January 4

Here’s what I wrote back in 2020 to accompany the watercolor image of the Grunewald Guild’s Yurt:

I cannot tell you the number of times in my creative practice that I get to say to myself, “Well, that didn’t turn out the way I was hoping.” Often I sense, in hind sight, that I was moving too fast, not allowing enough space for reflection. Healing comes in time. Participating in the mini-resurrections of my journal pages requires pausing (and maybe stepping away for a while for the hurt to soften), then seeing new possibility. I wonder what would happen if…

It’s meaningful for me to include those words because a year later (in 2021), I chose a passage from Author Bayo Akomolafe’s These Wilds Beyond Our Fences which echoes a similar sentiment.

Honestly, even the resonance that happened between my mom’s birthday card and my painting-in-process that year bear mystery beyond words.

Thank you, God, for “the universe’s hubs of unspeakable creativity.”

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Written on January 4, 2020: “How intuitive is a mother’s love?! Check out my current painting compared to the card I just received from my mom… crazy and wonderful.”

2021

“Just as soils chastise seeds, and cocoons imprison caterpillars, obstacles are the universe’s hubs of unspeakable creativity, redeeming us from tired victories, from the banality of crossing the finish line, from the soundtrack of getting everything we want, and especially from the hubris of thinking we are in control.” —Bayo Akomolafe, *These Wilds Beyond Our Fences*, p. 102-103

“Seven Years of Wonder” is a daily look back at my creative journaling posts since 2014. I began this journey on Feb. 11, 2021, and hope to continue through Feb. 10, 2022. What am I learning about my art and faith journey thus far? What has remained constant? Where have I been changed? How is this impacting present and future art-making?

A deep bow of gratitude to you for keeping me company on this journey.