Aqua Libra by Lila Katzen

What can touch convey that words cannot? Who are we when connected with others? Consider how the sky-reaching trees of this grove communicate through a mycelial network in the soil. Notice the disparate elements that come together in the sculpture. Note where there is stability and fragility in their union. Consider the work’s simultaneous wholeness and fragmentation.

Movement: Take in the group of Dawn Redwood trees. Observe their relationship with one another and the sculpture. Notice the contours, asymmetry, and negative space of Aqua Libra. Beginning at the sculpture, weave your way through the surrounding trees. Let your path be determined by the breeze on your skin, or the songs of the birds, or the patterns of visible roots. Let your arms ribbon, twist, and feather in the air as you travel. Alternatively, visualize the path you would take.

Writing: Consider the welding of the sculpture. Note the intentionality of having the viewer perceive how the jagged, asymmetrical stainless-steel pieces are brought together. Create a short piece with visible weldments – let the stitching be shown. Let the last line of the first stanza/paragraph be the first line of the next stanza/paragraph. Let the last line of that stanza/paragraph be the first line of the next stanza/paragraph. Continue this pattern for at least three stanzas/paragraphs. Let the final line be a repetition of the first line of the piece. You can change the repeating lines slightly (tense, pronouns, a word or two, etc.) if you need.