The most beautiful age is this one., mixed media, 2021
the woman of a moment ago is absolute. finite as the oranges on this coffee table she is a shape. extracted from the shapes i live in. both my eyes and my pendulum she is blank on all sides. her hair is full of scales, lawnmowers, stars. in the evening, she immerses herself in rainwater, drowns her breasts like giant archipelagos (mine are not so giant) they keep latitudes she makes living look easy. loving like the back of a postcard she says, the most beautiful age is always this one and i, not quite young, not quite calloused, not salty enough to speak with any real blood close my eyes and write your name
The most beautiful age is this one. is another experiment with burnt paper ash. (I think I mentioned previously that I’m trying to expand the limits of what I can do with paper.) I’m reasonably happy with it; although, I have more experimenting to do. Regardless, there is something wonderfully cathartic about setting paper on fire, dipping your hands in the ashes, and then smearing with abandon.
The Used Life 
5 responses to “The most beautiful age is this one.”
Beautiful and surreal. I especially love the last stanza.
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Thank you, Bob!
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The opening stanza is so perfect…such truth and you penned it effortlessly, like you’ve been there before with open heart and free mind… And “she makes living look easy. loving like the back of a postcard..she says, the most beautiful age is always this one”…I feel like this was meant for me to read today..it’s my birthday 🙂 and I have often said to myself that there is no other age I would rather be than the one I am now..it makes aging easier, a kind of grace to it, a kind of dance you do until the end is nigh and death no longer feels so daunting..but rather a peace, a wholeness that comes with the thought that the “most beautiful age always being the one you are.”
And the collage is lovely…woman, age, smeared ash with bursting flower upon a page of blooming words…you nailed it 🙂
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Thank you, my friend! And a very happy birthday to you! I hope you have a wonderful day. 😊 I, too, find that as I get older, it becomes increasingly important to me to age with grace and dignity. Not to work against myself by trying to maintain a false sense of youthfulness, but to embrace the age I am–as that age, whatever it is, will always be the most beautiful there is. I’m thinking of writing a prose post on the subject, actually, as I’ve been reflecting quite a bit lately on what it means for a woman to truly “grow into herself” as she matures, to become more expansive, more comfortable in her own skin, in her creativity, her vitality and her sexuality. Again, I thank you for the beautiful comment–and for purchasing a print. Your support and encouragement mean a great deal to me. Take care, and have a fantastic birthday! 🥳🎂
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[…] vitality, and her sexuality. I like to think these collages somehow inform that study, much like The most beautiful age is this one. Expect a prose post on the subject very […]
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