My daily post of an original monotype print is over and I will be switching to a once a week post: Monotype of the Day Mondays.
This project has transformed me and my whole relationship to making art. I have posted for 900 days, not skipping a single day even when I travelled, even when I was in the hospital for a week three different times. I am a different artist than when I started. So much of the unnecessary angst around my studio practice is either gone or the volume has been turned very low. The major changes fall into a few categories:
Self Judgment: I still judge my work (who doesn’t?), but I move on anyway. Most of the time judgements while working amount to indistinct chatter in the back of my head. After a piece is complete, if I don’t like it, I take a breath and move on. In a very deep way, I know the piece is not for me and my judgment is irrelevant. It is my job simply to work and let the world sort out the rest.
Trust: Failure and mistakes while working don’t faze me. I look at them as the hand of The Artist (universal source of all creativity) gently directing me to a different path. I have come to have an unshakable faith in the value of working, a deep trust that what we do as artists matters even though we may never know how or what effect it has. I never worry or question my purpose anymore. Instead, if those feelings come up, I walk into my studio and get back to work.
Inspiration: Inspiration is overrated. Showing up to work is the most important thing. Most days of this project, I had no idea what I was going to make until I stepped in front of my printing plate. The key thing for an artist is to be brave enough to show up anyway and trust their process.
Process: For an artist process is always more important than product. If you worry about the finished piece, you can’t be in the present moment. If you are not in the present moment it’s hard to fully access the creative flow.
Partnership: Art materials have purpose and desires of their own. This project taught me to listen to my materials and give them voice. So many times the desires of ink lead me to the conclusion of a piece. The physical world is an inescapable fact for the artist, as is the creative flow. The artist must reach through the veil between worlds to partner with the universal creative flow while at the same time remaining firmly grounded in the present moment. We form a triad, Artist / artist / physical world. This is a partnership that must be honored not dominated.
Meaning: Each piece has two levels of meaning. There is the meaning that the viewer creates as they interact with the piece and there is the more personal meaning for the artist- a tender message from The Artist to the artist. This project has been a correspondence between lovers.
The effect on me: The constant flow of creative energy has opened me up. It washed away so much that was blocking me and enlarged my vessel. It’s even improved my health. As angst in the studio has receded, I have been able to reclaim that trapped energy and my body has responded positively. To an artist, work is life.
Gratitude: Thank you! I am beyond grateful for all the support I’ve received on this project. I am grateful for all your comments, likes, and purchases. It means the world to me. Thank you also to those who follow my progress silently, your presence is felt and appreciated. Thank you to the long suffering :) Barry Echtman who soldiered on through all my late nights, bought my supplies to the hospital, changed his schedule to help me, and so much more. Love you! Special thanks for their support (in no particular order) to Harry Echtman, Dottie Archibald, Tom Archibald, Barbara Archibald, Gayle Mahoney, Liz Munro, Wendy Bellermann, Leslie Goldman, Celene Ryan, Robert Ramos, Kathyrn McGuire, all my fellow Clerestory/4flavors artists (Jorge Larrea, Brian Stymest, Mary Young, Steve Kelly, Nora Murphy, Gayle Mahoney, Armando Outthere Diaz), Ellen Kahaner, Lisa Basile, Miles Shapiro, Poetry Chaikhana (for showing the world of sacred poetry beyond the Middle Ages all those years ago), Ann Strand, and Annemarie Greenwood. THANK YOU!!!
The whole project is viewable on my blog, Art of the Spirit (www.sybilarchibaldart.com/blog), my website (www.sybilarchibaldart.com/the-monotype-of-the-day-project), and on Instagram and Facebook. If you are interested in purchasing I’m happy to do payment plans. Most of the prints from the last few months can be found here: https://www.sybilarchibaldart.com/monotypes-for-sale. Prints before that can be found here https://www.sybilarchibaldart.com/the-monotype-of-the-day-project
Lots of love, Sybil
