Darkness and Light

Martin Luther King Jr. once said:

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. 
 Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that".

These words reached out to me after the terrible shootings at the two mosques in Christchurch New Zealand. Helpless and stunned as I was, I somehow still felt I needed to respond in a small way. I started to make a book.

A small book, a book made with calligraphy, and using materials from dear friends.  Somehow holding love and beauty together felt necessary if we are to try and overcome the darkness that pervades.

So I sat and tested out how it might work.

And it was interesting how the process flowed. How the need to make this wee book was enabled and supported by the spirit of making.  Some days can be hard and you feel like everything you try ends up wrong. Not with this one, it went along the path and made significant progress in just a day.

And that is no mean achievement in my world of very slow making.

Testing script ideas, colours and pens.

Finding the metallic ink would not flow happily through the metal nib and onto the soft paper. The metal nibs just kept pulling the top layer of paper off. Not good.

So I turned to the ruling pen; and after a few goes, seems to get the thin lines I was after.

My view when I broke for lunch.

My first draft on white paper.

All the pages cut.

Such lovely edges.

So a lot of progress was made. Now to sit quietly and write...