KIRKLAND, Wash., July 12, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Over the course of her life, the artist O'Vivian has used poetry, music and painting as vehicles for expression. Her new work, Diary of a Seeker: A Book of Poetry, Songs and Art (now available through AuthorHouse), is the culmination of 21 years of thoughts, ideas and emotions captured in poems and images.
From the time she was 10, O'Vivian wrote poetry and painted, which helped her develop her artistic abilities and gain insight into life and human motivations. Reading her poetry and viewing her simple, yet profound, paintings gives readers a sense of transformation. O'Vivian's personal development is evident in the timeline of her work. Her art has also been an avenue for her to rise above the hardships she has experienced to discover the beauty and hope that now dominates her life.
"Although I was born into a harsh and challenging existence, I have relied upon creative gifts to carry me through my darkest hours," O'Vivian writes. "Writing and painting helped me to commune with my Self, to gain spiritual insight and to feel much less alone."
"Living Room Monster" is just one of many poems that touch on the raw emotions of life and the revelations that O'Vivian has experienced throughout the years:
You sit before it - hypnotized - / as the black eye takes on new life./ The minutes pass by, one by one,/ The world continues on its spin./ Then, suddenly, the night is gone./ You break away, again alone, and shuffle off to bed./ You go to work, a wasted day,/ and hurry home to see your friends/ in that black monster once again./ Your feelings are its plaything./ Your Will no longer tries./ . . . / Still, you sit there night by night,/ and nights turn into years./ Then, suddenly, your life is gone./ . . . ,/ and shuffle to your resting place -/ you and the Self you would not face.
O'Vivian is a versatile author and artist who expresses her inner truths with clarity and passion. In Diary of a Seeker readers have the opportunity to peer at O'Vivian's reality and, perhaps, their own as well.
O'Vivian has spent a lifetime writing and painting. Her poetry is reminiscent of the dark verses of Edgar Allen Poe, she says. She paints in a variety of styles, including impressionism in oils, surrealism in mixed media, using brush and ink. O'Vivian has won several awards for her visual art. A resident of the Pacific Northwest, she holds degrees in psychology and sociology. More information is available at www.ovivian.com.
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