About Sybil’s Work
From “Inspired by Medieval Spirituality and her own suffering, an Artist Exalts Transformation”, Micah Danney, Religionunplugged.com
school. Archibald’s art is inspired by Sufi poetry, Plotinus’ “The Six Enneads,” St. Bonaventure’s writings on St. Francis of Assisi and the illustrations of Christian mystic Hildegard of Bingen, and blended with her own struggle-tempered spirituality.
Her body of work spans mediums ….. Through all of it runs a theme of transformation — how suffering can be turned into something else; a creative flow that neither begins or ends with any one person. Her pieces make visible the subtle connectedness of everything, always in motion.
“That’s life,” she said. “Life is about creation and change.”
She was in her early twenties when she was diagnosed with scleroderma, an autoimmune disease that hardens the body’s tissues. It was expected to kill her about 25 years ago, but instead she used art to survive it and to express what she has learned from living with the illness.
“Some people describe it like a mummification, which is why I’ve taken the mummy in some of the pieces and used it as a cocoon to transform into a moth,” Archibald said.
Her pieces are imbued with religious imagery, though she doesn’t identify with any particular religion. She earned a degree in medieval spirituality after her parents said no to art
Please click on image to see full painting. To see more acrylic paintings click here
Self Portrait in Three is a map of my search to rediscover my artistic voice independent of illness. When dealing with serious illness, it is easy to become focused on the limitations it brings. Doing this piece was a supreme act of freedom. I found my confidence again and the deep well of creativity that informs all my work.
