epic

'Riparian Rhapsody'  12x12" oil pastel,  charcoal;
Kathleen Faulkner

Low tide

The ducks move about on the mud so effortlessly 

but they leave their mark. 

It's a long poem.

here's mud in your eye

'An Early Summer' 12x12" oil pastel, charcoal;  Kathleen Faulkner

About Mud:

mud / med
*n. soft, sticky matter resulting from the mixing of earth and water.

Other words for mud include slobber, mire, ooze, muck, silt, slabber, slutch, lutulence, sloshiness and slushiness.

Mycobacterium vaccae, found in mud, is thought to be an anti-depressant.

Mice fed with mycobacterium vaccae from mud can navigate mazes twice as fast as usual.

and, never forget:

"He who slings mud generally loses ground."  Adlai E Stevenson

history

'Edison Slough'  36x24" oil pastel, charcoal;
Kathleen Faulkner

early morning  earlier than usual

 The fog hangs low but the temperature is warm.

This used to be the Samish River.

black is the new green

'Fertile Field' 14x18" oil pastel, charcoal;  Kathleen Faulkner

One can always tell the roundup fields from the others.  Everything is orange.  

This one is deep and dark ready to feed us and no harm done.

I've been thinking a lot about this field, so black and fertile.  

After awhile, one's environment starts having an impact.  

a dirty story

'Mudflats II'' 16x20" oil pastel, charcoal;  Kathleen Faulkner

We don't really talk about it but it's always there.

a refuge

it has magic

There are bones, shells and feathers, 

reeds mixing with the mud 

and long views.

the day, the time, the season 

this all keeps it interesting