Day 16 of Year 3
the artist forgets the present, Monotype of the Day #746
Day 15 of Year 3
I am grateful for the way having a long term illness has prepared me for this moment of sweeping change and unrest in the world. I've written before about learning to give things up and dealing with disappointments, but it's more than that. When you are faced with a complex illness, you literally don't know from day to day how you will feel, if something major will go wrong or if it will be business as usual. Very quickly on, I learned not to think about the future. I doubt I would even be able to get out of bed if I thought about all the negative possibilities- most completely out of my control. So I get up in the morning and with whatever energy I have, I do what I can to care for myself and then squeeze the most life I can out of each day regardless of my circumstances. Some days this is easy, the sun is shining and all is well, but some days it requires active listening for the good in an otherwise trying situation. I'm applying this same muscle to the pandemic and the political state of our country. I'm doing my best not to let possible futures (which may never come to pass) steal my present moment. Looking at tonight's print, I feel the damage and weight of dwelling on what might be but how deeply that is woven into the fabric of our humanity. Those future worries may always be there but with practice, it is possible for them to maintain a respectful distance.
the artist forgets the present
#monotypeoftheday
Day 15 of year 3
(Total project days 745)
focus, Monotype of the Day #745
Day 14 of Year 3
Uncertain about this one, but it does capture unsettled shifting of energy I'm feeling in the studio right now.
revelation, Monotype of the Day #744
Day 13 of Year 3
This picture is intentionally askew. Why do prints usually sit level on the paper? Maybe there is something pleasing in the balance it brings, but also because it's one of those conventions we never think to challenge. So much of life around us is like that. When something happens as it did to me, limiting the use of my hands, in a way it's a blessing. It forces you to think outside of the box, dive deeply into creativity, and to grow.
Annunciation, again, Monotype of the Day #743
Day 12 of Year 3
I've been organizing print images for my book. It's striking looking at them and noticing how many are depictions of personal annunciations, moments when the veil between worlds is pulled thin and creative energy pours through. If we are present, we can be a vessel that bears it into the world. My early depictions of the Annunciation were fearsome and terrible with Mary either writhing in pain or terror. As I have grown and come to peace (mostly ) with the creative process, my representations have become calm and accepting. It always fascinates me how art can be so deeply personal and so universal and impersonal at the same time. Two opposites existing in the same place and time is always a sign that something greater is at work.
Had I Not Been Awake
By Seamus Heaney
Had I not been awake I would have missed it,
A wind that rose and whirled until the roof
Pattered with quick leaves off the sycamore
And got me up, the whole of me a-patter,
Alive and ticking like an electric fence:
Had I not been awake I would have missed it,
It came and went so unexpectedly
And almost it seemed dangerously,
Returning like an animal to the house,
A courier blast that there and then
Lapsed ordinary. But not ever
After. And not now.
From Human Chain: Poems https://amzn.to/3f0hln4
Found on http://www.ayearofbeinghere.com/2014/04/seamus-heaney-had-i-not-been-awake.html
the conversation, Monotype of the Day #742
Day 11 of Year 3
Every time work starts to change, it feels risky and uncomfortable. There is so much momentum pulling you in the same direction to do the same thing. An artist needs strength and courage to pull themselves free. This is especially true because new work sometimes falls flat, it may take time to find your stride. Radical trust in the studio is essential. It is the faith that everything done in the studio, good, bad, or ugly, has meaning and purpose to your process though you may never know why. Lately I've felt in a bit of a rut with my work, it's felt too easy. But the past few night's it's felt uncomfortable. That is good, it's the sweet spot where internal change and external change happen. Staying with these uncomfortable feelings is transformational to the work and to the self. It's not easy, but it is an essential part of being an artist. If you are an artist, you have been given the strength and courage needed to transform. Believe in yourself. The river of creativity is always there flowing by. Dive in, you will be carried past the rapids to the sea.
moonlight walking, Monotype of the Day #741
Day 10 of Year 3
More of the energy from last night processing through.
From the Zi Ye, a collection of Chinese folk songs from the 6th - 3rd century BCE.
Trans. Arthur Waley
All night I could not sleep
because of the moonlight on my bed.
I kept hearing a voice calling:
Out of Nowhere, Nothing answered "yes."
