b'Art No Matter WhatThe inner and outer lives of the artist Sybil ArchibaldBY ELLEN KAHANERSunrise, the 365th monotype pro-duced by Archibald for her daily series.S ybilArchibaldisMy life is my work, and my work sittingonherbedis my life, but I try not to over-atSt.Barnabasthink or obsess when Im working Hospitalwearingbecausethatblocksthecreative astandardissueflow, she says.cottongown.OnThemonotypeseriesiscalled her head is one ofTheInnerLifeoftheArtist. her signature fascinatorsa smallExplains Archibald, It is a con-fancy hat. Ink stains her hands. Asversation between the artist with she is busy creating her daily print,asmalla,thearchetypeforthe a nurse comes into the room andArchibald was diagnosed with scleroderma, a rarephysicalcreator,andTheArtist checks her I.V. She didnt even ask what I was do- chronic autoimmune disease that causes the harden- with a capital A, the source of creativity. And its also ing! Archibald says after she leaves.ing of connective tissue in the body. She has outlivedabout whats going on day to day, with my health Waiting Pool is the monotype of the day fromher prognosis by more than twenty-five years. Andand with everything else that gets wrapped up in thisunstoppableSouthOrangeartist.Likethealthough her hands have become fists, and her mo- the greater story, which includes the outside world. monotypes for each of the 241 days before, its ability and energy are limited, even when she rests sheContinuity is key. To be an artist, you have to show unique image, created in ink on a plate and postedis actively engaged in her workusing her thumbsup, whether you feel inspired or not. on Facebook and Instagram once it is printed. Fromto type entries to her blog, selecting poems to com- Monotype prints are so named because the paint-her bed, Archibald works through her hospital stayplement her monotype series, andthinking abouting or drawing on the plate is only reproduced once. in her makeshift printing studio.her next project. Archibald has processed her dis- Archibald transfers the image from plate to paper Shortly after graduating from college in 1992,ease through her work but not on a conscious level.with the pressure of her fist. Sometimes she creates 18/ matters magazine / fall 2019'