COURTING THE MUSE

Nude Ascending a Bookcase,  Psyche Series, Photograph.                                         ©by Ruth Zachary 2014

The image above was captured in a photograph of a reflection in my dining room window, taken at night. The mind is usually resistant to reflections, with the knowledge that they distortions, and so we close out the images that are suggested. But focused in the camera lens, just as in a darkroom, the overlay of images takes on a different meaning than the literal scene we might normally see. Here, the mannequin that lives on top of my book case is seen in duplicate, because of the double paned window. The light seems almost moon-like, and the shadows suggest that the double figure has wings.

For that reason I am reminded of Psyche, a mythic figure who became enamored with her own reflection, and who could not return love to another.

Once when I was still in High School, I went to an art center exhibit, and the famous painting, Nude Descending a Staircase,  by Marcel Duchamp, was on display, and it dazzled me for years afterward. It seems fitting that I should give tribute to that painting by naming this photo for her, with a little bit of humor that her double image, might suggest the multiple images of the original nude Duchamp created as she stepped down her staircase, recording time, as a moving picture might do.

The reflections of a writer stimulated by visual imagery, or by a work of art is just one of the many
ways a writer might try to Court his or her muse.

In the next few blogs, I plan to share the many methods which have helped me to feel inspired to write, even when, for what ever reason, I felt blocked. I hope these suggestions may help other writers to open to their own Creative Source.

Writing and Image are the sole Copyright © of Ruth Zachary.