Art of the Spirit: The Work of Sybil Archibald

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My Book: 
     Lapis & Gold

The ALchemist Series Closeups (Scroll down for images)

        Preparing to Greet the Goddess
        Do not think of her
        unless you are prepared
        to be driven to your limits,
        to rush forth from yourself
        like a ritual bowl overflowing
        with sacramental wine.

        Do not summon her image
        unless you are ready to be blinded,
        to stand in the flash
        of a center exploding,
        yourself shattering into the landscape,
        wavering bits of bark and water.

        Do not speak her name
        until you have said good-bye
        to all your familiar trinkets --
        your mirrors, your bracelets,
        your childhood adorations --
        From now on you are nothing,
        a ghost sighing at the window,
        a voice singing under water.
        Dorothy Walters (1928- )

The style of these pieces is inspired by early Armenian manuscript illuminations. My paintings explore, as all my work does, the source and nature of the creative process.  

The materials I used here were of particular importance because I was wrestling with how to find that nexus where Divine creativity and the material world meet.  Thus I made most of the materials for these painting by hand. I ground tree sap, stones, metals, cooked plants and sorted earths.  All the while I was in a deep meditative state, seeking to become the funnel for Divine creative energy to pour into the physical matter of the art supplies I was creating. Thus, these pieces explore the alchemical idea that actions performed in the physical world have a corresponding reaction in the interior spiritual world. So as I transformed my materials, I trasformed and healed myself.

I did not make the sheep skin parchment they are painted on, but as I painted, I was acutely aware of the cycle of life and death, rebirth and regeneration. I understood that I was honoring the animal who died and bringing a new form of life to its body. For more on this check my forthcoming book Lapis & Gold: Unlocking the secrets of Medieval Illuminators.

Scroll down for all the images in the series.

      
The Artist as Mother
      

       Eden

       

        The Artist 1

     

       The Artist 2

     

        The Artist's Hand

       

        The Cycle

    

      Woman

      

       The Virgin Birth

       
        

 

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 All Images (c) Sybil Archibald