Sometime next year look for my Monotype of the day book, “the inner life of the artist”! It will cover the whole 900 hundred days of the project and contain images, my writing, and 30 poems from some of my favorite poets such as Mary Oliver and Rumi. I’ll keep you posted!
The Monotype of the Day Project Wrap Up
Some photo highlights of the last 900 days:
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
Hallelujah, Monotype, 12 x 14”
Sybil Archibald
Hallelujah!, Monotype of the Day #900
Day 168 of year 3 (Total project days 900)
Day 900, the final print of my daily postings! Now I will switch to posting a monotype every Monday. Tomorrow I will post my thoughts on the project as a whole including what I've learned, thank yous, and some photo highlights. Today I wanted to end with my usual process. So as everyday for the last 900 days, I stood in front of my printing plate and received the images that came. Then I sat down at the computer and received the words below. This project has been a beautiful gift and I am tremendously grateful. But more on that tomorrow! Here is today's commentary:
I thought making today’s print would be a bit challenging, that I would feel the pressure to “make a good print” to end with. But the internal muscles I’ve built throughout this project to release judgment and let the creative process flow allowed me to work like it was any other night, which it is. Nothing has changed in my studio and tomorrow I'll be back in there working. Today is just another day. It's so often in our heads that we blow things out of proportion and create our own struggles. For every struggle in the studio, there is reward. And that reward is much more than beautiful art. The true reward is internal strength, spiritual growth, and connection. Wishing you strength and love. xo Sybil
The Artist and the artist, Monotype, 12 x 14”
Sybil Archibald
The Artist and the artist, Monotype of the Day #899
The Artist and the artist
Day 167 of year 3 (Total project days 899)
Tomorrow is the final day of this project in this form. In the beginning of the project, I made many prints each day and chose one to post with no commentary. As my project progressed and the commentary and poetry became more and more important, I did fewer prints each day. It worked because I was in a rhythm and I never really left the flow from one day to the next. Today I slipped back into making many prints. It was so freeing. There is a different quality to working this way. It's not that one is better or worse, but the daily prints are more like a dairy, like dipping a cup into a stream. The multiple print sessions are like mining to tap a deep well. I am looking forward to mining for a while and I'll be posting the results each Monday on "Monotype of the Day Monday". I am filled with gratitude for all of you who have taken this journey with me and supported my work with your comments, likes, and purchases. xo Sybil.
Heavy Secrets
By Dorothy WaltersYou and I carry heavy secrets within.
This is why our breasts have grown so large.
Already they are overflowing,
ready to fill the world’s waiting mouth.
From A Cloth of Fine Gold https://amzn.to/34QewCH
at peace, Monotype of the Day #898
Day 166 of year 3 (Total project days 898)
Was it Light?
By Theodore Roethke
Was it light?
Was it light within?
Was it light within light?
Stillness becoming alive,
Yet still?
A lively understandable spirit
Once entertained you.
It will come again.
Be still.
Wait.
From Poetry for the Spirit https://amzn.to/3hjq72a
For the first 24 hours after posting, this piece is 10% off and can be purchased here.
For more information about the process of monotype and the Monotype of the Day project click here.
at peace, Monotype, 12 x 14”
Sybil Archibald
the gift, Monotype of the Day #897
Day 165 of year 3 (Total project days 897)
For the first 24 hours after posting, this piece is 10% off and can be purchased here.
For more information about the process of monotype and the Monotype of the Day project click here.
the gift, monotype, 12 x 14”
Sybil Archibald
the language of dawn, Monotype of the Day #896
Day 164 of year 3 (Total project days 896)
Wishing everyone a beautiful day whether it's a Merry Christmas or a lazy day off. May you feel loved and content. xo
For the first 24 hours after posting, this piece is 10% off and can be purchased here.
For more information about the process of monotype and the Monotype of the Day project click here.
the language of dawn, monotype, 12 x 14”
Sybil Archibald
incubate, Monotype, 12 x 14”
Sybil Archibald
incubate, Monotype of the Day #895
Day 163 of year 3 (Total project days 895)
This is a tough time of year to finish up this project because it's so busy. Today was completely filled with the holiday and I didn't get into the studio until 12:00am. We went around town spreading holiday cheer. (Photo attached.) It was a wonderful day. I wish you love, cheer and a very happy holiday whether you are celebrating this week or just enjoying the days off. Until tomorrow. xo
For the first 24 hours after posting, this piece is 10% off and can be purchased here.
For more information about the process of monotype and the Monotype of the Day project click here.
egg head, Monotype of the Day #894
Day 162 of year 3 (Day 894)
7 days of this project to go. Yesterday I got in my head a bit so today I tried to stop grasping an allow more space. I'm just going to breathe and let this image be.
For the first 24 hours after posting, this piece is 10% off and can be purchased here.
For more information about the process of monotype and the Monotype of the Day project click here.
egg head, Monotype, 12 x 14”
Sybil Archibald
holding, Monotype of the Day #893
Day 161 of year 3
I struggled tonight in the studio. Studio practice requires spaciousness. Today was very busy and completely lacking in that quality. Some days are like that but an artist has to fight for emptiness. Our culture is obsessed with busyness and busyness kills creativity. Tomorrow I will make more space. xo
For the first 24 hours after posting, this piece is 10% off and can be purchased here.
