A POEM BY STEPHANIE BINDEMAN

A Resting Place

I have the luxury of a little time to spare

Quite deliberately I planned it so;

Not just to calm the nerves, gain strength

Before the central purpose of the day

But to also gain the opportunity to observe.

Take in, record, refresh, restore.

I rest in peaceful solitude,

Quite still and silent, feeling small

Within your overwhelming mass of soothing greens.

Humble, undefined organic shapes

Sit shyly

beneath proud, overarching, architectural forms.

Layers upon layers

Rough rubbing shoulders with the smooth,

A plethora of greens, blues, yellows, white.

I get a glimpse of hidden gems and mysteries,

Hints of what lies behind, beyond,

Tucked away within the shadows.

Then from above,

Shafts of light, bolt through the glass

Splinter and somehow find their way

Through the mass, the density;

Bringing with them optimism, hope

To land beside me at my feet.

Oasis

65x80cm | Oil on canvas

Botanical Gardens Cambridge

The artist

About Stephanie Bindeman

I started my career with a BA (hons) in Art and Design at Manchester, specialising in Textiles. After initially doing freelance work, I moved to Leicester to do a PGCE and then obtained a teaching post in Suffolk. I later took up the position of Head of Art in a large Secondary School, a position I held for many years. Although I still do a little teaching, I am now retired and have the time to pursue my own work. I paint for pleasure, sometimes to commission and have recently started exhibiting in both Suffolk and London.