My First Animation!

To keep myself busy while I have a broken arm I've taken of animation. This is my first attempt and it was so much fun! There was a steep learning curve and I mostly taught myself but I'm pretty happy with the outcome. Procreate is a neat program to work with. What do you think? xo

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

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.  

welcome and ghost print, Monotype of the Day #876

Day 144 of year 3

In order to get the effect for last night's print, I had to take the first layer of ink off and then work the underlayer (ghost ink). Tonight's print is on top of the first layer from last night. I've included the ghost print (below) from tonight as well because it's interesting to compare and see how the ink reacts. I reserve the right to use it as an underlayer in the future. We shall see.

Reminder, art makes a unique one of a kind gift for the holidays! Here is a link to my online store and I now offer gift certificates!

https://www.sybilarchibaldart.com/monotypes-for-sale

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.  

welcome ghost print, monotype, 12 x 14”
Sybil Archibald

dawn, Monotype of the Day #875

Day 143 of year 3

When I made this print this morning, I was out of sorts. I've been struggling with getting my new body of work going. The seeds of this work are inside but my physical limitations are slowing things down. I miss having a studio assistant to allow me to work at a much quicker pace. Even small tasks like cleaning my palette make a difference, more energy and time I can put elsewhere. I made this piece and I was really upset by the reversed hanging figure, it just felt wrong and made me uncomfortable. So during the day I worked on being with this discomfort and discovered I had forgotten a key truth about the studio. In the studio everything is in perfect harmony even though it often doesn't feel that way. Divine order seem chaotic and unreasonable to our minds, but there is purpose behind every delay, every mistake. An artist must have the humility to release their own plan and trust the process they are in. My delay will prove beneficial, giving the seeds of my new work the chance to grow strong and flourish. I forgot to trust. After this realization, I viewed my print again and instead of seeing something wrong in the hanging figure, I see a calm surrender at the edge of a sunrise, the coming dawn of new work.

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.  

it goes both ways, Monotype of the Day #866

Day 134 of year 3

Something more simple today. When I printed this layer on top of the ghost print from a couple days back, I fully intended more layers. But this feel complete so I am listening to that instead of continuing on. I've switched up my studio time in an effort to keep growing. I'm trying to knock myself out of any unconscious ruts. So I'm working in the morning instead of the dead of night and I've replaced my usual audiobooks with music. It feels very different. I'll keep you updated as this experiment unfolds.

Today, like every other day, we wake up empty
By Rumi, Trans Barks & Moyne

Today, like every other day, we wake up empty
and frightened. Don't open the door to the study
and begin reading. Take down the dulcimer.

Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.

From one of my favorite Rumi collections, Open Secret https://amzn.to/39dqjy8

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.  

beach visit, Monotype of the Day #863

Day 131 of year 3

I worked all day on administrative tasks, bills, packing up prints for mail, etc, and my brain was buzzing by the evening. In someways, art is like medicine. I needed to calm my brain. This peaceful monotype, full of open space, came as a treatment for a frenetic day. Most days in the studio, the creative energy comes into the world through the artist. But some prints, like this one, are a direct transfer of energy from Artist to artist, an intimate message or connection. The energy given tonight was gratefully received. Also, I printed on top of the ghost ink from yesterday which is always enjoyable. So a good night in the studio all around. Wishing you peace. 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.  

sunrise dream, Monotype of the Day #862

Day 130 of year 3

Tonight's poem may or may not fit this print but I've noticed sometimes the space between two different things can become something important on its own. Artists call this expanse "negative space." The air between two bodies, the emptiness between the two hands can define so much. I look for these empty spaces visually and within myself. I believe they are where the real truth lies.

Heartbeat
By Rilke, Trans. Albert Ernest Flemming

Only mouths are we. Who sings the distant heart
which safely exists in the center of all things?
His giant heartbeat is diverted in us
into little pulses. And his giant grief
is, like his giant jubilation, far too
great for us. And so we tear ourselves away
from him time after time, remaining only
mouths. But unexpectedly and secretly
the giant heartbeat enters our being,
so that we scream ——,
and are transformed in being and in countenance.

