Poster Image
$20
Item#: 2010SYR11
Purchase Details
11x17-inches, printed on heavy weight (100-pound) Hammermill cover paper. We package each print with a piece of chipboard in a clear plastic sleeve.
You also receive…
An information page with photos of the artist and poet, and hand-written comments from each.
Medium- and large-format posters are available by custom order. Contact us for details.
Poem Inspiration Location
The Last Dish is Fired
poster information
Description
The last dish is fired
Kiln's cooled, now the auction starts
Good—bye my old friend
Though most of my poetry ideas come to me when I am daydreaming, my Syracuse China haiku was inspired by my admiration of their beautiful fine china and the friendly workers and plant management people that worked at this neighborhood factory.
Years ago, my mother had worked there, painting decorations on dishes. As a child, I heard how they turned ordinary clay into beautiful dishes and teacups. It all sounded like magic to me.
When I heard they were closing it seemed impossible, but as I watched the workers leave for the last time it became real. The chimneys no longer puffed like giant cigars. A few weeks later the lights went out for good.
I liked this poem because it was very narrative; it told a story. It made me sad to think about it—the Syracuse China Plant; how much history was there. I read about it, and my friends told me a lot about it. I had a couple of visions for the poster that evoked different emotions—even humor. With this one I had a vision of a theater, like the story of Syracuse China itself being on stage and ultimately with the show ending.
In my career, I am planning to take a different route—to combine therapy and art. I have a minor in psychology, and I really want to work with people, to communicate through art. I'd like to work with all types of people, but especially with children—there's much they don't know about art, but they can still be very responsive to it.