“Fondly do we Hope, fervently do we pray.” This is a quote from Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address. I can’t even imagine the turmoil and strife during that time. Our country was hoping for an end to the Civil War and the country was still divided on what to do on the issue of slavery. It was March of 1865 and no one knew that Lincoln would be assassinated within five weeks of this speech. With great fear and anger readily found on any street, with people making public death threats, Lincoln still spoke of hope. He knew that hope and prayer were two forces that could guide the country and the people to the right path.
I created this mat for another piece, and the size and colors did not work; so I set out to create another piece of calligraphy for this one in particular. I plan to hang it in our family room near my uncle’s service flag, we call it our flag wall. I knew that I would see it everyday and wanted it to be different than my other work. So I chose to recreate a hanging flag and find a patriotic quote or phrase to develop into a calligraphic piece. I am a huge fan of Abraham Lincoln, so that is the first place I looked.
The red, white and blue areas were created using primarily traditional Japanese handmade papers. The stars are punched out of brail paper from a recycled brail bible. The center quote was written with a Copic .07 pen, a Sharpee marker, and gold liquid acrylic ink. I laid out ten different versions of the piece before I decided on the path I wanted to follow. Once I had the path I created a template for the letter layout and a test of the gold ink. I am very pleased with the way it turned out and look forward to hanging it on our wall. I am waiting for everything to dry before I sign and frame it.
Ten versions of the work before I knew where it was going. I wonder how many versions of his second inaugural address Lincoln drafted before he knew the words he wanted to share? If I struggled over ink and paper and layout, what must he have struggled with in trying to convey to the American people that they could get through the war and unite to create a government of the people, by the people, for the people. He spoke these words not knowing how they would impact generations to come.
Hope and prayer are a great reminder for this national holiday, our Memorial Day. Let us pray for those who are serving in our military and public offices. Let us hope for peace and freedom for all, and let us work to live up to Lincoln’s believe that all men were created equal no matter their demographics.
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