bubbles, Monotype of the Day #471

Day 105 of Year 2 (Actually Day 106)

I won't lie, I can't stand this print. I know talk a lot about not judging my work and 99% of the time, I just let it flow. But tonight is that 1%. I couldn't get in the zone. My yearly studio tour is coming up next weekend and I've been cleaning and organizing. Cleaning is a different head space. I wanted to put red down first, but fought my instinct and went with purple. Things deteriorated from there. It's ok though. There is an ebb and flow to everything. If today was off, tomorrow promises better things. I am reminded by tonight's studio session the deep and profound importance of listening and surrendering to the creative flow. That was important so even on an off night, something was gained.

lifting the veil or the egg at sea, Monotype of the Day #469

Day 103 of Year 2 (Actually Day 104)

I'm divided on a title tonight. Which do you prefer: "lifting the veil" or "egg at sea"? I printed the second layer at an angle purposely to suggest the veil between the physical and spiritual worlds, something I feel keenly in the studio. I had a tooth pulled today. The body is good at finding ways to keep us grounded! I am perfectly fine but tired so I will leave it at that for tonight. xo

sail away, Monotype of the Day #468

Day 102 of Year 2 (Actually Day 103)

The medieval idea that we are mirrors reflecting divine light into the world is beautiful. In this metaphor, our mirrors have grown dirty with human limits, ego and jealousies, self-pity, the list is long. Our spiritual growth polishes this dust away so more light can be reflected.
It can be hard to keep an even keel during the events that force us to grow. I've found that with time and experience it becomes easier. This year has been has been at once extremely challenging and extremely wonderful. I tried my hardest to maintain the internal space described in tonight's print. To accept and trust my path even when difficult rather than be irritated or embattled. It was not always possible but the more I let go of my irritation, the easier my challenges were to navigate. This internal space of calm allows my life to move forward with times of happiness even in the face of challenges. And so the polishing continues and hopefully the mirror shines brighter. "If you are irritated by every rub,
how will your mirror be polished?"
-Rumi, Trans. Helminski
From The Rumi Collection https://amzn.to/2JhyYBz

the artist is all ears, Monotype of the Day #466

Day 100 of Year 2 (Actually Day 101)

I am reading this lovely little book called Miro, I Work like a Gardener (https://amzn.to/32C5AxM). I was delighted to find that he was influenced by St. John of the Cross whose poetry has impacted me greatly. I loved this paragraph in particular: "What I seek, in fact, is motionless movement- something equivalent to what's called the eloquence of silence, or what St. John of the Cross meant by the words, I believe, 'mute music.'" Miro captures what I often try to convey in my work: the active nature of the inner world which only finds voice in stillness. Tonight's image of listening is such a moment of stillness, but listening is active. So much happens, so much is uncovered, in a truly motionless moment. Stillness unfolds mystery. Emptiness and silence are both active and passive. These moments where opposites coexist are sacred. I chase these sacred moments through my work.

listening, Monotype of the Day #465

Day 99 of Year 2 (Actually Day 100)

I'm listening tonight. No words flowing out, there is only the flow in.

salvation, Monotype of the Day #464

Day 98 of Year 2 (Actually Day 99)

I love this poem by Lynn Ungar so much. I marked it months ago and set it aside. Tonight after making my print, I went to the bookshelf and was magnetically drawn to this book (Bread and Other Miracles) and the page of this poem. I've learned to trust these feelings over my thoughts, they are akin to the directions I get in the studio. I am so grateful for poets and their inspiring work.

Salvation
By Lynn Ungar

By what are you saved? And how?
Saved like a bit of string,
tucked away in a drawer?
Saved like a child rushed from
a burning building, already
singed and coughing smoke?
Or are you salvaged
like a car part — the one good door
when the rest is wrecked?
Do you believe me when I say
you are neither salvaged nor saved,
but salved, anointed by gentle hands
where you are most tender?
Haven’t you seen
the way snow curls down
like a fresh sheet, how it
covers everything,
makes everything
beautiful, without exception?

From Bread and Other Miracles: https://amzn.to/2VXBUsd

the rescue, Monotype of the Day #463

Day 97 of Year 2 (Actually Day 98)

The physical nature of art materials have a large impact on the way a piece unfolds. My current black ink of choice doesn't allow the rich darks and beautiful line quality of my old ink. Because of this, I feel a bit disappointed in the results. Tomorrow, I hope to go back to this image and find that quality I am seeking. But, whether or not the piece is a success visually, it is definitely a success in shifting my internal landscape. It was born out of sitting and breathing with some fear and anxiety that were plaguing me today. The feelings have passed. I go to sleep with a clear mind and heart.

This work is paired with by "Building and Earthquake" by Jane Hirshfield

Read it here: https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.7560/723436-065/pdf

from Come Thief https://amzn.to/2Bvvya1

self portrait with timer, Monotype of the Day #462

Day 96 of Year 2 (Actually Day 97)

To be alive is to have anxiety, angst, pain, all of it. Holding these emotions in will block the creative flow. Uncomfortable, darker feelings must be acknowledged to be released. The artist needs to be fearless in their embrace in order to find the Light. This piece helped me empty my vessel for more creativity to flow in.

