the forest in winter, Monotype of the Day #536

Day 166 of Year 2 (Actually Day 171)

I Go Among Trees
By Wendell Berry

I go among trees and sit still.
All my stirring becomes quiet
around me like circles on water.
My tasks lie in their places
where I left them, asleep like cattle.

Then what is afraid of me comes
and lives a while in my sight.
What it fears in me leaves me,
and the fear of me leaves it.
It sings, and I hear its song.

Then what I am afraid of comes.
I live for a while in its sight.
What I fear in it leaves it,
and the fear of it leaves me.
It sings, and I hear its song.

After days of labor,
mute in my consternations,
I hear my song at last,
and I sing it. As we sing,
the day turns, the trees move.

From A Timbered Choir https://amzn.to/2SFS4qw

forest moon, Monotype of the Day #535

Day 165 of Year 2 (Actually Day 170)

Ghost ink strikes again.😊This was done from the left over ink from last night. I seem to be fixated on forests right now. The meaning and reason is not clear yet but I'm working on staying present. I have 12 days until I have to deliver my work to the gallery. It feels a little overwhelming. I found this funny anonymous Japanese poem which helped me:

Translation W.S. Merwin

Talk about tomorrow
the rats
will laugh.

From East Window https://amzn.to/3689pwt

forest time, Monotype of the Day #534

Day 164 of Year 2 (Actually Day 169)

There is mundane, everyday time and then there is forest time, the hidden and surprising divine time. Making art hooks you into divine time. Every artist will tell you that hours can vanish in a minute while they are working. But divine time is much more than this too. It is the unfolding of plans the Universe has for us. It is when the help you need magically appears or when something beautiful falls painfully apart but is replaced by something better than you could ever have imagined. It is a secret mysterious force that sweeps our lives forward if we surrender to it. Stepping out of worry and into surrender and trust is challenging, but these things are spiritual muscles. With practice, things get easier and you grow stronger. So I am practicing and working, and then practicing and working again. And so it will go until I reach the end of my days.

the forest at night: reaching, Monotype of the Day #533

Day 163 of Year 2 (Actually Day 168)

The forest is such a mysterious place, so much happens there we are unaware of. Like the creative process, we can catch a peak but not really experience it deeply unless we enter in. The veiled nature of the creative process has been the centering theme of my life. Often it's felt like an ascent, like climbing a ladder. But recently this has changed to feel more like a journey deep into a forest to find a mystical place, a true home. Before I strove to heal myself to be a better vessel for creativity. Now I accept we are all imperfect vessels and it's through our cracks that that the Light comes in as Leonard Cohen so beautifully puts it. This change is huge because it removes another control from the process. Even a good goal like healing acts to limit possibilities. I am longer trying to make anything happen, I am just here to welcome and partner with the unceasing flow of creative energy as it enters into the world to transform everything it meets.

the forest at night, Monotype of the Day #532

Day 162 of Year 2 (Actually Day 167)

Sabbaths 2014- VI
by Wendell Berry

Up in the blown-down woods
you try to imagine the tornado
cracking through the trees
while you slept, branches
and birds' eggs whirling
in the dark. You can't do it.
You can imagine the place
as it was, and as it is.
The moment of transformation
the presence of creation,
itself beyond your reach.

From Given https://amzn.to/36azgE5
the forest at night
#monotypeoftheday
Year 2, Day 162
(Total project days 532) 

dream of bird, Monotype of the Day #530

Day 160 of Year 2 (Actually Day 165)

Playing with the ghost ink from yesterday's plate tonight. I liked the beam of light so I reorganized some of the symbols from last night and calmed the emotion. It felt like consciously choosing to shift out of that old energy by rearranging the physical world. I really find the ancient alchemical saying, attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, to be true: "“As above, so below, as within, so without, as the universe, so the soul.” Making art changes the artist. It is so important to be present while working. Otherwise we slip into habits and ruts and loose the opportunity to be changed by the process. Being present keeps the eternal creative fountain running and its constant flow wears away our sharp edges and makes space for more of what is good and true to pour into the work and thereby into the world. xoxo

dream of falling water, Monotype of the Day #529

Day 159 of Year 2 (Actually Day 164)

The last number of days fountain / waterfall images keep coming out, but this feels like the end of that energy for now. I can't say why, but I have real sense of completion. Maybe later understanding will come, maybe not. So many energies that work through us are not for the conscious mind to understand, we must just stay the course and trust. The longer I make art, the more I understand just how essential trust is to the process. Without it the artist is condemned to repeat themselves in an every deepening rut.
The whole intense, fun, and sometimes stressful journey of prepping for my solo show has also reminded me to trust. The more I've let go of control and allowed things to unfold in their own time, the more miraculous instances of help have appeared. I am very grateful and I am really looking forward to sharing more of my work with you.


This work is paired with "For Presence" by John O’Donohue from To Bless the Space Between Us https://amzn.to/2PRTsVm

the fountain with fish, Monotype of the Day #527

Day 157 of Year 2 (Actually Day 162)

So I did this print earlier, but I wasn't able to post until now. A little, but temporary, step backward in my determination to post earlier in the day. I'm busy with visiting family & holiday & show prep. It's that time of year and I'm sure you're busy too. I am so grateful for my monotype of the day project which makes certain I still have my sacred studio time even with the general chaotic nature of the season. I hope you find your own sacred space to ground you in the face of the beautiful ups and challenging downs that this time of year often brings. xoxo

the fountain at night, Monotype of the Day #526

Day 156 of Year 2 (Actually Day 1 61)

I had a great day and made some really exciting progress on a new installation piece. As often happens, a kernel of the idea for this piece popped into my head like a gift one day and the act of working caused it to expand and grow. The piece involves light, which is a brand new material for me. I was really worried about finding all the technology to finish it but then I remembered the idea was given to me. I relaxed knowing the idea wouldn't have come to me if it weren't possible to complete. I kept working, trusting everything would unfold and be well. Out of nowhere, about halfway through the piece, someone volunteered to help me in the studio. I showed him the piece and he had a contact who could help. I was able to hire that person to do the technical aspect of the lighting and the demo was tonight. It's even better than I expected. I'm really thrilled. Sometimes making art is a leap of faith. I had no idea how to do this or where to look for help when I started it. If I had used comfort zone and current ability as measures, the idea would have been set aside. Instead, trust in process and trust in working brought me through.

a new direction, Monotype of the Day #523

Day 153 of Year 2 (Actually Day 154)

Working very hard in my studio right now. The new sculptural paintings are different, larger and some with light and sound elements. The monotypes are changing too, new colors are entering. It's all making me feel unsettled because I am in unknown territory. But that is good, art should bring change and new energy into the world. The trick is being present to the change instead of resisting it.