Learn Something New

Thirty years ago I took a community college class on basic calligraphy. It was a six week offering where we spent most of our time tracing letters to develop muscle memory. I remember the moment during those weeks when my hand was able to create the thoughts in my head. My hand crudely created a letter ‘A’ and it was actually legible as the letter A. The last week we hand lettered a simply verse, and when I look back at that work it is absolutely horrible. It was definitely beginner work and my teacher encouraged us to always keep it, to remind us how far we have progressed.

Over the decades I have created hundreds of pieces for a variety or clients – album covers, posters, family celebrations, certificates, wedding gifts, custom work, all in a variety of languages. My work has been published in national and international magazines and I have been teaching calligraphy for years. Currently I am creating fabric for upholstery and working on calligrpahy on clothing.

If you had told me thirty years ago that I would have accomplished all these things in the future, I would have thought you were crazy. I would never have imagined that anyone who collect or purchase my work, let alone pay me to make it. That first horrible piece was the first two in a wonderful journey.

All this reminds me that we never know where what we do for the first time will lead us. No matter the fear or the hesitation in doing something new, always be open to learning and growing. It is from humble beginnings that ALL things have developed. No one did anything worthwhile without having to learn something new.