Where the Fog has No Name

Conceived in a sea fret, whilst resident artist for ‘Djerassi: Scientific Delirium Madness’, 2018

Elements of Paint

Barbara H. Berrie, grew into her name;
a scrap of a girl, all angles. She felt at odds

with the round sound on her tongue,
her name passed down through generations.

We walk and talk, about many things:
including where the sea ends and sky begins.

The chemist in her is so precise, she thinks carefully before
she opens the lid on the depth and breadth of her knowledge,

the elements of paint in sky:

Azurite,
Ultramarine,
Prussian Blue,
Cerulean,
Smalt.

The landscape speaks.

When asked to name the colour of sun
her answer is considered. By sun, you mean fire,
a sunset spectrum. Well now let me see.

You’ll need red oxide, deep orange, canary yellow
then something paler, diffuse sunlight:

Minium,
Gamboge,
Aureolin,
Litharge.