mystery, Monotype of the Day #834

mystery, monotype on paper, by Sybil Archibald

Day 102 of year 3

The Moment By Dorothy Walters

And not once,
but many times over,
again and again,
how we disappeared
into that deep well
of darkness, shuddering beneath that load of silence,
clinging to our narrow ledge.

Yet the darkness, sometimes,
unfolded as light.
Our atoms dissolved in it,
each separate molecule opening
into a radiant disk of feeling.

How still we became,
witness and thing seen,
spectacle and observer,
each point admitting an untrammeled flood.

From Marrow of Flame https://amzn.to/3krhJOP

 For more information about the process of monotype and the Monotype of the Day project click here. You can purchase this monotype here.

introspection, Monotype of the Day #811

introspection. monotype, 12 x 14”
Sybil Archibald

Day 79 of year 3

For more information about the process of monotype and the Monotype of the Day project click here.
You can purchase this monotype here.

rapt, Monotype of the Day #810

"Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it."

—Rumi

Day 78 of year 3

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

reflection, Monotype of the Day #767

Day 35 of year 3

This monotype is several days of ghosts printed on top of each other and a final layer made tonight. The photo doesn't capture all the subtlety, but gives you an idea. I love working with ghost prints because artist materials and ink in particular have purpose and desires of their own. A ghost print is one step removed from the hand of the artist and it allows the ink to express its own unique vision. The ghost is always a revelation and the ink usually behaves in unexpected ways.

The relationship between an artist and their materials is central to most art practices and similar to any relationship an artist might have with a person. It's taught me to listen, to curtail my desire to control, to support and respect another's vision, and to lay down my own ego. In general, artists have a deep, almost mystical, connection to the material world which is cultivated through this partnership. We have the ability to see the innate potential in the physical world, creative energy pulsing everywhere and divine purpose waiting to be expressed. It is thrilling, a grand adventure without ever leaving the studio. #gratitude

spotlight, Monotype of the Day #766

Day 34 of year 3

When the World Comes Clear
by Andrew Colliver

When the world comes clear,
changeless in its changing
and everywhere revealed,

the sun might be lighting
a rendered wall inscribed
by winter tree's shadow;

when the world comes clear
light might seem to shift
to show a morning free of any other time;

when the world comes clear
something pulling tight within
your mind might fall away

to leave a formless space,
a fathomless space in which
eternal life cannot be granted,

or even offered,
but only recognized, so simply,

as what you are.- From the unpublished manuscript A Day of Light, by Andrew Colliver
Found on https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/Poets/C/ColliverAndr/WhenWorld/index.html

touched, Monotype of the Day #765

Day 33 of year 3

When I moved my website this year, I had to move my blog as well. The written content carried over but not the pictures. I've been going through it fixing and reading before I make it live again. Right now I'm in 2009 and I was writing about art and creativity even then. In some ways though the change in me is pretty dramatic. In 2009 I was afraid to post artwork and especially any photos of myself. Clearly those things aren't a problem for me anymore! How to account for the change? I attribute it to two things. One, Illness forced me to sit still and deal with myself, and two, the work. Making art is such a deeply transformative process. I am endlessly grateful to both my illness and The Artist, source of all creativity, for feeding me. It has been a difficult and painful road at times, but though I am more limited physically now, I carried much more internal pain and struggle then. I prefer now. I'll let you know when the blog goes live. xo

the conversation, Monotype of the day #763

I pull a ghost print everyday. This uses up the excess ink on the plate and provides a nice base for a future print. Sometimes I use one sheet of paper for several days of ghost prints. The more the merrier as they say! But sometimes, like tonight, you pull a ghost and you know it's a keeper. I couldn't decide which I liked best. What do you think?

the conversation & the conversation ghost (below this post)
Day 31 of year 3 (Total project days 761)

The Further You Go by Andrew Colliver

Mercy, there have been revelations. Grace, there has been realisation. Still, you must travel the path of time and circumstance.

The further you go, the more it comes back to paying attention. The rough skin of the tallowwood, the trade routes of lorikeets, a sky lifting behind afternoon clouds. Staying close to the texture of things.

People can go before you and talk all they want, but only one thing makes sense: the way the world enters and finds its voice in you: the place you are free.

From The Longing In Between https://amzn.to/3kLNv9I

handful, Monotype of the Day #749

Day 18 of Year 3

Meditating at Midnight
By Zhiu Xuanjing (12th century)

Meditating at midnight,
Meditating at noon,
A mind like autumn
Comes to the Way's deep heart.
Under motionless waves,
Fish and dragons freely leap.
In the sky without limits,
Only the moonlight stays.

