TRANSCENDING PISCES

TRANSCENDING PISCES    
acrylic on wood panels by Candace Knapp 
10 inches  x 10 inches 
 

TRANSCENDING PISCES

Seemed like only yesterday
I was a second grader in a school picture
Am I still?
They told me I was a Pisces, a fish
and YES
I do feel myself swimming in the great river of time
Am I still?
There are moments and there are years
all melting together into one great picture
reds running into blues
green shallow places
bubbles that suddenly appear
and blank white spaces

finally I can step back
climb out of my frame
stretch my arms
feel my feet planted
and ask the question
Am I still me?
Then I wonder ...
Who is that?

WAITING FOR BAMBOO

Waiting for Bamboo    
acrylic on wood panels by Candace Knapp 
10 inches  x 10 inches    

WAITING FOR BAMBOO



Waiting for bamboo
to reach the sky,
there is yearning.

Dragonflies circle above.
Sun rises,
slips across the flowers,
penetrates the bamboo forest.

The young bamboo
does not seem to move
and yet it is taller every day.

I begin to understand.
How sure
the force that stirs within
when the intention is pure.

When thought is singular
there is no limitation.

THIS OLD BODY DANCING

This Old Body Dancing
wood collage by Candace Knapp   10 inches x 10 inches  
 
THIS OLD BODY DANCING

Just a little stiffness
in the knee
a tight shoulder
a clunk when my head goes back
It won’t stop me.
Nothing interferes.
When the drumming starts
I move out gentle
a tiny swish of the hip
and the rhythm grabs my feet
a bare foot SLAPS against the floor
again and again
I want more
I am an African warrior, proud and sure
my legs carry the weight of ten men
but then . . .
the violins intrude
I turn, stretch and whirl
I am a gypsy, dark and mysterious
sliding across the room
dark curls fly
head back laughing. . .
I dream
myself
into
a blue and quiet melody
that floats me to the floor
a white swan landing
on a mirrored lake.
When an old woman dances
she can be anything!

GIRL IN DETOX - SUN OUTSIDE

Girl in Detox - Sun Outside   
wood collage by Candace Knapp   10 inches x 10 inches  
         
GIRL IN DETOX - SUN OUTSIDE

Just believe it
the sun is there
the thinnest silver beams of light
sweetly slide through dense cement
and find you
be still
let your heart be warmed
whatever tangle your life is in
just watch for it
love was there all along

CHANGE

CHANGE    painting by Candace Knapp
          8 inches by 10 inches
 
CHANGE

As I stand here
flutter by wings
alight
in yellow flowers
stilled ... satiated
quietly becoming petals
curled and dropped
as tiny boats
that float down dreams
sinking slowly
and deep
into dark bottom fish
riding unseen currents
rising to become
slithery reflections of light
so bright
in my watchful eye.
What changes?
What stays the same?

SPRING

SPRING     wood sculpture by Candace Knapp       
32 inches x 16 inches x 14 inches   Photo Bjorn Andren



SPRING

It has been raining for days.
Low hanging clouds
drive me down to my roots
to the dark place where it all begins again,
the darkness where diamonds are formed
by intense pressure and solitude.

Here the longing begins,
the longing to emerge,
to see the light of day
and turn it into rainbows.

We never know our own beauty
until it pierces the illusion
like some blade of grass slicing through cement.

All it takes is an unguarded moment
a breath without effort...
And we arise.

PATIENCE

PATIENCE   wood relief by Candace Knapp   
40 inches x 13 inches x 3 inches    Photo Bjorn Andren

PATIENCE

Left hanging,
waiting for something to pass
for something to begin

Emily was quietly staring out the window when the rains came.
Joe across the street had been walking his little brown dog,
now they both ran.
It was a Sunday afternoon,
old science fiction movies on TV
No phone calls ...

Last night she had come close to finishing her book
but the ending eluded her
reminding her that some relationships
linger
some wars never end
and some long cherished dreams have no resolution

only a gradual understanding

that forms in the long silent moments

between the great events.