From Rainer Maria Rilke Selected Poems https://amzn.to/3lSjOUT

For more information about the process of monotype and the Monotype of the Day project click here.  For the first 24 hours after posting, this piece is 10% off and can be purchased here.

dawn, Monotype of the Day #852

Day 120 of year 3

I printed on top of a demo I did on the studio tour this weekend. It's good to work quickly from time to time as I do in demos. It keeps things fresh and keeps the brain quiet (poem below the title)

Your boat, they will tell you,
cannot leave the harbor
without discipline.

But they will neglect to mention
that discipline has a vanishing point,
an invisible horizon where belief takes over.

They will not whisper to you the secret
that they themselves have not fully understood: that
belief is the only wind with breath enough

to take you past the deadly calms, the stopped motion
toward that place you have imagined,
the existence of which you cannot prove

except by going there.

From Writing Alone and with Others https://amzn.to/3lo9OSX

For more information about the process of monotype and the Monotype of the Day project click here.  For the first 24 hours after posting, this piece is 10% off and can be purchased here.

what goes unseen, Monotype of the Day #831

what goes unseen. monotype, 12 x 14”
Sybil Archibald

Day 99 of year 3

So much of making art happens outside the conscious mind. An artist can sometimes get a hint, like seeing the outline of an object against a bright sun. But even after a piece is made they may not be able to see its true meaning and content. Things take time to surface in the conscious mind. This is one of the reasons it's best not to judge a work when it's first complete. Trust in its value and let it marinate. Someday it may provide surprising revelations.

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

first light, Monotype of the Day #790

Day 58 of year 3

roots, Monotype of the Day #788

Day 56 of year 3

The chair keeps coming up. I still have no idea of its meaning. I love that, it allows me to work in a purer way without my mind overthinking and getting in the way. I am curious though... When the time is right I will know. Usually I am working something out internally and once I do, the chair's meaning will become clear.

A blessing on your head and heart for beauty, love, and peace. xo

sunrise at sea, Monotype of the Day #770

Day 38 of year 3

"The perfect way is not difficult, only avoid picking and choosing" -Seng-ts'an, 6th century Buddhist master

dawn, Monotype of the Day #717

Day 347 of Year 2 (Actually Day 352)

This print is what I would call a hot mess, but I decided to post it anyway! It's so important for artists to know that failure is part of the process, an essential part. Every piece can't be great or even good. Struggles with an unsuccessful piece so often bring new discoveries, techniques, imagery or etc. They can also serve to jolt us out of complacency. They are a call to wake up, not from doing anything wrong, but to be more alive and present in our practice, to grow and be more conscious. That's a beautiful thing. Artists must make peace with "failed" work and trust that everything we create is an essential part of our journey. It has meaning and purpose though we may not consciously understand why. Creating art is at its most basic level an act of deep and profound trust and intimacy. So trust yourself, trust your process, and know that all will be well in your studio.
PS I've also posted the ghost of the second layer on a more muted paper.

dawn breaks, Monotype of the Day #646

Day 276 of Year 2 (Actually Day 281)

Posting early tonight, well before midnight! I've been at this project for one year and nine months. It's hard not to repeat poems from time to time, but some poems are a joy to repeat.

Thirst
By Mary Oliver

Another morning and I wake with thirst
for the goodness I do not have. I walk
out to the pond and all the way God has
given us such beautiful lessons. Oh Lord,
I was never a quick scholar but sulked
and hunched over my books past the
hour and the bell; grant me, in your
mercy, a little more time. Love for the
earth and love for you are having such a
long conversation in my heart. Who
knows what will finally happen or
where I will be sent, yet already I have
given a great many things away, expect-
ing to be told to pack nothing, except the
prayers which, with this thirst, I am
slowly learning.

From Thirst https://amzn.to/2XImpYh (This was my first book of Mary Oliver poems, a wonderful introduction to her work.)