For more information about the process of monotype and the Monotype of the Day project click here.
incubation, Monotype of the Day #892
Day 160 of year 3, Total project days 892
“And I am the egg that surrounds and nurtures the seed of the God in me.”
-Carl Jung, The Red Book
Today I woke up with my head full of ideas for new projects. I got out my idea sketchbook which I haven't done for a while. It feels good.
For the first 24 hours after posting, this piece is 10% off and can be purchased here.
For more information about the process of monotype and the Monotype of the Day project click here.
a new dawn, monotype, 12 x 14”
Sybil Archibald
a new dawn, Monotype of the Day #891
Day 159 of year 3
Day 891. Today I'm feeling optimistic about my future projects. I suspect my sentiments about the change in this project will yo-yo this week. But there is already more space in my head, more land to plant. I feel emptier than I have in months. It's a wonderful feeling. I also have the seed of an idea about documenting my upcoming sleep journey for an art project. So one door closes and another opens, filled with mystery and promise. Soon I will step in.
The Broken Ground
By Wendell Berry
The opening out and out,
body yielding body:
the breaking
through which the new
comes, perching
above its shadow
on the piling up
darkened broken
old husks of itself:
bud opening to flower
opening to fruit opening
to the sweet marrow
of the seed
— taken from
what was, from
what could have been.
What is left
is what is.
From The Selected Poems of Wendell Berry https://amzn.to/3pcWEtF
For the first 24 hours after posting, this piece is 10% off and can be purchased here.
For more information about the process of monotype and the Monotype of the Day project click here.
landing, Monotype of the Day #890
Day 158 of year 3
“Whether you succeed or not is irrelevant, there is no such thing. Making your unknown known is the important thing.” – Georgia O’Keeffe
Day 890, ten days left in this project. I announced the ending early so the challenges that come up at its close could be documented as part of the whole.
It has been a strange day. Even though I know this is the right decision, I feel really uneasy. Everyday for so long has been structured around my daily print. The looming loss of this structure is both exciting and scary. And he internal pressure is mounting to make these last days count with good prints. I can really see how this project has trained me though. I recognized this pressured feeling, the need to judge my work, the need to produce work people will "like", but it no longer fazes or controls me. I acknowledge it and move on. This is a major lesson I've learned over the past few years. It's not for me to judge my work or worry. My job is simply to show up and work, to throw myself deeply into the conversation between artist and Artist, and embrace the mystery at the heart of the creative process. The world will sort out the rest.
Tonight's piece is the ghost print from last night on top of a ghost print from last week. I fully intended to add another layer, but it was clear this print was complete. Amazingly, it seems I've learned to listen (finally)! I guess the lesson for this week is knowing when to stop.
xo Sybil
For the first 24 hours after posting, this piece is 10% off and can be purchased here.
For more information about the process of monotype and the Monotype of the Day project click here.
listen!, Monotype of the Day #889
Day 157 of year 3
It's time, The Monotype of the Day Project is coming to an end in this form. Today is day 889, day 900 will be my last day. I will continue to post a monotype once a week (and more if I feel moved). Here on Patreon I will continue to post pictures of what I'm working on in the studio most days along with commentary as seems appropriate and updates on the progress of my book.
When I woke up this morning, it was clear something within me had shifted. I have been desirous of change in my work for a while now, I want to go deeper, to reflect more light, to touch truths unknown. It finally came to me that the root of my block is something I've struggled with for most of my life, sleep. This is a critical issue for both my health and my art. Currently a large portion of my day is taken up with health related activities designed to keep me going. I describe myself as a rickety car that needs plenty of tinkering to keep on the road! That's the day, but then at night I get an average of 3-5 hours of sleep which undermines everything I've done all day. Strange to think I never realized this, but the mind can justify a lot. So for the next 3 months after day 900, my focus will be sleep. Without the daily deadline of my monotype project, I will be able to work in the studio and stop when I need to. I am certain sleep will fundamentally transform my artistic practice. Art and the physical world are inextricably linked. By not sleeping, I resist the natural cycle of life. Resistance blocks the creative flow. Without sleep, I am too tired to be fully present and to listen deeply for direction from The Artist. My work will transform with sleep. It will bloom just as a garden blooms after the dark night of winter. I am excited to discover what will happen! I will keep you up to date about the effects of my new plan on my studio practice. I may take some work to transform a life time of bad habits. Thank you for all your support these last 889 days! Lots of love, Sybil
listen!, monotype, 12 x 14”
Sybil Arcibald
For the first 24 hours after posting, this piece is 10% off and can be purchased here.
For more information about the process of monotype and the Monotype of the Day project click here.
filling station 2, Monotype of the Day #888
Day 156 of year 3
888 days, such a lovely round number, curvy and full. I believe in China 8 is considered a very lucky number. I feel lucky to have gotten this far in my monotype of the day project.
Tonight's print is the ghost ink from last night on top of the ghost ink from a few days ago with a few new additions. For some reason, this print makes me happy. Wishing you everything good. xo
For the first 24 hours after posting, this piece is 10% off and can be purchased here.
For more information about the process of monotype and the Monotype of the Day project click here.
filling station 2, monotype of the day, 12 x 14”
Sybil Archibald