“Wyoming”
Collaborators’ Q&A
What did you think an artist would pick up on from your poem?
Poet Jill Osier: I hadn’t thought about that…but now I might say the tone…? Or maybe more the title, for what that word conjures…or what that place might mean to someone…
What inspires you in this poem?
Artist Kara Searcy: When I read the poem what struck me was how surreal the poem seemed to be; a sort of “things are not what they seem” sort of feel. And I like that not only did the author write about dreaming, but that the poem had a dreamy quality. I wanted to capture that dreamy quality in the painting.
Did the visual artist refract any element of the poem that made you see the poem differently?
Poet Jill Osier: Not that I understand just yet…
When you began this piece, was it color, shape, or some other aspect that you followed? Did that change?
Artist Kara Searcy: I followed the emotion of the poem more than I followed colors or shapes. The only images that I painted that have any real form are what look like power lines in the upper lefthand corner, and the reason those took form was because of the line “and you were driving.” When I think of images that I see when I’m driving it’s often cornfields or power lines.
What surprised you about this collaborative piece?
Poet Jill Osier: I think everything about the sun surprised me… I love it… Maybe it’s because Wyoming suggests horizons to me, and here the sun seems to say “now” and “here”…
Artist Kara Searcy: How well they went together—they really seem to mesh!
Have you ever written work that has been inspired by visual art? What was that experience like for you? Why were you inspired to do so?
Poet Jill Osier: Yes…or sometimes to just the titles… They seem to call out, and then I try to respond…Or they present something like a clue to something I’ve been trying to work out, or they seem like a doorway into a question…
If the Broadsided collaboration were a piece of music, what would it be?
Poet Jill Osier: Something sad, I think… For some reason, I think of Vince Guaraldi… Maybe a sound of remembering… Or a sound of something sweet that has been lost…
Artist Kara Searcy: “Dream” by Lecrae
Describe the collaboration in one word.
Artist Kara Searcy: Intangible
Seen any good art lately?
Poet Jill Osier: Yes, I just saw some ink drawings by Michael Johnston that I really liked…
Artist Kara Searcy: Only what’s on Broadsided! 😉
Read any good books lately?
Poet Jill Osier: I loved The Mystery Guest by Gregoire Bouillier…
Artist Kara Searcy: The Water Horse by Dick King-Smith.
Note: This broadside and interview are included in the anthology, Broadsided Press: Fifteen Years of Poetic/Artistic Collaboration, 2005-2020 (Provincetown Arts Press, 2022).