VOLUME II:
MURMURATION
spring 2024
space as an invitation
Dear Painters of Words, Composers of Color, Designers of Motion, and Sculptors of Songs,
As your eyes wander over each letter in this line, what do you hear? What sounds and words are running in the background of your screen or mind? No matter when and where this reaches you, please pause, and simply listen. Listen to the suspension between inhale and exhale. Listen to the silence between sentences, “to do” lists, and text messages. Listen to the space between spaces, between backyards, galleries, and seashores.
Space can be simplicity,
space can be lonely,
space can be beauty.
Space can be filled,
or held.
Spaciousness is wholeness.
Space is an invitation, an invitation to let inner senses lead to boundless renewal. Artists shape spaces by asking questions, initiating conversations, drawing and redrawing conclusions, continually framing and reframing realities and possibilities. Poet-ornithologist J. Drew Lanham exemplifies this process in “A Convergent Imagining,” in which he asks us to envision different plumages flocking together toward reciprocal causes.
In the space between volumes of Tilt, WAABEL’s annual magazine, we are looking upward to human and avian artists stretching across soil, sea, and sky. To counter the chaos that pollutes our planet and everyday lives, we encourage you to take a micro-retreat, to find a place where you can listen to your surroundings, allowing the breeze and your body to lead. Trust your instincts, let them show you to a patio, a swing set, or a pond. Wherever you go, and no matter how long you stay, suspend your intentions. How does it feel to follow a calling that you can sense but not yet fully see?
When you feel ready, translate your experience into words, images, music, or movement. No matter the medium, illustrate the story of your presence with this space. If this tale longs to be told, please consider submitting it for consideration for the second volume of Tilt magazine. As the seasons lead us toward the new year, we will weave these multimedia stories into a murmuration of the insights that arise from your restorative engagement with invisible possibilities. We do not know the precise shape this will take or where it will go, but we are trusting the ecosystems of and around you.
If you feel drawn to contribute, please answer the call in the space below. We will answer shortly, as movement takes shape.
windwords
as dust dissolves
into constellations,
cumulus clouds sprout from
moth song mythology
black and copper keys lead
from the familiarity of uncertainty
into the shallow water of melting wallpaper,
from fingerprint choreography
into the spacious stillness of a sand dollar gallery.
sea stars convey the art of simplicity
by hiding like honeybees
within forgotten freckles.
firebirds display the science of spontaneity
by breathing featherprint signatures
into the soil,
or dancing to the heartbeats of earthworms
wishing upon soaring starlings.
we watch them waving
at neighborly amphibians,
longing for liberation
from linear time
and recycled lenses,
watching and waiting
to hear butterfly wings unfolding
one by one
upon the fragrance of photosynthetic fireflies.
MURMURATION IN MOTION:
THE NEXT WAVE
VOLUME I:
THE LITERARY GREENHOUSE
winter 2023
water as a pathway
EDITORS' NOTE
Our annual magazine emerged from a shared dream for a space that combines a greenhouse with a library. As writers rather than architects, we wondered, could we build with words? Without walls to limit our vision, could we invite everyone to explore this warm and stimulating environment? Tilt celebrates natural cycles as well as expansive ideas. The title conveys the complementary nature of WAABEL’s grounding and ground-breaking qualities. Amidst uncertainty, we value balance and motion equally.
​
On both individual and collective levels, growing involves wobbling. Tilting intentionally prepares us to navigate unexpected waves. It reminds us that we can lean forward, backward, to one side, or the other in response to the wind. We can stretch along angles and diagonals, testing different directions until we find one that supports our needs and goals in the moment. There is never just one way to orient to change. In the continual quest for balance, tilting allows us to shift and adjust in boundless ways. Its adaptogenic motion nurtures interlocking ecosystems. The Arts & Culture sector, for instance, is nested within local and global ecosystems shaped by social, racial, political, colonial, economic, and environmental factors. It is composed of artists, entrepreneurs, audiences, and the people, pets, and house plants that influence their daily lives.
​
The WAABEL community sees relationality as a key to the creation, communication, and reception of artistic work. Through curiosity, courage, and collaboration, our ecosystem seeks to tilt the Arts & Culture sphere in more accessible, ethical, and sustainable directions.
We hope that when you engage with the magazine, you will pause, tilt your head, and ponder the possibilities presented by our creative contributors. Whether you agree, disagree, or simply feel intrigued by what you see, we hope that it prompts thoughtful considerations and inspiring conversations.
