Live Virtual Group Session: 12PM EST February 17th 2023

16 Comments

Thank you to everyone who joined us for this session!

For this session we took a close look at “Lois Mailou Jones, Self Portrait 1940,” posted below. 

Our prompt was: “Write about your self portrait as a mirror of your world.”

More details will be posted on this session, so check back again!

Participants are warmly encouraged to share what you wrote below (“Leave a Reply”), to keep the conversation going here, bearing in mind that the blog of course is a public space where confidentiality is not assured.

Also, we would love to learn more about your experience of these sessions, so if you’re able, please take the time to fill out a follow-up survey of one to two quick questions!

Take the Survey!

Please join us for our next session Wednesday February 22nd at 1pm EST, with more times listed on our Live Virtual Group Sessions.

Lois Mailou Jones, Self Portrait 1940

Loïs Mailou Jones, Self Portrait, 1940, casein on board, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of the artist, 2006.24.2
“Write about your self portrait as a mirror of your world.” by Rita Basuray

16 thoughts on “Live Virtual Group Session: 12PM EST February 17th 2023”

  2. Andre Lijoi

    Viola! My self portrait is is such a state or radical flux
    a tension between the thoughtful, laboring, Doctoris Medicinae
    and whatever the Spirit has in store
    between workspaces
    having sifted through decades of artifacts
    of career and personhood, family
    and now standing amidst
    reordering, or reorganizing or redirection
    that will render a new portrait.
    Voila. Ambiguity.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
    • Elizabeth

      Andre— I really believe that we are a continuous sum of all our experiences and we are always in different degrees of flux and tension. I believe the essence of your portrait, no matter what it looks like on the exterior, will still be the same.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  3. michele348

    About my self-portrait in the mirror~~~

    As I stand before my self’s image, I see the wrinkles on my face,
    have I weathered the trials of life, these past few years, with grace?
    I see my eyes of blue which are always looking at what’s about me, sampling Nature’s beauty,
    realizing I am one with what I see.
    I see my hair tousled about,
    evidence that I’ve been on my hiking trail,
    with the wind blowing in my face,
    feeling alive and free.
    I see the smile on my face,
    for I am comfortable in my own skin,
    I have sought out the challenges and have met them head-on.

    I thank the person I see before me for the gifts that have been given.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    • al3793

      Michele, you have given the reader a clear view of what happens when we look into the mirror and then look away and see all around us. Your speaker is looking up and around finding union with what is out there. Andre

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  4. Elizabeth

    As I said in the chat, Michele, what positivity!
    I love the line… I am one with what I see… we do not operate in isolation, and quite often are reflecting what we see in the world as it reflects back on us.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  5. rehavia6

    Write About Your Self Portrait as a Mirror of Your World

    My eyebrows go up and down to portray incredulity, curiosity and concern
    My eyes show sadness, laughter and compassion
    My nose sits in the middle of my face and works with my other features to display my emotions.
    My mouth goes up in a smile of love and caring.
    My wrinkles are distributed throughout and are evidence of the wisdom I have gained from my years on this planet.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    • al3793

      Your narrative reminds me of the close read Lois Mailou Jones embarked on in her painting. It gives insight to what she might have been thinking as she looked into her mirror and out of the painting. The speaking reminds us that we are a composite of so many experiences we have accumulated along the way of our lives. Thank you. Andre

      Like

      Reply
      • rehavia6

        Andre,
        Thank you so much for the compliment. I was not able to attend the session, but looking at the painting I felt the same thing. A woman full of warmth who has had a lot of experiences.
        Lisa

        Like

  6. Helen Mia

    Prompt: Write about your self portrait as a mirror of the world…

    Mirrors of lovers looking for a self portrait who find themselves plummeting into that
    other worldly place called “falling in love” as if they were melting
    like chocolate into the hands of the beloved drained of all vulnerability
    crumbling like scorched wheat as they sink deeper and deeper into a place
    closer to home, a temporary domicile abode that they decorate with lavish
    soft furnishings in preparation for the candlelit feast and endless conversation

    whereby words generously overflow into the red wine, acutely present with meaning
    Whilst the slightest touch of each others’ fingertips is enough to erase them from the armour of the earth
    and suddenly dissolve into minuscule pieces
    And finally, an amalgamation of one another in the mirror
    Murmuring, where do we fall when we fall in love…..

    A coming home to the world, saturated with the enthusiasm to create and live
    as if the beloved has cracked open the mirror to another world that has long been asleep and alone
    the slow trickling away of absence like fireflies initiating hope
    the quintessence of love soaks them dry to the bone with presence
    an absence searching for the I in you…
    And at long last they are free in the company of a flawless stranger
    In the mirror reflecting backwards….

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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