It is pretty hard for me to actually, really influence world peace. I'm not in the UN, I'm not a conflict negotiator, I'm not in charge of any armed forces rebel or otherwise; and I'm not running the country. My contributions on a world stage are going to be very very diffuse and small.
With this in mind I thought about what peace means to me, and what my most peaceful moments are. Firstly, I am usually in a peaceful frame of mind when I write calligraphy. Secondly, I have peace when I am outside, by myself, smoking a cigarette! I also use smoking as an excuse to escape from situations I don't want to be in, i.e if I am at a social gathering where I become irritated, bored, or simply don't like the direction in which the conversation is going, then I can simply pop outside for a cigarette and find peace.
With both these things in mind I thought about calligraphy and I thought about ephemeral nature of smoke - fragile like peace... anyhow, I can waffle on like this for ages. Here are the pics of my process so far:-
I chose the lower case roman hand for its simplicity, which I associate in my mind with peacefulness. I wrote it with a very large nib and then traced it.
I then used a black pastel and smudged it around the letter with a cotton bud to get a smokey effect. At the time I wanted to use charcoal, but I couldn't find it, but of course I have found it since! I will do my next four letters with the charcoal and see how they compare.
These weren't my first attempts. I did experiment with tissue paper, cigarette papers that I gummed together before writing the letter, and I also tried writing with cigarette ash and water... these ideas probably need a little more refining before publication :-)
Impermanence and fragility...you alluded to that in a comment, I think.
ReplyDeleteAnd smokey, shadowy letters aid that, I think.
I still might have another shot with this method on the cigarette papers... but they really are tricky to work on.
ReplyDeleteSx
I'll say! I used to stamp onto Rizzlas and frequently tore them.
ReplyDeleteI like your "there but not there" look of your letters - I think that's peaceful.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Janet, I think I have to work on keeping them less defined... I got a little carried away with the smudging business!
DeleteSx
It's always interesting to hear where inspiration comes from...did the idea come to you as you were enjoying a cigarette?! The smoky effect is very appealing - and such an unusual way to set off the letters.
ReplyDeleteYes!! I do a lot of thinking when I'm outside having a cigarette.
DeleteSx
I like the "smokey" effect you created - the "there not there" alluded to earlier. I, too, chose lower case letters (posting today!) just feeling they were "simpler" (not that attaining peace is simple - but being at peace feels simple?? - still working on that one.) Very nice! Can't wait to see more!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the story and really love the letters...
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