This is now. Now is,
all there is. Don’t wait for Then;
strike the spark, light the fire.
Sit at the Beloved’s table,
feast with gusto, drink your fill
then dance
the way branches
of jasmine and cypress
dance in a spring wind.
The green earth
is your cloth;
tailor your robe
with dignity and grace.
-Rumi
I feel my creative fires continuing to kindle and spark. How lovely to have some time this week to simply craft and play. I share below my initial experiment with lettering, carving stamps, and using pastel and paint. Unfortunately the vibrancy of the silver and gold doesn’t show up that well. I am feeling a bit shy about sharing these beginnings, but begin I must. The line is from the Gospel for the first week of Advent and has been singing within me since. I have not yet fixed the vellum to the piece, because I am trying to find the right glue, thus the stones you see holding it down.
What is calling you to begin this very moment?
-Christine Valters Paintner
9 Responses
I LOVE your piece. It is so beautiful and evocative. At this moment I am feeling called to get off the computer and take a few minutes listening to Hildegard Von Bingen. I might even light some frankincense.
Thanks Kayce, I am delighted to offer permission to sit quietly and listen for what new things are birthing in you and will be even more delighted to see what emerges!
Cathy, thank you so much, that is so very gracious of you to say. I may just have to do that as a way of honoring my creative impulses.
I would take that artwork, get it matted and framed and put it in my bedroom. I think it is beautiful.
it is so wonderful to see what you are allowing yourself to birth! even in (especially in) this time of darkness and waiting, i, too, find myself bursting with the desire to create and give birth to something new. this feels like great permission to leave the manic world of holiday spirit and sit quietly with God to wait for new birth.
You are all so very wonderful!
Thank you Trish, even though I love city living, the one thing I wish for is the ability to see the night sky better. Of course in winter, it is almost always clouded over here!
Thanks Bette for the carving inspiration. You are right, it is a lot of fun. I have bought a whole bunch of carving blocks to play with. It took me a couple of trys to get these how I wanted them to be. I’ll try the gesso on a scrap piece and see. I have tried a couple of wet glues and they all show through unevenly. I did find some vellum glue online, so I may order that. I did use permanent ink for the lettering.
Thank you Britt-Arnhild!
Thanks Lisa, I am so delighted to hear the books arrived and you are enjoying them! It gives me great joy to hear that some of these volumes landed right where they needed to be. And presence is a great gift to offer ourselves and the world.
Blessings! Christine
Oh I love this piece. I’m glad you shared it with us!
I am feeling called to be more present. Present in the little every day things, present in my art, present in my relationships, sensually present, mentally present, emotionally present (big one).
I am being sparked very much by Art of the Soul. What a tremendous treasure you have passed on to me. Thank you again. I took a nice walk in the cool air this morning and sat on a park bench drinking in the perfect words for this time in my life.
Beautiful art both in words and card.
ITS ABOLUTELY WONDERFUL! my typing is jumping with JOY :) i can see the shiny silver if i look at the screen just right. Love your carvings (yeah!), painting, and lettering. What great art your soul has birthed! You might try experimenting with gesso as a glue on a scrap piece of vellum?? Did you use a permanent ink for your lettering? http://www.aisling.net/journaling/gesso.htm
Christine,
How wonderful! I am so glad you risked and shared with us.
Contentment is calling to me this very moment.
I shall go now and look out my window, and if the clouds do not cover this night’s sky, I shall see what wonders are to be beheld.
Trish