Tiny Encapsulations / May 29, 2026

 May 29, 2026

Tiny Encapsulations

soul school

paint brush dabs, sweeps, blends,
offers what is here to learn:
stillness in motion

—dotty seiter

=====

Here to Learn Stillness
6.5 x 3.25″; watercolor and ink on paper
mood-mini
2026

=====

Notes about poem and art:
• In seventeen syllables, “paint brush” highlights the essence of painting, outside and in.
• Cynthia Hauk caught the outside and in of me with her Sketchbook Revival session featuring what she calls mood-minis. Painting wet on wet, the invitation is to let your color choices and the unpredictability of the interaction of water and paint reflect your inner world in the moment of painting. Similarly, once the paint dries, grab a pen and let it trace whatever calls to you in the composition. I will be creating more of these.

=====

1. 

   Joyful Puttering

   May 29, 2026 at 8:34 am

   Edit

   You’ve written seventeen syllables perfectly describing the joy of painting. Well done!

   And I can see why you might create a series of these mood-minis finding whatever calls to you with your pen. Learning stillness is such a wonderful concept in art and in life. Well done!

   Like

   Reply
   1. 

      Dotty Seiter

      May 29, 2026 at 9:06 am

      Edit

      MaryAnn, thank you! I’m guessing you might experience the same thing when engaged in your many creative activities: while outwardly the appearance is of activity/movement, creative ventures open the door to accessing the always-available inner stillness. Yes?

      Stillness becomes palpable each time I look at this painting and remember painting it. Thanks for your comments.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
2. 

   Joyful Puttering

   May 29, 2026 at 11:04 am

   Edit

   Yes!

   Liked by you

   Reply
3. 

   carol lee

   May 29, 2026 at 11:20 am

   Edit

   Poem really does justice to the process. Intuition and playing with what shows.

   I love the way the colors bleed together! You really made use of the shapes to do your  neurographic  sketch! My eye keeps traveling back and forth through the painting. That touch of yellow….WOW! And of course the vertical line of the sketchbook spine!

   Like

   Reply
   1. 

      Dotty Seiter

      May 29, 2026 at 1:50 pm

      Edit

      Carol, thanks for your feedback re poem’s doing justice to the process!

      I had such fun with the painting process here and then making use of the resulting organic shapes to do my neurographic line work; thanks for letting me know it kept your eye traveling and for your appreciation of that touch of yellow.

      In fact, this painting was done on a single page and I added the vertical line because the idea called out to me to add that bit of visual interruption/interest—a faux sketchbook spine!

      : )

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
4. 

   lolajovan

   May 29, 2026 at 2:53 pm

   Edit

   Oh! This exercise feels sublime! The unpredictability, and then the treasure hunt of finding and defining the shapes – oooh la la! Love the poem, which is a perfect intro to this invitation to stillness. xoxo

   Like

   Reply
   1. 

      Dotty Seiter

      May 29, 2026 at 3:00 pm

      Edit

      It was indeed sublime! Exactly: the unpredictability and then the treasure hunt for finding and defining spaces. More more more!

      And, more than ever before, I can connect to the ever-present stillness in me even when it seems impossible that such stillness could in fact be … ever-present!

      xoxo

      Like

      Reply
5. 

   Meg

   May 30, 2026 at 10:33 am

   Edit

   You got me…I can’t resist a post preview that says “soul school”

   xo

   Like

   Reply
   1. 

      Dotty Seiter

      May 30, 2026 at 10:55 am

      Edit

      Ha! Happy to see you here. You are a hard one to snag : )

      Like

      Reply
6. 

   roseanne333

   May 30, 2026 at 1:16 pm

   Edit

   Hi, Dotty ~ I tried numerous times to leave my comment on the wordpress. It doesn’t always work for me. Grrrrrr! They frustrate me at times! I love the mood mini and the colors are soothing.

   Like

   Reply
   1. 

      Dotty Seiter

      May 30, 2026 at 2:53 pm

      Edit

      Thank you for persisting, Roseanne—I wish I understood better why being able to comment at WordPress isn’t reliably consistent. I agree: grrrrrr! Do you have a WP account? I know one can have a free account, and I assume that facilitates commenting.

      Frustrations aside, I am always happy to see you here, and I appreciate your taking pleasure in the mood-mini with its soothing colors. It was very soothing in the making.

      Like

      Reply
7. 

   Meg

   May 31, 2026 at 8:38 pm

   Edit

   Looking again at this one, reading your description of the process, and thinking, “Oh! Painting your soul!” (like, how did I miss this the first time?)

   xo

   Like

   Reply
   1. 

      Dotty Seiter

      June 1, 2026 at 5:44 am

      Edit

      There’s soul school, and there’s poetry-and-art school! Both require being alive awake aware to what is 

      Like

      Reply
8. 

   Sheila Marie Delgado

   June 5, 2026 at 3:46 am

   Edit

   Thanks for sharing this soul food with us! xoxo

   Like

   Reply
   1. 

