A Gift We Need to Open Often

It is week five in our fifty week calligraphy challenge and the prompt was bleach. Do anything, write anything, create anything using bleach. I have worked with bleach before in lettering, it is fun and a bit mystical watching it transform a watery film into letters and words. I wanted to experiment with different papers, so I utilized three different colors and types. The black paper is drawing paper, the teal is cheap card stock, and the orange is sanguine red toned pastel paper. The quote reads as follows:

I had to be patient as it can take time for the bleach to do it’s thing and dry. As I splattered to get multiple layers of bleach I was very aware that splatters might also hit things in my studio other than the intended paper, so I washed my hands and surfaces frequently. I then cut each page into two inch squares, finally adding the minute letters for the quote. This challenge was like having science, housekeeping and calligraphy join forces to create something mystical!

When was the last time you experimented with something using it NOT for it’s intended purpose? Doing something clever, out of the box, silly and a bit risky? This prompt made my dreary, rainy, cold morning a lot more fun. I wrote down some of my lessons learned and plan to do this again very soon. Giving yourself the time and resources to play with your tools in a different way TOTALLY releases any pent up energy. It also lifts the hard times, ignites ideas and reminds us that being creative – however we do that – is a gift. A gift that we need to open often.