The Monotype of the day project
Get the book: The Inner Life of the Artist, 900 Monotypes in 900 Days
CLICK IMAGES TO SEE THE FULL MONTH OF PRINTS
What is the Monotype of the Day Project?
For 900 days, made a monotype without fail., even week I was in the hospital or traveling. At the beginning of the project, I was seriously ill. I had been on a liquid diet and was literally waisting away. The most I could do was get into the studio and make one monotype. You can find all of the monotypes to the left, sorted by month and then day. Click on any given month to see all of the monotypes completed during that period.
Evolution of the Work
So everyday I made my monotype and slowly my health began to improve. As I improved the imagery and colors in the monotypes began to reflect this change. Early works were black and white and filled with struggle, see August- December 2018. Soon after, color began to appear and I worked primarily in indigo and vermillion from January 2019 through May 2019. Starting in June of that year full color arrived.
In April of 2020, I was feeling stagnated and one day I went into the studio abstract pieces came out of me from the first time. I felt a surge of freedom, like all my old forms were crumbling away. When more defined imagery returned in August of 2020, there was a new richness and peace in the work. I was also eating solid food again and doing better than I had in years.
My book about the project
Daily Commentary and Book
Creating art is a spiritually transformative act. Diving deeply into the creative process changes us. This project was created to share this deeply intimate journey of change. Each day I posted my monotype along with commentary and poems that inspired me to social media. Once the project was over, I collected all of this into my book, The Inner Life of the Artist, 900 Monotypes in 900 Days.
What is a Monotype?
A monotype is a form of printmaking that produces a one of a kind, unique piece of artwork. Its singular nature makes it distinct from other forms of printmaking which can produce multiple prints called editions. An image is created on a metal, plexiglass or gelatin plate using ink. Then, a piece of paper is placed on top of the inked plate and pressed down with a printing press or by hand. When the paper is removed from the plate, the ink is transferred to the paper, creating a monotype. Only one unique image is printed from each plate. Occasionally a second (ghost) image may be printed but is always different from the first print. Monotype is a thrilling and adventurous medium because you never know how the ink will spread and react to the pressure of the paper The results are always surprising!
Sybil Archibald with monotypes from The Monotype of the Day series