burning, Monotype of the Day #817

817-burning.jpg

Day 85 of year 3

A Cloth of Fine Gold
By Dorothy Walters

You may think that first lit flame was the ultimate blaze, the holy fire entered at last.

What do you know of furnaces? This is a sun that returns again and again, refining, igniting, pouring your spirit through a cloth of delicate gold until all dross is taken and you are sweet as clarified butter in god's mouth.

From A Cloth of Fine Gold https://amzn.to/3iD4WHt

For more information about the process of monotype and the Monotype of the Day project click here.
You can purchase this monotype here.

looking out, Monotype of the Day #751

Day 20 of Year 3

Always, The Turning
By Dorothy Walters

Yes. I know how it is
to go with uncertain feet,
a burden which grows
heavier
with each step.

I too have felt the silence
fall through the thickening air,
dark currents to carry you
into foreboding channels.

Always, there is the turning,
light descending
into darkness,
the constant reversal
of the poles.

The other face of love.

From A Cloth of Fine Gold https://amzn.to/33jgjjW

presence, Monotype of the Day #604

Day 234 of Year 2 (Actually Day 239)

Yesterday's spat with my new printing press took its toll on me. I woke up exhausted, that wheel is HARD to turn! So I decided to take a breath tonight and go back to a more traditional monotype. Here I'm experimenting with multiple thin layers of texture. Lately I've been taking ghost prints of everything I make, but often they are not strong enough to use a a completed piece. I saved them knowing they would be of use at some point. In this piece, there are three layers of texture- soapy ink I left on the plate, the ink I put down over it, and the ghost ink already on the paper. It's an interesting effect. I'm definitely going to play with this more. When in doubt, play. Until tomorrow... xo

Your Ocean
By Dorothy Walters


When you are in love
you do not say
you are near love
or beside love,
or seeking to know
love's truth.
You say you are in love.
Never mind how you got here.
This is your ocean.
Drown in it.
From A Cloth of Fine Gold https://amzn.to/3cLgQxp

the keyhole visits the beach, Monotype of the Day #595

Day 225 of Year 2 (Actually Day 230)

Tonight I made muted seascape after seascape. In the final one, a keyhole appeared. I grew up in Los Angeles and spent a lot of time staring off at the ocean. It was a meditative, healing experience. I guess I need that calming regenerative energy right now because the image I planned to make disappeared the minute I stood in front of my plate! My show has been a wonderful experience. I have been spiritually filled and nourished but physically depleted. I'm fine with that. When you live with illness, you learn there is a fine line between conserving your energy and strength and unnecessarily losing opportunities. It's really tricky because it's next to impossible to be certain how much energy you will have on a given day. You don't want to push yourself so far you get into a mess, but you also don't want to be so timid you miss things you might actually be able to do. It's a constant quandary. Some days 5 minutes in the studio is overdoing and some days two hours or more is overdoing. The key is accepting where you are and what is possible at the present moment. I just take it one day at a time and know that even 5 minutes a day adds up to something real over time. One foot in front of the other and eventually you arrive. I'm feeling incredibly grateful for my show, all the amazing visitors, the outpouring of love, & my ability to continuing working. xoxo

Even if You Have Trudged
By Dorothy Walters

It is never too late.
Even if you have trudged
through snow and ice
for a thousand miles
and still have not arrived.
Even if the map is lost
and the compass broken.
When the eagle who is
supposed to guide you
goes off on a tangent
of its own
and you know you are,
once again, deserted
do not fall into
the pit of despair.
It will return,
brighter than ever.
There will be feather tokens
falling down.

Nothing is irredeemable.
Nothing is lost forever.
Be guided by the stars.
Let the moonlight
direct your steps.

There will be a path
which will open
in the forest.
The treasure which is yours
is waiting.
Claim it.

From her blog: http://kundalinisplendor.blogsp

dream of life, Monotype of the Day #573

Day 203 of Year 2 (Actually Day 208)

Tonight was the sacred poetry reading in conjunction with my show. It was wonderful and I am grateful to everyone who came out. Hearing some of my favorite poems read out loud was amazing. The experience filled me up. It's important for artists to explore other forms of creativity- dance, music, poetry, etc. It stretches the mind and makes you think in different ways. It breaks you out of ruts and refills your creative tank.


