the keyhole. Monotype, 12 x 14”
Sybil Archibald
Day 154 of year 3
We are all keyholes waiting to be unlocked so our inner light can spill out into the world. Poem below the title.
This work is paired with "The Door" by Jane Hirshfield
Read it here: http://inwardboundpoetry.blogspot.com/2006/10/233-door-jane-hirshfield.html
from The October Palace https://amzn.to/2Ku42kY
Day 50 of year 3
(Total project days 782)
This work is accompanied with "Rebus" by Jane Hirshfield from Given Sugar, Given Salt.
Read it here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47099/rebus
Day 342 of Year 2 (Actually Day 347)
Here is the final print and a ghost print of one of the layers. Tonight I'm liking the simplicity of the ghost, a chance to breathe. Meanwhile, I'm busy researching and plotting how to make bigger prints!
Ladder
By Jane Hirshfield
Read it here: https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2020/oct/19/poem-of-the-week-it-was-as-if-a-ladder-by-jane-hirshfield
From Given Sugar, Given Salt https://amzn.to/2zYBhbv
Day 332 of Year 2 (Actually Day 337)
Meeting the Light Completely
By Jane Hirshfield
Read it here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/152783/meeting-the-light-completely
From Poetry of Presence: An Anthology of Mindfulness Poems https://amzn.to/2YBFaLT
Day 330 of Year 2 (Actually Day 335)
Day 700! This feels like an accomplishment and I want to take moment to acknowledge that. It's hard for many people, myself included, to take in accomplishments. We tend to focus on what we've done wrong rather than what we've done right. Taking a more balanced view is profoundly healing. This monotype of the day project has helped me tremendously with being more balanced. Putting something out everyday to be judged slowly washes away my attachment to my own judgements about my work. And, even more, the work has been transformative in ways I do not fully understand. I only know that I am not the same person who started this project 700 days ago and for that I am deeply grateful.
This work is paired with “Termites : An Assay” by Jane Hirshfield
from After Poems https://amzn.to/3hkPNet
Day 306 of Year 2 (Actually Day 311)
Sheep
By Jane Hirshfield
Read it here:
Found on https://readalittlepoetry.wordpress.com/category/jane-hirshfield/
Day 264 of Year 2 (Actually Day 269)
Many of us are in the midst of deconstructing, if temporarily, a way of life. Routines are scrambled and the things we thought would come to pass have not. This is a moment of letting go, of ebb. But if we look to nature, we see that every ebb has its flow. It is the retreat of water that allows the wave. In this moment when it seems nothing is happening, the roots of something new and unknown are taking hold. The unknown can be scary and for some more than others. Tonight's poem is for those experiencing anxiety. My love to all who are sick or suffering. xo
This work is paired with "Retrospective" by Jane Hirshfield
Read it here embedded in this article https://www.vox.com/2020/3/21/21173809/book-review-poetry-poems-jane-hirshfield-ledger
from Ledger https://amzn.to/33nvmXF
Day 243 of Year 2 (Actually Day 248)
Although we must stay inside, freedom is very much a state of mind as well.
This print is paired with:
A Ream of Paper
By Jane Hirshfield
Read it here: https://muse.jhu.edu/article/734433/pdf
First published in The Southern Review and now in her new amazing book Ledger https://amzn.to/38SU3MD (Buy poetry books! Supports poets!)
Day 240 of Year 2 (Actually Day 245)
Every few months a self portrait comes up. Sometimes they are a way of learning something new about myself, sometimes they are to relieve feelings. Tonight's piece is the latter. Although I am generally feeling calm, it's hard not to pickup on all the anxiety in the air. It's important to acknowledge and embrace whatever it is we are feeling so it doesn't overpower us. This will pass, this will pass.
Jane Hirshfield just released a stunning new book of poetry called Ledger (https://amzn.to/33nvmXF). I highly recommend it. Tonight's poem, from Ledger, is excerpted from the poem Nine Pebbles. It is a work of deep calm and stillness. It helped me to touch this energy today.
This work is paired with "Retrospective" by Jane Hirshfield
You can find it here: https://briefpoems.wordpress.com/2023/03/06/pebbles-brief-poems-by-jane-hirshfield/
from Ledger https://amzn.to/33nvmXF
Day 235 of Year 2 (Actually Day 240)
Earlier today I did demo monotype of this image but the energy didn't feel complete so I tried again tonight. I find this image strangely stirring. Longing for the Unknowable yet fearful of it. xo
Meeting the Light Completely
By Jane Hirshfield
Read it here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/152783/meeting-the-light-completely
From October Palace https://amzn.to/2PWxEHC)
Day 221 of Year 2 (Actually Day 226)
It's really wonderful to work in the morning, totally renewing. I tried a new technique today, gluing a piece of acid-free white tissue paper in the shape of hand down first and then printing over it. I love the effect. Photographs never quite capture these pieces perfectly, but some prints fair better than others. This one lost detail but you can still get a feel for it. The past month or so I've been feeling a little stale with these prints. It's not that I haven't had good prints, but I need more adventure and experimentation. As someone told me today, if you are not making mistakes and messes you're not pushing yourself enough. So I'm excited to delve into this new technique and see where it takes me.
This work is paired with "Evolution & Glass" by Jane Hirshfield
from After : Poems https://amzn.to/2HLOqoF
Day 217 of Year 2 (Actually Day 222)
It's been so busy lately with my show in a wonderful way. I do still need calm to make work and rest for my body. Since I'm not finding enough of it in my life at the moment, I am creating that energy through my work. This piece was made to simply feel peace and stillness and to let that energy saturate my system.
This work is paired with by "The Task" by Jane Hirshfield
Found on Poetry Chaikhana https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/Poets/H/HirshfieldJa/Task/index.html
From October Palace: Poems https://amzn.to/2VcU0s9
Day 97 of Year 2 (Actually Day 98)
The physical nature of art materials have a large impact on the way a piece unfolds. My current black ink of choice doesn't allow the rich darks and beautiful line quality of my old ink. Because of this, I feel a bit disappointed in the results. Tomorrow, I hope to go back to this image and find that quality I am seeking. But, whether or not the piece is a success visually, it is definitely a success in shifting my internal landscape. It was born out of sitting and breathing with some fear and anxiety that were plaguing me today. The feelings have passed. I go to sleep with a clear mind and heart.
This work is paired with by "Building and Earthquake" by Jane Hirshfield
Read it here: https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.7560/723436-065/pdf
from Come Thief https://amzn.to/2Bvvya1
Day 75 of Year 2 (Actually Day 76)
When you have a chronic illness, so much of life is waiting, holding on to and idea or plan until the proper time to hatch it comes along. (I am slowly collecting every Jane Hirshfield book. She is amazing!)
This work is paired with "A Room" by Jane Hirshfield from The Lives of the Heart
Read it here: https://www.ronnowpoetry.com/contents/hirshfield/Room.html
Day 43 of Year 2
Have patience, have patience. Everything has it's own time. Something is brewing. Waiting for things to unfold is part of a healthy studio practice. Sometimes it seems that time is wasting away only to find later that it was just a gestation period and all that angst was for naught. Have patience. I say this for my own benefit. Have patience.
This work is paired with "Commentary Inflection: Invented Form" by Jane Hirshfield.
Read it here: https://sharonsinger.ca/poem.php?poem_id=76
From Given sugar, Given Salt