rising, Monotype of the Day #797

Day 65 of year 3

Lately I've been making a real effort to get out into nature on a regular basis. It's something I haven't done consistently since I was a child and it's changing me. Each trip feels like dust falling from my eyes. My vision is clearer and I definitely feel more grounded. Sometimes when you feel a little blocked up like I have this last week, the best thing to do is get out of your head and clear the mind. One of the things that has been frustrating me is the small size of my printing plate. My experiments at going larger have all been failures. Today it dawned on me that I need to make my own plates out of gelatin. I'll start with small-sized tests but I'm hoping to be able to get really large with it. We shall see, I've ordered the supplies. It's at times like these that I really do miss my studio assistant because some things are challenging because of my physical limitations. I've learned to have patience though. I do what I can and try to find creative workarounds for the rest. If I absolutely can't figure out how to do something, I remind myself that all things have their proper time. I trust that time will come and, while I am waiting, I turn my process to something else. One foot in front of the other and eventually all will be done.

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nightscape, Monotype of the Day #725

Day 355 of Year 2 (Actually Day 360)

I haven't had much energy the past week. Life is full of choices but when your energy is limited your choices are like a knife slicing away parts of life that you love. Over time I've made peace with this aspect of my journey though sometimes, it's still not easy. In the US we are doers, but the beauty of my situation is in learning the power of being. Being is the place where creativity lives, where we find the ground from which all things must grow. Even unwanted pauses allow space for new ideas, work, or directions to root. I turn to tonight's poem (which I have posted before) to remind we of this because it's easy to forget when you desire to do but cannot.

Gitanjali #81
by Rabindranath Tagore

On many an idle day have I grieved over lost time. But it is never lost, my lord. Thou hast taken every moment of my life in thine own hands.
Hidden in the heart of things thou art nourishing seeds into sprouts, buds into blossoms, and ripening flowers into fruitfulness.
I was tired and sleeping on my idle bed and imagined all work had ceased. In the morning I woke up and found my garden full with wonders of flowers.

From Gitanjali https://amzn.to/38iqHao

seascape again, Monotype of the Day #659

Day 289 of Year 2 (Actually Day 294)

I seem to return to this seascape over and over again. It's a strong reflection of my inner world. Sometimes it comes out calm and I can feel its energy easing and opening. But tonight it's a bit of a chaotic garble. This doesn't surprise me. It sometimes feels to me like we are each in an isolated boat at the whim of winds and waves, hoping for sight of land. The yellow on the horizon here seems strangely hopeful as do the veiled symbols throughout. Our inner lives are alive and ticking. Seeds are being planted and plots hatched. I often have to remind myself, patience Sybil, patience. My love to all those who are sick or suffering.

below the surface, Monotype of the Day #643

Day 273 of Year 2 (Actually Day 278)

Something is ready to shift in my work, but it's below the surface. I can feel it bubbling just out of reach. Often when I hit a rough patch, like the last few weeks, it's because something old needs to crumble to make room for something new. It's uncomfortable to say the least. No one likes to make work they don't feel good about. But every artist will tell you this common experience: they hated their work at the time but looking back, they find it was actually okay and sometimes even good. Our way of seeing is shaped by judgment and expectations. Our inner world has to shift and our narrow sight has to open to bring work to the next level. Change is uncomfortable, letting go of expectations and desires can be painful. But a deep embrace of whatever discomfort we are going through brings deep transformation and healing. This healed energy is what comes through in the new work and elevates it from the old. I know this will come. Patience Sybil, patience.

rooted, Monotype of the Day #633

Day 263 of Year 2 (Actually Day 268)

