Sunday, February 27, 2011

Chickens And Their Friends Come Home to Roost


Usually when one says, "The chickens have come home to roost," they mean that the chickens are not nice chickens. Or that the chickens have come for revenge. Or could be that the Fates are using them as ironical weapons in their war games against nearsighted humans. 

I guess it could also mean that a farmer's chickens were out free-ranging, and have returned to lay   eggs for the benefit of one and all~especially at breakfast.

But I am referring to the chickens of the mind. Those bawking thoughts that peck around the cerebral cortex looking for stray electrons, or juicy bugs. It might be some concept that we are trying to develop which lives in the tangled brain bushes. Don't you often find that a "great idea" will scratch all around because it's not sure where it lives. For me, most of these pithy poultry are stories that have made a nest in my brain. I can't get rid of them until they are good and ready. When they are,  they squawk like Valkyries and fly right out of my  meatus acusticus externus ( ear hole).


Here is one that I had a recurring dream about. It's a story that is presently hatching. 

Here is another. I don't know if dream tigers lay eggs. Sure, why not?

 
This guy is taking over my studio. He's everywhere! 

When these "chickens" do finally hatch, I become a busy den mother. It's now my job to keep them warm and feed them with a dropper. And lastly I need to find them all a nice home. 



Maybe some day they will come live in your bookshelf.  Do you have chickens that have come home to roost? Are they nice chickens? 




19 comments:

Kat_RN said...

Yes, I do! I always keep a notebook full of ideas. Some ferment slowly over several years time, others, are quick. None of them will cooperate before they are ready, kind of like, well chickens, or cats.
Kat

steven said...

yes i do richard. i have little notebooks full of words, phrases, words i hear in my head, and especially dreams that i remember. then i have sketchbooks filled with little scribbles and super precise drawings. then i have my laptop where i throw writing around and let it play while i'm asleep. happy incubations richard!! steven

A mermaid in the attic said...

Notebooks and scribbles, full of vague ideas some of which have been floating around for 20 years or more. I forget them, then go back and read an old diary and think, WOW, what a great idea, I should do something about that...and sometimes I do! But trying to push them or hurry them along is a bit like herding cats...very difficult!

Julia Kelly said...

Cool- I like when you share what is in that head of yours!

Kate Higgins said...

My chickens are "free range" and lay some of their eggs in the home roost But mostly I find eggs in "the tangled brain bushes". So I have to keep after them. Notebooks help but I need a notebook to keep track of my notebooks. I love the tangled brain bushes, I know for a fact the best 'eggs' are always in there.

Richard Jesse Watson said...

Kat, it is so true that the ideas won't cooperate til they feel like it. And it is weird how some ideas do indeed need to ferment for years, and then, voilá! they're finally ready.

Steven, I can well imagine that your subconscious is constantly and effusively tossing off ideas. Sounds like you are way organized in your capture techniques. I find it hardest to capture dreams because by the time I wake up, the thoughts and images have dissolved or morphed.

I love it when that happens, Mermaid. When I have not seen a notebook for ages, or I stumble on a forgotten sketch, and I am surprised--did I do that? Seems like some ideas can't be fully appreciated til they lay fallow for a while.

Ditto, Julia! I love seeing what you do. And I can't even imagine doing art the way you do.

Yeah, Kate, the best ideas are sort of hidden in those tangled brain bushes. As opposed to the brain filing cabinets and folders. I also need a notebook to keep track of my notebooks! Ha! And then how will you keep track of *that* notebook! Maybe get a degree in library science.

Robin Weiss said...

Ha! know exactly what you mean Richard!I can't even keep track of my keys!
I found a painting that I had turned to the wall out of frustration ....and buried under stuff over a year ago ....It made the perfect underpainting for a new work!
I have three hens and they are dormant now...but one thinks it is a rooster so I get the metaphor!....Not sure how all that fits in ....but I really like your sketches and scribbles! So alive! =]

Anonymous said...

Occassionally when I have some time I'll try to remember what my chickens were and then maybe one will come home to roost. But mostly I let run wild, and usually forget them after a while.

I'd like to see what hatches from the tiger idea.

Michaele Razi said...

Awesome sketches, Richard, and I like getting a peek into your thought process! Looking forward to seeing how these "chickens" hatch when "they have come home to roost." The tiger is brilliant!

Faith Pray said...

I like your chickens. The tiger is to drool for! I love them all and send them secret messages to grow strong and fly to my bookshelf soon!

Richard Jesse Watson said...

Thanks, Kitty. I think I would loose track of the chickens too if I didn't jot a note or sketch about them.

Richard Jesse Watson said...

Thanks Robin. I love the idea of your painting turned to the wall. Man, that would give it a lot of time to think about who it really is.

Richard Jesse Watson said...

Thank you, Michaele, appreciate that. The tiger seems to be getting a lot of good vibes. Hmmm...

Richard Jesse Watson said...

Thanks, Faithy, for your "secret messages" and for the tiger drool. That is a topic that has been addressed too little. Tiger drool. I'll bet it is medicinal.

jerilanders said...

After a busy day of bickering, scratchin in the dirt, laying a few pink and brown eggs, and partying in the flower beds, the chickens come home to roost up in the barn beams. That's sorta what my brain does all day long too. So many ideas, so many sketch books.... someday I hope to hatch them into fluffy fat chicks.

Richard Jesse Watson said...

Jeri, I love thinking of ideas as "fluffy fat chicks". Partying in the flower beds ought to be a goal for everybody.

Zuzana said...

Hello Richard, what a wonderful way of looking at ideas.;))
To me ideas are more like visions, or glimpses of ethereal beings, shrouded in a mist, fog or clouds initially. I can not not get a good look at them at first and thus I wait patiently until they reappear again. Each new encounter makes them more visible, until I one day can see them clearly. Only then can they become an inspiration to my creativity.;)
Hope all is well with you,
xoxo

Ruthie Redden said...

Richard, a great descriptive psot about the inner workings of the creative! I find that some of my best ideas are the longest hatchers, but so worth the wait. Heres to the squawking of the Valkyries.

Ailsa said...

Hi Richard,

It was good seeing you and Susie again. Thanks for keeping in touch!

I stopped by to see your snail. It looks great and yes I can see why you say it looks like a snail with an attitude. Look forward to seeing this progress into a story!