Drawing beauty and wisdom from the well of my heart
Welcome! I’m Elizabeth Frank, a poet and mixed media artist from the Boston area. Writing poems and making art are how I make sense of the world, make beauty for the world, and reach out to the world. I’m glad you’re here. If any of these pieces move or inspire you, please let me know. I’d love to hear from you!
Collage Poems and Collages
Publications
Originally published in The Harpy Hybrid Review
Originally published in The Coop: A Poetry Collaborative
I have always loved color and self-expression. When I was little, my mom and I used to paint together with big kid paints and brushes, and I remember her showing me how to make birds with 2 black, curved lines meeting to make a V.
It took me a long time to call myself an artist, though. Calling myself an artist was like a very fancy and large outfit I slowly grew and expanded into over many years. A key part of my journey toward artistic freedom was going through Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way. This book was truly transformative, and I highly recommend it for anyone who wants your outer world (what you do, how you spend your time) to better reflect and correspond with your inner world (your dreams, your desires and passions).
My creative journey
Why '“Glint into Fire”?
The name “Glint into Fire” comes from the last line of one of my poems, “Just Getting Started”. The poem speaks to my experience of how hard it can be to create something new. When you come across a work of art (or a new social movement, or a new endeavor…), it’s easy to assume that it came effortlessly and that the creators have always been overflowing with confidence. But, at least for me, creating often involves pushing through many obstacles and great resistance, whether internal (self-doubt, fear of messing up…) or external (others’ expectations, the demands of life…). The poem ends by describing what I’ve experienced: that in order to create, I need both strength and softness, both gentleness and courage. It’s a mixture of a prayer and a hope and a belief, and it’s a blessing I give to you: “knowing we hold the power / to become a flame, our voices / strong and soft enough / to sing this glint into fire.”
