dotty seiter: now playing diary of an artist at work

Imaginary Gift

the painter, bookmarking

figures chiseled from
amorphous chaos layers
and negative space

—dotty seiter

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[title missing in action*]
1.25 x 6″; oil, gelato color sticks, and acrylic marker on paper
bookmark
2025

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Notes on poem and art:
• “bookmarking” is a haiku touching on the process I followed to create this figure painting.
• Wanting to get my artist friend Sylvia an art book to celebrate her interest in exploring figure painting, I painted a bookmark for the book I expected to locate and send. However, I never found the kind of book I wanted, so my idea became an imaginary gift! The bookmark itself almost became an imaginary gift, too, when I wrote an incorrect syllable in Sylvia’s street address, though it did eventually arrive after a few weeks. *Bringing my theme here to a humorous conclusion, the title of this piece is temporarily also imaginary because I forgot to make note of it before putting it in the mail, and Sylvia has it tucked away in a book right now but doesn’t know which one!

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Dotty Seiter

4 responses to “Imaginary Gift”

  1. carol lee Avatar
    carol lee

    Our imagination can really play tricks on us! Love the humor of this post something I really need these days! Your Haiku says so much in so few words.

    Love your figures! One following the other. One warm and one cool!Love how your white negative space flows into the figures!

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    1. Dotty Seiter Avatar
      Dotty Seiter

      Carol, thanks for laughing at the humor of my comedy of errors! And thanks for appreciating my being able to “say so much in so few words” in this haiku. I love the haiku form for its invitation to pith and précis. Sometimes I can rise to the occasion, and sometimes I just fall flat into a flood of verbiage!

      I am as ever grateful for your observant artistic eye and the feedback you give me. You helped me see elements I didn’t see myself or use intentionally (e.g. the warm and cool here) and you noticed and affirmed elements I brought into play intentionally (e.g. white negative space flowing into figures). Thank you!!!

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  2. Joyful Puttering Avatar
    Joyful Puttering

    This post made me smile. One minute you’re finding faces in doodles and drawings….and the next you’re finding figures in chaos and negative space. I love how you make sense of the world. The chaotic journey of the bookmark to get to Sylvia….and the fact that it is now missing in action and tucked in an unknown book is the perfect ending to this Imaginary Gift.

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  3. Dotty Seiter Avatar
    Dotty Seiter

    MaryAnn, thanks for reflecting back to me my creative meanderings so aptly: “One minute you’re finding faces in doodles and drawings… … and the next you’re finding figures in chaos and negative space.” Yup! As you also know, sometimes that is just how it goes, and we’re blessed to go along for the ride : )

    Thank you for seeing and appreciating the chaotic hilarious story of the imaginary gift-giving hahaha! Sometimes that is just how THAT goes, am I right??!

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My Story

In 2014, I grab an unexpected opportunity to paint.

To make art.

I get hooked.

In 2015 I start a blog—a diary of my life as an artist.

I post my paintings and their stories. The good, the bad, the ugly.

My compass points: bust through fear, be playful, get messy, trust my gut.

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