the artist / the alchemist

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I hope you can see the detail in this. I need bigger paper! This print left some really interesting ink on the plate. I predict tomorrow's image might be based on the ghost print (a print made from left over ink on the plate). We shall see. 🧐 I felt I needed to do the orange circles at the top. I resisted though because it feels so preplanned. I like things to just flow out. But, I did it anyway. I am getting much better at taking instruction from The Artist.

what goes in must come out, Monotype of the Day #218

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(make sure to spot the fish head in the feet🐟)
This print brings to mind of one of my favorite poems (below). "Want the change", is at the heart of being an artist. The creative act by it's very nature changes us. Creativity has its own purpose which is, in part, to polish us down to our finest selves. But for that to happen we must surrender and allow creativity to flow through unhampered. This is one of the reasons I started the monotype a day project. I have to show up even when (like tonight) I don't want to, that in itself forces me to surrender to the process. This is a larger-sized print- 22"x30".

Sonnets To Orpheus, Part Two, XII
Rainer Maria Rilke

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 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.”

the artist goes fishing, Monotype of the Day #217

A good day in the studio working on a larger piece that's been hanging around a while. (I'll post picture of it soon.) Sometimes a skeleton of a piece drops in. I tack it on my wall and then I have to live with it for a while until I catch up. I've finally caught up with this piece. This makes me happy, it means I'm expanding and making more room for creative flow. A good day indeed

the artist finds strength, Monotype of the Day #216

An artist must be jealous of their time alone. Every small moment must be gathered close or else risk missing the next message from The Artist, shepard of all creativity.

A Spiritual Journey
by Wendell Berry

And the world cannot be discovered by a journey of miles,
no matter how long,
but only by a spiritual journey,
a journey of one inch,
very arduous and humbling and joyful,
by which we arrive at the ground at our feet,
and learn to be at home.

These Feet are Made for Walking, Monotype of the Day #215

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My feet have been hurting and I have been listening.


Drifter, on your feet, get moving!
by Lalla
(English version by Ranjit Hoskote)

Drifter, on your feet, get moving!
You still have time, go look for the Friend.
Make yourself wings, take wing and fly.
You still have time, go look for the Friend.

Charge your bellows with breath
like the blacksmith taught you.
That's how you turn your iron to gold.
You still have time, go look for the Friend.

One of my favorite resources for sacred poetry is http://www.poetry-chaikhana.com. Evening will often find me immersed in it's pages. I found this poem there.

Untitled, Monotype of the Day #214

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Some days are harder than others. Some things are harder than others to accept. But the struggle always comes from within. Outer circumstances don't control our reactions, only we can do that. This is another one of my favorite poems. I discovered it through learning about Nelson Mandela, who loved it as well. I don’t find the world so bleak as this poet, but still the message of the power we have in the face of circumstances rings true.

Invictus
By William Ernest Henley
Out of the night that covers me, Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.

Fish Pile, Monotype of the Day #210

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Lately I’ve been experimenting with adding ink. Normally I ink a plate completely and then wipe away. It’s a somewhat mystical experience, seeing an image emerge from the dark. Today I tried to find more mystery in adding ink by using a very rough implement to decrease my control. I like my materials to have a say in the process. Art is really a conversation between mystery and the material world as represented by the artist’s medium of choice. Anyone who thinks materials don’t have something to say isn’t listening closely enough.

the artist seeks forgiveness, Monotype of the Day #208

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One of the challenges of being an artist is there is no escape while you are working. Many times unprocessed emotions come up while working. I'm convinced this is why so many artists have been heavy drinkers, etc. These feelings can be raw and intense and as with anything, you can choose to face them or run away. I try my best to (wo)man up and deal. This is a very personal piece. I'm sharing it because it's an universal experience. We torture ourselves for years over such minor things. We turn to others for forgiveness when it is really we who need to forgive ourselves. Today after making this piece, I forgive myself for the times I didn’t live up to my own expectations