Day 25 of Year 3
I'm experimenting with watercolor tonight instead of ink. It's quite interesting to work with because you can layer it on a print in a way that's not possible (or at least easy) to do when painting. This print isn't entirely successful, but I learned a lot and I love nothing more than learning in the studio. The empty boat is me. I am completely out of energy right now. It took determination to get this print done tonight. So I'm off to bed. Sweet dreams to you.
Day 21 of Year 3
This is another one of those images that comes back to me in different ways. These ghostly birds stir something inside with their rustling wings blowing things around. Making them, I feel it internally, the movement of ancient dust being whipped up and stacks of paper flying everywhere. A little chaos is sometimes necessary to provide a chance for new growth, new structures, and a healthier internal world.
The Second Music
By Annie Lighthart
Now I understand that there are two melodies playing,
one below the other, one easier to hear, the other
lower, steady, perhaps more faithful for being less heard
yet always present.
When all other things seem lively and real,
this one fades. Yet the notes of it
touch as gently as fingertips, as the sound
of the names laid over each child at birth.
I want to stay in that music without striving or cover.
If the truth of our lives is what it is playing,
the telling is so soft
that this mortal time, this irrevocable change,
becomes beautiful. I stop and stop again
to hear the second music.
I hear the children in the yard, a train, then birds.
All this is in it and will be gone. I set my ear to it as I would to a heart.
From Iron String https://amzn.to/2EDysOU (which I have just ordered!)
Found on http://www.ayearofbeinghere.com/2015/11/annie-lighthart-second-music.html
http://www.annielighthart.com/
Day 13 of Year 3
This picture is intentionally askew. Why do prints usually sit level on the paper? Maybe there is something pleasing in the balance it brings, but also because it's one of those conventions we never think to challenge. So much of life around us is like that. When something happens as it did to me, limiting the use of my hands, in a way it's a blessing. It forces you to think outside of the box, dive deeply into creativity, and to grow.
Day 10 of Year 3
More of the energy from last night processing through.
From the Zi Ye, a collection of Chinese folk songs from the 6th - 3rd century BCE.
Trans. Arthur Waley
All night I could not sleep
because of the moonlight on my bed.
I kept hearing a voice calling:
Out of Nowhere, Nothing answered "yes."
From a wonderful book, Women in Praise of the Sacred https://amzn.to/2WM5i6x
Day 9 of Year 3
I miss the energy of moving my arms freely while working. My most recent pieces require more control in the making so I broke free tonight and it felt good. I also miss working on my larger-sized non-monotype pieces. Now that my studio is no longer being used for online dances classes by a certain college student I'm looking forward to spreading my wings again. Something is shifting again. So much can happen without ever leaving the house. xo
Day 358 of Year 2 (Actually Day 363)
Of all that God has shown me
By Mechtild of Magdenburg, Trans. Jane Hirshfiled
Of all that God has shown me
I can speak just the smallest word,
Nor more than a honey bee
Takes on his foot
From an overspilling jar.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/55266/of-all-that-god-has-shown-me
From Women is Praise of the Sacred https://amzn.to/2W9x1xz
Day 347 of Year 2 (Actually Day 352)
This print is what I would call a hot mess, but I decided to post it anyway! It's so important for artists to know that failure is part of the process, an essential part. Every piece can't be great or even good. Struggles with an unsuccessful piece so often bring new discoveries, techniques, imagery or etc. They can also serve to jolt us out of complacency. They are a call to wake up, not from doing anything wrong, but to be more alive and present in our practice, to grow and be more conscious. That's a beautiful thing. Artists must make peace with "failed" work and trust that everything we create is an essential part of our journey. It has meaning and purpose though we may not consciously understand why. Creating art is at its most basic level an act of deep and profound trust and intimacy. So trust yourself, trust your process, and know that all will be well in your studio.
PS I've also posted the ghost of the second layer on a more muted paper.
Day 342 of Year 2 (Actually Day 347)
Here is the final print and a ghost print of one of the layers. Tonight I'm liking the simplicity of the ghost, a chance to breathe. Meanwhile, I'm busy researching and plotting how to make bigger prints!
Ladder
By Jane Hirshfield
Read it here: https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2020/oct/19/poem-of-the-week-it-was-as-if-a-ladder-by-jane-hirshfield
From Given Sugar, Given Salt https://amzn.to/2zYBhbv
Day 337 of Year 2 (Actually Day 342)
Day 335 of Year 2 (Actually Day 340)
Touched by an Angel
By Maya Angelou
We, unaccustomed to courage
exiles from delight,
live coiled in shells of loneliness
until love leaves its high holy temple
and comes into our sight
to liberate us into life.
Love arrives
and in its train come ecstasies
old memories of pleasure
ancient histories of pain.
Yet if we are bold,
love strikes away the chains of fear
from our souls.
We are weaned from our timidity
In the flush of love's light
we dare be brave
And suddenly we see
that love costs all we are
and will ever be.
Yet it is only love
which sets us free.
From Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou https://amzn.to/3ftENJW
Day 331 of Year 2 (Actually Day 336)
"There is a voice that does not use words. Listen!"
-Rumi
Making a self portrait is an important tool for staying centered and present. So many things come up each day to pull our attention away. Self portrait helps me be with what is rather than escaping into distraction. My studio practice is at its heart, an act of listening and I can't listen deeply if I am distracted. Deep listening is a powerfully transformative act.
Day 329 of Year 2 (Actually Day 334)
Day 326 of Year 2 (Actually Day 331)
Day 324 of Year 2 (Actually Day 329)
I put a little too much ink on tonight. I has been raining a lot here and it is very humid. When that happens you definitely have to use less ink. Art materials are very effected by the weather and if you're not paying attention, it can cause a lot of trouble. I liked my first print tonight but everyone else here preferred the ghost. What do you think?
Day 323 of Year 2 (Actually Day 328)
Posting early tonight. This is the ghost print from last night's ink with a second layer.