April 1, 2022 GIST to JOY email

Dear Gist to Joy adventurers,

The April 2022 Gist to Joy adventure celebrates HUMOR and POETRY!

Welcome to email one of thirteen, day one, month one of this 13 month journey of creative exploration and nurturing of Gist to Joy:

from GIST to Conception to Expression = JOY

The joy is experienced in the successful sequence of alchemy:

1) taking the clay of gist

2) conceiving the form in which to “mold and shape the clay” to direct into an art form

3) expressing that gist in such a way that is transformed into a beautiful work of art.

4) feeling the joy

When practicing the 5 step focus - I invite you to make step 4 a focus on what is awkward and humorous - within you, and as you go ideally through life in a perpetual state of step 5 - with the specific focus or heightened awareness of humor… Be on the look out. Also - notice, what is the gist of what is being expressed around you?

What is being expressed behind the sound of bird song?

What is the gist of the different flowers, buds, and body language?

What is the gist of a person, garden, room, area? What is the emotional tone of ……. a dream, a meal, an interpretation of a work of music.

Assignment for those who wish to spend some time listening to music.

Listen deeply to the various gists of different performances of the same work of music. Compare. Listen for humor.

Which composers do you know who express humor?

I remember meeting and hearing Lucas Foss give a lecture about how he focuses on the humor of Beethoven’s music in his interpretations.

Instrumentalists: revisit Beethoven and up the humor in your interpretation if you wish. Discover what you will. Have fun!

Now - April is devoted to HUMOR and also POETRY. How is the gist of humor expressed literally in poetry, and metaphorically in aspects of life?

Let’s think about this challenge…..why is it so difficult to create humor in art? To me, humor is about twist, from the awkward and too serious to laughing at life, putting it in perspective and thus relieving the tension. Nice to not stay bent out of shape - that twist - seems to adjust us back to “we’re good” “it’s fun to be human …. when we don’t take ourselves too seriously.

How can you create humor in a truly artful, not abusive or crude way? … in your primary art form, or in other art forms?

How have others created humor - explore, seek and find - as you wish this month

in painting

poetry

theater

music

dance

???

If you check out the painting page on my website, one category is HUMOR. There is 1 - ONE - painting with a humorous bent, called “THE LAND OF LOST LUGGAGE”.

Embracing the challenge, I decided to take the gist of FRUSTRATION, aggravation, vulnerability and being out of control, and giving it a TWIST of whimsy, fantasy, absurdity. It just helps me SWEEP these unpleasant feelings of life’s hiccups, and helps me not take myself too seriously. But I confess, I do this seriously!

How many dinner parties throughout the world have had a conversation starter about lost luggage? Right? It’s annoying at the very least, and any humor to icky feelings is a RELIEF somehow. Chances are, the conversation might turn humorous because one has to cope in odd ways especially away from home, and experience awkwardness because of lost luggage. Maybe someone ends up wearing that travel suit to the beach, or a hot pink sun dress to a dinner party …?

Comedians really take the helm of what tickles our fears, awkwardness, and embarrassing feelings etc. .

Have you seen the MOVIE “My big fat Greek Wedding” I remember seeing it in the movie theater when it first came out. The theater was packed and it was a joy to be in a theater filled with people laughing…. really laughing. We were relating to how intensely awkward it is to be in love, interface with a group of people of another culture, and it was so alchemically healing to see these feelings expressed artfully with compassion and such humor.

Creative writing prompt: short story - a dinner party with the throw out question of “Ever experience lost luggage when traveling?” Could be interesting!

MOVIE: Bread and Tulips - is funny. Taking the feelings of being lost and out of place, then falling in love. Tension is created when the main character’s wedding ring slips off and falls in the toilet and while she struggles to retrieve it, her tour bus takes off without her. She is stranded and ends up falling in love with a nice guy. It keeps getting better. There is a line in it “Today has been abundant in frustration.” If you haven’t seen it already, it’s a great flick to laugh at life and embrace humanness.

MIME: I remember seeing mime master Marcel Marceau perform live at The Red Vic, London 1984. He had us laughing as he clearly depicted a man getting ready for a dinner date. Precious - all through body language and linear movement phrasing. I remembering seeing him overdose on applying cologne and compulsively rearranging in micro inches, the position of dinner plates, flat ware and the two glasses for a very long time, revealing how nervous he was. We were in stitches! Then, he was rehearsing how to act the opposite of how nervous he felt, as he imagined how he’d like the unfolding of events to take place as he waited for the doorbell to ring. Unforgettable and deeply endearing.

