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Below you will find my Artist Statement, Bio & Resume

Artist's Statement

The roots of creativity are shrouded in mystery. They run deeply into an eternal well brimming with the generative nature of the Divine.

The source of creativity is the source of everything. Through sculpture, etching & other media, I seek a pathway deep into that sacred well. I keep kinship with ancient mystics. While they sought God in visions, I seek the Divine in the creative process. This process, captured within a finished piece, resonates with light. Through my art, the human form becomes a nexus, a pivoting point between matter & spirit.

All things in this world are mirrors which reflect, however imperfectly, the Divine. Every time I create art I polish that mirror within myself and my work.

-Sybil Archibald 2007
For more on this checkout my blog

 

About me

I was born in Los Angeles in 1968 like a fresh water fish into the ocean. By the time I was 4 years old I was making faces in clay and have never turned back. My early years were spent roaming our family orange farm in Ojai, California where I developed a deep love of mud and clay (never losing a chance to get covered in it). Later when we moved back to LA, in the social isolation of adolescence and parental divorce art became my means of emotional survival.

As a teenager I became obsessed with the process of birth & often took the opportunity to wear my carved foam pregnancy stomach. I loved to mimic the difficulties pregnant women have sitting down, especially if I there was a substitute teacher! Oh, the judgments… Later I realized my obsession was an obsession with the nature of creativity itself. I quickly came to the conclusion that my own creativity did not issue forth from me but through me.

My college years were spent deep in the company of mystics such as Plotinus, Meister Ekhart, & Hildegard of Bingen. I pursued God with vigor and fell very deeply into the “dark night of the soul”- that stage on the mystical journey when your life crumbles and it seems that God has abandoned you. I was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease called scleroderma. I became very ill. I had trouble walking; I couldn’t open a door; couldn’t sleep from pain.

I knew from my study of ancient mystics that although one feels utterly abandoned by the Divine during the dark night of the soul, it is really the moment when we are closest to God. We see darkness, but we are really blinded by the light. For 10 years as my illness kept me from fully pursuing my art, it forced me deep inside. Ultimately, it has shown me the face of the Divine on this earth which as it turns out was always my goal anyway.

During this time, without the physical energy to create, I began an in depth study of the sacred art tradition of medieval illumination, co-founded the Gabriel Guild, got involved in teaching art techniques and ultimately co-wrote the forth-coming book Lapis & Gold: Unlocking the Secrets of Medieval Painters and Illuminators. Although, I produced many illuminations about the relationship between spirituality & creativity, it was a side trip for me. Ultimately, the process of illumination teaches us to control our artistic vision in order to surrender to Divine will as manifest in the physical materials used to paint. I am interested in more. I wish to surrender everything into the creative process, to allow the Divine spirit of creativity to flow through me, perfected, untarnished by my own small desires. My illness has taught me in great and excruciating detail how to begin to do just that.

As my acceptance of my illness has grown, so has the quality of my health. I have emerged from my illness, not unscarred, not completely healed, but more fully alive and connected to my artistic process. The years I have spent away from my art have deepened my understanding & depths. I am more committed than ever to my exploration of the roots of creativity through art.

When not busy in my studio, I have the great joy of caring for my husband, son, dogs & English-style garden.

 

  

          

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EDUCATION
School of the Sacred Arts, NYC, NY: Icon Painting, Manuscript Illumination, Mysticism in Art
                Merit Scholarship for studying “Mysticism in Manuscript  Making”
New York University, Gallatin Division, NYC, NY: BA in Medieval Mysticism
& Fine Arts
                Graduated with Distinction
                Marco Polo Travel Scholarship to Study Hildegard of Bingen in Germany
SPARC Mural Project (Judith Baca, Teacher)
Crossroads School for the Arts & Sciences
                Geraldine Page Award

DEMOS, LECTURES, OR WORKSHOPS
 Grolier Club, New York, NY, "A Conversation with Sybil Archibald & Karen Gorst on the Spiritual Traditions and the Latin Alphabet", 2005
 The Cloisters Museum, New York, NY, "Sacred Art: Manuscript Illumination Workshop for Interns," Class with K. Gorst, 2005
 The Cloisters Museum, New York, NY, " Sacred Art: Manuscript Illumination Workshop for Interns," Class with K. Gorst, 2004
 Medieval Conference, Newcastle, PA, "Medieval Manuscript Making: Manuscript Analysis and Sacred Art Techniques", lectures and demos, 1996- 2005
 The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, NYC, NY, "Crafts at the Cathedral", Sacred Art techniques discussion. 1998, 1999
 The Museum for African Art, Soho, NY, "A Comparison of Techniques and Philosophies of Making Medieval Manuscripts and Ethiopian Healing Scrolls," lecture and demo, with The Gabriel Guild, 1997
 The Gabriel Guild Studio; Port Chester, NY, ongoing workshops in ancient and medieval sacred art technique, 1993-97
 Dieu Donne Papermill; Soho, NY, "Gold Leafing on Handmade Papers," demo, with The Gabriel Guild, 1996
 Katonah Museum; Katonah, NY; Medieval Arts, Family program in conjunction with Medieval Bestiary exhibit, 1995
 Metropolitan Museum of Art; New York, NY, "Medieval Manuscript Illumination,’’ series; 2 lectures, with K. Gorst, 1995
 Kate’s Paperie; Soho, NY, "The Paper Chase," demo, 1995
 The Cloisters Museum, New York, NY, "Medieval Manuscript Illumination Workshop for Teachers," Class with K. Gorst, 1994
 Graphic Pleasures Gallery, Larchmont, NY. "The Spirituality of Manuscript Making.", Lecture, 1993
 The New York Public Library, 42nd Street Branch, New York, NY, "King Arthur: Looking at a Legend," demo, 1991

EXHIBITIONS
 80 Washington Square East Galleries, "26th Annual Small Works Show", New York, NY, February 2003
 B.A.M.A. Galleries*, "Sybil Archibald:  Recent Works", Hoboken, NJ, December 2002
 Hoboken Artist Studio Tour, Featured Artist, The Hoboken Reporter, Pg.2, Hoboken, NJ,  2002
 T.E. Graphics/Gorst Studios, "Spirituality in Art", Port Chester, NY, 2002
 Sam Francis Gallery, "Salon 2001", Santa Monica, CA, 2001
 Cathedral of St. John the Divine, "Crafts at the Cathedral", NYC, NY,  1998, 1999
 Miranda Fine Arts Gallery, "Holiday Show", Port Chester, NY, 1999
 Yellow House Art, "Holiday Art Show", Greenport, NY, 1999
 D. Calvert Eluminures Medievales, "Three Illuminators", Noyers sur Serein, France, 1998
  Dieu Donne Papermill. "Post-Cards", Soho NY, 1996
 Miranda Fine Arts Gallery, "The Gabriel Guild Artists", Port Chester, NY, 1994
 Cloister Gallery, "The Gabriel Guild Artists", Houston TX, 1993
 Graphic Pleasures Gallery, "Finding the Sacred in Art", Larchmont, NY, 1993
 *  Solo Exhibitions

COLLECTIONS
Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA "The Hildegard of Bingen Drawings"
Private Collections, Munich, Germany, Los Angeles, CA, New York, NY, Boston, MA, St. Thomas, VI,  Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Washington, DC, Ohio, Wyoming, among others.