2/11/2015 0 Comments Hand LetteringInspiration: Mythology and PositivityOne of the reasons I was so interested in attending Minerva is its wide range of courses and in depth theory and philosophy classes. I sometimes feel my English Arts education forgets the importance of academic research and literary skills, as well as background philosophical inspiration which is rarely covered in the syllabus. However, here in Groningen we are consistently engaged in two theory courses and an extra choice of theory class. Last block I chose Mythology which was a fascinating course and intrigued me for its moralistic and imaginative qualities. Wanting to further this research I started reading about mythology in my own time and soon found a concept that connected to my beliefs and the passions that I like to spread in my work: The River Cocytus. One of the four rivers of the Underworld according to Roman Mythology it was "the river of lamentation; it was by drinking the waters of this river that souls fully realised the wonder of life and came to understand all that they had lost by dying" (Roberts, M. J. 1994, Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome). In this circumstance it is a torture, made to instil regret and dissatisfaction with the existence of the souls and it reminded me how important it is that we exercise gratitude every day and realise the beauty of this world before we leave it. Therefore, I took it upon myself to bring this opportunity for enlightenment into our lives. I started brainstorming ideas of how to visualise this experience of drinking and awakening from our inappreciative conscience. I soon updated the concept connecting it to the common philosophy "Is the glass half full or half empty?". And soon I was spreading the word on social media that I was in need of peoples opinions of what the wonders of the world are for them. It is important to me that rather than pushing my values on others I can remind people of their own values and stimulate gratitude and appreciation for these personal things. These opinions I have now been transforming into simple cup shapes, half-filled with artistic hand-lettering. Hand-lettering and typography is something I find beautiful and intriguing. Whilst I have no training in the area I have enjoyed experimenting by copying different fonts and making them my own. I find Pinterest a huge source of inspiration and also motivation as it is evident how appreciated hand-lettering is at the current time. The above image shows the process from choosing written quotes to planning and creating the base sketch whilst below you can see the stages and final result of my first piece in this style. I am pleased with the result but know that this is just the beginning... Making a Start
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