Be Still and Know....

A request for these words...

So, an option that can be printed & colour added later...

...a well known quotation, but with the words repeated & contracted 

down to the essence of the phrase...

Be Still. Be.

I love the pencil with watercolour splashes. 

They have an ethereal quality... floating...

Ocean colours... Water.... Calming, cleansing...

But then, the painted letters are perhaps more balanced? Certainly more visible.
Subtly changing tones of translucent colour.... blues, greens, aqua...

This image brings to mind the Rumi quote, 

"Only let the moving waters calm down, 

and the sun and moon will be reflected on the surface of your being."

Perhaps the pencil version is more suggestive of an invitation to 'be still.... to know... to be'

whilst the stronger painted letters seem more of an instruction... what do you think?

Simplicity...

again, the watercolours merge into each other within the letters...

Although I like the look of this, for me the emphasis on the whole phrase 

turns the additional wording into more of a back-up statement.

Nothing wrong with that, of course!

I have an ongoing fascination with how a seemingly minor change can totally change the meaning or impact of the same few words. Even after all these years. It's more than 20 years since I first played with this quotation... using just the words, no decoration, changing the emphasis from one word to another, learning about contrasts, and in doing so changing the whole meaning of the phrase.

Prints will be available soon 

(but with a whiter background than these photographs show!).

Which version would you choose?

Captain Corelli in Purple!

This was to be an anniversary scroll, using a reading from the wedding....

You can see from these two photographs how difficult it can be to match a colour from a picture. I had a photograph of a lovely bride wearing what she called 'mauve'.... which was a different tone from what I would call mauve. And so I used a variety of shades in the decoration of this piece... little pastel squares drifting over the page.... 

It is to be framed in a 12 x 12 inch frame, but we weren't sure whether the ribbon would be included inside the frame or not.... so, I left extra space at the top allowing the scroll to be trimmed from either top or bottom (or both) to fit.

If you would like to commission an original version for yourself just get in touch> suziscribbles at yahoo.co.uk, or take a look in my etsy shop where I also have some prints available> here

Your Song ~

How many of us have a special song? One that means something to us or reminds of a particular time...

I've just had a request to write out the words to "their song", for a lady to give to her husband on their wedding anniversary. The full lyrics are here, but we decided to use certain more relevant verses and omit some bits that were repeated....

Listening to the song sent all sorts of different ideas through my mind & I was singing the chorus to myself for ages.... it must be one of those songs that speaks to so many people!

 As we discussed colours, S emailed me a photo of the dress she was wearing on the night she met her husband 13 years ago, wondering if I could use the turquoise. It's funny.... once I had that last piece of the jigsaw, i knew what i wanted to do... although at that point I was going to paint the little diamonds to decorate it or use pastels. As I wrote, the chorus was still going around in my head, & though we'd cut chunks of it out I added bits of chorus back in... layering the text to give some background texture and brings some visual interest in between the blocks of words...

When it came to add the decoration I actually printed the photo of the dress fabric & cut that up to create the blue & turquoise 'diamonds'. S said that the photo was a bit too blue & not 'turquoisey' enough, so i adjusted the colour a bit first before I printed, and then added some even more turquoise diamonds for good measure... i was only guessing at the actual colour, but hopefully by using several shades I got near enough! 

The scroll idea is proving a popular way to present calligraphy as a gift. It helps an unframed piece of work look something a bit more.... and the ribbon can easily be trimmed off to frame it later. Luckily, I had some turquoise tissue, & tied it with 2 shades of ribbon.... even if I didn't hit the right shade, at least it looked good to give!! The overall size was a touch under 12 x 17 inches.

Don't forget to leave a comment on my last post for chance to enter the give-away & have chance to win a print!!

Captain Corelli Quote ~ Those that truly love...

So... two people have tracked me own in a fortnight... both previous customers, both wanting a piece of  work done as a wedding gift. I suppose I am not hard to find, but isn't it funny that this should happen now, so close together, when it is over 6 years since I closed up shop and when i am in the area!

On the other hand, earlier in the month, at the new moon, I set the affirmation that I am once more, serious about making more income from what i do.... so maybe not so funny after all, just proof that affirmations & intent have an effect!!

I was asked to write out a passage from Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres... this extract about what love is, has become quite a classic for wedding readings. Even though it is years since I have written it out, i found that I pretty much knew the words off by heart... quite dangerous for a calligrapher, as it is easy to write what you think you know, instead of what is actually there!

