the fire within, Monotype of the Day #885

Day 153 of year 3

Quatrain 359
By Rumi, Trans. Moyne & Barks

Do you think I know what I am doing?
That for one breath or half-breath I belong to myself?
As much as a pen knows what it's writing,
or a ball can guess where it's going next.

From Open Secret https://amzn.to/3gJYnmX

the fire within, monotype, 12 x 14” Sybil Archibald

the fire within, monotype, 12 x 14”
Sybil Archibald

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.  

as a fish, Monotype of the Day #806

806-fishing.jpg

Day 74 of year 3

This print contains many days of ghosts layered over each other.

The Oldest Thirst There Is
By Rumi, Translation Coleman Barks

Give us gladness that connects
with the Friend, a taste of the quick,
you that make a cypress strong
and jasmine jasmine.

Give us the inner listening
that is a way in itself
and the oldest thirst there is.

Don’t measure it out with a cup.
I am a fish. You are the moon.
You cannot touch me, but your light
can fill the ocean where I live.

From The Essential Rumi https://amzn.to/3kRKPaa

For the next 24 hours buy this monotype for 10% off here: https://www.sybilarchibaldart.com/daily-monotype-sale

After that, you can purchase it here: https://www.sybilarchibaldart.com/monotypes-for-sale

you are welcomed, Monotype of the Day #791

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Day 59 of year 3

I have been feeling unsatisfied with my work the past couple of weeks. I'm sharing this because it a natural part of the process of working. Interestingly it doesn't necessarily correlate to the quality of the work. An artist can make phenomenal work and still not feel good about it. This is an internal state, part of being human. Just like in other areas of life, some days feel better than others for no good reason, some weeks are just bad. Maybe someday I'll look back on this period and like the work. It doesn't really matter though, what matters is being in the process- whatever it is at the moment good or bad. It can be easy to let frustrated or unsatisfied feelings overwhelm and become reasons to stop working. Working doesn't necessarily mean brush to canvas, it can also mean doing the internal work necessary to allow creativity to flow freely. Once you accept that these states as a normal part of the process, they are easier to be with. They become a passing moment in time rather than a blockade. You only have to wait and the well will fill again. Everything is cyclical. Trust, have patience, and the feeling of flow will return.

Birdsong Brings Relief
By Rumi, Translation Barks

Birdsong bring relief
to my longing.

I am just as ecstatic as they are,
but with nothing to say!

Please, universal soul, practice
some song, or something through me!

From The Essential Rumi https://amzn.to/3bKYTP6 

ready and waiting, Monotype of the Day #781

Day 49 of year 3

This We Have Now
by Rumi, Trans.. Coleman Barks

This we have now
is not imagination.

This is not
grief or joy.

Not a judging state,
or an elation,
or sadness.

Those come
and go.

This is the presence
that doesn't.

It's dawn, Husam,
here in the splendor of coral,
inside the Friend, the simple truth
of what Hallaj said.

What else could human beings want?

When grapes turn to wine
they're wanting
this.

When the nightsky pours by,
it's really a crowd of beggars,
and they all want some of this!

This
that we are now
created the body, cell by cell,
like bees building a honeycomb.

The human body and the universe
grew from this, not this
from the universe and the human body.

From The Essential Rumi https://amzn.to/2QIepla 

steps, Monotype of the Day #731

Day 360 of Year 2 (Actually Day 365)

The Guest House
By Rumi, Trans. Barks & Moyne

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

From the Essential Rumi https://amzn.to/2OiRX0L

self portrait in quarantine, Monotype of the Day #701

Day 331 of Year 2 (Actually Day 336)

"There is a voice that does not use words. Listen!"
-Rumi

Making a self portrait is an important tool for staying centered and present. So many things come up each day to pull our attention away. Self portrait helps me be with what is rather than escaping into distraction. My studio practice is at its heart, an act of listening and I can't listen deeply if I am distracted. Deep listening is a powerfully transformative act.

will you unlock?, Monotype of the Day #695

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Day 325 of Year 2 (Actually Day 330)

Poem below the title. I posted this poem before but this image recalled it strongly for me. This print is about the internal work that is necessary to support change in the external world.

