Wednesday, February 2, 2011

A New Day


This is a collage I made last year. I titled it NEW DAY.

I have been working on a new series and struggling a bit. I work in my studio during the day and often end the day frustrated and even feeling lost. The next day, in the early morning, I lie in bed thinking about the new day and what promise or hope I have for the new day in my studio.
Every morning is like a haiku filled with new artists' impressions. I get up and get ready to tackle another day in my studio.

Jo-Ann Van Reeuwyk is a fiber artist. Her work is about vessel making and containment. She explores relationships, embodiment and containment which are important aspects of the personal. You can find much more of her wonderful fiber creations here.


The following is a poem by David Whyte titled What to Remember When Waking. It is about what an artist (or poet in his case) thinks about when first awakening in the morning.

In that first hardly noticed moment in which you wake,
coming back to this life from the other
more secret, moveable and frighteningly honest world
where everything began,
there is a small opening into the new day
which closes the moment you begin your plans.

Carole Kunstadt is a collage artist who combines objects like stones, shells and twigs with hand made papers. Layers of memory and a sense of intimacy pervade her work. You can find more of her wonderful work at her website here.

What you can plan is too small for you to live.
What you can live wholeheartedly will make plans enough
for the vitality hidden in your sleep.

To be human is to become visible
while carrying what is hidden as a gift to others.
To remember the other world in this world
is to live in your true inheritance.

A detail from the above piece

You are not a troubled guest on this earth,
you are not an accident amidst other accidents
you were invited from another and greater night
than the one from which you have just emerged.

Tracy Spadafora is an encaustic artist who investigates the connection between our man-made and natural environments, illustrating the endurance of nature. These two are her works on paper and you can find more of her wonderful work at her website here.

Now look through the slanting light of the morning window
toward the mountain presence of everything that can be
what urgency calls you to your one love?
What shape waits in the seed of you
to grow and spread its branches
against a future sky?


Is it waiting in the fertile sea?
In the trees beyond the house?
In the life you can imagine for yourself?
In the open and lovely white pages on the writing desk?
---David Whyte


When I saw this collage by artist Leslie Avon Miller (you can find her wonderful blog here), I thought of early dawn when the sky is still dark but hints of color - orange, red, or yellow begin to burst through at the edge of the darkness - hinting at the new day.. a new day in the studio.

awakening light
promises of a new day
streaks across the sky
---Russ Baleson

46 comments:

david weir art said...

Looking forward to seeing new work from you Donna
great to have all the links on your post,always enjoy your blog.Keep on pushing your work

Petra Eller said...

Hi Donna,
I Like your collage very much.
It's early in the morning here with me and your " new day" fits very well with my mood. Warm, cozy, not in a hurry,clear, excited to see what happens today.
The other works you have shown are very interesting.
Have a successful day, with beautiful new ideas.

Cynthia Schelzig said...

Wonderful art and words.....your blog is always so interesting.

Michele Meister said...

Donna, you have put this 'early morning feeling' so well into your words !!! wonderful art , wonderful links and words.... Enjoying your blog a lot !

india flint said...

that particular 'new day' is lovely

CERULEAN said...

Nice post as always. I'm looking forward to your new work.

Ian Foster said...

Donna, your "new Day"collage is stupendous, I do love some print or handwriting in a collage. Thank you for the introduction to the work of Carole Kunstadt, there is a surfeit of printed text in her work.

Oxana said...

GORGEOUS!!!! Love your ART!

ELFI said...

j'aime beaucoup le nouveau site aussi!
un travail de tout beauté!

Emma said...

I'm not very awake in the mornings but I do sometimes have that special elusive thought, the trick is to remember it & then act on it. Practicing that is the fun/anxious part....it will come.

lyle said...

donna, just seeing that you have a new post on your blog makes a good beginning for my day! this mornings treat is extra special thank you!

r.bohnenkamp said...

Hi Donna,
thank you for your wonderful post!
Your work and that of Leslie I especially love.
A very beautiful "NEW DAY"

Lynn said...

Beautiful. And so poignant.

Sharon Barfoot said...

Thank you for such an inspiring post and the introduction to some fabulous artists.

Anonymous said...

What a great poem by David Whyte and your piece New Day. I shall be rolling them both in my mind today. xox Corrine

PM Robinson said...

As always, I'm inspired by your work and I was also inspired by your reminder of the newness of each day. The Navajo teach their children that each day brings a brand new sun and it lives only one day and in the evening passes on, never to return. The children are told that it is their responsibility to honor this sun that lives only one day by themselves living this day in a good way, so that the sun hasn't wasted its precious time.

zendotstudio said...

Inspiring as always, Donna. The poems; stunning and touching. And I take heart in a strange way to hear that artists, like you, whose work I admire and love also engage in struggle and experience frustration. Somehow this makes me feel less alone in this process. It is strangely comforting in some way. Does this make sense? It helps me relax into the process. And I hear you meeting it with such strength.

And as always I look forward to exploring the treasures and treats you have layed out for us. Many thanks.

ArtPropelled said...

