Crossroads Calligraphy

Thoreau Tunnel “Book”

I get inspired sometimes, by people or poems or processes, and then I get an idea. And then I think to myself, “How can I make this way harder for myself?”

Just kidding. I think, “How can I make this more personal and custom? How can I tailor my inspiration to my idea?” Which often echoes the question above.

In sthis case, my yoga teacher inspired me with her studentship and her references to reverence, which were more palatable to me than references I’ve experienced on the past. I wanted to make a small calligraphy piece for her to show my respect and gratitude for this teaching. So I checked out writings about reverence and liked this secular one. It reads:

Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk in love and reverence.”

Around this same time, I bought a book about making books. A tunnel book is generally a few copies of the same image with parts of each image cut out to create depth. I wanted to create a nature scene because my teacher likes being outdoors. God forbid I choose and print an existing image, so I made 5 separate mini paintings that followed the tunnel book theme.

I completed the paintings, added the calligraphy, and used stacked adhesive pads to affix each layer to the next, stacking the pads so that there was ample space between each image.

Lastly, I constructed my first (!) display box, using my paintings as a size reference and covered the box in purple handmade to offset the greens and yellows in the paintings.

Of course, this is an abbreviated version of the process, but I will say this turned out just as I imagined and I’m way happier with it than I thought I would be!

Thanks for reading!