aloft
—om shanti shanti shanti
up steep ladder-stairs,
a compact sanctuary—
exposed studs, aged planks,
twin beds, quilted madras spreads—
meditation in the eaves.
—dotty seiter
=====
2.25 x 2.25″; watercolor, pencil, and collage on paper
paper-tile unit from a living work in progress
2026
=====
Notes about poem and art:
• Oh, that sweet spare loft, those age-darkened rafters, that tiny dormer, that rustic space with just enough room to arrange a chair and two beds so as to allow just enough footroom and headroom to get to each one! “aloft” is a poem written in tanka form in one-to-one correspondence with the loft itself—small in scale, expansive in impact.
• Front-Row Seat is one unit of what began as my exploratory copy of the piece painted by artist Kata Hull. To back up a bit in this art history, before heading on vacation in early June to “The Wicked Cute Camp” at Norton Pond, I penciled lightly into my watercolor sketchbook a grid with 90 small squares. Then I packed my sketchbook into a carry bag with a pan of watercolors, a couple of brushes, a pencil, an eraser, and a small towel. Ongoing details to follow.
dottyseiter: now playing 
Leave a comment