Visual Poems: Whimsical, three-dimensional poetry created for or about a person(s), place or event

A box of treasures, a wonderful story waiting to be told. Who could ask for more? These tributes to the spirit of people and places are a joy to create. They are also very challenging. How do you get the very diverse bits and pieces to belong in the same picture? Just what technique is required to make that rock stay on the poem being created? How to capture the essence of people or places you’ve never met or been. It’s a path I thoroughly enjoy following.

Individual Poems

More diverse than a photo could ever be, the Individual Poems capture the essence of a person’s personality by creating images that invoke the special loves and achievements of an individual.

In Memory of Lorne Reesor — **Lorne Reesor:** My memories of my Dad.

Community Poems

What an amazing tribute. A visual poem, created for a very special person(s), from materials donated or created by friends and family. These pieces, which are usually special birthday or anniversary gifts, tend to be done as a surprise for the recipient(s).

Opening the mail during the creation of one of these poems is a lot of fun. You just never know what is going to show up. Collating the pieces into something that can be added to at a later date is always smart. There is inevitably someone who didn’t get their treasure completed by the deadline.

Processed with VSCO with preset — **George and Marie:** A community celebration created to honour my dear friends. It was a surprise gift that had contributions from many generations of family and friends.

Special Events

Not all special events poems are created from community contributions. Weddings, baptisms, graduations, and baby stories are usually created with individual rather than group memories.

George's Visual Poem — **George’s Visual Poem:** Created as a 75th birthday gift.

**Georgian Bay Baptism:** The Brief: here is the cloth my granddaughter saved her whole life, please make her something. The Challenge: nothing but a box of cloth and an old photo. The Result: A visual poem based on the photo. Instructions about how to create cloth beads were
attached to the back of this piece so more could be added throughout the lifetime of the recipient.

Special Places

Places from our past often hold a very strong, sentimental place in our hearts. Visiting the family farm, going to the cottage every summer, summer camp, the ski lodge, the list is as unique as the people that want their places honoured.

I have the poem of my father hanging at the entrance to my studio. It’s been a wonderful experience. So many people want to hear his story because they are intrigued by what they see. He is no longer just a picture in a photo album. His unique personality is part of my day to day life. His story gets told over and over thus creating a legacy that would never have existed any other way.

Contact me if you have a story that you would like to have created.