Abbey of the Arts

Transformative Living through Contemplative & Expressive Arts

  • Welcome
    • Prayer Cycle
      • Introduction to the Earth Monastery Prayer Cycle
      • Day 1 Morning & Evening Prayer:
        Earth as the Original Cathedral
      • Day 2 Morning & Evening Prayer:
        Earth as the Original Scriptures
      • Day 3 Morning & Evening Prayer:
        Earth as the Original Saints
      • Day 4 Morning & Evening Prayer:
        Earth as the Original Spiritual Directors
      • Day 5 Morning & Evening Prayer:
        Earth as the Original Icon
      • Day 6 Morning & Evening Prayer:
        Earth as the Original Sacrament
      • Day 7 Morning & Evening Prayer:
        Earth as the Original Liturgy
      • Prayer Cycle Leader Resources
    • About the Abbey
    • About Christine Valters Paintner
    • About John Valters Paintner
    • About the Wisdom Council
    • Monk Manifesto
    • Join the Holy Disorder of Dancing Monks
    • Subscribe to Our Love Notes
    • Website privacy notice
  • Books
    • Sacred Time:
      Embracing an Intentional Way of Life
    • The Wisdom of Wild Grace: Poems
    • Earth, Our Original Monastery:
      Cultivating Wonder and Gratitude through Intimacy with Nature
    • Dreaming of Stones: Poems
    • The Soul's Slow Ripening:
      12 Celtic Practices for Seeking the Sacred
    • The Wisdom of the Body:
      A Contemplative Journey to Wholeness for Women
    • Illuminating the Way:
      Embracing the Wisdom of Monks and Mystics
    • The Soul of a Pilgrim:
      Eight Practices for the Journey Within
    • Eyes of the Heart:
      Photography as a Christian Contemplative Practice
    • The Artist's Rule: Nurturing Your Creative Soul with Monastic Wisdom
    • Desert Mothers and Fathers: Early Christian Wisdom Sayings Annotated & Explained
    • Lectio Divina–The Sacred Art: Transforming Words and Images into Heart-Centered Prayer
    • Water, Wind, Earth & Fire: The Christian Practice of Praying with the Elements
    • Awakening the Creative Spirit:
      Bringing the Arts to Spiritual Direction
    • Lectio Divina: Contemplative Awakening & Awareness
  • Poetry | Art | Music
    • Music + DVD
    • Poetry by Christine Valters Paintner
    • Poetry Videos
    • Dancing Monk Icons
    • Other Art Collaborations
      • Monk in the World art series by Kristin Noelle
      • Saints & Animals art series by David Hollington
      • Sacred Time art series by Alexi Francis
      • Mary block print art series by Kreg Yingst
  • Programs
    • Walk the Ancient Paths: Pilgrimage
      • Monk in the World (Ireland)
      • Writing on the Wild Edges (Ireland)
      • Poetry and the Sacred Garden of the World (Ireland)
      • Vienna Monk in the World (Austria)
      • Hildegard of Bingen (Germany)
    • Live Programs and Spiritual Retreats
      • Awakening the Creative Spirit: Experiential Education for Spiritual Directors in the Expressive Arts (Northwest)
    • Community Online Retreats
      • Lift Every Voice: Contemplative Writers of Color
      • The Way of the Hermit:
        A Spiritual Survival Guide for Dark Times
        with Kayleen Asbo, PhD
      • The Spiral Way:
        Celtic Spirituality and the Creative Imagination
      • Journey with the Desert Mothers and Fathers (Lent 2021)
      • Sacred Time: Embracing an Intentional Way of Life (Spring 2021)
    • Self-Study Online Spiritual Retreats
      • Creative Flourishing in the Heart of the Desert:
        An Online Retreat with St. Hildegard of Bingen
      • Dreaming of the Sea:
        A women’s discernment journey through the story of the Selkie
      • Earth, Our Original Monastery
        A Companion Retreat to the Book (SELF-STUDY)
      • Exile and Coming Home:
        An Archetypal Journey through the Scriptures
      • Eyes of the Heart:
        Photography as Contemplative Practice
        (Companion retreat to the book)
      • Honoring Saints and Ancestors:
        Online Retreat for the Season of Remembrance
      • Lectio Divina:
        The Sacred Art of Reading the World
      • A Midwinter God:
        Making a Conscious Underworld Journey
      • Sacred Rhythms of Sky, Sun, Sea & Stone:
        A Creative Retreat with the Elements (SELF-STUDY)
      • Sacred Seasons:
        A Yearlong Journey through the Celtic Wheel of the Year
      • The Soul of a Pilgrim:
        Eight Practices for the Journey Within
        (a companion retreat to the book)
      • The Soul's Slow Ripening: 12 Celtic Practices for Seekers of the Sacred (a companion retreat to the book)
      • Water, Wind, Earth & Fire
      • Watershed Moments
        in the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures
      • Way of the Monk, Path of the Artist:
        A 12-Week Companion Retreat to The Artist's Rule
      • The Wisdom of the Body:
        A 10-Week Online Companion Retreat to the Book
      • The Wisdom of Mary and the Sacred Feminine
  • Calendar
  • Reflections
  • Contact

