I had something I wanted to write about tonight, but this image is demanding to speak on its own so I must respect that. Until tomorrow. xo
the language of night #monotypeoftheday Day 36 of year 3 (Total project days 766)
reflection, Monotype of the Day #767
Day 35 of year 3
This monotype is several days of ghosts printed on top of each other and a final layer made tonight. The photo doesn't capture all the subtlety, but gives you an idea. I love working with ghost prints because artist materials and ink in particular have purpose and desires of their own. A ghost print is one step removed from the hand of the artist and it allows the ink to express its own unique vision. The ghost is always a revelation and the ink usually behaves in unexpected ways.
The relationship between an artist and their materials is central to most art practices and similar to any relationship an artist might have with a person. It's taught me to listen, to curtail my desire to control, to support and respect another's vision, and to lay down my own ego. In general, artists have a deep, almost mystical, connection to the material world which is cultivated through this partnership. We have the ability to see the innate potential in the physical world, creative energy pulsing everywhere and divine purpose waiting to be expressed. It is thrilling, a grand adventure without ever leaving the studio. #gratitude
spotlight, Monotype of the Day #766
Day 34 of year 3
When the World Comes Clear
by Andrew Colliver
When the world comes clear,
changeless in its changing
and everywhere revealed,
the sun might be lighting
a rendered wall inscribed
by winter tree's shadow;
when the world comes clear
light might seem to shift
to show a morning free of any other time;
when the world comes clear
something pulling tight within
your mind might fall away
to leave a formless space,
a fathomless space in which
eternal life cannot be granted,
or even offered,
but only recognized, so simply,
as what you are.- From the unpublished manuscript A Day of Light, by Andrew Colliver
Found on https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/Poets/C/ColliverAndr/WhenWorld/index.html
touched, Monotype of the Day #765
Day 33 of year 3
When I moved my website this year, I had to move my blog as well. The written content carried over but not the pictures. I've been going through it fixing and reading before I make it live again. Right now I'm in 2009 and I was writing about art and creativity even then. In some ways though the change in me is pretty dramatic. In 2009 I was afraid to post artwork and especially any photos of myself. Clearly those things aren't a problem for me anymore! How to account for the change? I attribute it to two things. One, Illness forced me to sit still and deal with myself, and two, the work. Making art is such a deeply transformative process. I am endlessly grateful to both my illness and The Artist, source of all creativity, for feeding me. It has been a difficult and painful road at times, but though I am more limited physically now, I carried much more internal pain and struggle then. I prefer now. I'll let you know when the blog goes live. xo
journey, Monotype of the Day #764
Day 32 of year 3
The boat and tree make another appearance! I haven't figured this one out yet which usually means it holds an important message. It also means this symbol will be showing up again and again until I unlock its meaning. I'm looking forward to that. Sometimes it takes years for me to be able to listen deeply enough to get it. I've been making fish for 20 years or more and I finally understood them just last year. So one foot in front of the other and back to work! xo
the conversation, Monotype of the day #763
I pull a ghost print everyday. This uses up the excess ink on the plate and provides a nice base for a future print. Sometimes I use one sheet of paper for several days of ghost prints. The more the merrier as they say! But sometimes, like tonight, you pull a ghost and you know it's a keeper. I couldn't decide which I liked best. What do you think?
the conversation & the conversation ghost (below this post)
Day 31 of year 3 (Total project days 761)
The Further You Go by Andrew Colliver
Mercy, there have been revelations. Grace, there has been realisation. Still, you must travel the path of time and circumstance.
The further you go, the more it comes back to paying attention. The rough skin of the tallowwood, the trade routes of lorikeets, a sky lifting behind afternoon clouds. Staying close to the texture of things.
People can go before you and talk all they want, but only one thing makes sense: the way the world enters and finds its voice in you: the place you are free.
From The Longing In Between https://amzn.to/3kLNv9I
surrender, Monotype of the Day #762
Day 30 of Year 3
the moon is full, Monotype of the Day #761
Day 29 of Year 3
moonlight, Monotype of the Day #760
Day 28 of Year 3
A moment of emptiness tonight. I wanted to do more but nothing came so I resisted my inclination and let it be. But this is where I am now, a place of waiting for the well to fill.
annunciation, the window, Monotype of the Day #759
Day 27 of Year 3
This is the ghost print from yesterday with a few layers printed on top. Yesterday felt like an important print in my spiritual development, a moment of absence and emptying. Consciously adding into that image today feels transformational.
