Poetry, music, dance, drawing, coffee and of course, good food, all came together at the Hope & Gloria Emporium on Friday evening to create a beautiful ‘Tapestry of the Arts’ in Coleraine. Celebrating local artistic talent and helping to raise funds for a team who will work against human trafficking in Cambodia this summer, the event featured an array of artists who shared their passions with a captivated audience.
Having crossed paths with most of the performers before but not aware of all of their blossoming talents, I was excited to see these showcased against the vintage backdrop of my favourite boutique. El Gruer of course, I have already spoken of in this blog, but she too was a new experience, as I had never actually witnessed her performance poetry firsthand and it was certainly worth the wait! The Theatre Collective, part of Sacred Space (an arts group based along the north coast), hosted the event and subsequently performed ‘Hoods’ by Ms Gruer, who in turn later ended the evening with some of her work, including the delectable ‘Lemon Drizzle Love Song’!
Threaded throughout the night was a clear passion for championing local creative minds and inspiring others in embracing their own creativity. From Keith Stynes and his affinity for artwork to Daniel Henderson and Dave Lynas with their passion for creating great coffee, to musicians JD Coulter and Mark Rainey sharing their enthusiasm for vinyl and music production, there was a part of the arts for everyone to enjoy. Michaela McMichael and songwriter/nurse Leanne Steele also entertained with their respective dance and solo singing performances and for the foodies, Kathleen Henderson provided tempting treats from her kitchen, complimented with wine and some locally brewed beer.
All in all, it was an inspiring and enjoyable night which did exactly what it set out to do – ‘celebrate art and its artist’.
Meanwhile, over the weekend, I kept up to date with my NaPoWriMo assignments, which I have posted below. Today’s poem will also follow once the prompt has been received!
Day 6 asked us to write a valediction/poem of farewell:
Broken Home
I sit and stare
cracked, broken – alone.
Where once walls bounced back exuberant cries
now only emptiness within me lies
Salted, stoney tears streak unseen
lost amongst the remnants of memories long crunched underfoot
Eyes splintered, clothes torn
throat choked in green
Pride crumbled, time tumbled in – making sin
the state I’m in.
I long to welcome you back
Day 7... each line except the last to take the form of ‘a single, declarative sentence’, the last line being a question. The aim – a poem which is ‘driving and reportorial in tone with a powerful rhetorical finish’. (Hmm… we’ll see!)
What we Know
Cups clink, people drink – think
chat
Keys click, clocks tick – quick
zapped
Engines thrive, drivers drive – alive
free
Doors slam, friends jam – calm
need
Dreams dim, hopes slim
gone
Sleepers sleep the night away
lights left on
Interesting, isn’t it – the people’s song…
Or did you know the essence of it – all along?