PEACEMAKER

PEACEMAKER     wood sculpture by Candace Knapp 
95 inches x 25 inches x 25 inches      Photo Bjorn Andren   

PEACEMAKER

When the world goes “BOOM” you need me,
realize I was in you all along.
A river of life rises through your spine
stands firm
and scans the far horizon for signs of
stress . . .
. . . an inharmonious note
. . . a broken rhythm
. . . a smile that is a little forced.

Long before the bullets fly
and the sword is drawn,
long before the angry word
or the icy look
there is an imperceptible ripple in the air
a loss of peace.

A peacemaker knows that wars are won
long before they have begun.

LEAF SPIRIT

LEAF SPIRIT  carved  wooden  relief  by  Candace Knapp
27 inches x 30 inches     Photo     Bjorn Andren


LEAF SPIRIT

Do you ever wish the wind would take you
sailing across the early morning green
with your tender roots dangling and free?

Our children leave us.
Our parents are gone.
Our seeds fly out in the mouths of birds
and we never know what happens to them.
Our fruits are carried away
by little animals scampering in the night.

Some hold their dreams so tight
they cannot breathe,
others drop them along the way.

So then we finally let go
and are surprised that the wind carries us.
A kaleidoscope of colors and experiences
were  just so patiently waiting
for us to relax.

REACH

REACH     wood sculpture by Candace Knapp
6 inches x 13 inches x 8 inches     Photo Bjorn Andren


REACH

Tired of the way your life is going?
Then reach into the shadowy pocket of fate
and pull out a new card.
It’s perfectly alright to change your mind
to change your life
to ask for something more ...
All possibilities are within your reach

Close your eyes
Lean back into the warm waters of life
and learn to float
The river of time carries you sweetly to the infinite
and all along the way you choose your song
make it true, make it real
pour yourself into music
and it will echo long after
spend everything
keep nothing back
become all

TOOTS

TOOTS    wood sculpture by Candace Knapp       
29 inches x 10 inches  x 8 inches    Photo Bjorn Andren


TOOTS

When you walk in the forest
do you ever think we are looking at you?
We have been standing here together for a long time
we green ones
we drink water together
we warm ourselves in the sun
and when a sudden gust of wind
pushes us against each other ...
do you think we don’t feel that?
Do you think we don’t know when
the delicate threads of the spider web
link our branches together?
Deep underground thin root fingers
touch one another
discovering a secret family connection.

Then you come clomping along
with your loud voice and busy ways,
casting shadows, snapping pictures and
pushing us this way and that as you pass.
You will never guess what we do then?
We love you ...
we know we have the peace you need
and the sacred substance that can heal you.
We are so sorry when you walk away.

Did you ever think we might be waiting for you?

PIANISSIMO

PIANISSIMO      wood sculpture by Candace Knapp
68 inches x 19 inches x 16 inches   Photo Bjorn Andren


PIANISSIMO

a soft familiar hum
the steady gaze of a distant star
the purity at the center of the heart
sincerity is a silent thunder
clear and clean like deep well water
my heart goes out to the suffering
of my dear friends
there are no words of comfort
there is only the fine silvery note
of the flute
a warm human breath
made beautiful
that winds its way into the broken places
and stops the bleeding

BIRDBATH

BIRDBATH         wood sculpture by Candace Knapp      
24 inches  x 24 inches  x 13 inches    Photo Bjorn Andren         

BIRDBATH

I’m very careful stepping into this water.
It’s cold.
I turn my head and look for hawks.
I listen for dangerous sounds
rustling in the bushes.
This is a vulnerable moment.
I slide watchfully into my sixty fifth year of life.
So this is what it feels like!
The water slips beneath my feathers
and I shimmy a little...
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
It feels pretty good.
I crouch down and let it roll over my back,
slip around my neck and then
I dunk my head right in
and start flapping and wiggling.
I step around in a flamboyant dance
forgetting about danger
forgetting everything that was holding me back...
OH I am so alive now and so clean
There is a freshness that makes this birthday
a whole new beginning!