MUSIC: just like syncopation requires the establishment of a clear downbeat, in order to create the contrast of the syncopated rhythm, humor - I think - requires the “down beat” of awkwardness or tension of some kind, etc. to be established before given a twist.

When I think of humor in both Marcel Marceau’s performance and also various musical works which successfully depict humor, pauses, silence, fear or apprehension in slow motion contrasted with quick fearful or burst of courage and pause for reflection seem to be common. Timing is everything. The unexpected hesitation…the jerky movement (like syncopation) the odd chromatic followed by silence or pregnant pause, followed by rapid movement.

The surprise created by an unmet expectation, which causes tension about an area of human innocent human awkwardness that helps us relate to one another in our humanness.

It increases compassion and love and a shared joy of being alive when we can not take ourselves so seriously - n’est pas?

Musicians: prompt - challenge opportunity:

improvise one or more of the following three ideas - gist - and translate into music, as you wish, or of course other ideas of your own:

1) drunken bishop*

2) cupid’s bad hair day (I’m thinking about composing an opera some day titled this - for me, it fires the imagination. Focusing on the tensions we feel when we fall in love. )

3) learning to ski

* I remember when my older cousin Richie, got married. The Minister scheduled to run the ceremony got suddenly ill, and so an emergency substitute Minister was called in - who was PLASTERED. He was screwing up right and left and my stoic Nordic Lutheran family, were all turning all shades of red while we were trying so hard to not howl with laughter. RIchie’s mother was sitting up front and we could all see her shoulders gyrating up and down as she silently laughed, making it all the more difficult for us to not explode with roaring laughter.

In a final epic moment, the Minister forgot to say “You may kiss the bride.” So, Richie was sure to remind him of THAT line, and with that we fell forward in our pews with open mouths and silently shaking bodies.

This first month focuses on the twist of HUMOR and as April is poetry month - on POETRY - within our lives and artistry which we create and consume.

I’ll be sure to read a lot of poetry by HAFIZ and RUMI when ready for a dose of humor in poetry, increasing a love of humanity and what flows through us. You’re welcome to join me.

One creative writer has significantly influenced my composing of music and that is Tove Jansson, a Finnish lesbian woman who wrote a FASCINATING book - you may know it - “The Summer Book”

The Summer Book is a collection of short stories which all work well independently, yet can be read sequentially to create a novel. Such mastery! I asked myself - WHY and HOW does her writing work artistically? What about is makes it so powerful? One thing I noticed is that there is this underlying tension sustained until the last line or two.

Furthermore - and I crazy love this - she creates the landscape like a character! She writes in a way that the GIST of the earth and land is alive and has a influential presence. Spell binding and beautiful. The book contains humor through human clumsiness and surprising sincerity.

I aspire to finish a humorous book “A Year in Provence”. I enjoy it's heartwarming irreverence through frustration on a foundation of love of food, travel while tolerating people who are most amusing. YUM!

DREAM WORK:

Have you ever had a humorous dream or know of anyone who has? I confess I do not.

I offer a suggestion:

Focusing on poetry then and dreaming - translate the gist of the dream - through silent dance movement.

Characters can be depicted in movement, the gist of an atmosphere translated in movement, a pose containing the gist of a moment or something in the dream. Personally, I love to avoid putting dreams into language at first, moving a dream in silence helps me wake up while staying with the dream without contaminating it with language. Keeps my mind in the land of that sea.

Composers: try a fun work using humor.

People - have Siri on your iPhone? At times I say “Hey Siri, tell me a joke.” If you haven’t tried it already, they can be pretty good. Nice to laugh.

CUISINE:

To honor humor and joy in cuisine this month, I’m making it a point to add lemon as much as I can and be sure to add a little sour and surprise kicks and color to my dishes and drinks. For example - ginger and pineapple. I’ll be deliberately adding tendencies to add lift with sour and hot/warm color in more dishes.

For April, I suggest focusing just on practicing the 5 step focus and getting that “in your bones”. then next month or the month after when you feel ready, starting The Imaginative Focus.

I suggest practicing the 5 step focus 3 times a day for just 5 minutes. If you have time - enjoy a longer stay with each step.

Feel free to ask me to guide you through it. 828 242 3765.

Spring to your step:

Perhaps this month for one day or more you might consider adding a dash of some unusual joy to your grooming. A bow tie, pin, hat, scarf, dash of bright or what not to honor April and life. Mother nature floods us with vibrant tulips. Why not join the parade for a bit?