Glorious images and poetry, Donna. I've just spent a wonderful few minutes browsing through Jo-Ann's website. Hope your new series flows easily!Can't wait to see what you are doing.

annell4 said...

Lovely post. Beautiful images and beautiful words! Thanks, you inspire my morning!

Deborah said...

Wonderful collage and an amazing selection of artists you've shared with us! Great inspiration!

Jann Gougeon said...

I find your work sensitive and also your choice of artists that you post. Wonderful!

Wen said...

New Day is every day. We begin and begin again.
Thank you for your sensitive combination of art and poetry.

Unknown said...

Donna - you have a wonderful way of presenting ephemera: both from the natural realm and the psychological. Somehow, it's comforting although the notion of transition and destruction is anything but comforting. Perhaps comfort comes from knowing that the power of the universe far exceeds our own and we are a small part of it.

Teri said...

Donna--These are wonderful words from the poet you have posted here. They really speak to me, especially at this time, when I feel as though I have just awoken from a dream, as he talks about. Getting good news about your health really gives a person a boost and makes me keenly aware of what is really important in life and the choices we have to make each day when we open our eyes. I see exactly what you see in Leslie's piece. What incredible work she does, as do you!! Thanks for all these links. I will be going there to check them out.

Valerianna said...

Donna - thanks for the visuals and the David Whyte words... I was really moved by them. I feel a surging wave about to break inside me, if only I could get into the studio and keep that morning just awaking moment with me....

Leslie Avon Miller said...

"To be human is to become visible
while carrying what is hidden as a gift to others.
To remember the other world in this world
is to live in your true inheritance."

This really resonates with me Donna.

Thank you for these images and introduction to artists who are new to me, and for sharing your process.

I especially enjoyed David's comment "Keep on pushing your work." Good advice to us all.

(And thanks for including me.;o)

Don said...

You gave me a lot to chew on. The poem by David Whyte touched me. You are always a joy to me.

nancy neva gagliano said...

well, where have i been?
thanks for checking.
perhaps i've been 'beginning'
a NEW DAY...
taking many mornings awakening

Barry said...

D- always hard to make the leap to a new series - the safety and security of what we are doing successfully and are rightly acknowledged for is like a golden handcuff - it rewards us enormously but at the same time holds us where we are. Whatever you do will offer us the both the uncluttered and challenging. Go well. B

Deniz said...

wowo! what beautiful pieces of art!
i am looking forward to seeing your new pieces. and really loved your encouraging words

Unknown said...

Another fabulous post Donna!
It's usually a struggle to give birth to new work. (Lately it seems my mantra in the studio is "I don't know what I'm doing, I don't know what I'm doing!) But I do trust the creative process and bear with the pieces that arrive unfathomly unformed!
I like David Whyte's poetry. I have been to two of his workshops & he is an inspiring and energetic teacher. I don't think I've heard anyone recite poetry as well as he does.
Thanks for posting all the links of the artists you posted. Looking forward to browsing.

mano said...

great post! beautiful "new day" and wonderful artists you show to us. I'm a fan of jo-ann van reeuwyk and I love her creations very much. thank you for sharing!

Lisa Ursu said...

Donna, your New Day collage is fabulous. I especially love the dark middle section with the digits turning, like an odometer.
A wonderful post full of inspiration,
thank you.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful post Thank You

Fiona Dempster said...

Thanks Donna for more beautiful words and beautiful images. But also for sharing that struggle we all face sometimes with trying to make it work; some days it flows; some days it snags. And also that magic moment of awakening and pondering all the possibilities that the new day holds - a true gift given us each day. Go well, Fiona

Cynthia Monica said...

What an inspiring and lovely post Donna! Thinking of what each new dawn brings is just a lovely thought....I can relate to the frustration you speak of, and I sometimes wonder in amazement how it can into into the most divine period of creativity....

magpie said...

so much food for thought,
wonderful as always.
interesting to hear you speak of your struggle - one of the gifts
of your work is it's seeming effortlessness. to be reminded of
the journey is always instructive.

Hannah said...

Donna, thank you for bringing my awareness to that moment of choice we have each morning. David Whyte's words and the pieces you've chose to share make it all the more eloquent.

studioJudith said...

Stunning collage -
always such a delicious feast
here in your world .. . .

judith

Don Madden said...

Your struggles in the studio have produced some wonderful work.

BLACK AND WHITE said...

Great post!

Seth said...

Wonderful thoughts about morning. And i particularly love the pieces that you started and ended this post with!!

Sea Angels said...

How are things coming on ? are you still having a struggle.. I seem to go through those funny periods and then whoosh..out the ideas pop again.... or new techniques. I wish there was a pill for it though ha ha
Hugs Lynn xxxx

Sharmon Davidson said...

Such a yummy post, full of great words and images. I can't wait to see your new series materialize...

Maggie Neale said...

Some wonderful inspiration here in your post. A terrific gathering. Leslie's collage looks so beautiful. More to inspect. Enjoy each new day.

rivergardenstudio said...

I am so moved by this poem, and the art that you share here, especially Leslie's and your thoughts about her piece.
Nick Bantock told me once that your most creative time is in the morning between sleep and wakefulness.
Thank you for this... roxanne