Excited to share my first art project from the new studio—a drawing for Spiritual Directors International: the cover for the March issue of Presence Journal! This graphite drawing, approximately 36″ W x 45″ H on paper features rough cuts, intentional crinkles, and creases along the edges. Collaborating with my boss, Rev. SeiFu, we often delve into metaphors when reflecting on spiritual companionship—the heart of our work at SDI.
One metaphor we frequently turn to is that of ‘deep swimmers’—depicting the journey of spiritual directors and companions. Our spiritual journeys, taken openly, plunge us into the murky depths of our psyche, obliterate any discernible horizon, and even so we encourage one another to go deeper, even as we navigate turbulent waters.
SeiFu articulates this shared ethos in the foreword: “
“Once we have learned how to swim is when the work really begins. With some critical abilities at our disposal we can then start navigating closer to God, the Universe, the essence of all things, and ultimate meaning. We will then quickly find ourselves in deep waters, fraught with risks, tensions, traumas, difficulties, and challenges. And a very real and tangible risk of drowning.
But despite these perils, we will then be exactly where we all need to be. A place where we get to disentangle and process our wounds, bad habits and impediments, and to till them until we can use them as the fertilized ground for spiritual growth. Our own, and that of the people we accompany. It is good to work together to accomplish this! And much easier to share these heavy loads between us. There is no better recommendation for why we need to be, and be with, spiritual companions.”
*Side note: I am a trained spiritual companion, and available to walk with you on your own journey. Contact me either here or on my spiritual companioning website: aninvitationtolife.com.
I built a frame for it and it now lives in the home of some good friends. I’ve been looking for a way to mount these larger drawings. When I’m making and displaying them I typically tack them on the wall with binder clips. I like how the “open-air” frame maintains that feel, and accommodates the uneven cuts off the paper roll.
