the artist has a fever, Monotype of the Day #236

I actually feel much better now that I’ve made my daily print. I’ve always maintained that making art is healing so it makes sense. A poem of healing to move things along. My brain is fuzzy, but I keep this one taped to the wall of my studio:

Last night, as I was sleeping
by Antonio Machado (trans. Robert Bly)

Last night, as I was sleeping,
I dreamt -- marvelous error!—
that a spring was breaking
out in my heart.
I said: Along which secret aqueduct,
Oh water, are you coming to me,
water of a new life
that I have never drunk? Last night, as I was sleeping,
I dreamt -- marvelous error!—
that I had a beehive
here inside my heart.
And the golden bees
were making white combs
and sweet honey
from my old failures. Last night, as I was sleeping,
I dreamt -- marvelous error!—
that a fiery sun was giving
light inside my heart.
It was fiery because I felt
warmth as from a hearth,
and sun because it gave light
and brought tears to my eyes. Last night, as I slept,
I dreamt -- marvelous error!—
that it was God I had
here inside my heart
http://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/Poets/M/MachadoAnton/LastnightasI/index.html

The Prayer, Monotype of the Day #233

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Posting by midnight tonight! Sybil for the win! 😉
The act of creation is a prayer

Praying
by Mary Oliver
It doesn't have to be
the blue iris, it could be
weeds in a vacant lot, or a few
small stones; just
pay attention, then patch

a few words together and don't try
to make them elaborate, this isn't
a contest but the doorway

into thanks, and a silence in which
another voice may speak.

Transference, Monotype of the Day #232

When Hildegard of Bingen, a 12th century abbess and mystic, first had visions that she should leave her nunnery to start her own abbey, she refused to share them. The earliest account of her life tells that this made her so sick she could not even be lifted from her bed. The moment she started to share what she saw, she was healed. She left to start her own abbey and went on to become one of the most influential women of her time, writing letters to the pope, authoring the first book of medicine by a woman, composing sublime music, and more. When the creative force comes through to transform your life, it’s often uncomfortable but stoppering its flow causes unwanted problems. An artist must learn to embrace uncertainty and discomfort to receive and communicate at high levels.

The Fish, Monotype of the Day #228

I've posted this poem before, but I love it so I'm posting it again!

A fish cannot drown in water
by Mechthild of Magdeburg

A fish cannot drown in water,
A bird does not fall in air.
In the fire of creation,
God doesn't vanish:
The fire brightens.
Each creature God made
must live in its own true nature;
How could I resist my nature,
That lives for oneness with God? (English version by Jane Hirshfield
Original Language German)

http://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/Poets/M/MechthildofM/Afishcannotd/index.html

Womb, Monotype of the Day #227

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Something different today, an experiment with a technique to be used in a more detailed piece in the future. First, I'm almost out of ink and paper so I'm back to my smallest plate (8"x10"). The different plate sizes completely changes my imagery. It's so interesting what an influence this has. Tonight I experimented with blocking out sections of the plate with paper so only certain areas print. I tried this once before around Christmas also with a similar, though more complex image. I don't know why this image is coming up again, but I powerfully felt the need to make it tonight. It must be a stepping stone on the way to something new or maybe just an excuse to post this poem :)

In every moment I am free
by Ayaz

In every moment I am free
To turn my face towards the sun
And receive Your blessing
The content
The infinite ebb and flow of sand and dust
Does not matter
The constant emptiness of Your regard
Ripens me
And turns my heart
Inside out to reveal the sun
Blazing inside.

From: http://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/Poets/A/Ayaz/Ineverymomen/index.html

The Vessel, Monotype of the Day #226

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posting a monotype a day is that I can't judge my own work. Without fail, the pieces I'm reluctant to post get the most attention. Some days it's easier to suspend judgment than others. Interestingly, it's just as important to suspend judgement on pieces I like as it is on pieces I don't. I can't afford to get stuck in yesterday's piece. If I like something too much it can start to control what I'm doing today. I don't want to mentally repeat myself. Often, similar images flow through, but that's different. I see each piece as information being given to me, if images repeats, it's obviously something The Artist feels I need to hear. If I consciously choose to repeat images, that's the opposite. That's me refusing to listen.

Alchemist's Flask #2, Monotype of the Day #223

I used to be obsessed with the medieval alchemists who are responsible for so many of the recipes for early pigments. I made pigments from scratch, poured over ancient recipes, and even tried my hand at translating (very poorly!) a few from Latin. Much of the language is symbolic and it sometimes requires a lot of experimentation to get a recipe to work. I carry many of their ideas into my work today. People think of alchemists as trying to change lead, what they considered a base and impure metal, into gold, which was thought of as perfected matter. Some were acting out of greed, but the true alchemist was trying to heal matter of its imperfections. Their’s was a deeply devotional practice fueled by belief in the Divine. They believed in the concept "as above, so below (as in heaven, so on earth)". So, the physical world and the spiritual world were inseparably connected. For the alchemist, every external action in the physical world had a corresponding internal action. So when they healed the external world with their alchemical recipes, transforming base metals to more pure substances, they considered that they were also healing their internal selves. This idea fascinates me and I often find myself so connected to my own work that when I make intentional changes to a piece it really does change me. Alchemists often described their chemical reactions with symbolic drawings in flasks. The flasks in this series are describing my internal alchemy not actual alchemy recipes.