Reflecting on Springtime Joy

Spring adds new life and new joy to all that is.

-Jessica Harrelson

This year springtime brings fluctuating weather patterns and the burst of blooms earlier than expected. Tree-lined roads share their blossomed branches with passersby. Birds chirp, tweet, and spread their birdsong every morning.  Spring welcomes warmth, color, and the renewal of life.  

I cordially invite you to add your digital inspiration to

Springsations Gallery of Artistic Expressions.

The invitation with all information needed can be found HERE.

The deadline to offer original artistic expressions is April 30, 2023, the end of National Poetry Month.

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I extend a thank you to Bob Hamera and Matt F. Esenwine for contributing their original image poems to my Springsations Gallery of Artistic Expressions Padlet. Their digital artistic expressions will become part of the Springsations Gallery.

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 I also extend a thank you to Marcie Flinchum Atkins and Irene Latham for sending me a postcard for National Poetry Month.

Sent by Irene Latham with illustration by Melanie Mikecz

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Now it's time to stroll over to Jone MacCulloch's blog who is this week's Poetry Friday host. I am eager to visit her National Poetry Month project, Classic Found Poetry Palooza. There are interesting poems created from different classics.

Notes:

Please consider offering a poetic/digital artistic expression for Springsations Gallery. 

Please stop by my blog on April 17, 2023, Day 17 of this year's Progressive Poem will be at my blog.  I am looking forward to reading the line Linda Baie will add to the poem that she will pass on to me.

Digipoetry is...

I often refer to digital poetry by the coined term, #digipoetry.

Digital poetry is a novel way of artistically blending images, art, and literacy using digital tools to create vivid and appealing poetic compositions. It often bends and turns in the creation process, bringing to life soft murmurings that stir within a writer's heart. Digipoetry often toggles between a nondigital world (writer's notebook) and a digital notebook platform to produce highly visual pieces of techno-artistic poetry. This genre of writing is imaginative in its possibilities and creative in its approach to letting voice fly. 

An element of "play" is seen in today's #poetryliciouspoetry. In the above image, I smashed apps, Tagul and PicMonkey, to create an image poem in vivid hues. I meandered through different scenarios to let the eye design the final combination. In the image below, I digitized a photograph from Easter Sunday at the beach: families gathering, the ocean roaring, and kites flying above the water amidst the swooning seagulls. To recreate that moment, I blended a beach scene photo that I took with a digitally-drawn rendering of a balloon-like kite soaring high above the beach fashioned in Word. A poem emerged while focusing on the photo and was superimposed onto the image. After taking time crafting the digital rendering, a tranquil scene appeared, much like what I saw at the boardwalk. Mission accomplished! I designed a digital creation that was inspired by springtime and added the #imagepoem to my collection of #poetryliciouspoetry. 

Spring at the shore builds summer hopes in the shifting sands for me each time I visit. 

This past week, the watercolored-sky provided the right backdrop for me to capture a spring day at the beach. I added the digital image poem, created using digital techniques and tools, MobileMonet and PicMonkey, that would highlight nature. 

For digital and non-digital poetry treats turn to Tabatha Yeatts' site for the Poetry Friday Round-up.

I would like to invite the Poetry Friday community to create a digital image poem to grace the growing garden at my upcoming spring gallery, Springsations.

Invitation to Springsations

"It is spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart."

-Rainer Maria Rilke

As troubadours of nature, I cordially invite all to join me in announcing the springtime season in bold, vibrant techno-colors for a new, sensational gallery of nature's handiwork

As the earth announces springtime with warm weather,

I invite all to uncover and capture the beauty

of the sensational springtime season.

Be carefree. Let your passions take over as you capture the whimsical side of nature that awakens the soul, re-energizes the spirit, and revitalizes life.

Springsations Gallery Awaits Your Offerings!

As in any fashion event, a mix of styles, a splash of color, and verve are needed.

What Else?

• Be creative. Capture the splendors of springtime through an original photo or drawing. You can also choose a free image from morguefile.com, pixabay.com, or photosforclass.com. 
• Write an accompanying poem or poetic expression.
• Superimpose your words on the image using a photo editing tool, like FotoJet, PicMonkey or Canva.
• Sign the digital composition with your name and location.
• Save it in jpeg form (450 pixels is the best size) and send your jpeg offering to @cvarsalona at gmail with the subject heading, Springsations.  
• Post your work on Twitter under the hashtags: #Springsations and @cvarsalona.

Other Creative Options You Can Submit: 

• A short video with a poem using iMovie or Animoto
• An audio reading of your poem using SoundCloud, etc.
• A collage of springtime
• An original inspirational quote or one from a poet or philosopher about springtime
• Original photo or artwork (any format) of springtime

Please make sure that all submissions have your name and locale at the bottom.

Deadline for Submission: May 20, 2017

Still Not Sure How to Begin ??? 

You can refer to last year's gallery, Spring Seeds, here to find mentor texts.  

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WANTED: 

Student Voice for Springsations Gallery

Please encourage your class and/or students to engage in this artistic creative writing project to amplify their voices and showcase their artistic talents.

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This invitation extends the experience of writing poetry beyond National Poetry Month because poetry is a year-round endeavor of creative expression. The project is open-ended and integrates the arts, technology, and literacy. Have fun creating poetryliscious poetry.

Today, the Poetry Friday Round-up is at the blog site, Dori Reads, of Doraine Bennett, children's book author. There is a special give-away of Janet Wong's and Sylvia's fabulous book, Here We Go: A Poetry Friday Power Book (a personal favorite of mine).