If you read my last blog post, you’ll have seen that I’ve got a new product range coming out later this month. It’s been pretty exciting working on everything, knowing that the end product can be framed and hung, instead of being used just once and then thrown away. Apart from wanting to create a product that has longevity attached to it, the driving force behind it has come from my love of text: calligraphy, hand-lettering, typography; quotes, lyrics and mixed media art works all leave me feeling pretty inspired.
On the last post, I shared a few sneaky peeks of work in progress shots, but today I wanted to share some photos of the finished products. As music is such a big part of my life, I thought I’d start off with some song lyrics. The Beatles and Pink Floyd both feature heavily in my music collection, so it was only natural for them to make an appearance at some point!
Learning new skills has played a big part in creating these new products and my journey is by no means over! In January, the first thing I decided to start learning was modern calligraphy. I had no idea what to expect and even though it’s something I entered into willingly, I figured I would find it challenging and frustrating. It’s definitely challenging, but overall I’ve found it quite therapeutic and the more I practice, the more I want to do. I’ve found myself lost in the strokes on the page and even though calligraphy won’t be showing up in this first new product range, it will be making an appearance later in the year. I feel like I still have a long way to go with this, but I’ve found it’s given me a good base from which to start my lettering journey.
The second new skill is hand lettering, so it kind of compliments the calligraphy. At various points I’ve found myself getting slightly frustrated with the hand lettering; I think it’s because it feels a little freer and more artistic. I love hand lettering and when I see pieces of work staring back at me, I find it difficult not to feel inspired. A sense of longing for the skills required to create something similar is what’s spurred me on to keep practicing! I’ve definitely found myself wanting to run before I can walk with this one.
Look out for more information in a few days and also some of my favourite quotes next week.