mirror image, Monotype of the Day #566

Day 196 of Year 2 (Actually Day 201)

I had high hopes for leaving this stomach bug behind, but alas it didn't happen. To tomorrow! In the meantime when I haven't been sleeping, I've been thinking about mirrors. Mirrors are a symbol that comes up in my work rarely, but in regular intervals. While studying medieval spirituality in college, I was taken with the idea that all creatures are like mirrors reflecting Divine Light. This includes human beings, our souls are compared to dirty mirrors and our duty is to polish them so we can reflect more Light into the world. In the medieval period this mirror haze was thought of as sin, but I think of it as lack of self awareness. The more we know ourselves, the more we can access our innate kindness and share it with the world. Anyplace where you have to stick with difficulties and work them rather that avoid them polishes the mirror. An artists studio is just such a place. Until tomorrow.xo

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)

Here, Monotype of the Day #459

Day 93 of Year 2 (Actually Day 94)


Today, I needed to feel this orange, with its life affirming heat. From there, the image unfolded. It always starts like that, a flush of color or a fragment of image pops into my head like a key to unlocking a mystery. Then, the innate wisdom of the body takes over. My hands, even in their weakened state, know more about making art than my brain ever could. In this process, the brain has a more important task than thinking. It must empty and listen. The ink's voice, the images that pop in, the nudges, must be heard. All are messages from the universal source of all creativity, The Artist, shining through from behind the veil, a gift to the artist.

By Angelus Silesius, Trans. Stephen Mitchell
God, whose love and joy
are present everywhere,
Can't come to visit you
unless you aren't there.

From The Enlightened Heart https://amzn.to/2OKKWHD