Day 1. Wonder

“Invitation to Wonder” 6×6, oil on canvas, framed.

Back in November I took a look around my studio space and realized that the chaos I’d been working in was making me, each day, less and less inclined to want to be there. My supplies were thrown on random shelves; I had a box in the corner filled with old, unfinished or unsuccessful paintings, one of which I’d remembered creating before my twelve-year-old son was even born. Knowing that Thanksgiving is essentially a floodgate for all the holidays to suddenly pour in before I’m ready, prepared, or willing, I decided to start making (physical) space for my 31 in 31. I threw things away that I’d held onto for decades but never used. I hung pegboard on the walls so paintings could dry without collecting on every nearest surface. I vacuumed. Best of all, I bought a rocking chair, table, and lamp for the corner of my studio, a place I’ve been visiting most mornings to start brainstorming, writing, sketching. 

Eventually what transpired was that I was beginning my days by asking for some gift, virtue, insight, or feeling to visit, asking that my heart be open to its presence. And then I was drawing what this invitation looked like or inspired in me as I reflected on its presence. 

Immediately, I knew that this practice of invitation was how I wanted to structure my 31 in 31. 

So here I am on Day 1 where anything is still possible and what will become has not yet. Today I invite Wonder. And as I scribbled my invitation into my sketchbook this morning, I realized it wasn’t just for today, but for this whole practice, this whole month. I am nervous and eager to explore where this whole thing goes. I’m ready to be surprised. 

Today’s painting is a reflection on that invitation to Wonder. And this is my invitation:

Welcome, Wonder.

Make crooked these precise paths

That I might travel beyond

Perfectly paved roads,

Stumble upon all that is 

hidden in bushes, in bramble–

Ripening blackberries, wildflowers, 

Even, sometimes, fire. 

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