Turquoise Monster

So I have a Patreon account – the idea is that people can basically sponsor me to create art, poetry, science etc… at the moment I am posting the progress of a secret art project up on there. Though the art work will eventually go live for everyone to see you are looking at a year or so I think but if you are a patreon then you can see how and when the project progresses – this is only fair as it is money from this platform that has allowed me to buy the art supplies I need for said project.

There will be extras for the higher paying patreons as well 🙂

Also it is not the only thing – often my stories and poems appear on there before they go public as well.

One secret art project.

My Britain is broken,
but I shall try to fix it,
though it may have to be in a shape new,
Scotland I want to keep you,
you are a part of me,
but I think you should go,
for your own sake,
though I scream don’t leave us behind!
Maybe North and South can make piece
be whole and Ireland will be an Island once more.
Wales won’t be far behind, Cornwall?… the isles?
well you think on it ok.

It’s fractured from a blow,
not sure where the crack propagation will end.
The EU they say is sinking, disintegrating,
and I look on History and see how World Wars begin
I shudder.

And I hope that you are right and I am wrong,
because if you are right then the consequence…
are that I look silly,
and lose the career
I have been building for a decade or more,
but I will swallow that if the Nation,
if the world is better off.
I hope you are right but I fear
yes I mean FEAR, you are wrong.

For I am petrified with what I have seen,
in this referendum,
how natures spill and split,
becoming vengeful with spite,
my own included

But what ever the outcome,
I will be kind
as I can make the world as good as I can,
here in the now in this place.
I picked up the smashed wine glass at the bus stop outside the polling station so the toddlers would not get cut,
I removed the jagged glass bottle,
cracked into caltrop from the step of the hair salon,
so delicately sandled feet would not be cut.
And though I feel isolated and stabbed in the back,
by family and friends who knew…
I needed the EU funding but voted the way they voted,
crowing about it,
that they did that anyway,
Knowing me, I – part of them needed this thing,
I, not some amorphous “other”,
But ME
And all the rejection and hurt I feel…
I am going to lengths to try and not fall out,
though the anger is bubbling over,
and I feel betrayed and bewildered
and worried.

Worried that I have two kids to bring up within this mess.
I hope it’s all worth it, I really do,
but I feel we are all in free fall
I’m not sure there’s a parachute packed.

I painted these pictures to remind me not to hate:
Love,
Hope,
Perseverance and…
Serenity

but they are chaotic,
as we know not the way the wind will blow.

They queued up one by one by one,
They laid their necks upon the space,
That had been blunted by generations,
Of freedom so the blade above was forgotten,

They spewed anger into the streets,
Again and again with blood letting,
Pulverised the apples
They left the rotten core,

They queued up one by one by one,
Lost and afraid and turned to fear,
By those seeking scapegoats and straw men,
The burnings began with a flag not a book

Luckily it failed
As the fires that would be – failed
All those flames that would have wiped out homes
Families – tamed by regulations
And yes that is a double edged blade
But one that can be honed and perfected
If not mangled and melted

They burnt the homeless mans tent
All he had within
by the KFC
They… wanted out
They…
They… feel powerless, they are askewed
And I told you treat people like shit
They will believe in that shit
They will become that shit
They will cling on by finger nails of reasoning
They are reactionary
They are not stupid
They are in survival mode
Be grateful if you’ve never known it

You drove the wedge
Sinking it deeper in financial lines
You laughed at expletives used as words
You decided that those there, they are beneath you
No education, no prospects,
No realisation of the rights they posess,
But you don’t know how hard it is to climb out
You don’t see the hollow cheeks of despair
The despised in the food line
Aggressive architecture to stop the homeless resting
The charity warehouses and centres closed

People on the edge
People growing weary
People ready to bite
They bit
The hate is unleashed

I vote remain
They vote go
You vote maybe one way maybe not

And the fists are primed
And we are the meat
All of us are the meat
Pounded and pulverised
The meat
That’s US
Us within or without
But within at least we wont be cut
As much

Don’t be brave
Brave people do stupid things
Don’t vote with your heart
That again is a reactionary thing
Stop… look and think!

What do I want?
What about the other?
Crack down the wall of us and them
Tribalism is cannibalism
Don’t condemn the opposition
Let them speak
Listen and…
Then debate
No name calls
Or flotillas on the Thames
Amusing as it all is
It is dire in it’s consequence

We queue up one by one by one
We queue….
We wait
What ever the result
I hope we have not unleashed the plague
Of Fascism.

I was going to say how she found me on the Pride day and said I would go to hell, how my art was satanic and gay…
And I knew I could not write what I would have wrote, and I lit a candle in the night for he came and shot them down…
They died. Washing the joy with blood such that all the tears of nations can not erase the stain and nor should they
For hate strips us all to the bone, cutting out the heart but it still beats. I was going to tell you…
About the old woman on the hunt during Pride who made me scared, made me hide…
And all my wishes and prays can not alter a thing, I can not heal wounds near to me and they were half a world away…
He shot them down because they were gay, he killed and he maimed and he took away…
and he died as they died blood split in vein or out we all bleed the same…
And love is all I have to offer and a candle flame.

This Saturday I will be taking A Stranger Dream and assorted merch to the Mini Mall Con in the Eastgate Shopping Centre in Glos! http://oktruebelievers.com/glosmallcon

Tomorrow night I’ll be performing at SCIENCE SHOWOFF buys the farm at the Grain Barge in Bristol – there will be puppets and poetry and space and hopefully no singing!

My “rant at the government” is mentioned in this write up of Swindon’s Slam though they did spell my name wrong!