All best wishes.

Your fellow “pilgrim”,

Kathryn

www.composerKJP.com

828 242 3765

PS( For your convenience:

Five step focus

step one; Focus your mind on your breathing and posture as you are sitting in your preferred meditative position

step two: “ “ add to your awareness everything you can hear

step three: “ “ olfactory - breathe deeper and slower, relax body more head to toe

step four: “ “ add greater awareness and heightened sensitivity - APRIL 2022 - humor - if/when you wish

step five: “ “ add eyesight, without eyesight eclipsing the other senses

The ideal is to stay in a strong sense of step 5 consistently .)

Update and invitation to GIST to JOY!

Dear Ones,

According to Dr. Bett Sanders, an accomplished humanist psychotherapist with of over 40 years experience told me that “Extensive research concludes that an individual’s resilience is on par with his or her own ability to perceive and enjoy beauty.“

Well o.k. then, thank goodness for the arts!

Hello and I hope you are all well. Thank you to so many of you, or your compassionate love and support which has restored my faith in humanity. I see people and our society with new eyes, thanks to the recent outpouring.
I am wowed and humbled.

The grace which has flowed through people towards me has inspired me to give back as richly as I can. However as many of you know, I am facing some significant challenges, and understandably, I feel weary, deeply bereft, and need to rejuvenate.

“I believe the ultimate purpose of art - as well as humanity - is to increase love consciousness.” K.J.P.
SO
I am going under: From April 1, 2022 to April 30, 2023, I am going on a long pilgrimage which I call Gist to Joy. AND you are welcome to join me.

Gist to Joy, is an interdisciplinary artistic adventure which I’m designing to:
relish my ability to experience, appreciate and create beautyas a means of life enrichment
explore how others translate inspiration into expression
rejuvenate and embrace the artist within me strengthen concentration, strengthen imagination, explore ways to transform feelings into multiple forms of artistic expression in support of my primary artistic discipline and overall health
I am embracing my tried and true methods to do these things which I designed for myself and have used for decades as a teacher. I will also continue to embellish this tool box, or toy chest.

“A good toy is 10% toy and 90% child.” Bootly Boaz

I will be offering this “ROAD MAP” of my pilgrimage through a subscription based email series for on ly $124. for the entire pilgrimage. Please feel free to share this email to anyone you feel may appreciate it.
(To subscribe tell me your email address and make a payment. I have a PayPal button on my website, or you can mail a check to my P.O. Box. If you cannot afford $124. but want to subscribe ask to receive the one which has been “paid forward”. Likewise - if you can afford to buy one for yourself, and pay if forward for another, great! Lastly - you can ask me. Like I said, I wish to give back. However, I also welcome the dignity of work and I am offering treasures of my intellectual property and career experience.)

These once a month emails will include:

1) My 5 step focus discipline with monthly variations of step 4 (builds concentration and deepens sensitivity/awareness)
this alone, is worth the subscription series

2) My creative focus - which is a step into the imaginary realm of the 5 step focus(builds concentration further and intensely strengthens imagination)

3) Unique interdisciplinary interweaving exercises to foster the artist within - dreaming, movement, cooking, painting, gardening, COMPOSING - which is my primary form of art, painting, instrumental playing

4) Art appreciation exercises

5) A sharing of my own pilgrimage of some kind, of my creative process/journey. may include dream journal tips/ dream processing tips, vegan recipes, details of paintings, heart on sleeve about composing this sextet for flute or oboe, violin, viola, cello, double bass and piano, creative writing and more!

It’s important to me to make it important to subscribers - so please mention your predominant interests - dreamer, creative writer, cook, book worm.

Please note - if you subscribe - you decide what you do or don’t read, what exercises you do or do not do. It can be helpful to think of it as a map in an area of wilderness, and you choose which one hike you take when… one at a time!
What’s nice about emails is that you can print them out, keep them, return later…

For those who have already subscribed, please answer the following:

1) Primary art forms you CONSUME - please elaborate about your tastes (book worms, symphony goer, dine out, Netflix junkie) to elaborate - tell me about your preferred cuisines, or authors, etc.

2) Primary art forms you CREATE - please elaborate secondary,…. tertiary...

3) Relationship with dreaming - please elaborate

4) Preferred email address to receive your subscription

5) Let me know if you’re interested in first dibs on original new paintings - or would just like to receive additional emails which include images of details and photos of new works.

You are welcome to feel most free to contact me to express any questions or interests as they occur.

