angel, Monotype of the Day #721

Day 351 of Year 2 (Actually Day 356)

Just to clarify last night's post, I am not stopping my daily posts when I hit day 730 (2 years). I'm reexamining the project as a whole to see what it has meant to me, my process, and my growth as an artist and person. I'm considering if I want to continue it as is or if I want to change the scope or restructure. Yesterday someone suggested taking one day a week to focus on a different type of art, could be interesting. It's brainstorming time right now and I may or may not change a thing. I'm open to suggestions and in the end I will see what inner nudges I get on year 3, day 1 and proceed from there.
xo

Your Boat, Your Words
by Pat Schneider

Your boat, they will tell you,
cannot leave the harbor
without discipline.

But they will neglect to mention
that discipline has a vanishing point,
an invisible horizon where belief takes over.

They will not whisper to you the secret
that they themselves have not fully understood: that
belief is the only wind with breath enough

to take you past the deadly calms, the stopped motion
toward that place you have imagined,
the existence of which you cannot prove

except by going there.

From Writing Alone and With Others https://amzn.to/2BBli3V
Found on Poetry Chaikhana http://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/Poets/S/SchneiderPat/YourBoatYour/index.html

Annunciation 3, Monotype of the Day #720

Day 350 of Year 2 (Actually Day 355)

“And now I understand something so frightening & wonderful-
how the mind clings to the road it knows,
rushing through crossroads, sticking
like lint to the familiar.” --- Mary Oliver, Blue Pastures (found on Good Reads)

Only 15 days to two years of this monotype of the day project! It's time to reassess. Where do I go from here? Continue, stop, or reimagine? Some days I think of expanding this project to include other types of work like painting or sculpture, more of a daily art post. Other days, I want to keep the stream to monotypes because this project is like a daily journal and I enjoy seeing my progression over time. A few months ago, I was looking forward to stopping at two years, I felt frustrated and blocked. But I stayed through that intensely uncomfortable feeling and now I know I must go on. The idea of stopping feels like tearing a piece of my life force away. I would love to hear your suggestions / thoughts on how to proceed from here. Continue with monotypes or expand to more types of art? xoxo

Annunciation 2, Monotype of the Day #719

Day 349 of Year 2 (Actually Day 354)

This piece is speaking deeply to me tonight. I've paired it with a poem I love, Annunciation by Denise Levertov, about the courage to embrace and accept moments of great change in life. It's long, but worth it, the kind of poem that gives courage. xo

Annunciation
By Denise Levertov

We know the scene: the room, variously furnished,
almost always a lectern, a book; always
the tall lily.
Arrived on solemn grandeur of great wings,
the angelic ambassador, standing or hovering,
whom she acknowledges, a guest.
But we are told of meek obedience. No one mentions
courage.
The engendering Spirit
did not enter her without consent.
God waited.
She was free
to accept or to refuse, choice
integral to humanness.

____________________

Aren’t there annunciations
of one sort or another
in most lives?
Some unwillingly
undertake great destinies,
enact them in sullen pride,
uncomprehending.
More often
those moments
when roads of light and storm
open from darkness in a man or woman,
are turned away from

in dread, in a wave of weakness, in despair
and with relief.
Ordinary lives continue.
God does not smite them.
But the gates close, the pathway vanishes.
____________________

She had been a child who played, ate, slept
like any other child–but unlike others,
wept only for pity, laughed
in joy not triumph.
Compassion and intelligence
fused in her, indivisible.
Called to a destiny more momentous
than any in all of Time,
she did not quail,
only asked
a simple, ‘How can this be?’
and gravely, courteously,
took to heart the angel’s reply,
the astounding ministry she was offered:
to bear in her womb
Infinite weight and lightness; to carry
in hidden, finite inwardness,
nine months of Eternity; to contain
in slender vase of being,
the sum of power–
in narrow flesh,
the sum of light.
Then bring to birth,
push out into air, a Man-child
needing, like any other,
milk and love–
but who was God.
This was the moment no one speaks of,
when she could still refuse.
A breath unbreathed,

Annunciation, Monotype of the Day #718

Day 348 of Year 2 (Actually Day 353)

Something a little simpler today after so many layers yesterday. It feels like a cleansing breath. For many years I almost exclusively made images of the Annunciation. Then a critique group challenged me to express the same ideas without the religious iconography. This opened a new world. I was using these symbols as a crutch and releasing them caused my work to blossom. Still, the Annunciation continues to fascinate. It contains many levels and meanings and among them, I find a lesson on how divine creativity enters the world. The gift of the creative spark is given to us to nurture. We are not its source, merely its vessel. This is a wonderfully ego-deflating notion. Understanding my small part in the creative process releases pressure. I trust my work has purpose I likely will never know. I express what is given and then go back to work. Everything else is not my concern.

dawn, Monotype of the Day #717

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.

the path, Monotype of the Day #716

Day 346 of Year 2 (Actually Day 351)

This is the ghost from yesterday with a couple of new layers. I've gotten into the habit of ghost printing every plate and using it as an underlayer for the next day's print. Because of this, the prints are feeling like a continuing conversation rather than individual pieces. I'm enjoying listening to them talk as the days unfold, one piece adding understanding and meaning to the last.

I Go Down To The Shore
By Mary Oliver

I go down to the shore in the morning
and depending on the hour the waves
are rolling in or moving out,
and I say, oh, I am miserable,
what shall—
what should I do? And the sea says
in its lovely voice:
Excuse me, I have work to do.

From A Thousand Mornings: https://amzn.to/2BkaKWL

the ocean depth, Monotype of the Day #713

Day 343 of Year 2 (Actually Day 348)

This one has layers upon layers. Every time I had spare ink on a plate I used this print to remove it. In the end, so much was covered yet I can feel the weight of their hidden presence much as you can feel the unseen depths of the ocean. This reminds me of what it's like to make art. So much happens just outside of your consciousness at the edge of sight. So much of the beauty of process is felt.

boat and ladder, Monotype of the Day #712

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

angel moon, Monotype of the Day #711

Day 341 of Year 2 (Actually Day 346)

This is the ghost from last night with several layers on top. In addition to this print, I did some experimenting today. I want to work larger so i tried to print off my plexiglass table and it was a miserable failure! :) I suspected it might be. In order to print off a hard surface, you really need a printing press. Discovering Gelli plates ( a soft plate I used to make today's print) changed my life because I could finally print at home. But of course, I now want to expand. I am keeping my ears open. I know would not have this calling if it were not possible. There is a way, I just have to discover it. Wish me luck! xo

ladder, Monotype of the Day #710

710.jpg

Day 340 of Year 2 (Actually Day 345)

By Nancy Peterson
All this time you were just waiting
to return, spinning out long shadows
in cold. Come, back to the beginning,
the navel of the year. Be warm again.

the keyhole at night, Monotype of the Day #709

Day 339 of Year 2 (Actually Day 344)

I'm hitting that spot in my process where it's clear my work needs to evolve. I try not to judge the finished piece but when things need to shift I get an unsatisfied feeling. When I look at this piece, I feel it more in my head than in my heart and I make art to escape the limits of language and feel and experience things that are hard to articulate. Part of my unsatisfied feeling stems from hitting some physical limitations in what I can do without studio help. This is not unique to me though. Every artist has to contend with how the physical world shapes constricts the scope of their vision. The solution is to get creative and think outside the box. I'm percolating. We shall see what happens.