illuminated, Monotype of the Day #638

Day 268 of Year 2 (Actually Day 273)

The puppy, who I love, is completely exhausting me. My tank is running low and it's taking a great deal of perseverance to keep going on this project. That's ok though. It can't always be easy or joyful. Sometimes it's just a matter of trusting that soon the tide will turn and you will be filled again. This is the way of the artist, radical trust that the moment we are in is necessary to our process though the outcome is a mystery, Every ebb has its flow and faith in this immutable cycle of life can help carry us through challenging times. My love to all those who are sick or suffering. xo

self portrait with timer, Monotype of the Day #462

Day 96 of Year 2 (Actually Day 97)

To be alive is to have anxiety, angst, pain, all of it. Holding these emotions in will block the creative flow. Uncomfortable, darker feelings must be acknowledged to be released. The artist needs to be fearless in their embrace in order to find the Light. This piece helped me empty my vessel for more creativity to flow in.

Secret Language
by Rumi, Trans. Coleman Barks

Every part of you has a secret language
your hands and your feet
say what you've done
and every need brings in what's needed
pain bears its cure like a child
From the website Poetry Chaikhana https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/Poets/R/RumiMevlanaJ/SecretLangua/index.html
Transcribed from a CD: Secret Language https://amzn.to/33FhIOr

the transfer, Monotype of the Day #460

Day 94 of Year 2 (Actually Day 95)

A larger sheet of paper would have been useful here. I wanted to do more with the second plate but alas, no room. Maybe tomorrow. This image was printed 3 times. 1, the hand, 2, the hand again with the left over ink from the first print, & 3, the person holding the finger. Printing is so magical, you never know exactly what anything will look like once ink hits paper. It teaches detachment. If you really love an image, it's difficult to take that leap of faith and print a second or third layer over it. So you must reserve judgment. This is one of the most important rules in the studio.

Raga
by Denise Levertov

The fluteplayer
can’t be seen to draw breath,
doesn’t even
part his lips. But music
flows from the
wooden flute, a river
of honey over-
flowing the honeycomb.

From Sands of the Well https://amzn.to/2pmQyNG (To see the bonus content posted with this on my patron page checkout www.patreon.com/sybilarchibald)

empty, Monotype of the Day #449

Day 83 of Year 2 (Actually Day 84)

This piece feels undone to me but every time I tried to add something, it did not come. I've gotten much better at following directions so I was able to leave it even though it was the last thing I wanted to do. Looking at this monotype is uncomfortable, it feels messy and unfinished. My ego definitely didn't want to post it. 🙂 Then I realized this is moment of emptiness and uncertainty just before becoming, just before new arrives. This piece is holding the space void of myself, empty of ego, that allows for rebirth. The discomfort comes from not knowing, the strength comes from waiting. Things will unfold in their own time. I can sense them lingering just outside of the frame, dancing on the edge of my vision.

like a window, Monotype of the Day #396

Day 31 of Year 2

When I first started the Monotype a Day project, I had strong feelings about going into the studio and let's just say they were not always safe for work. I had a lot of resistance and sometimes I was vocal about it. ☺️ Some days I just plain didn't feel like working but I always made myself anyway. There are still some days I don't feel like going into the studio, but the habit of working is so strong it overrides everything else. I notice I am sick, or cranky, or whatever, I observe it and then I just do it anyway. There isn't even a question so why argue with myself? It's amazing how strong habits are. They can carry you through so much emotional turbulence (worries, anger, resistance, distraction,...) like a strong, secure floor during an earthquake.

I Worried
By Mary Oliver

I worried a lot. Will the garden grow, will the rivers
flow in the right direction, will the earth turn
as it was taught, and if not how shall
I correct it?

Was I right, was I wrong, will I be forgiven,
can I do better?

Will I ever be able to sing, even the sparrows
can do it and I am, well,
hopeless.

Is my eyesight fading or am I just imagining it,
am I going to get rheumatism,
lockjaw, dementia?

Finally I saw that worrying had come to nothing.
And gave it up. And took my old body
and went out into the morning,
and sang.

sunrise, Monotype of the Day #365

One year! And something totally different again, a sunrise, full of optimism. It's been quite an adventure of late in the studio. I have no idea at all what will come out. One year of prints everyday without fail through all my ups and downs, through hospital stays, trips and grumpiness, feels like a big occasion. But I'm treating it like any other day, a chance to get down to work and see what will happen. Tomorrow I'll be back in the studio again. Year two, day one.

As I look back over the year I feel such intense gratitude for all the changes this project has brought to my life. I've grown as an artist and a person. The constant wash of creative flow through me has worn away so many rough edges like a river smooths a stone. I've felt the immeasurable power of showing transform my life and open opportunities and connections. I have formed a deep faith in the value of working. As those of you who follow me regularly know, I had a difficult spring with 3 hospitals stays. It was working that carried me through, even as fever and an operation pulled me down. Touching the creative flow healed me and brought me back to life. Over the course of this year, I've had an intimate, life changing conversation, artist to Artist (the source of all creativity). It has been profoundly private and also more public than anything I've ever done- two opposites almost mystically coexisting in one moment. I've experienced great beauty, sorrow and joy while working and now I am filled with gratitude. My profound thanks to everyone who is following my journey and all the support I have received from you. The comments, likes and sales mean the world to me. If you are not a commenter, know that I feel and value your support. Although I would still be in the studio without you all, your presence this year has made everything so much sweeter and you are dear to me. A special thanks to Barry Echtman, without whose support so much would remain undone and all my artist friends!

As once the winged energy of delight
by Rainer Maria Rilke, Trans. Stephen Mitchell

As once the winged energy of delight
carried you over childhood’s dark abysses,
now beyond your own life build the great
arch of unimagined bridges.

Wonders happen if we can succeed
in passing through the harshest danger;
but only in a bright and purely granted
achievement can we realize the wonder.

To work with Things in the indescribable
relationship is not too hard for us;
the pattern grows more intricate and subtle,
and being swept along is not enough.

Take your practiced powers and stretch them out
until they span the chasm between two
contradictions… For the god
wants to know himself in you.

———————

See you tomorrow

xoxo

meditation I, Monotype of the Day #306

I recently realized that in order to get where I want to go artistically, I need to up my meditation game. My art practice is about letting the flow of creativity stream through. I need to make more internal space for that to happen. It's a happy goal, and already bearing fruit in my everyday life. I'm shrinking my head and growing my heart. Art and meditation have so much is common. Like art, meditation requires bravery to confront the feelings that come up while practicing. I've always been convinced this is the reason so many artists have been heavy drinkers and generally debauched. It's is because the meditative quality of making art creates space for those painful past moments we run from in daily life to surface. Art helps process and heal these moments just as meditation can, but only if they are held close and felt. If an artist has the courage to do this, making the work will be transformative for them. The energy of the artist's transformation and healing will be captured in the art and passed on to viewers.

My favorite poem about the potential of the meditative state by Zen monk Dogen from the 13th century:

Midnight.
No waves,
no wind, the empty boat
is flooded with moonlight.

by Dogen

xoxo