Thank you.

Best wishes and regards,
Kathryn Potter

ARCHIVES

Dear Ones, Archives are paintings that aren’t for sale for various reasons. These paintings may have been sold, or gifted, painted over or belong to my private collection. However, they are here in ARCHIVES in order to be viewed and enjoyed by guests. Best wishes, Kathryn

La Dolce Vita

painted on July 4, 2017, by K.J.P. and gifted to Marika Lombardi

The Sky Sings Your Name, by, K.J.P., 2018

Healing, by K.J.P., 2018

Whale Watching, by K.J.P., 2017

Dreams of Flying, by K.J.P. , 2018

The dream behind IX Stages of Purification, Wood wind quintet n.2

*The dream, simply put, is that I flew in a vehicle in the sky with the distant future CHIEF of all humanity, who was also the protector of all the earth in a UTOPIAN society. We jumped out of the vehicle and fell slowly to the earth while enjoying a magnificent view of it. As we fell, we felt our hearts expand to the size of the earth itself, equal to the love of the planet.
She lead me to a chapel, to listen to a rehearsal of this piece.

This piece was a part of the celebration this UTOPIAN society was preparing, of the reclamation and purification, of a once again healthy earth!

The celebration heralded the completion of the 9th stage of purification OF THE EARTH ITSELF, patiently attended to by the small population of humanity which had survived the apocalypse, learned from the past mistakes of humanity.

Humanity had been waiting for the day it could feast on heirloom food, completely grown and harvested outside on the earth again, organically without the need for indoor protection.

I heard the gist of this music and some of the sounds, however, it seemed as if I heard them all at once. She asked me to compose the music for the event…. so I did so, to the best of my ability.

Here you can listen to it.

The utopian form of life, social psychology, and leadership was vastly different than it is today. Humanity was one race with the understanding it comprised all races and one religion with the understanding it comprised all religions and the CHIEF was sacred protector of all creation honoring it’s divine nature, human rights and freedoms in equality without subjugation. (I can’t even describe it properly in English as the mentality of this culture requires a language congruent with its mind set. ) This future humanity especially enjoyed double reed music as a symbol of the sacred balance and “pas de deux” of earth and humanity as a mirror of the existence of eternal love celebrated in form and in honor of the sacred trust.

WOW. To give you an idea of the CHIEF - she was like a Pope, a Chief, and a Queen. Like a Pope in that she was elected - for life - by virtue and skills - she had to pass qualifications. She was like a chief in that she was wise and Shamanic. She was held accountable to extremely high standards to insure multilateral integrity, protection and cooperative liberty without license for anyone to extort anything. She was like a Queen in that she held a sacred trust of spiritual integrity with all governance and like a Pope in that she sacrificed reproducing with the understanding she was like a spiritual mother, protector to all life. She was/is/shall be BEAUTIFUL. She enabled security and stability to a people healing themselves and the planet.

The mystery of the creative force of the universe v=never ceases to amaze and inspire!
Best regards,
K.J.P.

A FOX IN THE SUN

Étude IX - In the book IN ADORATION OF THE EARTH : A FOX IN THE SUN,

composed and performed by Kathryn J. Potter

This étude practices multi phonics, quarter tones, pitch bending, adding color and expression to this portrait of a fox.
The multi phonics are notated as an open circle on the 3rd line of the staff and with a descending, unattached stem. Suggested fingerings of multi phonics serve to provide both education of multi phonic fingerings and well suited multi phonic choices for the placement harmonically for that moment in the phrase.

With the understanding that all oboes, reeds and conditions vary, it is simply a suggestion.

Reviewing quarter tones introduced in étude VI CROW - with fingerings listed there, Measure 23 calls for a G a quarter tone flat, and measure 25 calls for a G a quarter tone sharp.

I LOVE foxes. So beautiful, mysterious, wild, crafty, adaptable, graceful. They positively flit, pause, glide. Hmmm possibly a favorite transfiguration animal choice of fairies? They seem to live in their own world, too unique to be pigeon holed as canine or feline, in some ways transcending feline and canine qualities while being related.

A word to the wise. When studying/performing, please keep to the written rhythm to the best of your ability. You know, I really put a lot of energy and thought into it. This work is not intended to be played freely at all! Ironic as it may seem, by adhering to the exact rhythmic ratios, the piece sounds freer! The fox after all is not a domesticated animal - at least not the one I am portraying! Therefor a feel of boxed in or metered, would not serve…and yet, this creature behaves in patterns, so there are patterns. This creature is free to follow his/her instincts and so the illusion of sounding free is crafted craft fully like the fox is crafty!

