

“What is Poetry?,” “Tongue Fire” and “Faucet Father”

Mindset, free flowing, thought exploding
Sunsets,
Seasons, and syllables wrapped into one
Tiny perfect package
But also, great plains
Limitless at face value
And deeper when it’s said

May 2021
Featured image for ““The Stranger in the Storm is My Brother””
Michael McQuillan

“The Stranger in the Storm is My Brother”

Is it failing eyes or conscience
since we seem not to see how
Rodney stands alone exposed

to torrential rain in wind
teeming masses hurry past
umbrellas clash like swords

April 2021
Featured image for ““Relativity: A Lithograph by M.C. Escher,” “Chores” and “Another Kind Man””
Virginia Watts

“Relativity: A Lithograph by M.C. Escher,” “Chores” and “Another Kind Man”

In life, I bugged my brother relentlessly
about Escher’s impossible staircases,
his floors and doors, his figures with no faces.

It looks like a prison.
It’s not.

April 2021
Featured image for ““Panhandle my marble heart,” “The Crankcase” and “lost dogs in foggy nites””
Christopher Bruneaux

“Panhandle my marble heart,” “The Crankcase” and “lost dogs in foggy nites”

Panhandle my marble heart

Put my lips,
in a lonesome tomb
spread gossip of me on the shorelines of ecstasy
as I fall down the ladders
of your purgatory.

April 2021
Featured image for ““Anatomy of a Honeycomb,” “Basket of Needles” and “Cabin on Detox Island””
Monica Viera

“Anatomy of a Honeycomb,” “Basket of Needles” and “Cabin on Detox Island”

Post-mortem,
After having lived a life
In and out of mental hospitals
For what could only have been simplified…
Of attacks acute sweetness or withdrawal thereof
An autopsy was performed on me,
And a honeycomb for a heart

April 2021
Featured image for ““Street Landscaping,” “Hoodie in the Wind” and “City Birds””
Brian Kerr

“Street Landscaping,” “Hoodie in the Wind” and “City Birds”

On concrete, brick and asphalt, filth sits atop. It doesn’t sift into the ground. It runs into the sewers but first it spends days, weeks, months lingering in puddles that don’t evaporate. Too much building shade and east coast oceanside atmospheric overcast

April 2021
Featured image for ““Someone Else’s Stars,” “Hockey Night in Emmett County” and “Graceland””
Andre F. Peltier

“Someone Else’s Stars,” “Hockey Night in Emmett County” and “Graceland”

The sun is our center
bringing light and life.
Painted on the walls
of Lascaux caves,
the sun illuminates
the bulls
and the Magdalenian
artists.

April 2021
Featured image for ““Pangea,” “Blind” and “Self Portrait: Highjacked””
A. Hayes

“Pangea,” “Blind” and “Self Portrait: Highjacked”

in the beginning
there were no delineations markers or boundaries shaping his from
hers
quotation marks he said she said
rivers mapping theirs from ours

April 2021
Featured image for ““Magicians and Fortune Tellers,” “No Home-Maker Here” and “The One That Got Away””
H. C. Phillips

“Magicians and Fortune Tellers,” “No Home-Maker Here” and “The One That Got Away”

pluck a single card from a shuffled deck
and there’s a one-in-fifty-two chance
that you now hold the two of hearts.

all our potential futures that we think exist somewhere
in maybe or one day

April 2021
Featured image for ““Conspiracies,” “Return to Kansas” and “I See Now””
Martha Kane

“Conspiracies,” “Return to Kansas” and “I See Now”

The random caws of crows
I hear as I unload the dishwasher.
I look out to see three birds gathered
round the war memorial
and the flag.

March 2021
Featured image for ““hate | thirst,” “Sahara’s siren” and “release | remain””
Erik Poitras

“hate | thirst,” “Sahara’s siren” and “release | remain”

for those that are tempted to drink from the fountain of hate
beware of that bittersweet nectar
even as it feels like honey running down your chin
you will realize its acidic burning nature
as it bores a trail into your soul

March 2021
Featured image for ““Derwent,” “Sunday” and “November””
Emily Marchment

“Derwent,” “Sunday” and “November”

The Derwent’s not in any rush. Green surf
Of trees, the rocky crests of peaks now still
Enough to watch their sister wind downhill
And salve exploited wounds of quarried earth.

March 2021
Featured image for ““There Are No Words,” “Que Será – Mother’s Stare” and “Peace””
Russell Willis

“There Are No Words,” “Que Será – Mother’s Stare” and “Peace”

“There are no words…” with tragedy
Or times absurd or ends unknown
Is tragic in its own accord
For words may be all that we own

March 2021
Featured image for ““Saturn,” “One” and “Cemetery Walled””
Justin-Paul Starlin

“Saturn,” “One” and “Cemetery Walled”

As another moonlight saunters
on inlets,
let’s agree Saturn can set:
the moons will use its rings as a table,
and as euphoric as their blurry mind
can be like
MDMA intoxication.

March 2021
Featured image for ““Promotion Review in the Afterlife,” “My Thieves Are Lonely” and “Odd Boy””
Bryn Gribben

“Promotion Review in the Afterlife,” “My Thieves Are Lonely” and “Odd Boy”

“We’ve been thinking,” the angels say
 (they work for Krishna now—God knows
he’s got too much to do, what with all
that attention the rich demand these days)
“and we’re going to send you back as a cat.”

March 2021
Featured image for ““Listening to ‘The Lark Ascending’,” “Last Hours” and “In Starlight”  ”
Christopher Johnson

“Listening to ‘The Lark Ascending’,” “Last Hours” and “In Starlight”  

I listen to
swells
and
falls of the lark
in Williams’ grand tribute to
Albion

March 2021
Featured image for ““I Push Back the Images and Climb into Bed” and “What Stays””
Allison Bliss

“I Push Back the Images and Climb into Bed” and “What Stays”

The blanket tucks my head away from the world.
My eyelids shut.
My knees fold into my stomach, and then
the plane you boarded to Orlando
crashes in Georgia before you can make your way to me.

March 2021
Featured image for ““Dinner Prep,” “Mythos” and “Ignorance””
Dannielle Pendzich

“Dinner Prep,” “Mythos” and “Ignorance”

Away from myself, always, the blade angles
to save – dulls itself to keep, the hands wanting
to preserve even as the soul soils. I crave the bone
the meat the only thing hunger simmers under,
simmers for, for loneliness the gnaw (the echo
died, do you even beat) of never being touched.

February 2021
Featured image for ““Angel Fire, New Mexico, August 2020,” “Passing Down Recipes” and “Tenderness””
Christa Lubatkin

“Angel Fire, New Mexico, August 2020,” “Passing Down Recipes” and “Tenderness”

we landed here
a reprieve
from Arizona heat
from reminders
of a house needing
paint and spackle
and a yard drowning in sun

February 2021
Featured image for ““Reading Octavio Paz””
Claudia Putnam

“Reading Octavio Paz”

Midnight
between
Mexico City and the highlands
the night
spun
into deep velvet
air so dense I couldn’t understand
how we could pass

February 2021
Featured image for ““Castle Recursion” and “Castle Omnipresence””
Shyla Shehan

“Castle Recursion” and “Castle Omnipresence”

On Tuesday
I wake early and fix breakfast
turn over the hourglass on the table
Out the door as chauffeur by 7:30
Personal trainer and nutritionist at 8:30
Errand maid at 9:30
Data Engineer from 10:30 to 3
I want to quit my job

February 2021