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ARTISTS' WORKS ON DISPLAY FOR THE LinKed Visual Arts & Poetry SHOW & CONTEST

Below are the eleven pieces that are on display in downtown Pleasanton. The winning poets are listed with the pieces. The artwork and winning poems are on display in downtown Pleasanton, and will be on display as part of the POETRY, PROSE & ARTS FESTIVAL at the Literary Row and Arts Reception at the Firehouse Art Center on Saturday March 26, 2011 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

NUMBER: 1
ARTIST: Sherri Kelcourse
TITLE: Leave That Which Entangles
MEDIUM: Oil
LOCATION: Studio 7 Fine Arts, 400 Main Street

WINNING POEM: Flying Free by ADULT POET Marilyn Slade

If I were a bird I'd want to be
One of the birds in your painting
Rising endlessly in bright colors of orange and magenta,
Through the fast whirling winds that hold me high
Or the blue bird with the coal black head
Dominating the scene, commanding the flock

But I am a mere mortal
Cemented to earth by relentless gravity
An earthly function I do not understand.
But when I look at you I see myself.
Turning, swooping, diving, soaring,
I feel alive, caught in the ecstasy of flight,
The wind lifting me to atmospheres unreachable

I look down
And never want to return.

NUMBER: 2
ARTIST: Norma Webb
TITLE: Across Our Hills
MEDIUM: Oil
LOCATION: The Rising Loafer, 428 Main Street
PRICE: $300

WINNING POEM: Mountain Tops by junior poet Clara Rong

Mountain tops have horses grazing
And bulls dowsing in the sun.
When you look the view is amazing
And you'll also see dear fawns run.
You'll feel the gentle breeze blowing
And the grass brushing against your ankle.
Then you'll hear the crows crowing
And above you can hear a squawking eagle.
Suddenly you'll smell the freshness of the pine
And the sweetness of the wildflowers.
Later you'll think "The world is mine!",
And imagine the wilderness is your tower.
This is what I imagine when I think of a mountain top
And it feels like it will never stop.

NUMBER: 3
ARTIST: Pat Smith
TITLE: Canopy
MEDIUM: Watercolor
LOCATION: The Rising Loafer, 428 Main Street
PRICE: $250

WINNING POEM: Trees by ADULT POET Carrie McAbee

They laugh at us
The trees do
We are mocked and ignorant of it

Spring leaf buds are taught
To giggle at us in the soft rain
For our hubris
As we breathe their very breat

Savage summer storms ring with gongs of thunder
Splits of lightning
Trees answer in gales of laughter
Their mirth at out fear
We cower as they dance in the win

The rustle of autumn
A polite soft chuckling
The tree's most brilliant and beautiful time
While we feel diminished and vulnerable

Early winter's sharp winds
Wizened leaves cackle at us
Their gnarled rough arms
Reach for the sun
As ours tremble with age

They laugh at us
The trees do
For our silly human ways

NUMBER: 4
ARTIST: Lisa Rigge
TITLE: Wagon
MEDIUM: Photogrphy
LOCATION: Towne Center Books, 555 Main Street

CO-WINNING POEM: In Memory of a Red Wagon by adult poet G.B. Follett

He had a wagon, red as his first blush, and it carried
the blocks he built with, blocks he formed into the future,
blocks he peopled with stories, and he portaged his blocks
until he learned how to build with a pen.

He had a wagon, red, as I've told you, and he used it to carry
the dog if it was willing, as dogs sometimes are
willing to suspend the chase for the sake of a boy
who would insist a large dog compose itself in his wagon,
if only until the boy turned a corner beyond the reach
of wagons, moved off on a longer road out of sight.

He had a red wagon, this small boy with hands
already large, like the paws of a puppy, and destined
to grow even beyond his feet, but for now they are still
in the way, and sometimes mingle with the handle
of the wagon, the wheels, the whole ensemble
coming a cropper in the grass wet with tears.

He had a red wagon, the handle longer than his arms.
It gave him distance from the things he put into it,
caused him to face away pulling toward what was ahead,
what was around the corner bounding toward him
readying to trip him, or lick his face.

He had a red wagon that took on dints and dents
in the smooth skin of it, flaked off in weather
or the adversity of the tumbled. The wheels turned
with a slight wobble, yet the wagon moved forward
under the guidance of his lead, and even later, tucked
in a corner of the garage, the wheels waited to turn.

He had a wagon, still red when he'd take it up the hill
like Jack, climb in, shove over the edge and bucket down,
steering with a handle that couldn't keep up with the wheels –
the whole thing taking on a ride of its own, seeking each rock
and gully, risking his crown, landing in a heap of metal and skin,

wagon spinning its wheels at the sky like and insect turned
in the too hot sun, and the boy tickled in the neck by grasses,
lazily coming back into himself, his eyes settling into focus,
forgetting bumps and misdirections, remembering only
the speed and the crazy slalom down the hill.