I hope you will enjoy. K.J.P.
P.S. (SKYPE lessons available.)

Fantasia 1 dedicated to oboist Katherine Needleman

Dear Ones,

Welcome, to MUSE ECHO - where you can read the back story of what I compose.
FYI
TONIGHT (April 17, 2020) Katherine Needleman is premiering FANTASIA 1 which I composed for her in her
lock down solo oboe concert in her living room ….

between 7:30 and 8:30 PM this evening - check out her Facebook professional page to listen.

ABOUT THIS WORK:

Fantasia I, in F Lydian with b7

dedicated to oboist Katherine NEEDLEMAN
Completed March 29, 2020

Celebrates SPRINGTIME VERVE
I) Allegro playfully
6/8 in F Lydian with flat 7
II) Lento mysteriously
6/4 in D Dorian with a flat 2
III) Vivace joyfully4/4 in F Lydian with flat 7 - yet with a twist ending in C Major…

and yes - there is SO MUCH MORE TO THIS STORY!!!

I selected F Lydian, because it sound to me to be congruent in GIST with Springtime VERVE.
Blooming flowers, blue skies, that dormant sap awakening, gardens beginning to awaken from their long winter hibernation… you get the idea. ALSO - I was SO relieved profoundly grateful to A) return home safely and with out contracting THE VIRUS earlier that month (MARCH 2020) from Paris, FRANCE. Additionally, I was high on the wonderful things that happened in Paris the weekend of March 7th and 8th, reconnecting with Marika, meeting new students, and lastly BEING in Paris again - bien sur !

BUT - HOWEVER

This isn’t just PERFECT Springtime….with Global warming, the pandemic and ensuing domino effect - we are now mostly in lock down, soul searching, FAR AFIELD WAY BEYOND AND OUT OF THE 20th century, reeling with many of its aftermaths together on earth now, as we face the question
HOW DO WE GO FORWARD????

SO therefor, I LOWERED the 7th adding to an air of mystery while honoring our present condition concurrently happening during this natural time of joy of living.

Historically for year, I had toyed and played peek a boo with composing Fantasias.
I kept putting it on my annual composing TO DO LIST - but it kept getting eclipsed by some other plate I started spinning. (I suffer from being overly inspired and enthusiastic at times. It’s as if I get FLOODED with SO MUCH music to write, like the back log of resistance of air while playing the oboe! Only SO much can come out at a time!!)

HOWEVER - when I saw Katherine Needleman’s lock down solo oboe concert, I was set ON FIRE with inspiration kindled in great part by my decades long love of the Telemann Flute Fantasias - which she was and is prominently featuring on each performance! PLUS she was seeking living composers who compose for solo oboe and for women composers - HELLO!!! so of COURSE I said howdy do to her and her. When I mentioned that I’d like to compose a Fantasia for her, she immediately replied “I’D LOVE THAT.” so I said, OK, I’ll get started, then a couple days later she asked if I could get it completed in time for her APRIL 17th concert, and I just decided then and there YES -

I DOVE in head first to complete the Fantasia.

PAINTINGS:
Immediately upon my return home from Paris, earlier, on March 11, I started painting on March 12.
Painting helps me in so many many ways. I painted this on and it’s titled “After Paris” It is deeply influenced by being in Paris earlier last month.

AFTER PARIS by KJP, March 2020

This painting also includes the feelings of the state of current affairs as well as the beginning thrill of SPRINGTIME too powerful to be eclipsed by humanity - something to be most grateful!!!

Shortly after painting this painting, I learned of Katherine Needleman’s concert series and while I was composing the Fantasia 1, and thinking about all I’ve just written as well as Katherine herself, I painted this. For example, in honor of the fact she is a mother herself, I used the color of the ground that I did, and in honoring the embarking of a journey - a FANTASIA journey - as well as honoring feminism - the pink path.
Clearly, the flowers and flowering tree celebrates Springtime VERVE. I used the tree trunk to express my distress of the duality of the present situation while also wanting to make the trunk look artsy and how tree trunks often have a lot of light and dark shadow when viewed.

Like a Fantasia - I was putting in a “BOX” of form - somewhat realistic - however, not TOO realistic, it is ART and a FANTASIA after all! It rides the line of preconceived, form and freedom. Aspects of FANTASIA which I so dearly love and embrace.

