the path, Monotype of the Day #716

Day 346 of Year 2 (Actually Day 351)

This is the ghost from yesterday with a couple of new layers. I've gotten into the habit of ghost printing every plate and using it as an underlayer for the next day's print. Because of this, the prints are feeling like a continuing conversation rather than individual pieces. I'm enjoying listening to them talk as the days unfold, one piece adding understanding and meaning to the last.

I Go Down To The Shore
By Mary Oliver

I go down to the shore in the morning
and depending on the hour the waves
are rolling in or moving out,
and I say, oh, I am miserable,
what shall—
what should I do? And the sea says
in its lovely voice:
Excuse me, I have work to do.

From A Thousand Mornings: https://amzn.to/2BkaKWL

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

you are invited, Monotype of the Day #488

Day 122 of Year 2 (Actually Day 123)

Every moment is an open invitation. If I am quiet, I hear my studio calling. So many times and places in my life I felt I did not belong. I think this must be a common feeling for artists. Ours is not the common path. We are lucky though, because we always have a place were we belong without question. The studio is always calling, always inviting us in. It is the place where we are wanted just as we are with faults and imperfections and, where we accept who we really are, beautifully imperfect partners in the pageant of creation.

The Fist
By Mary Oliver

There are days
when the sun goes down
like a fist,
though of course

if you see anything
in the heavens
in this way
you had better get

your eyes checked
or, better, still
your diminished spirit.
The heavens

have no fist,
or wouldn't they have been
shaking it
for a thousand years now,

and even
longer than that,
at the dull, brutish
ways of mankind—

heaven's own
creation?
Instead: such patience!
Such willingness

to let us continue!
To hear,
little by little,
the voices—

only, so far, in
pockets of the world—
suggesting
the possibilities

of peace?
Keep looking.
Behold, how the fist opens
with invitation.

From Thirst https://amzn.to/2O69o4m

seek and you will find, Monotype of the Day #486

486.jpg

Day 120 of Year 2 (Actually Day 121)

We all have a certain amount of life force, an allotted time to work our magic in this world. When I leave this earth, I want to go having spent every drop of my life force. We are here to evolve and leave this earth more expanded and loving than we came in. The hard work of growing and opening our hearts, is so important. To grow is challenging, but with this goal in mind every imperfect footprint we leave behind is filled with love. Tonight I feel such sweet gratitude for my many imperfections and for my chance to try again tomorrow to seek my better self. This is a thing I will do everyday until my days are no more. Perhaps I will make progress, but that is not for me to judge. My job is to keep putting one foot in front of the other and keep seeking the Light. I hope you give yourself credit for how difficult this journey can be and how many times you have triumphed in the face of challenge. Your journey matters and I salute your courage. xoxo

If You Want
By Dorothy Walters

If you want to feel
the sweet light
flow over your body,
then give yourself to light.

If you want
to taste the secret honey
you must allow your throat
to open.

Moth to candle,
straw to flame,
you are nothing but
materials for burning.

From: The Ley Lines of the Soul: Poems of Ecstasy and Ascension https://amzn.to/33BrBx8

The Way, Monotype of the Day #451

Day 85 of Year 2 (Actually Day 86)

I had a lot of fun making this monotype tonight. I'm not usually aware of having fun while working, it's more of a meditative state. But I think playfulness is important. It's another way to set the ego aside and let what comes come. The second image is a picture of the plate just before I printed this image in the comments. I thought you might find it interesting. xo

What Harbinger?
By Denise Levertov

Glitter of grey
oarstrokes over
the waveless, dark,
secretive water.
A boat is moving
toward me
slowly, but who
is rowing and what
it brings I can’t
yet see.

From Sands of the Well https://amzn.to/31UnwTI

Tunnel of Love, Monotype of the Day #444

Day 78 of Year 2 (Actually Day 79)

I'm sort of obsessing on this fiery boat right now. It's meaning is not clear to me yet. I'm also using a smaller plate (8"x10") and that makes the experience of working more intimate and focused. There is less space for distraction and overworking. Switching it up is a necessary part of a healthy art practice. Ruts lead to droughts. Wishing all those who celebrate a very healthy and sweet New Year. xo

the artist is held, Monotype of the Day #261

261.jpg

Mystics describe a transformative state called the Dark Night of the Soul. It is a moment when life is complete chaos and everything is going wrong. We feel utterly lost and abandoned by the divine. But rather than being lost, mystics believe this is the moment when we are actually held closest to the divine. We are lodged deeply in divine reason which seems like chaos to the human mind, so close to the divine that you are literally blinded by the Light. All appears in darkness and no path forward is clear. This state is necessary to transform and breakdown old structures and beliefs that stand in the way of growth and change. It is the undoing of the ties that bind us to our easy habits and well worn ruts which hold us back. It is the way of the artist to embrace and surrender to change.

the artist leaves footprints, Monotype of the Day #239

239.jpg

Wow, really late tonight. I've needed to make this image for 2 day but was out of ink. Thanks to the ultra fabulous @wildcherryart for the art supply run while I was under the weather! We all leave footprints behind in the world. In our footprints are echoes of the eternal footprint of The Artist, the ceaseless source of all creativity. it is the challenge of the artist to be still and silent long enough to hear The Artist in our own steps. It is so late that I wonder if perhaps I'm not making any sense tonight at all. if this is so, just look at the image. Images hold so much more than words can ever convey anyway. xoxo -