cosmic shower, Monotype of the Day #491

Day 125 (Actually Day 126)

Late night working on another project so I decided just to play while making my print. I experimented with a new technique, soap on the plate to create white spaces. I also used part of the ghost image from last night. It's important to play without expectation of a finished piece every once in a while. It keeps you fresh.

Divine Order, Monotype of the Day #490

Day 124 of Year 2 (Actually Day 125)

Mystics tell us that when life seems chaotic or ununderstandable, we are actually in Divine Order. Because humans cannot comprehend the Divine, this state feels like a mess, like all of our safeties and controls dissolving. I find great comfort in the idea idea of Divine Order even in situations of slight disarray. Understanding that I might not know everything opens the possibilities of good outcomes even when logic predicts otherwise. At very least, it takes some pressure and self blame off. There might be more afoot than I know. There might be a greater meaning. Chaos and disarray can be deconstruction, the breaking down of old structures that no longer support us. Giving things the space to unfold in their own time is uncomfortable, but its often what is required.

getting handsy, Monotype of the Day #489

Day 123 of Year 2 (Actually Day 124)

The biggest lesson for me of the Monotype of the Day project is the importance of showing up. Showing up changes things. Most of life is completely out of our control. If I go into the studio, sit down to write, make a date, etc. there's no way to know really the result. But, internally I've taken a stand and acted on what I want, what matters. This changes me and changes my life. I've learned don't have to worry so much about how things will happen, it's become more about taking the first steps and trusting what comes next. It's an imperfect life. So much is wrong, but I keep showing up because so much is right too. I want to be there for what matters.

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

Light, Monotype of the Day #485

Day 119 of Year 2 (Actually Day 120)

This project has become a habit for me, I could no more go to sleep without making my print than I could without brushing my teeth. It makes me think of all the destructive habits I have and gives me hope that new more supportive ones can be formed. The most destructive habit I have right now is going to bed too late. How much more work could I accomplish with a well-rested form? I think it would be considerable. In my mind, staying up will allow me to accomplish more work but in truth I am unconsciously stealing from tomorrow's work energy. This monotype project is slowly waking me up from my unconscious state. I am being schooled and changed each night by the images that come through. I have tried so many things to shift my bad sleep habit, for now I will take the guidance in tonight's image to stop trying and learn to receive. I will set my intention, continue my work, and trust in the Light.

XXXVI, II, 126
By Kabir, Trans. Tagore
Oh Friend, awake and sleep no more!
The night is over and gone, would you . lose you day also?

From Songs of Kabir https://amzn.to/2CrUa48

the artist takes a direction, the artist takes a message, Monotype of the Day #484

484.jpg

Day 118 of Year 2 (Actually Day 119)

A Voice
By May Sarton

Blurred as though it has been woken
From an underground and secret river,
This voice itself and not the language spoken
Has made the air around me shiver.

Seductive sound, mysterious chord
That speaks its message in the very timbre
And not in a to be deciphered word
That I might hunt down or remember.

It wanders through my dreams and there I learn
I have to make the journey, have to go,
Whatever I must change or overturn
To reach the source, so strong this undertow.

Like a tapped glass the shivered air
Echoes and echoes a single poignant note.
That voice, where does it live? I must go there,
Comfort, entreat, and bless the magic throat.

From May Sarton, Collected Poems: https://amzn.to/32sHPXR

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 keyhole, Monotype of the Day #481

Day 115 of Year 2 (Actually Day 116)

Now that I see this image photographed, I would like to go downstairs to my studio and change something! It's too late at night though, so maybe I will try again tomorrow. One thing about my monotype of the day project is that individual pieces don't sit and marinate. If I am painting, I can go back the next day to change and adjust. Here, all the marination goes on inside me during the 24 hours between each print. If it's an off day, I move on instead of rework. It's an interesting and different way of working and it's really influencing my work in other mediums. This process is very freeing because it teaches detachment. Each day I am forced to let one image go so another can grow.

the view from inside the cave, Monotype of the Day #480

Day 114 of Year 2 (Actually Day 115)

I actually fell asleep twice during dinner! I guess I'm still recovering from the studio tour this weekend. 😊 Somehow though I managed to get up and made my print. It was tough physically, but mentally I'm raring to go. Something about doing all those demos reinvigorated my excitement for printmaking. We shall see how this unfolds. In the meantime, after making tonight's image, Plato's allegory of the cave immediately came to mind. The idea that we are trapped in a cave just seeing shadows of ideal forms always struck me deeply. In the past, I thought of these shadows as somehow dark or broken, lacking beauty. Now I see them as beautiful reflections of Light. I guess that's a fundamental shift in my perspective on the world. It's brought about by the healing nature of illness, like a water carving away stone, it has washed away so many darker emotions. In some medieval texts, forms in the world are described as vestiges or footprints of the divine. I like that more than shadows. All forms in the world are like keyholes, we can look through them and get a peak beyond the veil. It takes the right mindset, but it's a beautiful world and the veil can be very thin.

arrival, Monotype of the Day #478

Day 112 of Year 2 (Actually Day 113)

Today was the first day of my annual two day open studio. It was great! I love meeting new people, seeing my wonderful return visitors, and discussing art. People's comments always make me see my work in a different, more expanded way. It's a real gift and I am grateful to leave these conversation feeling enriched and energized. I am also grateful that several monotypes found new homes!
During the tour, I did a large number of monotype demos, mostly quick sketches. Tonight's print is from a demo. It's really freeing to do a lot of sketches in a row, gets the creative juices flowing. I'll be doing more tomorrow and then we will see what changes this process brings on Monday 🙂
I hope to see you at my studio tomorrow! www.studiotoursoma.com