boat, Monotype of the Day #840

boat, monotyoe, 12” x14” Sybil Archibald

boat, monotyoe, 12” x14”
Sybil Archibald

Day 108 of year 3

I added ink directly onto the plate on top of the left over from last night’s print. I like the effect.

KEEPING OUR SMALL BOAT AFLOAT
By Robert Bly

So many blessings have been given to us
During the first distribution of light, that we are
Admired in a thousand galaxies for our grief.

Don't expect us to appreciate creation or to
Avoid mistakes. Each of us is a latecomer
To the earth, picking up wood for the fire.

Every night another beam of light slips out
From the oyster's closed eye. So don't give up hope
that the door of mercy may still be open.

Seth and Shem, tell me, are you still grieving
Over the spark of light that descended with no
Defender near into the Egypt of Mary's womb?

It's hard to grasp how much generosity
Is involved in letting us go on breathing,
When we contribute nothing valuable but our grief.

Each of us deserves to be forgiven, if only for
Our persistence in keeping our small boat afloat
When so many have gone down in the storm.

Source: Robert Bly's Facebook Page

the artist is empty, Monotype of the Day #839

the artist is empty, monotype, 12 x 14” Sybil Archibald

the artist is empty, monotype, 12 x 14”
Sybil Archibald

Day 107 of year 3

Today Like Everyday, We Wake Up Empty
By Rumi, Trans. Moyne & Barks

Today, like every other day, we wake up empty
and frightened. Don't open the door to the study
and begin reading. Take down the dulcimer.

Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.

From one of my favorite Rumi Books, Unseen Rain https://amzn.to/2G7FVXE

For more information about the process of monotype and the Monotype of the Day project click here.  You can purchase this monotype here.

mystical journey, Monotype of the Day #837

mystical journey, 12 x 14”, Sybil Archibald

mystical journey, 12 x 14”, Sybil Archibald

Day 105 of year 3

Whatever happens in the outer world, we still have control of our inner world. The studio can be a kind of a fortress in times of distress. Working is a way to maintain connection to the fundamental goodness of the human spirit. I've often felt that is it the job of the spiritual artist to maintain a connection to the light and work to bring its energy into the world. There can be a lot of difficulty and darkness out there, but there is an inner wellspring of creative light which we can use to trace back to our source. When we can't change the outer world, it's time to turn inward and delve for the light.

For more information about the process of monotype and the Monotype of the Day project click here.  You can purchase this monotype here.

Conversation, Monotype of the Day #836

836-conversation-sybilarchibald-monotype-printmaking-spiritual-art.jpg

Day 104 of year 3

I'm looking forward to some good conversation at the South Orange and Maplewood Studio Tour, Outdoor Edition. Grab your masks and join me Saturday November 7th and Sunday November 8th from 11-4pm. I'll have monotype from the Monotype of the DayProject and a new installation piece. We will have 6 artists on one block including jade carving demos, photography, painting, printmaking and more. Hope you can join me Warren Court, South Orange, NJ.

For more information about the process of monotype and the Monotype of the Day project click here.  You can purchase this monotype here.

mystery, Monotype of the Day #834

mystery, monotype on paper, by Sybil Archibald

mystery, monotype on paper, by Sybil Archibald

Day 102 of year 3

The Moment By Dorothy Walters

And not once,
but many times over,
again and again,
how we disappeared
into that deep well
of darkness, shuddering beneath that load of silence,
clinging to our narrow ledge.

Yet the darkness, sometimes,
unfolded as light.
Our atoms dissolved in it,
each separate molecule opening
into a radiant disk of feeling.

How still we became,
witness and thing seen,
spectacle and observer,
each point admitting an untrammeled flood.

From Marrow of Flame https://amzn.to/3krhJOP

 For more information about the process of monotype and the Monotype of the Day project click here. You can purchase this monotype here.

you are not alone, Monotype of the Day #833

you are not alone, monotype, 12 x 14” Sybil Archibald

you are not alone, monotype, 12 x 14”
Sybil Archibald

Day 101 of year 3

One of the great gifts of the studio is a true sense of partnership. I never feel alone while working. Unseen energies are alway there supporting and healing, bringing peace and a deep sense of belonging to each moment.

 For more information about the process of monotype and the Monotype of the Day project click here. You can purchase this monotype here.

what goes unseen, Monotype of the Day #831

what goes unseen. monotype, 12 x 14” Sybil Archibald

what goes unseen. monotype, 12 x 14”
Sybil Archibald

Day 99 of year 3

So much of making art happens outside the conscious mind. An artist can sometimes get a hint, like seeing the outline of an object against a bright sun. But even after a piece is made they may not be able to see its true meaning and content. Things take time to surface in the conscious mind. This is one of the reasons it's best not to judge a work when it's first complete. Trust in its value and let it marinate. Someday it may provide surprising revelations.

 For more information about the process of monotype and the Monotype of the Day project click here. You can purchase this monotype here.

interior view, Monotype of the Day #830

interior view. monotype, 12 x 14” Sybil Archibald

interior view. monotype, 12 x 14”
Sybil Archibald

Day 98 of year 3

Tonight's poem is from a really lovely book of poetry, Iron String, and is a new discovery for me. I hope you enjoy. 

Enough

By Annie Lighthart

Sometimes the birds like the bare branch, and later
the cover of leaves. And so it goes: a day of sun, then two
of rain. We are easy with the world and then can no longer be.
And the space between — what lives there? In the middle
of the in-breath and out — where are we just then?
Is there more than silence between chorus and verse?
Is it a compressed galaxy? A pocket of time? Or perhaps
it is more like the comma, dark little hook
on which many things turn. Sometimes it’s enough
to slip into that darkness and just stand there, looking around.

 From Iron String https://amzn.to/3oinBMS

 For more information about the process of monotype and the Monotype of the Day project click here.

You can purchase this monotype here.

fishing hole, Monotype of the Day #827

Day 95 of year 3

This project is about exploring the inner life of an artist, the issues that come up and the growth that occurs while working in the studio. It is a very public way of making art and it takes great discipline to keep the stream clear. By that I mean, listening and acting on inner impulses and messages alone, rather than viewer expectations. If a particular print gets a lot of likes, it's human nature to want to do more of what receives praise. It's also easy to worry about what people will think. But this is the short road to creative blockage and that I realized is what has been happening to me. In the back of my mind without even being conscious of it, I began censoring myself- I've used that symbol too often, people will be bored, they will think I'm lazy, etc. It kept me from fully embracing and letting go in my work. I know a wonderful artist, Jay Pingree (https://sixfootsixstudio.com/). He has been working the same topic, people walking, for quite a while. But I'm never bored when I see his work because it comes from a place of truth, his inner truth. Each piece unfolds an intimate and distinct experience and reveals something new though the subjects are the same. I am grateful for his example. Humans are addicted to judging especially self judgement. It is easy to fall into such an ingrained habit, but judgement has no place in the studio. It only narrows the stream and by releasing it, I feel fully present again in the studio. I don't know the purpose of my work, what energy is working through, or why, but that is not mine to know. It is for me to work with what the creative flow so generously offers.

For more information about the process of monotype and the Monotype of the Day project click here.
You can purchase this monotype here.