UNDERCURRENT

UNDERCURRENT     acrylic on canvas by Candace Knapp
60 inches x 44 inches          Photo   Bjorn Andren  


UNDERCURRENT

Remember the house on Baker Street
that slid so far out of reach
that long night in October?
There were some strange moments in our childhood
... funny how the memories drift,
bump into one another out in the back yard
where we were camping under the old army blanket.
I remember how cold we were
and the sudden appearance of a neighbor’s cat,
eyes like fireflies appearing ... disappearing
strange night sounds ... creeping ... rustling..
little cloud girls playing soccer with the moon
while heavy branches bent and creaked overhead.
Mom and Dad were safe in their cosy bed
deep beneath the covers of night
dreaming and waking
their hearts watching over us.
Now these forty years have passed
and they are still there...
watching...
listening...
Love never changes.
Love never dies.

TWEET

TWEET   wood sculpture by Candace Knapp
50 inches x 18 inches x 14 inches   Photo Bjorn Andren
       
TWEET

Tweet  tweeeeeeeeeeeet
Get outa my way!
I’m goin to the right
I’m goin to the left
Had some hiberdy jiberdy reasons to run after you
but then I forgot
my head got all wobbly and I started to
Tweeeeeeeeeet
and the bounce
the bounce was about to kill me
all flyuppance and wonder
bleary eyed and following who?
So I just sat down in a pile
I stopped
all movements died down
quiet like I realized
I’ve got nothing but the sound of my own voice
so I said it again
I said it    R  e  a  l     L  o  u  d
TWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET !
And you know what?
I felt better.

PUDDLE JUMP

PUDDLE JUMP   wood sculpture by Candace Knapp
20 inches x 14 inches x  11 inches   Photo Bjorn Andren


PUDDLE JUMP

early morning chill
long walk down a wet sidewalk
puddles from the rain last night
feet and breath in rhythm
city waking up
slow and constant movement
morning sounds

suddenly ... SPLASH

what a beautiful shape !
my eye snaps a picture for my mind
and it is gone
it exists and then it doesn’t

Does it matter how long a life lasts
if it was beautiful
and someone noticed?

TRAVELING MOM

TRAVELING MOM     wood mobile by Candace Knapp
8 inches x 25 inches x  8 inches    Photo Bjorn Andren        

TRAVELING MOM

Don’t get me wrong.
I love my family.
It’s just that there are places I need to go
and things I need to do.
The sky is a vast blue ocean
that pulls me out of myself.
I can’t be small anymore
I have to do it...
to sail these airy currents
to drink the sun
to find what has been waiting for me
since the beginning of time.

But it’s ok.
I am a big ship now.
I can take you with me
close your eyes.
Can you feel yourself lifted,
just a little?
We go where light has no horizon
where thoughts turn into music
and our long cherished dreams
meet us face to face
give a little kiss
and dissolve into laughter.
What was I thinking?
I can’t be small anymore.
There are places I need to go
and things I need to do.

FLOWER

FLOWER       wood sculpture by Candace Knapp 
26 inches x 14 inches x 10 inches   Photo Bjorn Andren   
 
FLOWER

I crawled out and spread my leaves last week.
It felt so good.
I could just feel my fruit ripening
on those long sunny afternoons.
I stay in my spot.
The wind passes by,
the night slides over me,
the rains come and go.
I am just here contemplating my fate
The sun is my everything.
I turn my leaves to face it,
stretch for it,
wait for it to appear
and cherish it’s warmth.
One question burns inside of me.
Does the sun see me?
Does it even know that I am here?

I think about this all the time.
Last night I heard something
I think the stars were whispering
something about me.
Maybe I am getting closer
to the answer.


















 

HEY LITTLE GIRL

HEY LITTLE GIRL      Drawing by Candace Knapp                
 27 inches x  35 inches   Photo Bjorn Andren

HEY LITTLE GIRL

I can make you feel real good for a moment, or two.
Isn’t that all that matters ?
I’ll give you a rush you will never forget !
That mom in the corner
crying...
don’t look at her,
she’ll hold you back.
What does she know?
“Do what you wanna do, go where you wanna go
with whomever you wanna to do, do it with...”
Whose your daddy now?
You can have it all !
You’re mine.
I own you.
Do NOT listen !
Didn’t I tell you ?
Do not listen to the silver flute
ringing in your heart
singing a lone sweet silvery song
curling and whirling into space
reaching for the stars
caressing all your fondest hopes and dreams
as they drift silently on the evening breeze.
DO NOT !!!!
Follow me
I can make you feel real good
for a moment or two.