Monk in the World Guest Post Series

Monk in the World guest post: Marcia Chadly

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Marcia Chadly's wisdom on the gifts of contemplative drawing for becoming a monk in the world:

And it was Good

marcia chadly  Circled Cross 2014Contemplative drawing is one of my favorite practices as a Monk in the World.  The story of contemplative drawing in my life is a creation story.  Spending time with this practice recreated my life.   Each drawing time is also a creation story.  The blank page becomes filled with color and form that brings meaning and life.

About 10 years ago I was in the process of reconnecting to myself and rediscovering my inner voice.  After a major life transition, I was refashioning my life.  There had been a time in the darkness of unknowing and now light was starting to appear.

I noticed a weekend art retreat at a Benedictine abbey and signed up without a clue that the weekend would be a turning point for me.  Along with meeting a nun for the first time :-), I found a process that would bring forth life for me.

marcia chadly Life Spiral 2014The retreat was an introduction to contemplative drawing with oil pastels.  Each drawing session began with a brief discussion and then a meditation to transition out of linear thinking into art making contemplation.  There was incense to let our noses know it was time to make art, music to let our ears know it was time to make art, the feel of the paper to let our bodies know it was time to make art, and the sight of the colors to let our eyes know it was time to make art.  What a wonderful release into the blank, empty page – with reassurance from the instructor that we already knew what to draw without plan or thought or worry.

marcia chadly mandala Aug 2011The empty page is an opening for creation.  Planning or thinking limits what will appear. Because there is no way to be detailed and picky with the oil pastels, there is a freedom.  This is playtime; smear the colors around and get your fingers dirty play.  Drawing is all about the experience of watching the colors transform on the paper.  A time to see that colors change depending on what other colors are around.  This is an experience of layering color on top of color to bring results that are influenced by all the layers.   The final picture is enjoyed as much for the process of expression that created it as the final image.

The time spent in contemplation, the process of the drawing, and the drawing created are all paths to my inner voice.  Exactly what I was intentionally seeking!  Little by little I connected to my inner wisdom and to myself.

marcia chadly Moon Flower 2009 smallThat first retreat led to others and to contemplative drawing on my own.  At first my oil pastel playtime was a much-needed break and time to clear my mind from daily living.  Soon I began to see parallels between the two.  The experiences of my life are layered on top of each other, being influenced by the layers underneath.  I started noticing when the trap of valuing the end result rather than the journey caught me.  I understood that the more I could "play" with life, letting go of expectations and trying things with the knowledge that mistakes were wonderful and led to new things, the more I was free to live and enjoy life.   Beyond the self-connection I was seeking, this practice opened me up to a new way of being in the world.  I was being recreated as a Monk in the World.   And I saw that it was good.


Marcia Chadly Head Shot 2012Marcia Chadly is a lover of color, creativity, and community; she appreciates the sacred space found in all of them.  Marcia values self-knowledge, growth, and renewal as key to living the life calling you and as a stepping stone to being in community with and in service to others.  She lives that value as Director of the Creative Life Center in the Denver Metro area of Colorado.  The Creative Life Center offers a variety of classes and events to support you from where you are to where you want to grow.  Visit www.CreativeLifeCenter.org to learn more.

Click here to read all the guest posts in the Monk in the World series>>

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13 Comments October 2, 2014

Upcoming Programs

The Way of the Hermit:
A Spiritual Survival Guide for Dark Times

January 22-24, 2021
with Kayleen Asbo, PhD

The Spiral Way:
Celtic Spirituality and the Creative Imagination

Hosted by the Rowe Center
February 1-21, 2021
with Christine Valters Paintner, PhD

Recent Reflections

  • Humility + Join us today for live prayer! ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess
  • Hildy Tales 2: Tús maith leath na hoibre – by John Valters Paintner
  • New Book Club for 2021: Lift Every Voice ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess
  • Hildy Tales One: Dia dhuit, is mise Hildy! by John Valters Paintner, Your Online Prior
  • Celebrate the Earth Monastery Prayer Cycle podcast with us!

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