The Daily Practice Unfolding

The year is starting off well and I attribute my more upbeat outlook to the effect of my daily practice. I am someone who thrives on little rituals...they ground me, providing a kind of rhythm to my day. I've maintained a daily drawing practice for a few years, although not always super consistently. In fact, my Missouri Bend Musings Etsy shop was created as a place to share and make available those daily drawings. I fell away from the selling component of the practice and shifted the daily drawing practice to something more private. At its core, I find much of my art making is really a spiritual practice and the efforts required to market the pieces really take away from what the making of them provides me. Although the little drawings I make now on 6x4" Japanese paper do not require a significant amount of time, there is something about letting a simple drawing flow onto the paper from the movement of my hand and a drawing tool, that provides a release. The act of making them acknowledges the creative spirit and leaves a trace, the marks on the page a quiet form of thanks for the day at hand. Below are the drawings from this past week...on 6"x4" Japanese paper, each of which have now been dipped in beeswax. The little row of dots at the top is my way of marking the date: left to right the number of dots corresponds to the month, day and year.

January 7, 2014

January 8, 2014

January 9, 2014

January 10 ,2014

January 11, 2014

January 12, 2014

January 13, 2014

I've also made little found text poems over the years and my first blog MissouriBendPaperWorks was dedicated to that daily practice. Again, it was the effort of photographing and posting that bogged me down. So...I'm back to making those again as well....another daily practice. There is something quite delightful about taking random words and phrases cut from books and arranging them in a new way....somehow the "poem" that comes from each day's exercise is a little revelation. I've posted a few over on my Facebook page and I'll do the same here on occasion. These are the two from yesterday and today. The words of just glued to a sheet of 6"x 4" drawing paper.

January 12th found text poem

In case you can't read it:

live a long journey

slip into the universe

leave a trace

in the sand

January 13th found text poem

Today's was rather humorous....

So, I just wanted to share with you that I'm back to incorporating these daily practices into my life and more fully realizing how much grounding they do provide. Periodically, I will share a few of the things that I make as a part of each day's unfolding and encourage you to find a way to slow down, mark time and leave a trace of another day spent in the dance of life. I'd love to hear from any other artists who include a daily artistic practice....what do you do and how does it enhance your life and the way you move through your days?

Oh, I nearly forgot! Suddenly today I decided that there is a mountain of work sitting on my back table, which comprises the contents of my two Etsy shops, MissouriBendStudio and MissouriBendMusings. Many of those pieces are now older and would love to travel to a good home....it's a BIG 40% off sale in both shops! Use the coupon code: FINDINGAHOME to receive the discount and I'll thank you in advance for giving my pieces a loving home.