Visiting the Artist Studio of Dorothy Fagan

"Talking about  journaling" ©Mary Montague Sikes

Last Saturday, members of the Chesapeake Bay Branch, National League of American Pen Women had the opportunity to visit the studio of artist Dorothy Fagan. What a special treat that was, not only for artists in the group but for the writers as well.

Over the years I have found that people who paint often also write, and Dorothy did not disappoint me. She talked about journaling as well as painting. She told about keeping a journal since the mid-1990s. To me, the journal is like my "gathering books" that I have all over our house, so I was especially delighted to hear about her experiences. Dorothy has "lucid dreams" and chronicles them in her journal.

Sitting in her studio, hidden in the trees, felt especially comfortable to me because my own writing studio overlooks white oak tree branches similar to hers, and the light that glistens on the trunks and leaves is the same. I found joy in the "feel" of the space and especially gloried in the splendor of sitting amidst creative women who experience the same delight I find in writing and in making art.

I can only wish now and dream of more time spent with those who love to turn words around and change the world with color. These are the people I long to know better.

"In the Fagan Studio" ©Mary Montague Sikes

Seed Work for Authors and Artists - Visiting the Trees

"Through the Branches" acrylic/canvas ©Mary Montague Sikes

I belong to the Chesapeake Bay Branch of the National League of American Pen Women, and the group is working on an ambitious project that isn't really new but involves creative thought and effort. Over the past few months, we have produced work for a collaborative exhibition that will go on view at the Mathews Bay School on June 4. "Painting, Poetry, and Prose, a Creative Encounter" brings together artists and writers who study each others work and become a part of the artistic process.

My seed art piece is actually a small sculpture I formed in Montana talc a few years ago. I don't know if a writer has been inspired to make a statement in poetry or prose about this three-dimensional work, but I hope she has. I'll find out soon.

In reading over the seed poetry and prose, I was drawn to a poem, written by Bev McMillan, titled "In the Trees". I love trees. From my writing studio window, I gaze into woods where long ago Pocahontas probably played. This forest edges a creek that flows from the Mattaponi River, and I wonder if Captain John Smith in 1612 perhaps journeyed up our little waterway as he mapped our tidewater rivers long ago. Maybe he even climbed up the bank and explored our woods.

Over the years, I've painted our trees many times, often with my children in the foreground. Sometimes I stare into the woods and wonder what these trees have witnessed with so many people passing through time.

Like the author of the seed poem, I believe, "Everything has been in the trees."