Pictures with Words

Yes, surprise! Again, I've got a blog post with pictures and words.

For quite a few years, my main creative outlet was calligraphy. I learned illumination techniques, too. In fact, my application letter to grad school was in the form of an illuminated manuscript. This was before the computer age, so it really was all hand lettered, and drawn. It wasn't possible to go find a nice uncial font on the net, and then copy and paste a lovely illuminated capital and border around the text. Words and art! They make living worth all the hard stuff.

I've kept a quote journal since I was a child. My grandfather drowned when I was 10. Among the things that came to our house with his tools was an old blank ledger book. My father let me have it, and it became the place I wrote down words that felt important to me. Now, it's tattered and bulging. As I got older, I'd stuff copied poems, odd pieces of paper with notes scrawled on them, and pages torn from magazines into its pages. I keep meaning to make it nice and neat, but there's something comforting about its messiness. And it continues to be a source of solace and inspiration to me.

My Old Beat-Up Journal of Words

Lately, I've been playing with putting words on some of my photographs. It's certainly not a new idea, I know. Who in my age group didn't have posters on their bedroom walls with "deep and meaningful" sayings along side those of their favorite bands? Desiderata poster, anyone? Jonathan Livingston Seagull?

Since now technology allows me to create poster type images and publish them on the web without ever having to leave my chair by the fire, I can satisfy my urge to put my two loves together - like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup; "two great tastes that taste great together!"  To quote directly from the journal above, "Life is serious, but art is fun!" (John Irving, from The Hotel New Hampshire).

(Photo by Bill Burgess)

(Photograper Unknown)