Well our new puppy has absorbed every second of time- free or otherwise. Also today my son, who has been in precautionary quarantine in my basement for two weeks, emerged. It was a VERY busy day. So strange that such a crazy and intense day brings such a centered image. This large moon, barren treescape, and color have been coming up over and over. I've been experimenting with different techniques each night. Last night's process was by far the most successful, at least for me, but tonight's is the calmest. Images work on different levels. There is the external level for viewers of my work and the internal level which is a private message to me, The Artist speaking tenderly to the artist. Not every image speaks deeply to me, but this one is particularly charged. The peaceful color and rooted person are directing me, stay calm, find your center. Though the trees are barren, to me they appear simply to be waiting for signs of spring. Patience will bear fruit.

life force, Monotype of the Day #621

Day 251 of Year 2 (Actually Day 256)

Tonight's poem has brought me so much solace in my life. In many ways, to people who live with long term illness, shelter in place is a familiar feeling. We have had to give up so many things over the years, parties, trips, important family events. We know how much it sucks and how much grief it brings. But we also know that we can grieve our cancelled events and come through on the other side. We have been forced to learn that beauty is possible amid loss and that waiting is just a skill. So now as we wait for this storm to pass I offer you tonight's poem as salve. My love and prayers to all those who are suffering or ill.

Gitanjali 81
By Tagore

On many an idle day have I grieved over lost time. But it is never lost, my lord. Thou hast taken every moment of my life in thine own hands.
Hidden in the heart of things thou art nourishing seeds into sprouts, buds into blossoms, and ripening flowers into fruitfulness.
I was tired and sleeping on my idle bed and imagined all work had ceased. In the morning I woke up and found my garden full with wonders of flowers.

From Gitanjali https://amzn.to/2Ux6jgV

self portrait with chaos, Monotype of the Day #610

Day 240 of Year 2 (Actually Day 245)

Every few months a self portrait comes up. Sometimes they are a way of learning something new about myself, sometimes they are to relieve feelings. Tonight's piece is the latter. Although I am generally feeling calm, it's hard not to pickup on all the anxiety in the air. It's important to acknowledge and embrace whatever it is we are feeling so it doesn't overpower us. This will pass, this will pass.

Jane Hirshfield just released a stunning new book of poetry called Ledger (https://amzn.to/33nvmXF). I highly recommend it. Tonight's poem, from Ledger, is excerpted from the poem Nine Pebbles. It is a work of deep calm and stillness. It helped me to touch this energy today.

This work is paired with "Retrospective" by Jane Hirshfield

You can find it here: https://briefpoems.wordpress.com/2023/03/06/pebbles-brief-poems-by-jane-hirshfield/

from Ledger https://amzn.to/33nvmXF

keyholes by moonlight, Monotype of the Day #601

Day 231 of Year 2 (Actually Day 236)

I seem to be obsessed by keyholes right now (if you haven't noticed 😊). I'm pretty worn out, but I'm so filled up by my solo show experience that as I am resting, a torrent of new ideas are flowing through. I hope I'm able to get to work soon. It's challenging to wait and feel life moving forward while you stay at rest. During times like these, I take great comfort in today's poem by Tagore.

Gitanjali #81
by Rabindranath Tagore On many an idle day have I grieved over lost time. But it is never lost, my lord. Thou hast taken every moment of my life in thine own hands. Hidden in the heart of things thou art nourishing seeds into sprouts, buds into blossoms, and ripening flowers into fruitfulness. I was tired and sleeping on my idle bed and imagined all work had ceased. In the morning I woke up and found my garden full with wonders of flowers.

From Gitanjali https://amzn.to/38iqHao

the rescue, Monotype of the Day #482

Day 118 of Year 2 (Actually Day 119)

I am rescued everyday by my work. Especially on a day like today when most of my time was spent sleeping, making my print brought meaning. Hopefully I will be fully recovered soon because there is so much to do for my show in January. I also need more time in the print studio to develop my ideas. Once again my mantra must be patience. It's easier to accept that than it used to be. Small movements forward do add up. Trust, faith, hope- I never understood the dearness of those words until recently. They are not just concepts, they are salve to the heart and grease to cogs that keep me working everyday. I am grateful for their gifts.

