The Sunbeam - Poetry by Sarah Myers

Sunlight
Photography (c) Sarah Myers 2019

A droplet from the fountain of the Sun
Rolled through my window to my floor today;
I saw it melt like molten sugar, run,
And flow together, laughing as it lay.

I touched it, barely, with an outstretched toe;
It climbed my foot, and like a tiny bird
Sat perched with golden feathers all aglow
To sing the sweetest silence.  And I heard.

Two Drawings in Line - Art by Sarah Myers

Abundance with a Cornucopia, Sarah Myers
Minimal line drawing in charcoal

    Here are two drawings with classical inspiration; a figure with an overflowing cornucopia and an Athena with helmet and shield. While the minimal outlines describing them are a style we associate with modernism, it's also true that the ancient Greeks were masters of the very simple, very accurate line that brings so much life and energy to their vase-paintings, and I hope that some of that influence remains in my drawings - even though these quick sketches, made at least partly to express fugitive thoughts on even more transient social media, are very much results of the present era.

Athena, Sarah Myers
Minimal line drawing in charcoal

Head of a Woman - Sculpture by Sarah Myers

Head of a Woman, Sarah Myers

     Sometimes an artwork contains more than its creative or intellectual history - as in this sculpture, where a wholly unexpected event, an explosion in the kiln, left marks unintended in the original form. It still seems odd to think of so tranquil a personage flying apart while surrounded by white-hot coils three times the temperature of a baking-oven; but such was the case.
     As she now stands she is not only the outcome of creation and catastrophe but also some gentle remedying. Several days ago I placed the two largest pieces back together as best I could. Though some chips and ceramic splinters remain missing, as they had pulverized, she now appears much as she was first intended; a peaceful, heart-shaped face, the tilted head poised on a long, graceful neck. Half-classical, half modern; and now, with the fracture lines of her mishap - where no mending could conceal the warp produced by a fire of 1260 degrees celsius – perhaps a little post-modern as well.

Head of a Woman, Sarah Myers
Front, close-up

Head of a Woman, Sarah Myers
Sculpture in stoneware

Head of a Woman, detail.  Sarah Myers 

Head of a Woman, sculpture
Sarah Myers

Head of a Woman, Sarah Myers

Line Drawings - Baroque Mantle, Lady with Feathers and Pearls

Baroque Mantle, Sarah Myers
Minimal line drawing in charcoal

   These drawings are simple in their use of line but somewhat ornate in the style they portray, with embroidered fabric, pearls and curling hair; the two faces – two imaginary portraits - contrast, one with open glance and one with a more tranquil but reserved downward gaze.

Lady with Feathers and Pearls, Sarah Myers
Minimal line drawing in charcoal

Three Faces - Drawings by Sarah Myers

Woman in a Sun-hat, Sarah Myers
Drawing in minimal charcoal on paper

    A lady in a sun-hat, a woman in a scarf and one with flowing hair – here are three drawings from my series of minimal sketches, black charcoal describing the outlines of faces, the glances of the eyes, forming expressive portraits from lines that are almost abstract in themselves.

Woman with Long Hair, Sarah Myers
Drawing in minimal line, charcoal on paper

Lady with a Scarf, Sarah Myers
Drawing in minimal line, charcoal on paper

Three Pictures of Pigeons - Drawings by Sarah Myers

Pigeon Strutting, Sarah Myers
Drawing in minimal charcoal on paper

    Three pigeons busy themselves in these drawings. Strutting, preening, scratching, the friendly birds appear in dark charcoal on the white page, descriptions of their everyday life rendered simple and distinct by the strength of a bright sun...

Pigeon Preening, Sarah Myers
Drawing in minimal charcoal on paper

Pigeon Scratching, Sarah Myers
Drawing in minimal charcoal on paper

Three Renaissance Hats - Drawings by Sarah Myers

Woman in Renaissance Plumes, Sarah Myers
Minimal charcoal on paper

    In my collection of minimal line drawings I found these three women with elaborate Renaissance headgear; hats of velvet and silk, laced with pearls and topped by plumes, clasped with a jeweled brooch, or set on top of abundant, flowing curls.

All of these drawings are in charcoal on paper and come from a long series of sketches in simple line.

Woman in Renaissance Turban, Sarah Myers
Minimal charcoal on paper

Woman with a Renaissance Hat, Sarah Myers
Minimal charcoal on paper

The Fishbowl - Drawing by Sarah Myers

The Fishbowl, Sarah Myers
Drawing in charcoal on paper

    Within the transparent globe of the bowl, the fish steers itself softly through the water; behind, looking into its small world, a woman watches its swift movements. Simple lines in charcoal capture the fish, glass sphere, and the onlooker. This is from an ongoing series of sketches and drawings in minimal line. You can find many more of them on my website, Sarah Myers Art.

The Fishbowl, detail
Sarah Myers

Lady with a Schnauzer - Drawing by Sarah Myers

Lady with a Schnauzer, Sarah Myers
Minimal line drawing in charcoal.

     A lady holding her small dog sits in front of us. The pet's small paws are draped gently over the woman's protective arm; fluff of brows and whiskers on the dog prevent us from seeing its eyes. But we can tell from the line of its body that it is pleased and relaxed, in contrast to the somewhat more watchful expression of its owner as she glances intently out of the picture to our left.

   This minimalist drawing in charcoal is part of a large series I have made; many of them, including the sketch here, you can see on my website, SarahMyersArt.com, under “Drawings”. 