From a wonderful book, Women in Praise of the Sacred https://amzn.to/2WM5i6x
birds, Monotype of the Day #740
Day 9 of Year 3
I miss the energy of moving my arms freely while working. My most recent pieces require more control in the making so I broke free tonight and it felt good. I also miss working on my larger-sized non-monotype pieces. Now that my studio is no longer being used for online dances classes by a certain college student I'm looking forward to spreading my wings again. Something is shifting again. So much can happen without ever leaving the house. xo
the in-between, Monotype of the Day #739
Day 8 of Year 3
There's been a lot of chaos in my house the last few months. Between a family member moving home, a puppy, planting season, and having to vacate part of my studio to make room for online dance classes my head has been spinning. But the puppy has calmed, I've gotten my studio back and I feel like I'm catching my breath again for the first time in a long time. I'm so grateful to have this daily practice to anchor me no matter what winds are scattering my life.
Waking Up
By David Allan Evans
for Jan
We wake up again to the sound
of those same birds just
outside our window. I can’t
name them, wouldn’t need to
if I could, but only guess
what they seem to be
saying over and over.
Listen: We are here,
we are here,
we are here.
Published on A Year of Being Here http://www.ayearofbeinghere.com/2014/04/david-allan-evans-waking-up.html
the path, Monotype of the Day #738
Day 7 of Year 3
Another Mary Oliver poem today.
Thirst
By Mary Oliver
Another morning and I wake with thirst
for the goodness I do not have. I walk
out to the pond and all the way God has
given us such beautiful lessons. Oh Lord,
I was never a quick scholar but sulked
and hunched over my books past the hour
and the bell; grant me, in your mercy,
a little more time. Love for the earth
and love for you are having such a long
conversation in my heart. Who knows what
will finally happen or where I will be sent,
yet already I have given a great many things
away, expecting to be told to pack nothing,
except the prayers which, with this thirst,
I am slowly learning.
From Thirst https://amzn.to/2CulGl1
the lead, Monotype of the Day #737
Day 6 of Year 3
I feel such.a sense of relief that my two year anniversary is behind me. I didn't realize how much pressure I was putting on myself to define my situation. The same thing happened on my one year anniversary. I built it up in my head so much that once I made it, I sort of fell apart. The first week after was a real struggle in the studio. but I kept at it and eventually that cleared. There are natural ebbs and flows to working and then there are the roadblocks we create in our minds. Meditation, which has unfortunately fallen off my radar lately, helps. Another thing that helps is knowing that you're in your own way and waiting it out, trusting that the creative flow will necessarily wash the mental dross away. More than anything, making art is about trust, trusting the inner messages from The Artist to the artist, trusting your materials, trusting the world with your work, trusting yourself to be authentic and brave, trusting the importance and purpose of working though we may never know why.
fires afloat, Monotype of the Day #736
Day 365 of Year 2 (Actually Day 5 of Year 3)
I do want to take a moment to express gratitude to all those who have supported me in this project over the last two years. My family, friends and art besties, I hope you know how much you mean to me. You have made my work possible. My talented and amazing studio assistants, thank you for you hard work. Those of you who have purchased work, come to my shows and open studios, commented on my posts, and supported me on Patreon or otherwise, I can't thank you enough. This beautiful world has conspired to make my work possible and I am deeply grateful. Love Sybil
Wild Geese by Mary Oliver
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees
,the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
boat fire moon ghost & the slumber, Monotype of the Day #735
Day 364 of Year 2 (Actually Day 4 of Year 3)
Two prints tonight. The first is the ghost print from last night which I liked it so much, I didn't want to put another layer on. The second, the slumber, is a ghost print from a reject. Ghost prints are the ultimate ego deflater. The print I worked hard on was a mess, but the ghost is better. That is the ink's work not mine. Much of the history of art is filled with big egos, Dali, Picasso, Duchamp. But I find making art to be a gentle stripping away of ego. The more I work, the less of me is there. On my best days, I am like a glass filled with clear water. An idea arrives like a drop of ink slowly spreading until it colors the water completely and comes pouring out.
boat fire moon, Monotype of the Day #734
Day 363 of Year 2 (Actually Day 3 of Year 3)
greening, Monotype of the Day #733
Day 362 of Year 2 (Actually Day 2 of Year 3)
O most noble Greenness, rooted in the sun
By Hildegard of Bingen, Trans. Jerry Dybdal and Matthew Fox
O most noble Greenness, rooted in the sun,
shining forth in streaming splendor upon the wheel of Earth.
No earthly sense or being can comprehend you.
You are encircled by the very arms of Divine mysteries.
You are radiant like the red of dawn!
You glow like the incandescence of the sun!
From Hildegard of Bingen's Book of Divine Works https://amzn.to/3gSC6lY