What Else?
By Carolyn Locke
The way the trees empty themselves of leaves,
let drop their ponderous fruit,
the way the turtle abandons the sun-warmed log,
the way even the late-blooming aster
succumbs to the power of frost—
this is not a new story.
Still, on this morning, the hollowness
of the season startles, filling
the rooms of your house, filling the world
with impossible light, improbable hope.
And so, what else can you do
but let yourself be broken
and emptied? What else is there
but waiting in the autumn sun?
From The Place We Become https://amzn.to/3iC9rmb
Found on http://www.ayearofbeinghere.com/2015/10/carolyn-locke-what-else.html
annunciation, the wait, Monotype of the Day #758
Day 26 of Year 3
All day I tried to get a good watercolor print with no luck. Mess followed mess, much of it due to technical problems. It was terribly frustrating so I went back to my friend, the ink for a few prints at the end of the day. One thing is certain, I definitely appreciate my ink a lot more! Both watercolor and acrylic have lots of possibilities so I'm going to keep at them and see what happens. For now though, I'm still in that uncomfortable in-between place waiting for my flow to return. A new wave is coming but when it will arrive is a mystery. The trick is waiting and remaining empty, holding the space for when it arrives. Waiting doesn't mean stopping work, it means not grasping and not trying to make something happen. It means putting one foot in front of the other and being present so you know when it happens. I think this print captures some of that needed inner spaciousness.
The Avowel
By Denise Levertov
As swimmers dare
to lie face to the sky
and water bears them,
as hawks rest upon air
and air sustains them,
so would I learn to attain
freefall, and float
into Creator Spirit’s deep embrace,
knowing no effort earns
that all-surrounding grace.
From The Stream and the Sapphire https://amzn.to/3a97hqO
empty boat, Monotype of the Day #757
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.
wings & the descent, Monotype of the Day #756
Day 24 of Year 3
I'm so happy! No more self portraits, at least for now. However, I am in a bit of a muddle, I'm in that in between stage, the ebb between two flows. Usually I feel a bit lost during these periods. The antidote to this is to keep working but forget about the product. I try to do this anyway, but it is so much more important in an ebb. If you focus on making good work in an ebb you will get frustrated.. This is a major cause of artist block. Instead, I am using this ebb to experiment. I desperately miss cadmium red light. It is such a passionate color and not available in my inks so I'm experimenting with acrylic paint. I had many disasters tonight- paper gluing itself to my plate and tearing, paint drying to quickly, etc. I was fun though. Here are a couple of my attempts. I've barely scratched the surface here. Looking forward to playing some more tomorrow. xo
print 1: wings
print 2: the descent
self portrait with bird, Monotype of the Day #755
Day 23 of Year 3
Another self portrait. I'll be exited when this topic plays itself out but for now, I submit to what is given.
I Worried
By Mary Oliver
I worried a lot. Will the garden grow, will the rivers
flow in the right direction, will the earth turn
as it was taught, and if not how shall
I correct it?
Was I right, was I wrong, will I be forgiven,
can I do better?
Will I ever be able to sing, even the sparrows
can do it and I am, well,
hopeless.
Is my eyesight fading or am I just imagining it,
am I going to get rheumatism,
lockjaw, dementia?
Finally I saw that worrying had come to nothing.
And gave it up. And took my old body
and went out into the morning,
and sang.
From Swan: Poems and Prose Poems https://amzn.to/31peMGf
self portrait listening, Monotype of the Day #754
Day 22 of Year 3
I'm working through something with all these self portraits. Although I'm not sure what right now, I am sure that it is important stick with this process and listen deeply to see what's on the other side. This piece provoked a strong reaction of discomfort, so much so that I have trouble looking at it. It must embody an energy that no longer serves me and needs to be transformed. Making this print was a start in that process, a moment of identification. Now I need to embrace this discomfort and work with it by making more prints. The act of embracing what is given rather than avoiding it has transformative power. I may never understand the content, much of art works outside of the conscious mind, but I do have trust and faith in the importance of the process.