From Women in Praise of the Sacred https://amzn.to/3jX6LRl

portal, Monotype of the Day #748

Day 17 of Year 3

the artist forgets the present, Monotype of the Day #746

Day 15 of Year 3

I am grateful for the way having a long term illness has prepared me for this moment of sweeping change and unrest in the world. I've written before about learning to give things up and dealing with disappointments, but it's more than that. When you are faced with a complex illness, you literally don't know from day to day how you will feel, if something major will go wrong or if it will be business as usual. Very quickly on, I learned not to think about the future. I doubt I would even be able to get out of bed if I thought about all the negative possibilities- most completely out of my control. So I get up in the morning and with whatever energy I have, I do what I can to care for myself and then squeeze the most life I can out of each day regardless of my circumstances. Some days this is easy, the sun is shining and all is well, but some days it requires active listening for the good in an otherwise trying situation. I'm applying this same muscle to the pandemic and the political state of our country. I'm doing my best not to let possible futures (which may never come to pass) steal my present moment. Looking at tonight's print, I feel the damage and weight of dwelling on what might be but how deeply that is woven into the fabric of our humanity. Those future worries may always be there but with practice, it is possible for them to maintain a respectful distance.

the artist forgets the present
#monotypeoftheday
Day 15 of year 3
(Total project days 745)

the in-between, Monotype of the Day #739

Day 8 of Year 3

There's been a lot of chaos in my house the last few months. Between a family member moving home, a puppy, planting season, and having to vacate part of my studio to make room for online dance classes my head has been spinning. But the puppy has calmed, I've gotten my studio back and I feel like I'm catching my breath again for the first time in a long time. I'm so grateful to have this daily practice to anchor me no matter what winds are scattering my life.

Waking Up
By David Allan Evans
for Jan

We wake up again to the sound
of those same birds just

outside our window. I can’t
name them, wouldn’t need to

if I could, but only guess
what they seem to be

saying over and over.
Listen: We are here,

we are here,
we are here.

Published on A Year of Being Here http://www.ayearofbeinghere.com/2014/04/david-allan-evans-waking-up.html 

the lead, Monotype of the Day #737

Day 6 of Year 3

I feel such.a sense of relief that my two year anniversary is behind me. I didn't realize how much pressure I was putting on myself to define my situation. The same thing happened on my one year anniversary. I built it up in my head so much that once I made it, I sort of fell apart. The first week after was a real struggle in the studio. but I kept at it and eventually that cleared. There are natural ebbs and flows to working and then there are the roadblocks we create in our minds. Meditation, which has unfortunately fallen off my radar lately, helps. Another thing that helps is knowing that you're in your own way and waiting it out, trusting that the creative flow will necessarily wash the mental dross away. More than anything, making art is about trust, trusting the inner messages from The Artist to the artist, trusting your materials, trusting the world with your work, trusting yourself to be authentic and brave, trusting the importance and purpose of working though we may never know why.

the artist listens deeply, Monotype of the Day #729

Day 358 of Year 2 (Actually Day 363)

Of all that God has shown me
By Mechtild of Magdenburg, Trans. Jane Hirshfiled

Of all that God has shown me
I can speak just the smallest word,
Nor more than a honey bee
Takes on his foot
From an overspilling jar.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/55266/of-all-that-god-has-shown-me

From Women is Praise of the Sacred https://amzn.to/2W9x1xz

hand, Monotype of the Day #726

Day 356 of Year 2 (Actually Day 361)

I had a break though tonight. The piece is fine, but what happened in my mind was important. The number one limitation on any artist is their mind, the unconscious rules that shape our actions. This is particularly true in printmaking. The plates must be lined up, no marks on the paper, etc. etc. etc. Somewhere in my head, I decided I couldn't add more color to a print unless it was printed with a plate. Tonight I painted in a touch of color on this print to wake it up. It's a surprisingly small thing that has the potential to transform the way I work. Will it? I don't know, but anything that breaks through the hold the mind has on possibilities is a good thing.

Annunciation, Monotype of the Day #718

Day 348 of Year 2 (Actually Day 353)

Something a little simpler today after so many layers yesterday. It feels like a cleansing breath. For many years I almost exclusively made images of the Annunciation. Then a critique group challenged me to express the same ideas without the religious iconography. This opened a new world. I was using these symbols as a crutch and releasing them caused my work to blossom. Still, the Annunciation continues to fascinate. It contains many levels and meanings and among them, I find a lesson on how divine creativity enters the world. The gift of the creative spark is given to us to nurture. We are not its source, merely its vessel. This is a wonderfully ego-deflating notion. Understanding my small part in the creative process releases pressure. I trust my work has purpose I likely will never know. I express what is given and then go back to work. Everything else is not my concern.