You may know that in addition to my artwork I also write poetry (posted on my blog Claudia McGill Writes Poetry, Did You Know That?). For the next several months I will be posting here a combined art/poetry project, Large Artist Sketchbook 2020.
I fill up sketchbooks with all kinds of art. Some contain images only and some of them I use the images as inspiration for poetry. In these books the image is on one page of the spread and the poetry on the other. This book is set up in this manner.
I’ll show you the image and then add the poem that goes with it. See what you think.
Photo Day #122
In the hectic city
a man takes a bubble bath
a pigeon watches on the windowsill.
A cat on the sidewalk
bewilders itself
with the many options the world offers
to a cat on the loose.
Someone drops a box of eggs in the grocery.
Limp sheets in frolic patterns droop from the clothesline.
That fellow who stands on the corner
performing scenes from Shakespeare
is doing Macbeth this morning. The traffic speeds by
heedless. Too bad. He is quite good in this role.
5/1/20
Large Artist Sketchbook 2020 image 29
Claudia McGill and Her Art World 
I love street performers. The musicians far outnumber the poets here though. (K)
Yes, the same here. But I do like to hear someone speaking or quoting or acting a part (though I’m not fond of sermons) on the street.
Oh that reminds me of the Hallelujah Man. I haven’t seen him in a long time, but he’s usually further uptown than where I live now. Though I did once see him in Times Square.
This is very entertaining and Bob is doing a good job in the roll of Macbeth!
You can always count on Bob to go along with my schemes!
I love the idea of these all being scenes within a city. I like that idea of everything being bustling but still being able to zero in on small details and specific vignettes. I also like the way the artwork is making me think of North African tiles.