the fountain, Monotype of the Day #794

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Day 62 of year 3

This is the ghost print from last night's plate with another layer on top. I've used tonight's poem by Rilke before but from a different translator who gives it a slightly different flavor. I so wish I could read it in the original German!

Sonnets to Orpheus II, XII By Rilke, Trans. Barrows and Macey

Want the change. Be inspired by the flame
where everything shines as it disappears.
The artist, when sketching, loves nothing so much
as the curve of the body as it turns away.

What locks itself in sameness has congealed.
Is it safer to be gray and numb?
What turns hard becomes rigid
and is easily shattered.

Pour yourself out like a fountain.
Flow into the knowledge that what you are seeking
finishes often at the start, and, with ending, begins.

Every happiness is the child of a separation
it did not think it could survive. And Daphne, becoming a laurel,
dares you to become the wind.

From In Praise of Mortality https://amzn.to/33tnNiq

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the conversation, Monotype of the Day #742

Day 11 of Year 3

Every time work starts to change, it feels risky and uncomfortable. There is so much momentum pulling you in the same direction to do the same thing. An artist needs strength and courage to pull themselves free. This is especially true because new work sometimes falls flat, it may take time to find your stride. Radical trust in the studio is essential. It is the faith that everything done in the studio, good, bad, or ugly, has meaning and purpose to your process though you may never know why. Lately I've felt in a bit of a rut with my work, it's felt too easy. But the past few night's it's felt uncomfortable. That is good, it's the sweet spot where internal change and external change happen. Staying with these uncomfortable feelings is transformational to the work and to the self. It's not easy, but it is an essential part of being an artist. If you are an artist, you have been given the strength and courage needed to transform. Believe in yourself. The river of creativity is always there flowing by. Dive in, you will be carried past the rapids to the sea.

the spring, Monotype of the Day #708

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Day 338 of Year 2 (Actually Day 343)

The fountain or spring is such a hopeful symbol, the deep and irrepressible source of creativity breaking through the hard shell of the material world. It's always there, this underground well, a gift for every human to tap. In troubling times it is great comfort to have this inner resource. Through deep listening I have found solace, nurturing, and profound connection. More and more I find my true work is listening to the tinkle and splash of this spring and then transcribing.

The Fountain
By Denise Levertov

Don’t say, don’t say there is no water
to solace the dryness at our hearts.
I have seen

the fountain springing out of the rock wall
and you drinking there. And I too
before your eyes

found footholds and climbed
to drink the cool water.

The woman of that place, shading her eyes,
frowned as she watched — but not because
she grudged the water,

only because she was waiting
to see we drank our fill and were
refreshed.

Don’t say, don’t say there is no water.
That fountain is there among its scalloped
green and gray stones,

it is still there and always there
with its quiet song and strange power
to spring in us,

up and out through the rock.
From Selected Poems https://amzn.to/2Y5nlUE

overflowing, Monotype of the Day #554

Day 184 of Year 2 (Actually Day 189)

it was tough to make this image. I'm a little scattered from my opening last night. There are three overwhelming feelings I have right now: 1) Gratitude for all the people who came out to my opening; 2) Gratitude for all the help I've received putting the show together. I couldn't have down it without such amazing support; & 3) A strong urge to get going on my new projects! The studio is empty and I'm raring to go! Until tomorrow... xo

dream of falling water, Monotype of the Day #529

Day 159 of Year 2 (Actually Day 164)

The last number of days fountain / waterfall images keep coming out, but this feels like the end of that energy for now. I can't say why, but I have real sense of completion. Maybe later understanding will come, maybe not. So many energies that work through us are not for the conscious mind to understand, we must just stay the course and trust. The longer I make art, the more I understand just how essential trust is to the process. Without it the artist is condemned to repeat themselves in an every deepening rut.
The whole intense, fun, and sometimes stressful journey of prepping for my solo show has also reminded me to trust. The more I've let go of control and allowed things to unfold in their own time, the more miraculous instances of help have appeared. I am very grateful and I am really looking forward to sharing more of my work with you.


