What inspires my art - well, here is the story.
In life, we are motivated by an event, a person, a piece of art: For me, it was a combination of all of those - it was my mothers love of the song "The White Magnolia Tree" recited by Helen Hayes from a poem by Helen Deutsh. It is the story, actually, looking back, of my mother and father who had such a marriage as described in this song. My mother played the song often, and, I, growing up in Western Australia, surrounded by Salmon Gums and Blackboy trees, envisioned this White Magnolia tree to be tall, large, with branches sprouting out to hold and protect. We did not have the internet in those days of course - so the closest I could get to the reality of the Magnolia tree was an encyclopedia in the nuns library of the catholic school I attended.
I did not personally see a Magnolia tree until the Spring of 1973 in Denver, Colorado. I was walking down the street exploring - and I turned the corner and there it was, a magnificent White Magnolia tree in full bloom. I just stood there and felt so fulfilled - I had "found" that White Magnolia tree at the age of 22.
I am still in awe of its rich green leaves, the stoic branches, and those magnificent blooms. I envisioned that great tree in my mind as I grew up in Western Australia - how close that poem came to painting the White Magnolia. Till today I still not have had the courage to "paint" the Magnolia - but, now living in Mississippi, the Magnolia State - I paint all around it everyday. What a blessed life.
Sung here on this link by Kamahl, who kindly gave me personal permission via email, for me to publish on my website. Kamahl is a wonderful Australian singer and I personally thank him for inspiring me to pursue my art through this song. I play it regularly when I get "stuck" in the studio.
Click on this Play link to hear the song:
The White Magnolia Tree
The year when I was twenty-one,
(John that year was twenty-three)
That was the year, that was the spring,
We planted the white magnolia tree.
"This tree," said John, "shall grow with us,
And every year it will bloom anew.
This is our life. This is our love."
And the white magnolia tree grew and grew...
Oh, youth' a thing of fire and ice,
And currents that run hot and white,
And its world is as bright as the sun...
I was twenty-one...
And I wore a plume in my hat.
And we went to the movies and wept over" Stella Dallas",
And John sang "Moonlight and Roses"
(a little off-key, but very nicely really),
And we hurried through our crowded days
With beautiful plans, boundless ambitions, and golden decisions.
There is so much the young heart clamours for,
That it must have, and that it cannot live without,
And it must be all or nothing,
For aren't we the masters of creation?
Oh, valiant and untamed were we,
When we planted the white magnolia tree!
And the white magnolia grew and grew,
Holding our love within its core,
And every year it bloomed anew,
And we were twenty-one no more.
No more untamed, no more so free,
Nor so young, nor so wild and aflame were we.
Dearer to us grew other things:
Easy sleep, books, a day's quiet holiday,
Good talk beside a fire, the beauty of old faces...
We have known many things since then:
The death of a child and the bitter lesson
That a heart which breaks can mend itself again
(That it can and must be done),
And what loyalty can mean,
And how real a word like courage can become,
And that solitude can be rich and gratifying
And quite different from loneliness...
There is so little the serious heart requires:
Friends, faith, a window open to the world,
Pride in work well done,
And strength to live in a world at war
And still maintain the heart's own private peace...
Dear Heaven, I give thanks to thee
For things I did not know before,
For the wisdom of maturity,
For bread, and a roof, and for one thing more...
Thanks because I still can see
The bloom on the white magnolia tree!
Helen Deutsch
The year when I was twenty-one,
(John that year was twenty-three)
That was the year, that was the spring,
We planted the white magnolia tree.
"This tree," said John, "shall grow with us,
And every year it will bloom anew.
This is our life. This is our love."
And the white magnolia tree grew and grew...
Oh, youth' a thing of fire and ice,
And currents that run hot and white,
And its world is as bright as the sun...
I was twenty-one...
And I wore a plume in my hat.
And we went to the movies and wept over" Stella Dallas",
And John sang "Moonlight and Roses"
(a little off-key, but very nicely really),
And we hurried through our crowded days
With beautiful plans, boundless ambitions, and golden decisions.
There is so much the young heart clamours for,
That it must have, and that it cannot live without,
And it must be all or nothing,
For aren't we the masters of creation?
Oh, valiant and untamed were we,
When we planted the white magnolia tree!
And the white magnolia grew and grew,
Holding our love within its core,
And every year it bloomed anew,
And we were twenty-one no more.
No more untamed, no more so free,
Nor so young, nor so wild and aflame were we.
Dearer to us grew other things:
Easy sleep, books, a day's quiet holiday,
Good talk beside a fire, the beauty of old faces...
We have known many things since then:
The death of a child and the bitter lesson
That a heart which breaks can mend itself again
(That it can and must be done),
And what loyalty can mean,
And how real a word like courage can become,
And that solitude can be rich and gratifying
And quite different from loneliness...
There is so little the serious heart requires:
Friends, faith, a window open to the world,
Pride in work well done,
And strength to live in a world at war
And still maintain the heart's own private peace...
Dear Heaven, I give thanks to thee
For things I did not know before,
For the wisdom of maturity,
For bread, and a roof, and for one thing more...
Thanks because I still can see
The bloom on the white magnolia tree!
Helen Deutsch
