Art Inscribed: Third Street Writers joined forces with FOA artists for their 4th annual event
By MARRIE STONE
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Thank you for honoring my art with yours. –FOA Exhibitor Jeff Rovner to poet Erick Phillips Garske
Last Sunday, Aug. 24, Third Street Writers (TSW) came together with Festival of Arts (FOA) artists for the 4th annual Art Inscribed event. Twenty-five writers responded with 27 pieces of prose (fiction, essays and poetry) to the works of 22 artists.
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Photos by Jeff Rovner
Third Street Writers responded to FOA artists’ work for the fourth year to produce “Art Inscribed.” Twenty-five writers and 22 artists participated in the event.
The practice, known as ekphrastic writing, aims to produce vivid – often dramatic – verbal descriptions of visual works of art. The subjects can be either real or imagined. Earlier this summer, writers toured the FOA grounds looking for paintings, photographs or sculptures that moved them enough to translate their reactions into words. Those writings were turned into a bound volume and read by the authors to an audience of roughly 115 attendees.
TSW donated the proceeds of their book sales – totaling more than $1,000 – to The Artists Fund, a nonprofit that provides hardship grants, enrichment grants and professional development seminars to past and present FOA exhibitors.
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(L-R) Board member Steve Fayne, TSW President Theresa Keegan, TSW Vice President and MC John Tynan, FOA Exhibitor and Artists Fund Vice President Wendy Wirth, Former TSW President Amy Dechary, TSW Treasurer Suzanne Spinelli and TSW Secretary Jennifer Griffiths
Honored, humbled, amazed and deeply touched were a few of the phrases artists used when describing how it felt to have writers respond to their work. Several artists – including Michael Ward, Debby Scherer, Brian Haberlin and Robert Hansen – inspired more than one writer. For Hansen, it felt personal.
“My photograph was taken in 1997 at the end of a 10-day journey to Veracruz,” said Hansen, who has exhibited his photography in the Festival since the late 1970s. “At that point in the journey, I was starting to miss my wife, Lisa, and my family back in the States. Lona Lisa Tomlinson’s story was very touching for me because it brought out those strong memories. Just last year, my wife passed away, so the reading was also deeply stirring.”
“There was something compelling about Figure in Fog, Coscomatepec,” Tomlinson said. “I asked myself, ‘Why would this man be walking in the middle of the night through the fog all alone?’ ‘Why is he hunched over?’ The answer inspired me to write ‘Walk in Silence.’ Maybe it’s a theme some of us can relate to. Having traveled deep into Mexico, I was enamored by the Indians and their practices. I also wove some of this in.
“I spoke to Robert afterwards and he was very touched by my story as he had lost his wife in the last year. I felt thankful that I could write about what he saw. He said his own loss helped him to see life in a different way.”
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TSW Lona Lisa Tomlinson wrote about FOA photographer Robert Hansen’s work entitled, “Figure in Fog, Coscomatepec,” taken in 1997
“I was struck by how many pieces focused on dramatic turning points in relationships,” said Amy Dechary, former TSW president and board member. “My story was about the beginning of a romance. Jen [Griffith]’s poem focused on the changing roles in a relationship – being the person who needs support and then becoming the one who is needed as a source of strength and comfort. Several pieces dealt with the loss of a loved one and coping with tremendous grief. These stories and poems really took readers full circle through the cycle of life.”
Dechary set her piece, “So Sweet,” inside Debby Scherer’s Sugar Shack. The summer after Dechary’s first year of college, she worked in a country market near her parents’ Virginia home. She spent the days baking pies and standing behind a glass display much like the one in the painting. “With its warm colors and peaceful tone, Debby’s piece took me back to all the wonderful smells of a bakery and long, sunny summer days,” Dechary said. “I don’t know where my characters came from, but I’ve been entertained by stories my kids and their friends have told me about the Senior Assassin competition that’s popular at many Orange County high schools, including LBHS.”
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Amy Dechary reading her piece “So Sweet,” inspired by Debby Scherer’s “Sugar Shack”
Dechary’s wasn’t the only story about romance set in a shop. Board member and writer Steve Fayne wrote about the end of a long marriage and rekindling a connection with an ex-wife. Inspired by Michael Obermeyer’s plein air painting of Jedidiah Coffee, Tuesdays at Six reminds us what love looks like before – and after – the mundane trials of everyday life overtake a marriage.
“I started writing a humorous piece about coffee and coffee shops. Since I don’t drink it, I have trouble understanding why there are so many coffee shops,” Fayne said, who has been married to his wife, Adrienne, for 57 years. “The piece was going to be way too long, so I started thinking about why folks would hang out in a coffee shop (having seen every episode of Friends at least three times).”
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Steve Fayne poses with Michael Obermeyer’s “Jedidiah Coffee”
But other pieces took a more serious tone, like TSW President Theresa Keegan’s piece “Bitter Sweets,” inspired by Michael Ward’s painting, Oops.
A Hispanic mother and daughter sneak out of hiding from ICE to enjoy a rare treat from a nearby bodega. When the little girl drops a candy from her bag, the mother hurries her along, afraid of getting caught, although they’re both legal.
“I’ve been upset with what’s going on in our communities,” Keegan said. “When I saw Michael’s beautiful piece that captures what looks like a mom and daughter just walking back from a store, I knew that innocence has been lost for so many people and I wanted to write about that.”
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TSW President Theresa Keegan reading her piece “Bitter Sweets,” inspired by Michael Ward’s “Oops”
“I’m humbled and amazed that Theresa Keegan was able to take my little tragicomic scene and elaborate it to a searing commentary on the troubled times we now live in,” Ward said. “Oops has become something far more ominous in her telling. But hopefully it will wake us up and open the door to sanity just a little bit.”
“Only Love” by Dennis Lockwood was inspired by Mika Denny’s mixed media drawing, Ella the Fierce.
The deathbed scene takes place in Biloxi, Miss., where two sisters – Jenna and Ella – arrive to say goodbye to their mother. Jenna brings a box of photo albums, one containing a portrait of Ella on her 13th birthday. Her mother made the dress as a surprise, hoping to lift Ella’s spirits and distract her from the daily trials of racism she was forced to endure.
“When I saw Mika’s picture, I knew this was what I wanted to write about,” Lockwood said. “After studying the piece, the story began to develop. I usually write something that has a lot of humor, so this piece gave me the opportunity to write something serious, which in hindsight I really appreciate. Reading the last two lines at the Festival, I started to choke up. That’s never happened during a reading. In the end, it felt good.”
“I was so honored to learn that Dennis chose my mixed media drawing Ella the Fierce to write about,” Denny said. “As a portrait artist, one of my goals is to inspire connection, and Ella in particular sparks a lot of comments because of her expression. I loved the imaginative storytelling Dennis brought to her. It was both creative and deeply moving.”
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Dennis Lockwood poses with Mika Denny with “Ella the Fierce” above them
“This year, we had more than 115 people in attendance,” said Keegan. “We were thrilled to have some governmental leaders, and various community representatives, join us. It’s important they see this wonderful literary event happening right here in Laguna Beach. We have talented writers, and this event recognizes writing as an artistic platform that deserves to be celebrated.”
Art Inscribed was sponsored by a grant from the FOA Foundation. There’s still time to purchase a copy of the book for $15. All proceeds go to support The Artists Fund. To learn more about Third Street Writers and the book, check out their website here.
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John Tynan, MC for the event, reminds us you can still purchase a copy of “Art Inscribed.” All proceeds benefit The Artists Fund. Cover art for the book was done by TSW Jennifer Griffiths.
