"Peace, be still." Mark 4:39
"....a still small voice." 1 Kings 19:12
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This piece of my mother's calligraphy hangs in my office. These three scriptures, all dealing with stillness, confront me daily as I arrive at work. I'll admit, I don't have much of a problem with being still; I can sleep forever, nap at any hour, and relax without the nagging feeling that I need to be doing something.
I'm not sure what sparked in me, but suddenly I have been filled with the urge to follow my mom's path and learn the art of calligraphy. The desire hit me without warning and with a strength that I could not resist. For two weeks, I spent vast quantities of time sitting at the kitchen table writing letters - with my mother's examples to guide me. My birthday arrived at an opportune time for me to indulge my new addiction; I headed to Hobby Lobby to buy some real calligraphy pens (as opposed to the calligraphy markers I had been using up to this point). I sent emails to any calligraphers I could find in town, inquiring about classes or lessons I might take - so far without response. Needless to say, I became a bit obsessed with this new hobby.
Quickly, I felt a bit of anxiety around the venture. First, I'm not that good. One problem is that I will always have my mother's work for comparison, and she is skilled beyond belief! Second, I found that I could sit and write words with no regard for the time. I am sure we all have passions in which we "lose time," and practicing calligraphy was becoming this for me. I realized that if I wasn't careful, I could neglect my family, friends, and job for the thrill of the hunt fort the perfect line, with beautiful, consistent curves and equal spacing.
Luckily, my mom is only a few hours away, and she is thrilled to be a mentor and teacher - we will probably head to a beginners class together soon. (This makes me chuckle a bit - in NO way does she belong in a beginners class.) Maybe when I have been writing as long as she has, I will have the ability to create art the way she does. I am also thrilled that this new passion has hit alongside baseball season. Strange, I know, but when Daniel is in bed and Mark sits down to watch the Oakland Athletics, I can sit at the kitchen table and practice my calligraphy. It's perfect, really, because I can be with him and we can talk, both enjoying our own pastimes. He comes over to see what I am writing, and I in turn follow the game. When the game is over, I can pack away my things for another day, and spend time in other ways.
Our word calligraphy comes from the Greek: κάλλος kallos "beauty" + γραφή graphẽ "writing." Ahh, I love when things come full circle. This blog began as a way for me to indulge my longing to be creative, and I started in spite of the fear that I, myself, do not have much creative to say. I reconciled my desires and my fears with "Original Plagiarism," so that I could respond to the ways that beautiful writing inspires me. Of course, I was regarding "writing" as words in a book, lyrics in a song, scriptures, or quotes that move my emotions in some way.
How fitting, then, that I have found calligraphy! I am still exploring beautiful writing, but now I am looking at words themselves, and the letters that make them. With studying this art form, like writing this blog, my emotions are moved and my creativity tapped. Maybe soon I will be able to calligraphy well enough to earn some money, since I doubt my unoriginal "creative" writing will ever earn me a dime more than satisfaction.
All of this leaves me thankful for my mom and her influences on my life, not to mention my husband who supports my new habit. I am thankful for my stepson, who includes me in his creative and imaginative world. And when my work is done, and the little one in bed, I am thankful for the time I have to breathe, "peace, be still," with a pen in my hand and a great man at my side.
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