Captive/Audience
Poem by Julie Drew - inspired by the painting, The Green Cage, by Richard E. Miller. Postcard art and printing by me.
This set was made for her: the soft carpet and filtered light, the cinched waist of her costume. She kneels at the cage.
“Such beauty,” he says.
Her (re)pose is perfection against the lie of an open door and, beyond, the truth of an iron fence whose bars mark property lines. She does not rise, ignores the invitation of the door.
In the cage dark feathers tremble in a breeze just out of reach. The creature cries out, once, and she smiles to hear that sweet note, sung for her.
Such beauty, she thinks.
- Julie Drew
The Grin
Poem by Michelle R. Smith - inspired by the photograph, The Grin, by Marilyn Nance. Postcard art and printing by me.
With the phlox smell of her sweat in his nose, her feathery hair tickling his cheek, the small of her back answering the question of his palm there, her thick hip kissing his tender thigh, with her lips whispering to him like ripe cantaloupe slices, her skin playing for him the night, a silk bed where he can curl up & he can dream, what else can the boy do, with his desire bright as teeth & the chance so close, pressing hot through his shirt, spreading thick through his chest like hope, what can the boy do but grin?
- Michelle R. Smith
The Color I Take
Poem by Catherine Wing - inspired by the painting, Wisdom, by Helen Frankenthaler. Postcard art and printing by me.
All day the green had soaked me, leaf-dappled pollen-dipped, the wrinkled world fresh in its unfurling. Love in its mist, a yellow vined up my fingertips and fruited at my shoulders, the sky such a pressing blue the air couldn’t stand between us. All that life has stained me with, parking lots and laundromats, lost tickets, grey scrubbing daily, pushed to the edges of the universe. And there the shore-absorbing sea and green-absorbing blue, know nothing about how the mountain bears its shadow. Midnight-blue bleeds to black, a canyon down which the last sun pours, orange as pure egg yolk.
- Catherine Wing
Create to Cope
Poem by Sharetta Latrice - inspired by the sculptural painting, Diepholz, by Frank Stella. Postcard art and printing by me.
I was sick, in and out of the hospital. I lost hope, but I found my way back to hope, through art. I smiled and was reminded that we are all masterpieces; unique works of art. Life is the canvas. The twists and turns are the paths we must take. Tears are watercolors that shift with emotion, yet dry with the realization that the destination of our path is hope. I was inspired to create. The stroke of a brush and the use of my voice through poetry helped me to cope. Viewing or creating…art can help you cope too!
- Sharetta Latrice
Shadowland
Poem by Les Hunter - inspired by the painting, Untitled [Lone figure, stores and houses], by Raphael Gleitsmann. Postcard art and printing by me.
In due time Gleitsmann, the painter,
would ship to the front
and see Europe destroyed.
After, back in Akron, burnt-out, his work turned ochre,
umber. Fire/stone and brim/stone.
Deadlands. Industry grown mythic.
Castles in the sky, earthbound,
collapsed under the weight of history.
Until finally, I will never paint again.
But here, before in “Untitled, 1940,” clouds gather like
water cupped loosely in trembling hands.
Homebound, a man paces, the other shoe,
about to drop, from a double shift/rye.
Shopfloor, gin-joint, flophouse. Repeat.
White snow holds out against
deep shadows, creeping.
Gleitsmann; the man:
Day will end
in due time.
- Les Hunter
What could be
Poem by Neema Bal - inspired by the painting, Accupuncture Spear Style - Manhunter’s [sic] by John William “Uncle Jack” Dey. Postcard art and printing by me.
Why is it the way it is?
Yes, I am asking you.
I don’t believe it.
Can we discuss it, please?
Please is a Magic word
Learned in school.
You’re my neighbor.
We are on the same side of the earth.
Maybe we can talk.
But you’re busy because of the way it is.
Don’t you have a few minutes?
You waited for me.
Thank you for your kindness.
Your respect.
Your time.
What did you do today that you will remember for the rest of your life?
Take a minute before you sleep.
Remember that beautiful part of you.
- Neema Bal
To stand is to call attention
Poem by Greg Milo - inspired by the sculpture, Girl Sitting Against A Wall II by George Segal. Postcard art and printing by me.
Load-off lament.
Run down descent.
Muffled traffic twists metal and screams
frustration following a car accident.
Safe indoors.
Waif regiment corps.
Sudden solo project and mindgame neglect
yield internal wars.
The weight of emptiness collapses ambition.
To stand is to call attention.
Erected collisions.
Orange barrel divisions.
Anxiety-flying cadet, mixtape cassette sings
shade-reaching munitions.
Promised visit.
Relationship deficit.
Fractured confidence and solitary dance steps
leave me lame, posterchild obit.
Meditating to forget.
Decision cold sweat.
Preservation practices derailed by knowledge
of the emergency exit kit.
The weight of emptiness collapses ambition.
To stand is to call attention.
- Greg Milo
Akron Art Mail
From the museum: After an enthusiastic reception from the community during Akron Art Mail’s inaugural year, this partnership with the Akron-Summit County Public Library returned in Fall 2021 with a new set of postcards from 14 Northeast Ohio artists and authors. This year’s program will also feature another chance for community members to submit a homemade postcard for display.
While the 2020 collection of artist-made postcards was largely reflective of the pandemic and social upheaval of the year, this new suite of postcards includes a variety of subjects ranging from nature and local landscapes to resiliency, family, and hope. The core of this project, however, remains strongly intact: each of these creators, in their own way, is seeking connection with the larger world around them.
These artist-made postcards and blank postcards will be available in Fall 2021 at the Akron Art Museum, Akron-Summit County Public Library, and through partner organizations in Akron.