CO-WINNING POEM: Pull Me With You by junior poet Jamie Altman

Pull me,
Pull me through this obstacle course.
I'll clutch the sides.
You'll fold your fingers into the handle.
I'll feel my heart rise,
Like a bird chirping in the morning,
Like the laughter of a newborn,
Like a family being together.
Don't groan,
Don't groan at how heavy I am,
Or at how the handle is giving you blisters.
Just smile,
Smile at the togetherness,
At the juvenile fun that we can still have.
We'll rumble through,
My pony-tail bouncing, hitting my neck,
Up and down.
Plants will hit my face,
You will step on rocks,
We'll barrel on, and when we get tired,
We'll sit on a stump and
Drink juice boxes,
Smiling.
And I'll feel my heart rise,
Like lying out in the sun on a summer day,
Like waking up on Christmas morning,
Like being with you.

NUMBER: 5
ARTIST: Charlotte Severin
TITLE: Spotted Horses
MEDIUM: Watercolor
LOCATION: Towne Center Books, 555 Main Street
PRICE: Not for sale

WINNING POEM: Artist Spots an Artist by adult poet Sandra Kay

look at you
my human masterpiece
making memories manifest

an instinct here
an impulse there
two hands that will not rest

this world – your empty canvas
to show – who knows
what your eyes will see

living creatures black n’ white
spotted so aesthetically

earthly colors
human hands
artist instinct, artist eye

living creatures drawn & painted
– who knows
– how many times

back then, write now, into forever
art is instinct, art is why.

NUMBER: 6
ARTIST: Pushpa Dalal
TITLE: Mask
MEDIUM: Digital Media On Metallic Paper
LOCATION: Comerica Bank, 600 Main Street

WINNING POEM: Glimmer by adult poet Alice Kight

Through chinks in the shield
I would use to mask the world,
My muse comes shining

NUMBER: 7
ARTIST: Linda Jeffery Sailors
TITLE: Branching Out
MEDIUM: Watercolor On Yupo
LOCATION: Comerica Bank, 600 Main Street
PRICE: $395

WINNING POEM: (TO COME)

NUMBER: 8
ARTIST: Ron Rigge
TITLE: Five Chairs
MEDIUM: Silver Gelatin Print
LOCATION: Comerica Bank, 600 Main Street

WINNING POEM: Everything of Mine by adult poet Marilyn Slade

The boy said,
"I'm sitting on this old chair, grandpa"
"Johnny, you can sit anywhere
That wooden chair was your Great Uncle Schmitty's
A sea captain out of Mattituck
When he didn't return
Great Aunt Jesse gave it to me"

"What about this next chair, Grandpa?
With the broken leg"
"Be careful, Johnny, I meant to fix it
It broke when the tornado hit in '29
Sit on it but don't wiggle"

"Grandpa, you always sit in that chair, how come?"
"Johnny, that's your Grandma's favorite
Remember how she loved to sit by the fire?
That was before you came to live with me"

"That other chair, Grandpa, can I carve my name on it?"
"No, Boy, I may be able to sell that at the antique fair
If we need grocery money"

The fancy carved chair, 'Pa, where is it from?"
"That was your Dad's favorite chair before he went to war
It fell off a caboose from a Union Pacific train"

"Grandpa, are you going to die?
Can I have your chairs if you do?"
"Johnny, you get everything of mine
I'm not going to die or run out of grocery money"

                      *        *        *
Johnny fell asleep lying across the seats of the five chairs
Grandpa found a pillow to tuck under Johnny's head
He sighed, bowed his head
Let that railroad pension check come tomorrow.

NUMBER: 9
ARTIST: Carole Hilton
TITLE: Garden Steps, Prince Edward Island
MEDIUM: Digital Print
LOCATION: Little Valley Winery & Lavender, 739 Main Street
PRICE: $120

WINNING POEM: (TO COME)

NUMBER: 10
ARTIST: Linda Beach
TITLE: Spring Ahead
MEDIUM: Gliclee of pastel
LOCATION: Little Valley Winery & Lavender, 739 Main Street
PRICE: $225

WINNING POEM: Daffodils by adult poet Kelly Cressio-Moeller

Call them what you will:
jonquils, narcissi,
Lent lilies, Easter bells –
these persistent perennials
jubilant year after year,
jumping garden gates for fields
of open space, hemming ranges
and distant horizons.
Stand where the trail begins –
listen to the cross breeze
brush past your ears, over
their gilded trumpets
heralding spring.

NUMBER: 11
ARTIST: Eugenia Zobel
TITLE: Wine Tasting
MEDIUM: Painting on Porcelain
LOCATION: Little Valley Winery & Lavender, 739 Main Street
PRICE: $350

WINNING POEM: Poetically Speaking by adult poet Donna Fehlberg

From the vine
to the wine –

With a toast to our Host,
I lift my crystal goblet.
I'm savoring this vintage,
smooth and lush, pleasing the palate
with its sophisticated charm.

Demure yet provocative,
its clarity and color
entices, then satisfies.

Aroma wafts content,
I am relishing the rhapsody.