One of the things I got most excited about this fall was getting creative again. With Tala at the gastouder twice a week, I could finally carve out some precious time to reactivate the right side of my brain and work on a new project after a six month-long creative dry spell.
I thought about reviving my interest in calligraphy, but while browsing classes on Skillshare, I got sidetracked by The First Steps of Hand Lettering with freelance letterer Mary Kate McDevitt.
Reading the class description triggered flashbacks to high school, when I was obsessed with hand lettering. I would copy letters from Bibles and calligraphy books with my Pilot Tecpoint 0.5 pen. I would write out the names of my teenybopper crushes (Edward Furlong! Leonardo DiCaprio!) in my textbooks in various styles, ink staining my fingers, nose practically pressed to my desk. I knew everything about my classmates’ love lives from all the “monthsary” cards (how very high school!) and love letters they would ask me to decorate.
Lettering was fun, I was good at it, and I had totally forgotten about all of that—until now.
The objective of the class was to hand letter a favorite quote or phrase, and choosing one was the starting point of the entire project. I chose a lyric from Labyrinth, an ’80s classic and my favorite movie of all time. It’s from the final scene, where Sara (Jennifer Connelly) must rescue her baby brother from Jareth, the Goblin King (David Bowie! in tights!).
In eight words, this phrase captures exactly how I feel about becoming a mother. Ever since Tala came into my life, nothing has been the same. Life as I know it has changed forever; this little girl, this precious thing has turned my world.
Through a series of video lessons, Mary Kate goes through all the entire process of creating a piece of hand-lettered art: from the initial steps of choosing a phrase, forming a concept, and gathering inspiration, right on through to sketching, inking and finalizing the artwork.
Gathering inspiration for this project was fun! The word “precious” drew me to the idea of incorporating gems and jewels into my piece.
Exploring the world of gems, something clicked when I stumbled upon Indian bridal jewelry. Bingo! said the half-Indian girl.
Indian brides are draped with jewels when they are wed. For me, this brings together the idea of precious things with family, marking milestones and life changes. The teardrop shape occurs a lot here, and these ruby teardrops reminded of the blood and tears that marked Tala’s birth. Plus hello, ornate gorgeousness.
Revisiting the movie, I was inspired by Sara’s final confrontation with the Goblin King. She takes a leap (of faith) into nothingness, and finds herself falling into his dreamy, shadowy world. I loved the idea of drifting, tumbling, and floating into shadows, and looked for typographic inspirations with that in mind.
Tomorrow, I’ll show you how these mood boards and inspiration developed into actual sketches. I’ve been working on this project for about a month now, so there’s a lot to share. In the meantime, why not check out Mary Kate’s lettering class on Skillshare?
Biiittiiiinnn!!! Can’t wait to see the actual sketches