Secret Language
by Rumi, Trans. Coleman Barks

Every part of you has a secret language
your hands and your feet
say what you've done
and every need brings in what's needed
pain bears its cure like a child
From the website Poetry Chaikhana https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/Poets/R/RumiMevlanaJ/SecretLangua/index.html
Transcribed from a CD: Secret Language https://amzn.to/33FhIOr

the blessing, Monotype of the Day #461

Day 95 of Year 2 (Actually Day 96)

There is a magical air about the studio these days. I made some real progress today finishing up some old projects that have been hanging around. I am so grateful for the help of my studio assistant. I'm also grateful for a person who recently showed up out of the blue with some much needed expertise. He is helping me make a piece I've been dancing around for ages. It's taken so many years to understand that the less I try to force projects to happen, the more things move. Each time I stop myself from pressing against an obstacle with a gentle, "patience Sybil, patience. It's okay not to see the way", something new and exciting opens up.

To Know the Dark
by Wendell Berry

To go in the dark with a light is to know the light.
To know the dark, go dark. Go without sight,
and find that the dark, too, blooms and sings,
and is traveled by dark feet and dark wings.

From The Selected Poems of Wendell Berry https://amzn.to/33MW1wf

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)

Here, Monotype of the Day #459

Day 93 of Year 2 (Actually Day 94)

Today, I needed to feel this orange, with its life affirming heat. From there, the image unfolded. It always starts like that, a flush of color or a fragment of image pops into my head like a key to unlocking a mystery. Then, the innate wisdom of the body takes over. My hands, even in their weakened state, know more about making art than my brain ever could. In this process, the brain has a more important task than thinking. It must empty and listen. The ink's voice, the images that pop in, the nudges, must be heard. All are messages from the universal source of all creativity, The Artist, shining through from behind the veil, a gift to the artist.

By Angelus Silesius, Trans. Stephen Mitchell
God, whose love and joy
are present everywhere,
Can't come to visit you
unless you aren't there.

From The Enlightened Heart https://amzn.to/2OKKWHD

Reaching, Monotype of the Day #458

Day 92 of Year 2 (Actually Day 93)

The remnants of yesterday's ink were still on my plate this evening. Somehow I just couldn't wipe it away so I guess, tonight is a partial ghost print and a variation on a theme. I am curious about this symbolism so I hope the suspended woman comes up again. The last time she appeared, she was suspended by her feet so I call this a definite improvement!
The past month or so has been a struggle physically, but mercifully things have shifted and I'm feeling much better. My seas have been choppy and I ride the swells up and down. I know well that every down leads to an up, followed by a down, and over and over. That's life, keeping afloat in these swells. But, there is an internal landscape of peace within reach. I find mine in the studio. When I make these images of calm they change my energy. I am not the same person who walked into my studio earlier today. Like water on a stone, these images are slowly wearing away my rough edges and emptying my vessel.

I Laugh When I Hear That The Fish In The Water Is Thirsty
By Kabir, Trans. Ribert Bly

I laugh when I hear that the fish in the water is thirsty

You don't grasp the fact that what is most alive of all
is inside your own house.
and so you walk from one holy city to the next with
a confused look!

Kabir will tell you the truth: go wherever you like,
to Calcutta or Tibet;
if you can't find where your soul is hidden,
for you the world will never be real!
---- From The Winged Energy of Delight https://amzn.to/2q41CiS
There is another translation on the web which is quite different, It's worth looking up if you are touched by this poem

the artist is carried, Monotype of the Day #457

Day 91 of Year 2 (Actually Day 92)

I was thinking of many things to say about this print, but when I sat down to the computer, I realized nothing more needed to be said than the poem below. Perhaps my thoughts need another night to mature? Timing is everything. One of the greatest lessons of the studio is listening, when to wait, when to stop, and when to close the computer and call it a night! 😊 . xoxo

Effortlessly
by Mechthild of Magdeburg, Trans. Jane Hirshfield

Effortlessly,
Love flows from God into man,
Like a bird
Who rivers the air
Without moving her wings.
Thus we move in His world
One in body and soul,
Though outwardly separate in form.
As the Source strikes the note,
Humanity sings —
The Holy Spirit is our harpist,
And all strings
Which are touched in Love
Must sound.

From The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry https://amzn.to/2VD9OlT

the spotlight, Monotype of the Day #456

Day 90 of Year 2 (Actually Day 91)

This was tough to make tonight. I had an opening and when I got home, I literally could not keep my eyes open. It took about an hour of battling my eyelids until I was able to drag myself into the studio. Then miraculously, and as is always the case, somehow enough energy came to do a print. As I am typing I feel that energy slowly draining away.

This puts me in mind of the renown cellist and amazing exemplar, Pablo Casals. Casals was famously asked at age 93 why he continued to practice. “Because,” he replied, “I think I’m making progress.” I once read that in later years, he woke up as a stiff old man, but as he practiced each day, his body would straighten up and his energy return. When he finished, he would slowly deflate like a balloon until bed and wake up the next morning to start again. On the day he died, he had already practiced for several hours. The renewing force of creativity gives bountiful gifts to those who partake.

the boat is empty, Monotype of the Day #455

Day 89 of Year 2 (Actually Day 90)

While uploading images to my new website (www.sybilarchibaldart.com), I came across an older print titled "so many fish long for bait “. The title, a line from a poem by Wang Wei, suggests wanting and wanting was is not good for us.
This image, strikes me as the opposite of that. The spacious emptiness of the boat and fish, calm in the face of stormy weather, is something I aspire to. How much room can be made to allow for life to flow through. More than any other image I've made recently, this one gives me hope. The fact that this image could come through shows how much these monotypes have changed and healed me. I feel very grateful and renewed in energy for my work. xo