Creativity and Calligraphy

Life often gets hectic as an adult. Once you throw kids and a mortgage into the mix, it can be hard to get time for yourself. As a busy mom of two, I use art and design as both my “me time” and as a way to support my family.

I whole-heartedly believe art is for everyone. Aside from that one watercolor class I took in college, I’m far from a professionally trained artist. If anything I was trained how “not” to be an artist.

Let me explain.

I studied economics and politics; finance and statistics. Because “art will never pay the bills," they said. “Get a degree in business and you’ll always have a job,” they said. They celebrated when I declared my major and again when I landed that big job at a nameless bank. “Your career is on track and your future is bright,” they said.

Fast forward to present day… I’m an analyst-turned-artist running a successful small business from my perfectly tiny studio that was once a dinning room. If I’ve learned anything on this journey it’s this: If you’re not careful, you’ll find yourself hyper focused on the future rather than on the joy of actually creating it.

But now it looks as if I skipped over the middle of the story. So let me fill you in on how my life made a drastic turn…

I have always loved all things creative. Painting, drawing, writing, crafting; trying something new and creative is so exciting to me, even though it usually means making a huge mess that looks like an art tornado hit. Devastating. Yet so rewarding.

Trying my hand at calligraphy had always been on my creative bucket list. After picking up that first funny-looking oblique pen, I was hooked. I would clock out of my nine-to-five and dive in to my creative hobbies. Calligraphy quickly became my craft of choice, my favorite creative outlet.

In 2014, my husband and I welcomed our first baby into the world and I left my job to stay at home. As a new stay at home mom, creativity again became my time for me. Before long, I used my newfound calligraphy skills to help out with a wedding. Then I did another wedding, and eventually referral requests started rolling in. And just like that, I had a business that was covering the groceries and paying for the diapers.

Envelopes and invitations filled the kitchen table of our tiny Carolina apartment. The excitement of navigating a new venture and this new ability to delight others with my creativity, energized me. I was making more messes, yes, but they all felt like they were leading up to something big and it pushed me forward into the unknown.

As the years passed, one child turned in to two. We moved into a little cottage on the outskirts of a forest with room for all the crafting and supplies we could hope for. As the kids grew, they loved to make art with me. Side by side at the table, painting and paper crafting. The sounds of snipping paper and little giggles are the background noises of my favorite memories.

Eventually I learned how to write on things other than paper; from craft materials (like fabric, wood and glass), to foods (like pancakes and pastries). I have found that the opportunity for weaving my handwriting into projects is limitless!

To me, carving out time to be creative is as important as finding time for self-care.

These days, I carve out a few hours each day to work on projects for clients and create content that fuels my creative business. At any given time, you'll find stacks of stationery, paintbrushes, inkwells and at least one pair of scissors left lying on my studio table.

In these short time-blocks, I’m cutting up paper to make wedding invitations and place cards. Addressing countless envelopes and sealing them with wax and vintage postage.

I’ve learned to eco-dye fabrics and silk ribbons by hand, using only materials found in nature: plants, berries, fruits and vegetables.

I’m cutting yards of linen to make fabric banners to sell in my virtual storefront. Banners that I carefully hand paint with a couple’s initials for a reception or a baby’s name for a nursery.

During these sacred creative hours, I spend the majority of time calligraphing, designing, painting and cutting.

The great thing about calligraphy is that anyone can do it. One thing I love about stretching my creativity is getting to share my process with others. I started a blog to show people step by step how to create the things I make in my studio. With the right tutorials and tools, anything is possible.

So if you've ever wanted to learn how to write on, say, fabric (or acrylic, or chalkboards) - there’s a helpful tutorial on my blog. I'll walk you through the steps for writing on fabric, which you can then turn into thoughtful gifts, home decor or anything else you can imagine.

And if you’re wondering what’s next on this unexpected journey, it’s bringing the outlet of creativity to more people. Because there is so much happiness that can come from art. And because creativity is meant to be shared.

My hope is that by creating video tutorials of my calligraphy in progress… of the painting, dyeing and cutting fabrics… of the design process in general, it will make my projects, and the invitation to create art along side me, more accessible. Accessible not only to the trained artist, but to anyone with the longing to make giggle-worthy craft messes and a lingering spark of creativity waiting inside them.

Let's UNLEARN how “not” to be artists together, and instead enjoy the process of creating something spectacular.