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Write Around PAM: Lillian Pitt

September 27, 2020
Dancing in the Wind, Lillian Pitt, 14 ¾ x 5 7/8 x 4 7/8 inches, clay, beads, wood, and wire. A photo of a sculpture composed of three main parts: a body, a base, and a finial. The pale-beige clay body is shaped like a vertical rectangle with rounded corners and is highly textured with imprinted patterns. The bottom right corner is rounded off further than the other corners. The imprinted patterns appear to have been made with shells and form concentric semicircles similar to how the bands of a rainbow are arranged. A row each of scallop and nautilus shell imprints form arcs on their sides starting at the top and ending at the bottom. The balance of the body is dotted with the indentations of shell markings overall. Protruding irregularly from the right side of the body are bent copper wires with amber colored beads at the ends. Each wire is bent differently. The body is attached to a thick, chunky wood base by a short, metal rod. The blond wood of the base is traversed with thin dark lines that seem to outline the grain. At top, the finial is connected to the body by clay and is an irregular spherical shape with metal rods radiating out at 9, 12, 2, and 3 o’clock. At 10 o’clock, a copper wire curves into a spiral.

Lillian Pitt, Dancing in the Wind, 1998, clay, beads, wood, and wire, Gift of Allan and Lenore Sindler, © Lillian L. Pitt, 2006.54.4

Even in its stillness, this piece by Lillian Pitt feels alive, full of movement, ready to dance. Our words can also carry motion, inviting us into imaginative spaces where we are floating, diving, climbing, dancing, running, leaping – even as we sit still. This week, as cooler weather and rain signal our official shift into fall, we invite you to spend some time exploring movement, in your body and in your writing, starting with this piece. Before or after you write, take some time to learn more about Lillian Pitt’s life and art.⠀

We have some prompts to help you get started. You can choose one, both or follow your own adventure. Set a timer for 8 minutes and just keep the pen moving.

“Would you like to dance?…” / Floating in air…

Writing in community is powerful. We are grateful to our longtime partner Write Around Portland for the writing prompts and inspiration. You can revisit past posts from Sundays this summer, and look for continuing weekly posts through the fall. Please share your work with us! @writearoundpdx @portlandartmuseum #RespectWritingCommunity #WriteAroundPAM  

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