Tokyo exhibition: Write me a haiku poem

During the exhibition next week, I will be inviting gallery attendees to submit their Japanese or English haiku poems based on one or more of the eight visual 'Artist haiku' prints that will be on display.

The 'Artist haiku' series follows the artist as she explores the woods surrounding her home and studio.

After the show, I will prepare a digital booklet with the eight images and all the poems that were submitted. I'll send everyone who participated a copy of the PDF booklet.

Even though you may not be able to attend the show in Tokyo, you can participate in the experience by submitting a haiku. View the eight images in the online slideshow:

     http://dennishumphrey.wix.com/artphoto

Each image is a triptych, divided into 3 panels that evoke the structure of a 27-syllable English haiku. The first line should  contain 5 syllables, the second 7 syllables and the third 5 syllables.

Here's an example of a haiku based on 'Artist haiku 2':

Light bathing through spores

On a bed of fiddled ferns

Fluffy pillowed dreams

Walk along with the artist and feel her environment.

Please send me by email one or more of your haiku poems, indicating the image your haiku relates to.

Here's information on how to write a haiku poem:

     http://m.wikihow.com/Write-a-Haiku-Poem

Mostly though, just have fun!

Visual haiku triptychs

For my Tokyo show, I am exploring what I call “visual haikus”, a series of triptychs I began a few years ago. I had worked with mixed media encaustics during the 2014 Encaustics workshop with Lean Macdonald in Victoria.
The haiku poetic form consists of 3 lines of 5-7-5 syllables and focuses on details of the here and now, often dealing with nature. I have decided to adapt the format to photographs shown in a 3-panel format replicating a 5-7-5 proportion (11″x17″). At least one of the panels (most likely the widest one, will feature the subject (human or nature). I will keep it open, letting the viewers make up their own interpretation of the haiku sequence or narrative.
I have been moving towards a brown warm-toned monochromatic palette, retaining red for a dash of colour, trying to simplify, reduce. In the images below, I use a red leaf texture layer in Photoshop to blend in with the darker areas of the photos, giving it the organic quality I am looking for. Here is a sample of 2 of the 9 images:

I will try printing the images above on thicker washi paper, applying gold leaf on the surface of some areas of the print, then infusing with it wax. Brown-black-gold-red….

In order to take advantage of the translucency and red pigment already part of the print, I will need to limit my use of mixed media. I may use pencil and black ink, red ink washes, red wax, perhaps embed a real leaf here and there… we’ll see.

I like the idea of the triptychs, yet I also like the single image above, which allows for a fuller view of the subject.

Reflections

Photo composite rendered in Haiku app on iPad.