Daily Nourishment for July 7, 2024: Leaning in with Guidance, Words, and Art from Lanecia A. Rouse
Daily Nourishment Read Time: 55 seconds
Pause/Prompt/Practice Time: 15 minutes
“Staying curious + open as I engage what often feels like a magnificent struggle of birthing what’s within this imagination.” - Lanecia A. Rouse
Pause.
Take deep breaths with a six-count inhale and a six-count exhale while reading this poem by Ciona Rouse and the accompanying caption on Lanecia A. Rouse’s Instagram account.
Prompt.
Read the excerpt below from an online studio visit and conversation with Image and Lanecia about one way her work changed during the pandemic. (This portion of the conversation begins at the 18:08 mark in the video.)
“I typically work on large canvas works when I’m in the studio, but I found during quarantine that I wanted to work small.
Once I had some time to really think about my takeaways form the past couple of months of creating, I realized that the big large works—it requires a stepping away… a distancing myself from the work. It's a different kind of intimacy with the canvas when i'm creating really big.
But I wanted to create small in a way were I had to lean in. There's this closeness. I didn't have to pull away and distance myself. And I think one of the things I've missed the most [during quarantine] is being able to be in community, present with people and that connection and that energy and that space of leaning into each other and touch… And so through my work, I think that's why I was creating all of these small pieces... The larger canvases were in the background getting some layers to them, but most of the work that I wanted to do and complete were all small, real kind of intimate pieces. And so that changed my practice.”
Practice.
Set a timer for ten minutes and take notes or journal in response to the poem and quote above and/or the items below.
How do you lean into your creative work? What makes you do deeper with a smaller portion of your writing or art making?
How can you do a smaller thing today or one day soon that will allow you to lean in and connect in a closer way? Can you write a flash fiction or flash nonfiction piece? Can you write one terrific paragraph? One sentence?
What types of energy shifts do you notice in your creative process?
How did the pandemic affect your creative expression?
What do you want to experiment with and play with in the coming days and weeks based on everything shared in today’s Daily Nourishment?
Want More?
Watch the entire Studio Visit conversation with Lanecia A. Rouse and Image. There’s so much good stuff there.
Take some time to look at Lanecia Rouse’s collages and other art
Lanecia A. Rouse will lead a visual art workshop at this year’s Glen Workshop. During the month of July, Spiritual Direction for Writers® Daily Nourishment will feature Glen Workshop facilitators and other Glen-ish people, places, and things. Enjoy!
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Lanecia A. Rouse’s Artist Statement from her website:
“Art-making, for me, is an act imbued with love. It serves as an exploration, allowing me to plunge into the intricate layers of my being. Through my work, I engage in the authentic unveiling, naming, and understanding of the collage that defines both myself and the shared world we inhabit-- as I participate in the imagining and creating of better worlds.
My artistic practice is contemplative, slow, intuitive and playful/exploratory in nature. I explore the possibilities of a variety of materials, often found, overlooked, and/or discarded materials patinated by time-- that I layer, stitch, deconstruct, reimagine, and re-construct to potentially bring a new thing into existence. I build mixed media collage works that point towards alternative ways for viewing and knowing human experiencing. I sit with questions and draw upon memory, poetry/literature, sociopolitical realities, theology and history to create mixed media collages and paintings that reflect the textured ideas, complex realities, emotions, dreams, longings, questions, possibilities and beauty that make up the storied layers of the human experience.”
Upcoming Workshops & Gatherings
—The July Co-Writing Schedule is live.
—July 8: Thoughtful Readers Gathering with Anna Gazmarian 7-8 p.m. CT
—July 21-27: Charlotte Donlon will provide a few spiritual direction offerings at the Glen Workshop in Seattle
—July 27: Online Revision Stations Designed by Lauren F. Winner
Today’s Daily Nourishment was provided by Charlotte Donlon.
*Please help us protect our intellectual property, our creative process, and the integrity of our work. Spiritual Direction for Writers® Daily Nourishment is covered under the Spiritual Direction for Writers® trademark. You are welcome to share this link with others, but any other use (written or spoken) is prohibited without written permission from Charlotte Donlon.