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as what you are.- From the unpublished manuscript A Day of Light, by Andrew Colliver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

messaging, Monotype of the Day #627

Day 257 of Year 2 (Actually Day 262)

I thought I'd show a few pictures for scale and process. Tomorrow I'll take a picture with ink on the plate before printing. Right now, the urge to simplify is strong so I find myself using just one color. I'm also back to meditating twice a day and it's like spring cleaning my brain! :) My show in February already seems like a millions years ago but really I'm just getting my grove back. With everything going on in the world, I'm grateful for any grove at all. I'm in the studio each day because I love it, but also because I need the healing and generative energy of the creative act. The centering moment of clarity that comes with making art balances and me. And studio teaches that though it's not easy, it's okay not to know what's coming. We are here now and this present moment is sacred and has the power to transform. My love and prayers to all those sick or suffering.

whisper, Monotype of the Day #562

Day 192 of Year 2 (Actually Day 197)

The show and all the excitement has caught up with me. I’m going to be taking some time to physically rest and recharge (except from monotypes 😊). But that doesn’t mean the creative process stops. Sometimes sitting quietly allows you to listen in a very deep and necessary way.

the forest at night: reaching, Monotype of the Day #533

Day 163 of Year 2 (Actually Day 168)

The forest is such a mysterious place, so much happens there we are unaware of. Like the creative process, we can catch a peak but not really experience it deeply unless we enter in. The veiled nature of the creative process has been the centering theme of my life. Often it's felt like an ascent, like climbing a ladder. But recently this has changed to feel more like a journey deep into a forest to find a mystical place, a true home. Before I strove to heal myself to be a better vessel for creativity. Now I accept we are all imperfect vessels and it's through our cracks that that the Light comes in as Leonard Cohen so beautifully puts it. This change is huge because it removes another control from the process. Even a good goal like healing acts to limit possibilities. I am longer trying to make anything happen, I am just here to welcome and partner with the unceasing flow of creative energy as it enters into the world to transform everything it meets.

the sprout, Monotype of the Day #515

Day 149 of Year 2 (Actually Day 150)

“The seed is in the ground. Now may we rest in hope, while darkness does its work.” ~ Wendell Berry

Sometimes it's necessary get out of the studio, take a deep breath, and air out my head. Creativity is a beautiful mystery whose mechanisms are veiled. We aren't meant to know how it works, just to receive and bring that energy into the physical world. Getting out of the studio occasionally disengages the mind and gives space for that mystery to unfold and develop unconsciously. It releases control so surprising things can happen upon returning to work. Like a seed maturing underground, we know nothing of what is afoot until the first shoots break through. That is the beautiful adventure of being an artist.

the sprout
#monotypeoftheday
Year 2, Day 149
(Total project days 515)

home, Monotype of the Day #498

Day 132 of Year 2 (Actually Day 133

It's comforting to see this figure finally come to rest and stop falling. I feel at peace.

The Mystery
By Dorothy Walters
Some come at it
with weights and measures,
some waving a sieve.
Some sing to it,
ballads and carols,
hoping to coax forth
its hidden center,
unwind the sheath
of who it is.
Some tap on it,
or deal heavy blows
with hammers,
trying to smash
its thick shield,
force it to bow down.
Some seek ways to clamber in,
explore its hidden vaults
and chambers.
Some lie down beside it,
breathe its cool scent,
become its own self.

From The Ley Lines of the Soul https://amzn.to/2qtRCAl

the transfer, Monotype of the Day #460

Day 94 of Year 2 (Actually Day 95)

A larger sheet of paper would have been useful here. I wanted to do more with the second plate but alas, no room. Maybe tomorrow. This image was printed 3 times. 1, the hand, 2, the hand again with the left over ink from the first print, & 3, the person holding the finger. Printing is so magical, you never know exactly what anything will look like once ink hits paper. It teaches detachment. If you really love an image, it's difficult to take that leap of faith and print a second or third layer over it. So you must reserve judgment. This is one of the most important rules in the studio.

Raga
by Denise Levertov

The fluteplayer
can’t be seen to draw breath,
doesn’t even
part his lips. But music
flows from the
wooden flute, a river
of honey over-
flowing the honeycomb.

From Sands of the Well https://amzn.to/2pmQyNG (To see the bonus content posted with this on my patron page checkout www.patreon.com/sybilarchibald)

let the Light in, Monotype of the Day #403

Day 38 of Year 2

I love tonight's image. It makes me feel warm and supported. I've often thought of myself as the glove for the hand of The Artist. I'm not sure why but this image evokes that same feeling in me, it's a feeling of tremendous trust in the creative process.

come
by Rumi, Trans.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

the whispering moon, Monotype of the Day #354

Feeling more relaxed than last night! Something interesting came up while working. I had the urge to put the large circle on my image again. Immediate resistance came up, "people will think I'm repeating myself". I almost didn't notice it at first. Luckily, I have a practice of sitting quietly before my empty plate and opening to the inner messages of where to go. The circle kept coming up. It is so important for me to listen deeply and act upon the direction received. If I had let my ego rule and worried about the perception of others, this image and it's message would have been lost. It was important for me to experience this message, something shifted inside. I felt healed. Maybe, hopefully, it's meaningful to someone else too, but that is out of my hands. I wish my work to be like a jar overflowing into the world with the energy of healing and transformation I feel while working, just and the Universal creative energy overflows into me. But I can't know the result of my work, only the process. So, back to the studio ... 😊

From moon wreathed
by Matsuo Basho, Trans. Stryck

From moon wreathed
bamboo grove,
cuckoo song. -

the clock, Monotype of the Day #350

I wasn't happy with yesterday's image so I reworked it today. Even though, I'm trying to stretch myself by using the grey, I need the bright colors. They give me life. It's like a physical craving. So I compromised here and used some grey and some red. I feel happier.😊. The past few days, I've been looking at why I often deny myself these critical moments of rest and non activity which are so essential to the creative process. The hands of the clock have faded from yesterday and my image is done a few hours earlier than usual. This is progress. Change is good.

the gift, Monotype of the Day #340

340.jpg

I've talked before about my relationship as an artist to The Artist, the source of all creativity. I am the glove for The Artist's hand. That doesn't mean I have no impact, a glove changes the way a hand moves and experiences the world. There is a fundamental value to creating and living in partnership with the fecund stream of creativity that undergirds all of life. It is sustaining, healing, and allows growth and transformation. I felt my heart open from making this piece. How could I go on without this dear conversation?

No One Here but Him*
by Rumi, Trans. by Andrew Harvey

Watching my hand; He is moving it.
Hearing my voice; He is speaking…
Walking from room to room —
No one here but Him. *If I could alter today's poem, I would exchange the word "him" for "them". I don’t think gender comes into this

Open, Monotype of the Day #271

Posting early today, before midnight! Will wonders never cease 😊. Today a poem... Keep on knocking
by Rumi, trans. Coleman Barks

Keep on knocking
’til the joy inside
opens a window
look to see who’s there

http://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/Poets/R/RumiMevlanaJ/Keeponknocki/index.html/