      Dotty Seiter

      June 5, 2026 at 5:27 am

      Edit

      Soul food from the soul school cafeteria! You’re welcome!

Lay Thee Down Now and Rest / May 25, 2026

May 25, 2026

Lay Thee Down Now and Rest

oh where oh where can she be?

with neither notice
nor intent
the poet in her
nods off periodically
for naps,
some of them
of some depth and length,
not unlike the way she nods off
when she reads before bed—
snoozing, drifting away,
the conscious mind
unavailable,
returning
for no more than a flash
of plot before
evaporating
yet again
into slumber,
having snagged
only a few words,
an occasional phrase …
         porthole … smolder …
         butt-hugging red dress …
         periwinkle … pinecone …
         awkward and original …

—dotty seiter

=====

Poet’s Lullabye
7 x 7″; watercolor on paper
abstract botanical
2026

=====

Notes about poem and art:
• “oh where oh where” speaks to a recent patch of days when—try as I might—I could not locate the poet in me, a very uncomfortable circumstance. I’m learning slowly to trust that although the poet occasionally nods off without notice, she does wake up again and return to writing.
• Poet’s Lullabye is what I created when I availed myself of Amy Maricle’s “Soothing Eucalyptus” session during an 11-day Sketchbook Revival Challenge offered in April by artist Karen Amend and other artists. Amy’s session was sooo nourishingly soothing, gotta say. Her commitment to sharing the practice of slow drawing was and continues to be a welcome gift.

=====

1. 

   carol lee

   May 25, 2026 at 3:31 am

   Edit

   I love nodding off with “Nothing Much Happens” with a timer on my phone. Most times can’t remember the story next morning. Enjoyed your use of the metaphor, comparing two sides of yourself. My “poet” went on vacation!

   Love your eucalyptus painting, I also follow Amy on her free slow drawing sessions. A really good balance to my scribbles.

   Like

   Reply
   1. 

      Dotty Seiter

      May 25, 2026 at 5:49 am

      Edit

      Carol, as I commented at your blog just a short time ago, a poem akin to your “Nothing Is Coming” poem would appear soon at my blog. I wonder how many poets have written their corresponding version of this theme, hahaha!

      Oh, fun to know that you also follow Amy Maricle. I find slow drawing to be very grounding and welcome.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. 

         carol lee

         May 25, 2026 at 9:38 am

         Edit

         i usually follow the following Thursday morning because of the time frame.

         Liked by you

         Reply
2. 

   Joyful Puttering

   May 25, 2026 at 7:46 am

   Edit

   I can relate to this….nodding off….waking with a hint of an idea that I struggle to make real. But then all of a sudden I’m awake again and I find a groove and go with it.

   You poets are able to turn these naps into poems….that tell where….oh wherever you are! Thanks for being real with us!

   I adore your Poet’s Lullaby piece!

   Like

   Reply
   1. 

      Dotty Seiter

      May 25, 2026 at 8:03 am

      Edit

      That nodding off is delicious, isn’t it? Reminds me of watching my kids via rear view mirror in the years when they nodded off in their car seats.

      MaryAnn, thanks for affirming my “being real with us” in my poems.

      I loved painting Poet’s Lullaby under Amy Maricle’s direction; happy to know it struck a chord with you also.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
3. 

   lolajovan

   May 25, 2026 at 2:56 pm

   Edit

   Your post is timely! I have heard from half a dozen other creatives whose muses are napping – disconcerting for each of them! Naps are necessary for both humans and otherworldly muses, I think.

   This: porthole … smolder …          butt-hugging red dress …          periwinkle … pinecone …          awkward and original …

   made me giggle, smile, nod, wiggle, dance. YES!

   Love the result of your slow drawing. Soothing to the viewer, too! xo

   Like

   Reply
   1. 

      Dotty Seiter

      May 25, 2026 at 3:39 pm

      Edit

      Thank you for the heads up that many muses are napping right along with mine! Who knew! And, of course, naps are necessary for one and all.

      Love that you reflected back the porthole … smolder part of my poem. It was so much fun to craft that list, all words/phrases from books I’m currently reading that I then got to arrange according to what my ear suggested.

      mmmmm, that slow drawing is delish. Glad it hit you right also.

      xo

      Like

      Reply
4. 

   roseanne333

   May 26, 2026 at 8:22 am

   Edit

   I know well this nodding off, especially whilst lying in bed before sleep. How many times have I reread this one page!

   Love your color choice and composition of your watercolor piece, with ethereal and underwater feeling for me. I follow Amy and have been a member of her lower tier for a long time. She’s easy on the senses. Same with Jackie Schomburg. Love her, too.

   Like

   Reply
   1. 

      Dotty Seiter

      May 26, 2026 at 10:36 am

      Edit

      LOL at your being well able to identify with the nodding off! It is a delicious feeling, though, yes??

      Thanks for your appreciation of color and composition in Poet’s Lullaby, and I’m grateful for your “ethereal and underwater feeling” feedback. Fun to hear that you also follow Amy, and thank you for your mention of Jackie whom I’ll now go check out online : )