"Evolution of Art": Cheryl Leibovitz and SPARK!

We're here at Beanetics again, and the place is already hoppin'! Mark Owen Martin has set up his harp and is playing some lovely music, the crowd is gathering, and we're looking forward to a fantastic evening of art, music, and words. Come on down and join us!

Cheryl's pieces, "Works in Red" are a wonderful backdrop for tonight's event. Just as tonight is an eclectic mix of artistic expression, Cheryl's pieces are wonderful collages full of color, markings, and textures. I am always impressed with Cheryl's work, both because of its own expressive, vibrant nature, and because she is a wonderful role model for the collaborative process. We are here tonight because of her generosity in sharing the spotlight with all of her SPARK friends!

While all the readers arrive, we are treated to rapturous harp music by Mark Owen Martin.

I love that he brings his harp and sets up and goes to it! How fabulous to listen to his original compositions!

We have several authors reading tonight, and I'll try my best to capture the essence of each reader...

Mary L. Tabor is reading tonight from her memoir (Re)Making Love: A Sex After Sixty Story that includes four SPARK response pieces. Mary brought a copy of her new book that will be available next week on Amazon.com! Mary's style is so expressive and easily conjures up the pictures of her life: memories of her father as he transitioned from life to death; her mother dancing; dates (that remind her of her father) she's had since she separated from her husband.

Sarah Krouse is a reporter living in Washington DC.

Sarah reads a piece in which she reminisces about things her father has said to her over the years: He calls her and her sister "piss-ants," and "star boarders." He says he'll pay for college or a wedding. She needs to choose. How does she respect such a man? On her someday wedding day, can she talk of him as an inspiration in her life? Is she his to give away?

Amy Moffitt is a poet, singer, and blogger who lives in, but is not of, the Washington, DC area.

Amy first reads a poem: "Three Views of Forgiveness"-- a ghost-like experience; ritual repentance; drunken pleas to God.

Flash fiction: You get the picture from Amy's descriptions and the way she reads... a troubled woman walking on the street reassuring herself that all will be alright.

Doug Poms is a writer in Virginia... He writes of his experience of separation... Memories of Christmases past, walks in the woods, his partner's packing up to trek off to Paris to pursue a career in fashion. He wonders, was leaving an act of pursuing a dream or an excuse to leave? "The journey is still out on love."

Charisse Cecil is a writer and artist in Alexandria, VA. Charisse read two poems, one from each of her rounds participating in SPARK! Her first poem, "Lottie" is dedicated to the memory of her great-great grandmother...

Her second poem, an explanation of first teen love/crush is "Farewell, Stairwell." In the end, it is a statement of the POWER of a woman's mouth...

DiAna Hart Smith considers retirement her smartest career move after serving over 33 years with the U.S. Forest Service. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post. She read her poem, "Separations", from her particpation in SPARK 5. It explores her child leaving home to pursue his own life. What is it like to let watching your child leave the nest? Did she prepare him enough, not enough, too much? This separation is reminiscent of other separations--her parents dying. It is her turn to move up on the family tree... Someday it will be her child's. In the end, joy can triumph over the sorrows of separation. In the end, she will leave her child when she dies, leaving a garden of memories behind for him to nurture.

Quentin Paquette has participated in three rounds of Spark so far. Tonight he reads a response to a piece of art, "Totem," with the help of Amanda. It is short little play... a conversation between a couple on a road trip out West. Discovery is seeing something for the first time. A walk in the woods, along a stream, picking up a stone or a leaf, the smell of autumn... Descriptive dialogue, seeing the world from both sides, experience and thought...

Cheryl Somers Aubin has an MA in writing from Johns Hopkins University and has been writing an d publishing for twenty years. She read her piece, "Inside." She describes a man handcuffed and shackled, sitting on a bus going to prison for the first time, for selling drugs. How uncomfortable he is, remembering his darling, Darlene, of the caribbean blue eyes. How we betrayed her and his mother... His lawyer told him to try to let nothing get to him... for the next two years. Entering prison is like entering his own coffin, letting his dreams of love with Darlene die away.

Rusty Lynn is an artist reborn and unbound. After a 40-year career in ministry, social work, and pastoral counseling, Rusty is once again producing art. He read his poem, "Sliding Down Scarlet Street," was inspired by one of Cheryl's "Red" paintings and Mark Owen Martin's composition, "Yellow." His alliteration flowed musically off his tongue, entertaining both mind and ear...

Our evening ended again with a composition by Mark Owen Martin... This composition, "Music Box," is about a man coming to brunch by himself. He has a gift for his daughter's 17th birthday. She is not there, though we don't know why. He sits and thinks, eventually coming to a point of resolution. He opens the gift: a music box.

What a wonderful way for the evening to end... everyone milling about, chatting together. The air was full of celebration!