My heart is full again

I checked the email for this project today and it seems that despite my neglect of this project, it grows without me. Isn't that what any artist wants? To see the idea they gave birth to flourish even without their constant supervision?

So I am opening it back up. Some quotes you will find a few posts down along with the original introduction to the project. I will be checking the email again (lets.collaborate2010@gmail.com) and would love to hear from anyone who is interested, curious, or who may have been on the fence the first time around.

*Also, my personal hero will be the person who decides to get this as a tattoo (it is a poem about dancing, and is my favorite to perform):

"I throw my arms around in open space, closing it in around me, trying to remember the definition of the word inertia. I kick my feet back and forth while stomping, and at the opposite end of my leg/torso whirlwind, my mouth is upturned and I'm shouting.

I have heard that in rain, birds can drown this way."

Seriously. Get any part of that as a tattoo and I will send you a handwritten version of it as well as a few other goodies. You know, incentive.

______________________________

Quick run-down of things that I will want from those thinking about participating:

-What is your life like?

-What do you find beautiful?

-What do the words (that you are interested in) mean to you?

And a high quality photo of the finished tattoo.

You are free to back out at any time, but I would love to hear from you while you're contemplating it.

Thank you for even stopping by, there are so many reasons for me to love my life and you are one of them.

-Amy

ABOUT THIS PROJECT:

I have created this blog as something separate from my older work because I see this taking me in new directions. So as not to make this a mess, this blog will be used for new projects (two in particular) that could benefit from having their own space to grow.

These new projects fall under an idea I can't stop thinking about: Connecting to Other People (By any means necessary). With that in mind....

TATTOO PROJECT:

This idea stems from so many aspects of what I am working on, so it is difficult to chop it down into "essential information". I have forever been attracted to literature and am immersed in my surroundings (art school). We mark where we have been on our skin and so we are constantly sharing our experiences with others, having to explain them or letting others guess what they mean. Often we etch words into our skin that were written by other people... we apply our own meanings to them, stealing someone else's beautiful words to make our skin beautiful.

This project is also a reflection of my struggle with writing and art- how do I marry those two passions?

In this project I will be opening myself up to strangers in hopes that they will take on my words forever. By this I mean that I will be looking for individuals who will engage in some dialogue with me and will decide if they are willing to (permanently) steal my words as their own. As with some of my other work, this is a lesson in letting go. Another way of giving up my control over my work, how others perceive my experiences, and how others will create their own experiences in relation to me.

In the following days, I will begin to fill this blog with possibilities for tattoos. All words will be my own until they are etched into another's skin. Then we will share them, a very real connection to someone considered to be a "stranger". Once the tattoo is complete, that piece of writing will no longer be available for another person to copy, and instead will be documented in the person's skin.

Some things to consider/questions/concerns:

Why should I participate?: Because I really want to get to know you. I think that interacting with new people is always an amazing experience, and what better way to do so than with a project like this?

Why should I choose YOUR words over a famous writer?: That's for you to decide. I am offering you an experience- a chance to be a part of something bigger. Bigger than you, bigger than me. That is all that I want out of this. And it beats being the millionth person with "Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt" tattooed on them.

How do I participate?: Please contact me at: lets.collaborate2010@gmail.com

Are you paying for my tattoo?: Sadly, no. While I would love to be able to do this for you, I am financially unable to.

What happens if I do participate? What is this for?: I will post a photograph of the finished tattoo on my other art blog (aemrr.blogspot.com) and possibly some documentation of our interactions (any emails, letters, etc. prior to your tattoo experience and after). If the time frame synchs up, I would include documentation of this work in my thesis show (This May 2010).

Thank you for looking, feel free to contact me with any other questions or comments you may have.

Recent video...

I am currently working on a word-a-day project that will be used for various smaller projects including this one...

The word of the day was "sea urchin" :

Felt like it should be shared here since I am mostly in fragments in this blog.

Completed tattoos for this project...

I used to post pictures of completed tattoos here, but now they will be available here.

Some Poetry:

I am already almost overwhelmed with the warmth and excitement that I have received about this project. My heart is fluttering, thank you to all who expressed interest.

Here are some short poems (or fragments of poems). My plan is that I want feedback on which words or lines (if any) you feel most connected to. Again, these words are mine but I want you to make them yours.

1.

there is something in me that is aching to be delicate,

it weeps while the rest of me cackles.

(#1 is no longer available, as it now appears on someone's skin)

2.

oh, canyon mouth

I hear the coyotes

and the echo of loneliness

When you speak.

3.

my flesh is the peach

my heart is the pit;

my teeth are an eagle

and the sky is my spit.

my pale body is too big for this room.

4.

without seeking home

the traveler grows weary

on tired feet.

5.

I've never opened my mouth so wide in my entire life.

6.

I just want us all to wake up.

7.

it hurts in my chest

where beautiful things

like butterflies with sharp wings

are trying to rip me apart.

(#7 is no longer available)

8.

So when you ask

Who are you talking to?

don't worry

I am just remembering

9.

My father created me out of thin air,

My mother was an ocean of tears,

And my entire life has been a lesson in

e v a p o r a t i o n.

(#9 is no longer available)

10.

I stay stuck

Where I want to stay stuck.

11.

I recall

I spit splinters for days.

12.

I hand you a fistful of dirt

and ask to be covered in gold.

13.

not everything conducts electricity

14.

I've been ending things beautifully for years.

15.

Open your eyes

(Open your heart)

16.

It takes so long for me to slow my heartbeat,

Feels like I'm slamming too hard on tired breaks.

17.

I want you to know that you

are not alone

stand like you can just disregard

all this gravity

19.

the notes bent and your bowlegs swayed.

20.

oh,

it was only

minutes.

(no longer available)

21.

The sun shines even in winter,

and the octopus has three hearts

but cannot feel;

so maybe it's not too late for me.

22.

You make me tired,

you make this feel like math.

22.

I found God in a dried out log, his body was a mass of fire ants that bit my wrists and then scattered cowardly.

23.

And still these fingers weave, in and out like they’re breathing. Breathing unevenly like unwanted company in a small room, clumsily running into each other and anxiously waiting to be introduced.

Why am I one with you but a roomful of strangers alone?

24.

"Aim all that misguided praise

inward

and hold on."

25.

"You're somewhere being

LOUD."

26.

"With the sounds of piano keys

Crunching of leaves

The spinning of a globe

In a first grade classroom

When you believed that you could

Span

That

Distance. "

27.

"This never happened."

28.

With these eyes even closed I have seen you

Arching your back to let those wounds that adorn that perfect spine sing

and the song

though often out of key

gives me hope that one day

they will heal

29.

a toothless sound

mistaken for a mastery
of one one-millionth of the english language.

30.

At times it was so gray it looked silver.

(no longer available)

31.

this disjointed dialogue speaks of closeness.

32.

If I had wings

I'd beat them

hard and fast

Like anywhere would be better

(even though it wouldn't)

All words written by Amy Moore between 2008 and 2011.

(more to come later)