Spiritual Artistry And Tribute To The Morning Coffee Ritual

Growing up I held the belief that all of my accomplishments were due to factors within my mind and body. But over time I’ve come to understand that there are forces beyond my comprehension that I have helped me throughout my life.

For a long time I chalked up my good fortune to skill, luck and serendipity. But I now realize that this is just too much coincidence and there is something more behind the joy and good fortune I have experienced in my life.

I started my career as an artist two years ago at age 71 with no prior training. I have discovered that I am not the artist in control. I am the physical body acting through processes I don’t understand, aided by a higher power to make the next choice in creating a pleasing image (pleasing to my eye anyway).

I don’t have to worry about my lack of skill or experience in art. If I allow whatever has been aiding me my entire life to work through me, all I have to do is hold the brush and watch the magic happen.

The paintings I am posting today are part of what I’m calling my “grounds” series. This is because they are based on spilled coffee grounds and glancing morning sunlight on my kitchen counter.

Although my ego wants to feel like i am the creator of art, often I just provide the mechanics that renders an artistic image with the unseen aid of a muse, higher power, divine, God, or whatever you choose to label these helpers.

When I too consciously try to control the whole process, the results are predictably poor.

Coffee has been an influence in my life and today’s gallery is a tribute to help and challenges that coffee has given to me. When I was a grad student we would keep the coffee pot going 24 hours a day. I became pretty immune to caffein due to my over consumption. My stomach was practically ulcerated from the constant stress of handling poorly brewed coffee (in the days before coffee shops were found on every corner) Our brewing costs were just mere cents per cup in the late 1960s.

As I grew older I found that I could not drink coffee unless I was constantly near a bathroom due to the standard prostate problems of advancing age! But in the last few years I have discovered Bulletproof coffee and have add coffee back into my morning ritual. The butter and oil added are anti inflammatory and counter act the irritation of the prostate. Just google Bulletproof coffee to find out what I am talking about.

I also enjoy grinding beans fresh in a small stainless steel hand grinder. It keeps my wrist muscles mildly exercised. Then I dump the fresh grounds into a small stainless steel French Press one cup maker. I hate the glass presses as I always break the glass part. This setup was really inexpensive via Amazon.

So occasionally as I dump the fresh grounds into the press, half asleep, I don’t get all of the grounds into the press – some land on the counter. On one particular morning a couple weeks ago, the morning sun angle was such that the tiny grounds cast shadows ten times there actual size. I started with those photos in making the below images. Lots of editing, blending and color adjustments and filters later I am able to share the below results with you.

Enjoy!