Tonight Friday 13th I will be performing in the Cheltenham Poetry Festivals Slam – Slam Burger. I will be swearing on stage, in a poem, this is actually an incredibly hard thing for me to do… I can just see all the little old ladies from the church of my youth frowning at me in my head – none-the-less the poem needs to be said and so it shall be.

I will still come last 🙂 I always do! (Except the time I came second from last!). But I do tend to get myself mentioned in news papers with poems that are “rants against the government”, even if they can’t spell my name right (newspapers never get my name right! or if they do they spell my kids or husband’s name wrong!). The article is from last weekends Slam – a fantastic even of sparkling dark and joy.

It was the 20th annual slam and I think the longest consecutive poetry slam in the UK. I poddled down there with the lovely poet, actor and comedian Joy-Amy who unlike me came a fantastic and well deserved 2nd 🙂

In other news I am still uber busy with the colouring book visual poem A Stranger Dream: Love that a launched at the end of April. It is steadily selling and I have actually gotten around to sending out some review copies (yes I know it is supposed to happen before you release the book 🙂 ).

I sold out of the heart handled mugs with the art work Love on it – one of the pictures from the book. I have ordered more and they have now arrived 🙂 I am still sorting out the Normal Mugs with normal handles but will have them soon 🙂

Yesterday the first lot of artwork badges arrived and I have homed 3 of them already 🙂

There is a still quiet a bit of a to-do list to get everything I want to go with the book/be done with the art work 🙂

So far no bad reviews (that wont last but for now I am basking).

I am down to just two copies of the books I had to sell – there is another lot en-route, I will have them with me tonight at the poetry slam. Otherwise the next chance to buy the books and artwork stuff from me is going to be The Mini-Mall Con in June 🙂

(I may also be making Alaric dress as young spock once again which as those who came to my 30th know is a treat worth it’s weight in jelly beans!).

Of course you can order it on line from Amazon.

I hope to be doing more shows, stalls and things with it and I will be seeing if I can make the video of good enough quality to maybe show at an event but we are looking at next year for that sort of thing 🙂

Stories and poems are starting to go up on the various Monster Blogs once more which has been a long time coming thanks to head bang stuff. However slight change… they now tend to get pre-viewed on my Patreon account for those who are supporting me financially – to be honest though it paid for me to launch and create A Stranger Dream I still do not have quiet enough to be replacing the tech I need to replace and to make the blogs ad free etc… So if you find yourself with monies and you want to see stories and art from me… (yeah I hate asking for money but you know it has to happen or I actually can’t afford to be producing this stuff!).

Anyway…. my patreon.

Also – yes a lot of alsos 🙂 I will have art at Art in the Park Cheltenham this summer.

And lastly – I really liked working on A Stranger Dream colouring in book, about 2 weeks in I made a list of other colouring in books I would like to make both poetry and not poetry based. So last week I popped a poll up to narrow down which one to work on next. I only gave four options and the ability for people to suggest other things… the resounding favourite option was Myths and Legends so I have started work on that.

I have a couple of commissions at the moment so it has to fit in around them but it has begun!

…..

Opps I lied one more thing or maybe two!!!

I will be doing a set at Science Show Off in Bristol on Weds 25th of May at the Grain Barge – there will be stars and poems and possibly a puppet but hopefully no singing!

And there will be steam punk and science-craft workshops run by me at Wychwood Musical Festival 🙂

I do have a news letter…

I think that’s everything but probably isn’t!

Hope to see local peeps tonight!

Obviously I have only just launched A Stranger Dream: Love a non-linear visual poem as a colouring book but… well people have been asking about other books – now I have a long list of other potentials but thought I’d see what people want 🙂

Trying to decide what type of ink style colouring in book to draw next – so here's a poll! tweet me "other" too 🙂

— Sarah Snell-Pym (@Saffy) May 6, 2016

Yes it’s on twitter – I’m not quiet sure how this works but if you can’t click the options on there then just comment 🙂 Also I am happy to consider other suggestions 🙂

Thanks muchly 🙂

This weekend (22-24 April 2016) there will be a virtual launch party for my non-linear visual poetry colouring in book A Stranger Dream. It is a stark book, a book of hate and isolation, a book of hope and love. The images tackle the thorny issues of self-identity and the pain of isolation and ostracism, of critasism and the violence society often enacts on those who do not conform.

Of communities once inclusive, self cannibilising.

It is a narrative of my self, it is the story of SELF, of everyone, it is a cyclic jumbled mess, it is non-linear, the circles of society, family, culture and religion are intersection, concentric, exclusionary, overlapping, non-ecludian rings.

The colouring book is not The Form of the poem but it is a form of it. There is going to be a gallery where people can add their colouring in efforts – I hope that together we can turn stark hurt into rainbows.

Electronically I will spend this weekend pinging between various social media and blogs. Namely this one and Snell-Pym.

There is a Facebook Event, a Google+ Event, a twitter hashtag # astrangerdream and my patreon account (which will have hidden extras in it for patreons only).

I have a t-shirt – with Identity Clinging on it – I used the wrong image ie not the bordered one I’d used for the book so there are white lines where there should be none – but I have a fix for this! I also plan to turn it into a dress or at least make a matching skirt for performances.

There will be merch for sale, there are stickers to give away and there are beautiful mugs and poetry cards and so much more!

I did a blog post about the origin and work that went into the making of A Stranger Dream: Love on Snell-Pym.

And you can still download the individual images for free – yes I am selling a book with them in but I want my work as accessible as possible. With the book you are paying for the nice book, for the boarders and a bit of extra editing. It is currently showing as £10+ I meant it to be £7+ if you buy the £10 + version let me know as I have a goody bag to post to you!