Visual Art as inspiration

The following piece by Ken Wright was an in class writing assignment.  After our Fine Arts evening at Plush Mills there were a number of paintings done by residents left in the great room after the event.   I asked the writers to pick one and write about it in any form they choose.  

I was driving through Tuscany in the fall of ’76. It had never looked so beautiful – with green fields alternated by dark vermillion fields and soft, brown waves of grain.

As I rounded a turn, a strikingly white Villa rose out of the hills. It shimmered in the still, warm sun. I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. I pulled over to take a photograph, got out of the car and suddenly a huge truck, loaded down with old cars, came around the bend on my side of the road and headed straight at me.

For a moment I stood rooted in one spot. Seconds before I was hit I dived off the road and the truck flashed past.

“Whew. That was close,” I thought. When I looked up the white Villa had disappeared. If I hadn’t stopped to take that picture, the truck would have hit me straight on. Wow!

Musical inspiration and third person

 Our in class writing assignment involved listening to a piece of music playing on the CD player for a few minutes with eyes closed.  At some point the writers were instructed to imagine a scene that might go with the music that was playing.  The initial assignment was written in the first person and in the next class we discussed third person narrative.  Jo Ann changed her piece about a monkey in the park from her point of view to that of an old man.

                                                            In The Park

                                                        By JoAnn Clelan

There are children playing and music is heard in the distance.  The old man is sitting on a bench in the park watching people coming and going.  Now approaching him is a woman who appears to be looking for someone she planned to meet here.

There are cars parking in the lot and many people coming and going .  Here comes a Mom and Dad with their children and a somewhat older daughter  and a son perhaps two years younger.  They wave to the woman who has been looking for someone and they are happy to have found each other!

He thinks to himself I am going to watch these people to see what they are going to do.  Oh, they are to going to where the music is and the little girl is getting all excited.  

"Oh, Daddy!" She exclaims, there is a monkey with a yellow ribbon on his head and he is jumping around clapping his hands and making faces at the crowd of people who have arrived. The woman reaches down to the little girl and whispers in her ear.  He wonders what she is saying to her.  Mother,  Dad, and their son are laughing as they work their way among the people until they are up front at the stage. The old man enjoys watching this family because many years ago he had a family too.  He thinks, " I am old and my children are all grown up, so I am recalling times with my family similar to this."  Perhaps the woman talking to the little girl is her aunt.  Now the monkey is really putting on an act, but the music is very loud and he has seen enough for today.

The little girl looks over at him and he waves to her.  She turns to her Daddy and tells him she wants to go home. Her little brother has had enough and also wants to go home.  He watches them leave the park. The aunt is going with them to the car and he can hear them all talking as they get in the car.  The children are tired now, but want to stop for ice cream.  As they all say good bye to the aunt the old man remembers how his family use to do the same.  Goodbye to a nice day.  He is glad he came to the park today as he was reminded of the good times he had with his own family when they were young.

He smiles as he stands up from the park bench and decides to call his daughter when he gets home.