It’s week twenty-two of our calligraphy challenge and the prompt was Maya Angelou. She died six years ago this week so we were asked to do anything inspired by her amazing life. I read many pages and excerpts from her writing and found it hard to pick just one quote or text. I thought about the texture her words Brought to our lives and how she expressed them added to our own thought processes, so I knew I wanted to do something with texture. I then read how other writer’s expressed her impact on their work which is where I found this great description of Maya Angelou by Elise Thompson.
Maya Angelou was brutally honest about who she was, where she came from and what horrors she had endured in her life. In the midst of all that she lived and encouraged everyone to thrive no matter their circumstances. Her honest, transparency and hope brought life and ability to people who had no idea that a black woman could be a poet laureate. She broke down walls other people assumed would always exist.
Creating more and more calligraphic work each week as broken down a lot of barriers for me. It has required me to grow beyond my own borders and seek out new and different ways to use letters. The blank page that brought hesitation and struggle now brings hope and opportunities for more creativity. As I leaf through my last few years of work I am surprised when I remind myself that I created all that art. So far it is nearly three hundred pieces with more still coming down the pike.
What would you do if you had no doubt that you would succeed? What fear would become a thing of your past if you knew you could not fail? And what wall would you have the courage to break down if you believed that what you do today will make a difference for someone in the future? Channel your inner Maya and just do what you do without hesitation.
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