  

Lady with a Schnauzer, detail.  Sarah Myers

Duck Flapping - Drawing by Sarah Myers

Duck Flapping, Sarah Myers
Drawing in minimal line, charcoal on paper 

 The duck eagerly flaps her bright white wings as she rises on tip-toe. Simple lines describe this friendly bird who has come to shore to see us; the black charcoal defines beak, eye, neck, and especially the feathers that curl as she briefly, gently, lifts herself on the impulse of her smooth wings.

Duck Flapping, detail.  Sarah Myers

Flowers and Ribbons - Drawing by Sarah Myers

Woman with Flowers and Ribbons, Sarah Myers
Minimal drawing, charcoal on paper

     With flowers and fluttering ribbons among her ringlets and with dangling earrings which swing as she tilts her head, she looks toward us - she almost smiles… This imaginary portrait is a minimal drawing in charcoal; dark, definite lines describe face, curls and the flying streamers. She is part of my long series of sketches in a more simple style. You can see much of this collection of drawings on my website, SarahMyersArt.com.

Woman with Flowers and Ribbons, detail.  Sarah Myers

Goose Swimming - Drawing in Minimal Line by Sarah Myers

Goose Swimming, Sarah Myers
Line drawing, charcoal on paper.

   Here is a goose swimming gracefully through the water, looking at us as we watch him. The hot summer sunlight shines down; as it makes the small lake a pleasant place to drift along it turns his feathers a dazzling white, throwing his form into a single simple, bright outline. This drawing of a bird is part of my series in minimal line, more of which you can look at on my website, SarahMyersArt.com.

Goose Swimming, Sarah Myers, detail

Lady with a Crystal Vase - Minimal Drawing by Sarah Myers

Lady with a Crystal Vase, Sarah Myers
Minimal drawing in charcoal

      This sketch is of a lady delicately poising a crystal vase in her hand – the single, top-heavy bloom leans toward her as she glances away. The ornate trim of her dress matches her dangling earrings, and all of the detail makes the drawing, perhaps, not quite minimal; but still, every part, from pearls in hair to the curve of fingers, is described by black lines that touch the paper sparely and simply. And we wait for her to look up out of the page, in our direction...

Lady with a Crystal Vase, detail.  Sarah Myers

Drawing of a Horse - Art by Sarah Myers

Drawing of a Horse, Sarah Myers
Charcoal on paper

   Minimal lines depict the expressive head of a horse, eyes watching intently, one ear tilted back to listen. The curl of the large nostril, the strong neck and chest, the fall of the mane, control the firm course of the charcoal as it stretches across the page.

Drawing of a Horse, detail.  Sarah Myers

Pigeon with a Branch - Drawing by Sarah Myers

Pigeon with a Branch, Sarah Myers
Drawing in Charcoal

     Simple lines describe a pigeon – or dove – with a sprig of olive in its beak. As a drawing she is partly the symbolic dove of peace but also simply a real, purple-grey pigeon, humorously plump and happy, who decided to build her nest on our roof, and who is holding a twig she has found before flying with it to her new house. Minimal line, charcoal.

Pigeon with a Branch, Sarah Myers, detail

Looking Upward - Sculpture by Sarah Myers

Head Looking Upward, Sarah Myers
Sculpture in terracotta

She stares upward, head tilted back to look intently. What is she watching for? Who? What is she hoping as she gazes?

Made from a strong red terracotta, this sculpture was completed rapidly and carries the spontaneity of its quick creation. Nevertheless the image had been in my mind for months if not years, and the simple and even somewhat rough form is the outcome of a thought being suddenly imposed on malleable clay. The kiln-firing that turned it into hard earthenware made the thought a permanent image.

Head Looking Upward, Sarah Myers

Head, Sarah Myers
Terracotta

Head in terracotta.  Sarah Myers

Head Looking Upward, Sarah Myers

Lady with a Small Dog - Drawing by Sarah Myers

Lady with a Small Dog
Line drawing in charcoal, Sarah Myers

      This line-drawing is inspired by my sister holding my small schnauzer. The gentle hands and eyes, the little dog's pleased face, everything turned into simple lines drawn in charcoal...

Lady with a Small Dog, detail
Sarah Myers

Woman with Flying Hair - Drawing by Sarah Myers

Woman with Flying Hair, Sarah Myers
Charcoal Line-Drawing

   This minimal line-drawing of a woman's head is created in simple charcoal.  Her flying hair suggests a wind or breeze around her; the gentle, backward tilt of her neck suggests she has turned to face into the gust, gazing at something outside the picture.

Woman with Flying Hair, detail, Sarah Myers

Two Drawings of Birds - Art by Sarah Myers

Pigeon on a Roof-top, Sarah Myers

Here are two simple line-drawings of birds: a dignified pigeon perching alertly on the clay tiles of a roof-top, and a duck swimming slowly through bright, clear water which shows his reflection in quivering outline.  The art is in charcoal pencil.

Duck Swimming, Sarah Myers

Spring - Line Drawing by Sarah Myers

Spring, Sarah Myers
Charcoal

A simple line-drawing depicts Spring as a young woman with upward glancing eyes and with flowers twined in her flying hair.  Charcoal and pencil on artist's paper.

Spring, Sarah Myers
Detail of face

This is one of my current collection of sketches; the original drawing is available for purchase on my website The Gold Wall.