Whatever this is
By Dorothy Walters

What is it,
this channeling god,
these words pouring through
like love strokes of light,
these syllables taking over
becoming flesh, my flowing veins,
I cannot remember
when it was not this way,
when my blood did not ache
for whatever this is.

From a Cloth of Fine Gold https://amzn.to/375k9eu

reflected, Monotype of the Day #571

Day 201 of Year 2 (Actually Day 206)

A Language You Once Knew
By Dorothy Walters

There will be an invitation.
It will not come tied in ribbons
nor a message streaming down
from the sky.

There will be no Roman candles
sizzling
nor brilliant colors
exploding overhead.

Instead there will be a soft
whisper
in your ear,
something in a language
you once knew
and are trying to learn again.

In order to hear it,
you will need to
put down all your packages,
stop everything you are doing
and stand very still
then wait. . .

From A Cloth of Fine Gold https://amzn.to/37TYwze

hidden echo, Monotype of the Day #542

Day 172 of Year 2 (Actually Day 177)

Another calming image tonight. I'm feeling unaccountably relaxed considering I have just 5 days to get everything completed for my show. I was really stressed for a while but my daily practice of monotypes brought me back down to earth. The value of positive habits can't be overstated. They ground you in moments of chaos or pressure. They remind you that life goes on and our drama is just that, drama. Trees will keep blooming, grass will still grow, and I will continue to brush my teeth until I take my last breath and my creativity passes to another. Our own insignificance in the passage of time is strangely comforting. Without the pressure of self imposed ideas of greatness or importance we are free to truly be ourselves and create marvelous things. This week, I'm just breathing and putting one foot in front of the other. xo

Until Even the Angels
By Dorothy Walters

What the heart wants
is to follow its true passion,
to lie down with it
near the reeds beside
the river,
to devour it in the caves
between the desert dunes,
to sing its notes
into the morning sky
until even the angels
wake up
and take notice
and look around
for their beloved.

From A Cloth of Fine Gold https://amzn.to/2QMn2uE

the river, Monotype of the Day #512

Day 146 of Year 2 (Actually Day 147)

It's coming down to the wire to prep my solo show in January. I have enough work to fill the gallery several times over, but I have a few new pieces in the works that I'm super excited about. They are very large and multi sensory and, of course, need work! Also the sheer immensity of the task of photographing, color correcting, and inventorying my monotypes as well as, placing them into portfolios by month, etc. can feel overwhelming at times. There is so much to do that it's taking a lot of perseverance, to get myself into the print studio. I'm definitely not going to let busyness get in my way though. I'm always glad when I do make my print. It's like a breath of fresh air in the midst of it all. When I'm finished, I feel certainty that all the work for my show will be done. (poem below the title)

Don't Make Lists
By Dorothy Walters

Every day a new flower rises
from your body's fresh soil.
Don't go around looking
for fallen petals
in a fairy tale, when you've
got the golden plant
right here, now,
shooting forth in light from your eyes,
your awakening crown.

Don't make lists,
or explore ancient accounts.
Forget everything you know
and open.

From Marrow of Flame https://amzn.to/2sMv4v8

home, Monotype of the Day #498

Day 132 of Year 2 (Actually Day 133

It's comforting to see this figure finally come to rest and stop falling. I feel at peace.

The Mystery
By Dorothy Walters
Some come at it
with weights and measures,
some waving a sieve.
Some sing to it,
ballads and carols,
hoping to coax forth
its hidden center,
unwind the sheath
of who it is.
Some tap on it,
or deal heavy blows
with hammers,
trying to smash
its thick shield,
force it to bow down.
Some seek ways to clamber in,
explore its hidden vaults
and chambers.
Some lie down beside it,
breathe its cool scent,
become its own self.

From The Ley Lines of the Soul https://amzn.to/2qtRCAl

on point, Monotype of the Day #495

Day 129 of Year 2 (Actually Day 130)

Hymn to the Nameless One
By Dorothy Walters

Now as the year swings down,
and the darkness encloses
even the smallest bird,
the largest animal,
and we too enter the hour
when everything is falling once more
into the twilight
of not knowing,
what we ask is that
you be with us,
not as a pillar of fire
nor a blaze across
the heavens,
but like water
at rest in a pitcher
which catches the morning light
and is filled
with its own radiance.

From Ley Lines of the Soul: Poems of Ecstasy and Ascension https://amzn.to/2XCnFdq