The plan was to present the gift as a scroll, which the recipient could then frame at a later date. I used a handmade cotton rag & banana paper from Khadi. This is a decent weight & looks interesting when rolled up, as well as being great to write on. I went for good old walnut ink which works so well with this paper... and being a combination of natural colours, they suit most homes. This is often a consideration when people buy for someone else... luckily i love natural!! The ribbon is threaded through slits cut at the bottom, then turned up & glued... it doesn't show at the back.

various prints & original scrolls are available

in my etsy shop here

or just get in touch> suziscribbles at yahoo.co.uk

This last part would make a piece of work on it's own!  As this is the bit that carries the main message of the passage, I used different letterforms to add contrast & emphasis.... the petals across the bottom help to balance and anchor the whole thing, as well as being relevant to the words about blossom falling. The credit across the bottom, matches the couples' names & wedding date across the top.

All wrapped up with matching tissue & ribbons, it makes a pretty present! It's easy to post something like this in a postal tube.... so if you'd like a custom order for something along these lines just email me>  suziscribbles at yahoo.co.uk

overall, the approx size is 12 x 17 inches, 

this can be trimmed to fit a frame at a suitable size 

~ it will require a custom made frame ~

This is the adaptation i was given for this one... but if you look around the internet it is easy to find the original:

“Love is a temporary madness; it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part.

 Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of eternal passion. That is just being in love, which any fool can do. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. 

Those that truly love have roots that grow towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossoms have fallen from their branches, they find that they are one tree and not two.” 

Captain Corelli's Mandolin ~Louis de Bernieres

Voici mon secret...

today i received an email from someone i hold dear which included these words...

"....speaking to me (but not in words as such) about seeing without eyes..."

so i shall share these now instead of waiting until i have time, lol

i was experimenting last week.... writing on the pages of an old english-french dictionary... this is the first one i wrote.... synchronicity, eh?!

Just quick scans... i'm planning on mounting them on a natural paper, ready for framing, before adding to the shop. I'd like to frame them, as i have a specific idea of how thy could look, but posting abroad with glass in a frame is awkward & expensive, and that is where most of my sales come from.

We'll see... if the picture framer i just found hadn't made assumptions I would have gone ahead & got them done anyway... i asked about getting mounts cut, that i could then cover with paper to match some calligraphy and never got as far as talking about frames... he started getting uppity about not being "that sort of framer".... i didn't get what he meant, cos i wanted several frames aswell...  it never dawned on me that he wouldn't cut mounts to fit standard sized frames and he assumed that's what i wanted ( i hadn't got as far as asking, but i do get standard sizes for my photographs!)

Anyway after telling me he couldn't say when, cos if he had larger orders they would take priority, and there was no way they would be ready for this week he then thought it would be better if i took my business elsewhere! Ah, well... some mis-communication i think, but this 2nd page i did is sort of appropriate!! I felt like a child trying to explain what i needed & not getting anywhere...

ingredients: old dictionary pages & walnut ink

Now... back to packing the last few bits n pieces i need for tomorrow & putting aside the thoughts of... "ooh, i should've.... i could just do a few..."

Dance The Old Ways

 More words that move me, written by Cari Ferraro

Dance the old ways

Trust the knowing

Mend and heal

Energy Flowing

For this, I used wood dyes for the background, pencil crayons for the lettering, a chalk pastel spiral and decorators filler for the 'stones'.... so I guess that qualifies as mixed media!

I originally wrote about this piece over here... remember the posts are in reverse order, so the 3rd post on that page is how it started out & the first one is my reflections at the end! 

Sisters Of The Red Moon

we have met before, you and i

somewhen, somewhere.

in time out of time, the space between,

the space where the veil thins and the mist floats across

moonlit oceans.


in the swirling chaos of now,

tendrils of light flicker in the darkness.

reminders of a lost tribe,

of ancient ways where blood was holy

and wisdom shared.

reaching across the chasm of time.

over expanse of space and the shackles of fate

there is hope that in the dreaming

of this and other things, we shall meet again.

somewhen, somewhere.

By Melanie Leavey

Mmm, I love creating textures... with lettering or with paint & I found these words so inspiring. Layers of blacks & reds with some bronze powder....

This piece is 56 x 76 cm on cotton rag paper, which with all the layers, was quite challenging to write on! I've written more fully about the process & my thoughts on the words here, at Spirit Whispers...  

If you are interested in purchasing, please get in touch....