bower, Monotype of the Day #503

Day 137 of Year 2 (Actually Day 138)

It was another prop your eyes open with toothpicks night. I barely made it to the print studio but as always, I found myself revived by the process. It's a busy week for Americans prepping for Thanksgiving. Wishing those that celebrate a beautiful day with much to be grateful for. I am grateful for so many things but especially my family and friends, my studio, and .you. Thank you for all the kind words, reactions, and support throughout my Monotype of the Day project. It means so much! Happy Thanksgiving! xoxo #gratitude

rooted II, Monotype of the Day #502

Day 136 of Year 2 (Actually Day 137)

Focusing on finishing up two new large sculptural paintings for my solo show in January. I have the strong desire to spend a whole day in the print studio but this other work calls. Instead, a print studio day will be my present for completing these last two pieces. I have way more work than gallery space and yet I am compelled to make more. I guess that is the nature of being an artist. The natural generative creative flow that undergirds and carries all life forward is infectious if you are listening.

rooted, Monotype of the Day #500

Day 134 of Year 2 (Actually Day 135)

Day 500! The second two lines of tonight's poem (see below) encapsulates this project for me: "I feel my fate in what I cannot fear.
I learn by going where I have to go." I am grateful that this is where I have to go. Thanks journeying along with me. Woohoo for reaching 500 and here's to day 501. xo

The Waking
By Theodore Roethke

I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I feel my fate in what I cannot fear.
I learn by going where I have to go. We think by feeling. What is there to know? I hear my being dance from ear to ear. I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow. Of those so close beside me, which are you? God bless the Ground! I shall walk softly there, And learn by going where I have to go. Light takes the Tree; but who can tell us how? The lowly worm climbs up a winding stair; I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow. Great Nature has another thing to do To you and me; so take the lively air, And, lovely, learn by going where to go. This shaking keeps me steady. I should know. What falls away is always. And is near. I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow. I learn by going where I have to go.
From Collect Poems https://amzn.to/2sezWck)

weathering the storm, Monotype of the Day #499

499.jpg

Day 133 of Year 2 (Actually Day 134)

Something about the stream of images last few days has felt important, like a major shift of energy. The move from falling to repose feels good. Since my life and my work are so intertwined, it's not surprising that there have been lots of small positive shifts there as well.
Tomorrow is day 500. That feels like a milestone, but milestones can be tricky. It's important to keep moving and not get caught up in labels. When I hit day 365, it threw me a bit and took some perseverance to get my flow back. Tomorrow presents just another invitation to work in the studio which I will gratefully accept.

home, Monotype of the Day #498

Day 132 of Year 2 (Actually Day 133

It's comforting to see this figure finally come to rest and stop falling. I feel at peace.

The Mystery
By Dorothy Walters
Some come at it
with weights and measures,
some waving a sieve.
Some sing to it,
ballads and carols,
hoping to coax forth
its hidden center,
unwind the sheath
of who it is.
Some tap on it,
or deal heavy blows
with hammers,
trying to smash
its thick shield,
force it to bow down.
Some seek ways to clamber in,
explore its hidden vaults
and chambers.
Some lie down beside it,
breathe its cool scent,
become its own self.

From The Ley Lines of the Soul https://amzn.to/2qtRCAl

you are held, Monotype of the Day #496

Day 130 of Year 2 (Actually Day 131)

Tonight's piece is a perfect example of how making art can change you. I first made the images of the person falling. But every time I looked at the print, I felt myself clench up with anxiety. This was a feeling in me than needed to be healed so I went back to the studio and added the hand catching the top figure. I instantly felt that anxious feeling slip away and a new feeling of trust and optimism creep in. We can't always change the outer world, but there are so many way to shift the inner world and those changes ripple out.

on point, Monotype of the Day #495

Day 129 of Year 2 (Actually Day 130)

Hymn to the Nameless One
By Dorothy Walters

Now as the year swings down,
and the darkness encloses
even the smallest bird,
the largest animal,
and we too enter the hour
when everything is falling once more
into the twilight
of not knowing,
what we ask is that
you be with us,
not as a pillar of fire
nor a blaze across
the heavens,
but like water
at rest in a pitcher
which catches the morning light
and is filled
with its own radiance.

From Ley Lines of the Soul: Poems of Ecstasy and Ascension https://amzn.to/2XCnFdq

trust, Monotype of the Day #494

Day 128 of Year 2 (Actually Day 129)

I've felt a little blocked in the monotype studio lately. Mainly because I'm focused on prepping for my solo show in January. I have a limited amount of energy each day and have to be judicious about how I use it. I thought this was my major constraint, but today I realized lack of mental space is even more of an issue. The to do lists, deadlines, and anxieties were overfilling my brain. This last week, I began meditating again to reclaim and empty my mind. It feels great to have the channel open once more. Today while meditating, this image dropped in. With all the tasks to finish before my show, there is a bit of vertigo, a feeling of falling. This image is a gift from The Artist to the artist (me), to sooth and comfort. Trust the process and all will be well.

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