CREATIVE PROCESS of COMPOSING Fantasia 1 in F Lydian with a flat 7 dedicated to Katherine Needleman

I started out with some UNBREAKABLE RULES:
1) It’s a solo oboe work for a virtuoso oboist which also needs to be playable on FLUTE and CLARINET (not transposed but as written)
2) It has to start out in F Lydian with a flat 7
3) It has to resemble and be influenced by Telemann’s Fantasias (so too the entire project of XII)
by having more than not focus and maintenance on tonality and meter.
4) Have freedoms in it.
5) It MUST EXPRESS Springtime VERVE and the underlying concerns and hidden mysteries

Once those were clear - like selecting the size canvas and palette for a painting - WHOOSH - the rest was surrender and let the current carry me away.

That’s what happened.

Once I got to the second movement - I dove into the underlying angst - without drowning in it - because LIGHT ALWAYS ECLIPSES DARK whenever there is love. And there is certainly love going on here.

i kept the key signature and threw in chromatics as needed. I loved how D was tonic for some mysterious course of events so thereby making the second movement in D DORIAN with a FLAT 2. It’s where the spirit of the muse took me and I say - yes mam. Also - second movement needed to be slower - in keeping with the contrasting movement nudge HOWEVER - I don’t feel beholding to it in a FANTASIA -

Fantasias are so lovely because they are like FAIRY TALES - yes rules apply but not the rules of reality. They only apply when CONVENIENT because in a fairy tale, things transform into tress or birds and the laws of everyday programming need not apply.

OK so now we are onto the third movement. I desired to compose a challenge for our illustrious Katherine and give her some fast finger work like the Telemann Fantasias provide. I didn’t want to disappoint. I wanted to give myself permission to compose in 4/4 and stay there. I wanted it more upbeat than the first movement and longer - for general shape of composition.

Because of the enormous TIME PRESSURE to get this done and to be compassionate with the fact that Katherine had NO time to properly get to know the piece adequately to labor over her own personal interpretation will lots of details of articulations and while I knew she didn’t really know my style or ways of playing - I decided to spend COUNTLESS HOURS agonizing over how to articulate IN GREAT DETAIL this entire work for her the way I would articulate it myself. WAY OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE TO DO THIS however - I’m so very glad that I did.

On Monday April 13th, (Poet, Tina Barr’s birthday random BTW, and I tell her, (TINA) poetry month is in APRIL because she was born in it.) I received a first sound and video of Katherine Needleman playing through this work.

Mind you that on Saturday the 11, after looking at it FOR THE FIRST TIME, she expressed some concern about the difficulty playing a new piece in a completely foreign to her key signature.

Understanding that the more trained a western classical oboists is, the more entrenched the key training is I GOT A LITTLE WORRIED. So, putting on my teacher hat, I suggested that she practice an F LYDIAN building scale to get that under her fingers and then practice the F Lydian with a Flat 7 - the get THAT under her fingers AS WELL AS assisting her in hearing what is written.

UGH - I feel like my fingers just ran a key board marathon.

OK dear ones - I hope that this Fantasia no. 1 brings SERIOUS JOY to all who hear it, study it, perform it. It was a labor of love.

NOW, I am most eager to return to FANTASIA 2 - in F Melodic minor

OH! WAIT - there’s more.

The third movement concludes with a C MAJOR cadence, and to me FEELS like it is resolved. I love it and let it happen and stopped there and didn’t change it because A - I felt guided to do so and B) I LOVE the thought and feeling that it gave me - that we are going through a weird time and it will turn out eventually - let me repeat EVENTUALLY - much brighter and we will transform into a new tonality.

I CRAZY love how sometime I will start in one key (when I get my “TONAL ON” ) and end the work in a way that feels resolved - in another key.

Personally and philosophically - I give myself FULL PERMISSION - to fling the tonal rules aside regarding leave and return to the original tonic. WHY? Life isn’t like that? WE TRANSFORM and now that we are in this 21st century TOGETHER - we HAVE TO MODULATE and transform PERMANENTLY.

That’s what we’re doing. That’s where we are, and I’m really HAPPY that my writing “MY” writing - I simply assist as a servant to the MUSE - m for MUSE in the word MY - I’m really happy that this work reflects moving forward and not turning back.

(NOW that I’ve written that - I wonder how other Fantasias will end….ha ha - stay tuned you lovely lovelies. )

All best wishes for your health and overall well being.
Thank you for your interests.
Kathryn J. Potter
KJP
April 17, 2020.

FANTASIA 1 by KJP, March 2020 gouache on canvas board