Happy Mother’s Day

I remember my mother saying this (“We need love most when we are least loveable”) … it is a really wonderful quote. Meaningful for all relationships, but especially the relationship between a parent and child. My mother died more than two years ago. I will be thinking about her tomorrow, on Mother’s Day, and honoring her memory. 

I love calligraphy and beautiful type. I only took one calligraphy class, in high school. I was fortunate to grow up in a wonderful public school system – Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania – one of the best in the country. I’m sure my mom had a lot to do with that. When she and my father moved to Mt. Lebanon, she was pregnant with me. She valued education highly, and wanted her children to attend the best schools possible. 

At Mt. Lebanon High School, we had a fabulous fine arts program that included both visual and performing arts. (It makes me sad to see how much arts programs have been eroded at most public schools today.) That one calligraphy class really changed me. It was when I discovered that I really relax, really feel meditative, when I am concentrating every fiber of my being on doing something as perfectly as possible, and on creating beauty. 

I think this is why I love making art; I’m addicted to that Zen feeling. It is my drug of choice, my escape from the stress and chaos of some parts of my life. 

I have been playing with type lately in my sketchbook, and decided to do this quote. I did it in black ink, then scanned in the illustration and opened it in Photoshop. I changed the black type to white, and put it on a background that is an enlarged section from the photo on the left side (this is a skeletal hydrangea shot close up against a purple bottle). Aren’t the colors luscious?

Anyway, this is my little gift to Mom, and to you, my readers. Happy Mother’s Day!