A Way with Words
I just came from seeing a delightful and powerful romantic comedy, Words and Pictures (
http://tinyurl.com/oquerst), with Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche where a an English teacher and fallen literary star challenges an art teacher to a war of words versus images to determine which form carries the greatest meaning. Being both as artist and loquacious woman, through this film I appreciated in a new way my relationship between my art and writing.
Innocently and with good intentions, the day I graduated from college with a degree in art, my dad said, “Honey, I am so proud of you! You are the first in our family to graduate with a degree from college. Now I am hoping you will find something to fall back on since you will never make a living as an artist.” Ouch! Not wanting to disappoint my father, I immediately took his warning on as an absolute and redirected my career to toward safer things… education, psychology and writing.
Although my dad, unlike many at that time, fostered me doing ‘boy things’ and had me behind the wheel of a miniature motor-powered car by the time I was 3 and riding dirt-bikes with Roy Roger’s kids by age 9, the conservative residue of that generation still help women back. It wasn’t that my dad didn’t love my art or believe in me. He merely wanted my best and feared me taking the road less travelled. I complied with little resistance because that was what women did, and in that one sentence my passion was suppressed and I all but silenced my creativity. I conformed instead. I believe his comments came from a loving place. Still, from that point forward the most I brought my art forward was doing school projects with my kids and doing calligraphy on envelopes for fun.
It has taken a long time for me to dare to stretch back into the arena of art to explore what was pushed down so long ago. Now with greater courage and an awareness that life is short and unpredictable, I look for and seize more and more opportunities to merge my love of written words with my interest in my forbidden passion of art, especially through unconventional hand lettering.
We each have a closet to come out of. The older I get the more I realize that I don’t want to leave this planet held back by old beliefs or well intended comments. I have a way with words, spoken and written. I create art and generate meaning through my writing teaching and now my hand-lettering. I am resurfacing and setting free another facet of my authenticity. With a bit more feistiness that seems to have gained a patina from the bumps, twists and turns in my life, I am admitting and accepting that I am a Renaissance woman (Caregiver, Mom, Grandma, Sounding-board, Advocate, Mentor, Author, Teacher, Artist) who was gifted with an active right and left brain, as well as calligraphy pens and paints that have too long been asleep.
I now realize that my writing and teaching, done with compassion and intellect, and shared through the power of words written, spoken or in calligraphy, are significant instruments for the expression of my purpose here. For me, love is the answer to every question. Regardless of the form for expression, this is what compels me to nudge women to open to and embrace the importance of self-love, regardless of the medium I use. Like light needs dark to shine, words need pictures as much as pictures need words to have their deepest meaning.
Not only for me, but for all women, there is no other time than now to heal our limiting beliefs and accept that our purpose is significant even when simple. We all have talents to share, and whether through words or art or some creative combination thereof, it all matters. It doesn’t have to be perfect to make a difference, and if you feel it in your heart, you are on the right track. Dare boldly. Love big. Be real.
Joy-fully,
P.S. Do you want to make a lasting impression? Let me create a memorable hand-lettered touchstone for yourself or someone you love of a hand lettered scroll quote bringing meaningful words to life.
For more information, visit: http://centerofhappiness.com/hand-lettering/
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