the blessing, Monotype of the Day #461

Day 95 of Year 2 (Actually Day 96)

There is a magical air about the studio these days. I made some real progress today finishing up some old projects that have been hanging around. I am so grateful for the help of my studio assistant. I'm also grateful for a person who recently showed up out of the blue with some much needed expertise. He is helping me make a piece I've been dancing around for ages. It's taken so many years to understand that the less I try to force projects to happen, the more things move. Each time I stop myself from pressing against an obstacle with a gentle, "patience Sybil, patience. It's okay not to see the way", something new and exciting opens up.

To Know the Dark
by Wendell Berry

To go in the dark with a light is to know the light.
To know the dark, go dark. Go without sight,
and find that the dark, too, blooms and sings,
and is traveled by dark feet and dark wings.

From The Selected Poems of Wendell Berry https://amzn.to/33MW1wf

empty, Monotype of the Day #449

Day 83 of Year 2 (Actually Day 84)

This piece feels undone to me but every time I tried to add something, it did not come. I've gotten much better at following directions so I was able to leave it even though it was the last thing I wanted to do. Looking at this monotype is uncomfortable, it feels messy and unfinished. My ego definitely didn't want to post it. 🙂 Then I realized this is moment of emptiness and uncertainty just before becoming, just before new arrives. This piece is holding the space void of myself, empty of ego, that allows for rebirth. The discomfort comes from not knowing, the strength comes from waiting. Things will unfold in their own time. I can sense them lingering just outside of the frame, dancing on the edge of my vision.

Untitled, Monotype of the Day #441

Day 75 of Year 2 (Actually Day 76)

When you have a chronic illness, so much of life is waiting, holding on to and idea or plan until the proper time to hatch it comes along. (I am slowly collecting every Jane Hirshfield book. She is amazing!)

This work is paired with "A Room" by Jane Hirshfield from The Lives of the Heart

Read it here: https://www.ronnowpoetry.com/contents/hirshfield/Room.html

https://amzn.to/2n9tdO4

crack already, Monotype of the Day #440

Day 74 of Year 2 (Actually Day 75)

So many things are cooking in the studio I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. Because I am still recovering from my trip to drop my son at college, I am resting more than I'd like. Recently a friend told me that even with all my health challenges, I get more done than many people. I'd like to believe it's true, but it's hard to feel it when projects that could be moving forward quickly inch along. Everyday, I press forward with my work. Some days it's easy and a joy, and some days it's by sheer will alone anything gets done. Still the minutes on difficult days add up to hours over all, things move forward, and I am grateful. I know that the flow of work carries me forward. Some parts of my stream are wide and slow and some narrow and fast. Patience and faith in process are what is needed.

Sonnets to Orpheus (Book 2, XXIX)
By Rilke, Trans. Barrows & Macy (Link to book below)

Quiet friend who has come so far,
feel how your breathing makes more space around you.

Let this darkness be a bell tower
and you the bell. As you ring,

what batters you becomes your strength.
Move back and forth into the change.
What is it like, such intensity of pain?
If the drink is bitter, turn yourself to wine.

In this uncontainable night,
be the mystery at the crossroads of your senses,
the meaning discovered there.

And if the world has ceased to hear you,
say to the silent Earth: I flow.
To the rushing water, speak: I am.

From In Praise of Mortality: https://amzn.to/2lhW3eS

The Opening (2), Monotype of the Day #425

Day 59 of Year 2 (Actually Day 60)

Still approaching the keyhole. What will be inside? It makes me feel hopeful. I've seen lots of art this week so I feel hopeful and inspired too. However, lifting my arm has been a bit difficult which has made monotyping more challenging. Luckily it seems to be dissipating. I've learned to respect these pains because they always have something to say. Still, and surprisingly, the work is about this keyhole and not the pain. This tells me there are more important things afoot. Patience, work, and listening are all that's required for now.