Let the Summer Fun Begin!

I have been member of the Friends of the Alphabet Guild (FOTA) for many decades. It is a guild for calligraphy artists in the Atlanta area. They sponsor study groups by region. The challenge that poses for me is that I live WAY outside of the city and I am not available to attend daytime events during the week. SOOOO, I proposed creating a virtual prompt group for people to join and share their work on a twice a month basis. (and of course that meant being the Administrator for the group as well!) This is the first piece I created for the FOTA Prompt Group – the prompt was Summer. It is quote from Henry James:

Summer Afternoon: the two most beautiful words in the English language.

– Henry James 1916

I have been blessed to have been able to participate in Scribbled Lives for seven years. The consistency and deadlines that group provided has changed both my work ethic and my art. As a result, I am glad to start this new virtual group AND my hope is to encourage and inspire other calligraphers in my area to grow their own skills and work habits.

I struggled with creating one more thing for me to do – especially in a time of life when I am already very busy – so I paused. I asked myself a few honest questions: Was I the right person to do this? Am I too busy to do it right, well, and consistently? Will anyone even want to participate? How will this group challenge me to become a better version of myself? Do I have the bandwidth to serve others in this capacity? And I then spent time thinking about my answers.

Life is not about filling our time, we can all find way too many things to do that. Life is about becoming, growing , learning AND giving other people the opportunity to do the same. I am glad to have this new group to be able to encourage and grow other artists AND challenge myself to also grow in new avenues. So stay tuned as I post new work created on a twice a month basis. So let the Summer fun begin!