Say I Am You
by Rumi, Trans Moyne & Barks

I am dust particles in sunlight.
I am the round sun.

To the bits of dust I say, Stay.
To the sun, Keep moving.

I am morning mist, and the breathing of evening.

I am wind in the top of a grove, and surf on the cliff.

Mast, rudder, helmsman, and keel,
I am also the coral reef they founder on.

I am a tree with a trained parrot in its branches.
Silence, thought, and voice.

The musical air coming through a flute,
a spark of a stone, a flickering in metal.

Both candle and the moth crazy around it.

Rose, and the nightingale lost in the fragrance.

I am all orders of being, the circling galaxy,
the evolutionary intelligence, the lift,

and the falling away. What is, and what isn't.

You who know Jelaluddin, You the one in all,

say who I am. Say I am You.

From Say I am You https://amzn.to/2AaOA8D

keyhole, Monotype of the Day #662

Day 292 of Year 2 (Actually Day 297)

This is, again, ink rolled over last night's left over (ghost) ink. I got lucky and found some more torn paper in a drawer. It was too thin for my old ink so it put it away and forgotten. But I've since change my ink, the paper works just fine. In fact, it seems to pickup more of the subtleties. Hopefully I can figure out what kind of paper it is because I like it. Last week was a bit rough outside of the studio, everyone here was peckish. Understandable under these circumstances. But in keeping with the cyclical nature of the world, things have eased and the week is starting on better footing. Part of life is staying through the downs and trusting in the cycle. Nature teaches us that for every winter there is a spring. My love to those who are sick or suffering.

come
by Rumi, Trans by Nader Khalili

come
let's fall
in love
again
let's turn
all the dirt
in this world
to shiny gold

come
let's be
a new spring
a love reborn
find our aroma

from the essence
of all who
emit heavenly fragrance
like a fresh tree

bloom and spread
all the blessings
right from inside

From Rumi: Fountain of Fire https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1889625035

Found on the truly wonderful website PoetryChaikhana.com https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/Poets/R/RumiMevlanaJ/come/index.html

the edge of night, Monotype of the Day #661

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Day 291 of Year 2 (Actually Day 296)

I mixed a color tonight that has a good amount of white in it. The white seems to have blocked a lot of the under (ghost) layer and also doesn't have the depth of the inks without white mixed in. Lesson learned. Every image that fails in someway is a doorway. There are a lot of failures in studio practice, some true failures and some perceived by the artist alone. It is so important to understand that failure is a vital, beautiful part of the process. Understanding this is like grease for your gears. It keeps the creative spring flowing instead of stopped up by disappointment.

Quatrain 1115
By Rumi, Trans Colman Barks

The minute I am disappointed, I feel encouraged.
When I am ruined, I am healed.
When I am quiet and solid as the ground, then I talk
the low tines of thunder for everyone.

From Open Secret, Versions of Rumi https://amzn.to/2YvQsm8 (A really wonderful collection)

the key to life, Monotype of the Day #650

Day 280 of Year 2 (Actually Day 285)

I'm really enjoying playing with this new technique so much. This is another double print but with a much subtler underlayer.

What's Inside the Ground
By Rumi, Trans Barks

Whatever gives pleasure is the fragrance
of the Friend. Whatever makes us wonder

comes from that light. What's inside the
ground begins to sprout because you spilled

wine there. What dies in autumn comes up
in spring because this way of saying no

becomes in spring your praise song yes.

From The Soul of Rumi https://amzn.to/2RXUjof
A terrific collection, I highly recommend it!

the reach, Monotype of the Day #577

Day 207 of Year 2 (Actually Day 212)

The Ocean Moving All Night
By Rumi Trans. Coleman Barks & John Moyne

Stay with us. Don't sink to the bottom
like a fish going to sleep.
Be with the ocean moving steadily all night,
not scattered like a rainstorm.

The spring we're looking for
is somewhere in this murkiness.
See the night-lights up there traveling together,
the candle awake in its gold dish.

Don't slide into the cracks of the ground like spilled mercury.
When the full moon comes out, look around.

From Open Secret https://amzn.to/31EwLZ2