creative unearthing podcast with emma freeman

In this episode of "Reflections from My Art Table," I share a beautiful poem by the poet and writer, John O'Donohue. It is called, "For the Artist at the Start of Day" from his book, To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings. I discovered this poem recently and absolutely love it. It gives me encouragement and connection while I sit at my art table and reminds me that artists have a calling and deeper need to create. John O'Dononue was an Irish poet, writer, philosopher and spiritual teacher. 

"For the Artist at the Start of Day"

by John O'Donohue

May morning be astir with
the harvest of night;
Your mind quickening to the
eros of a new question,
Your eyes seduced by some
unintended glimpse
That cut right through the
surface to a source.

May this be a morning of
innocent beginning,
When the gift within you
slips clear
Of the sticky web of the
personal
With its hurt and its
hauntings,
And fixed fortress corners,

A morning when you become
a pure vessel
For what wants to ascend
from silence,

May your imagination know
The grace of perfect danger,

To reach beyond imitation,
And the wheel of repetition,

Deep into the call of all
The unfinished and unsolved.

Until the veil of the unknown
yields
And something original
begins

To stir toward your senses
And grow stronger in your
heart

In order to come to birth
In a clean line of form,
That claims from time
A rhythm not yet heard,
That calls space to
A different shape.

May it be its own force field
And dwell uniquely
Between the heart and the
light

To surprise the hungry eye
By how deftly it fits
About its secret loss.

I also talk about self-doubt as an artist and our need for connection and community to keep us going. 

Emma Freeman, the host of Reflections from My Art Table podcast, is a queer mixed media artist who works in many mediums including textiles, fibers, collage, mark making, book making, drawing and cyanotype. She designs greeting cards, fabric and other products and teaches online art classes as a teaching artist. She is a highly sensitive person and has a playful, contemplative art practice. She lives in Wisconsin in the United States. You can learn more about Emma through her website www.emmafreemandesigns.com and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/emmfreemandesigns.

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