This work is paired with "For Presence" by John O’Donohue from To Bless the Space Between Us https://amzn.to/2PRTsVm

the fountain with fish, Monotype of the Day #527

Day 157 of Year 2 (Actually Day 162)

So I did this print earlier, but I wasn't able to post until now. A little, but temporary, step backward in my determination to post earlier in the day. I'm busy with visiting family & holiday & show prep. It's that time of year and I'm sure you're busy too. I am so grateful for my monotype of the day project which makes certain I still have my sacred studio time even with the general chaotic nature of the season. I hope you find your own sacred space to ground you in the face of the beautiful ups and challenging downs that this time of year often brings. xoxo

the fountain at night, Monotype of the Day #526

Day 156 of Year 2 (Actually Day 1 61)

I had a great day and made some really exciting progress on a new installation piece. As often happens, a kernel of the idea for this piece popped into my head like a gift one day and the act of working caused it to expand and grow. The piece involves light, which is a brand new material for me. I was really worried about finding all the technology to finish it but then I remembered the idea was given to me. I relaxed knowing the idea wouldn't have come to me if it weren't possible to complete. I kept working, trusting everything would unfold and be well. Out of nowhere, about halfway through the piece, someone volunteered to help me in the studio. I showed him the piece and he had a contact who could help. I was able to hire that person to do the technical aspect of the lighting and the demo was tonight. It's even better than I expected. I'm really thrilled. Sometimes making art is a leap of faith. I had no idea how to do this or where to look for help when I started it. If I had used comfort zone and current ability as measures, the idea would have been set aside. Instead, trust in process and trust in working brought me through.

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

the fountain, Monotype of the Day #507

Day 141 of Year 2 (Actually Day 142)

I've posted this poem before, but I love it and it says so much

The Fountain
By Denise Levertov

Don’t say, don’t say there is no water
to solace the dryness at our hearts.
I have seen

the fountain springing out of the rock wall
and you drinking there. And I too
before your eyes

found footholds and climbed
to drink the cool water.

The woman of that place, shading her eyes,
frowned as she watched — but not because
she grudged the water,

only because she was waiting
to see we drank our fill and were
refreshed.

Don’t say, don’t say there is no water.
That fountain is there among its scalloped
green and gray stones,

it is still there and always there
with its quiet song and strange power
to spring in us,

up and out through the rock.

From Selected Poems https://amzn.to/2Y5nlUE

The Spring, Monotype of the Day #423

Day 58 of Year 2

There is so much sacred poetry alluding to springs, fountains, and rivers. I've always seen these as symbols of creativity, the fundamentally generative stream that undergirds all of life.

The Fountain
by John of the Cross, Trans. Willis Barnstone

How well I know that flowing spring in black of night.

The eternal fountain is unseen.
How well I know where she has been in black of night.

I do not know her origin.
None. Yet in her all things begin in black of night.

I know that nothing is so fair
and earth and firmament drink there in black of night.

I know that none can wade inside
to find her bright bottomless tide in black of night.

Her shining never has a blur;
I know that all light comes from her in black of night.

I know her streams converge and swell
and nourish people, skies and hell in black of night.

The stream whose birth is in this source
I know has a gigantic force in black of night.

The stream from but these two proceeds
yet neither one, I know, precedes in black of night.

The eternal fountain is unseen
in living bread that gives us being in black of night.

She calls on all mankind to start
to drink her water, though in dark, for black is night.

O living fountain that I crave,
in bread of life I see her flame in black of night.

From To Touch the Sky, Poems of Spiritual & Metaphysical Light https://amzn.to/2NUpnnE

the fountain, Monotype of the Day #410

Day 45 of Year 2

I am feeling unsatisfied in the studio this week. This happens, it's part of the creative process designed to keep an artist growing. I still feel immense gratitude for each monotype that comes through and I really like this print. It's not that, it's more that making this week's prints felt too safe and easy. There is a tension between experiencing flow or being "in the zone" and the discomfort of exploring new territory and the potential for failure. The potential for failure is so important to keep the work alive and energetic. Safety is the enemy of art. Patience, I tell myself again, have faith and keep working. I am delving for the eternal fountain of creativity deep inside and those who seek will find.


The Fountain
By Denise Levertov

Don’t say, don’t say there is no water
to solace the dryness at our hearts.
I have seen

the fountain springing out of the rock wall
and you drinking there. And I too
before your eyes

found footholds and climbed
to drink the cool water.

The woman of that place, shading her eyes,
frowned as she watched — but not because
she grudged the water,

only because she was waiting
to see we drank our fill and were
refreshed.

Don’t say, don’t say there is no water.
That fountain is there among its scalloped
green and gray stones,

it is still there and always there
with its quiet song and strange power
to spring in us,

up and out through the rock