Thanks for stopping by. 
This blog has been moved and updated and can now be found at
www.soulistry.com
Hope to see you there! June
For decades I have wanted to do calligraphy. Too timid to buy a real calligraphy pen holder and nib – thinking only *real calligraphers* used them – calligraphy fountain pens and felt markers were purchased. I tried them (once), but could never get the *thin* and *thick* lines or write words that looked anything like what I saw in books etc.
“I’m not creative” became my mantra. I rationalized this lack of creative ability by telling myself that I’d never taken any Art courses in school so didn’t have any training or skills in visual arts. Same thing for why I wasn’t a good cook or couldn’t sew … I hadn’t taken Home Economics in school. Then, a lengthy illness presented me with time – time to recuperate, heal, think, *be.*
In that precious gift of time, I discovered a creative part of me that I didn’t know existed. Unable to sleep one night, I wandered into my spare room where a variety of craft things were stored. Sitting in my chair, I looked at the top shelf and saw several wooden framed mirrors. Before I knew it, I had taken one down and started adding a variety of embellishments. Eventually, sleep came to me and I went to bed. When I awoke, I walked past the spare room and noticed the mirror. I was struck by its simplicity – and appeal. A few days later, a friend came to visit. I was excited about the mirror and the two that had been created since the initial one and my friend asked to see them.
Well, she raved about them and said that she thought I should put them in art shows and/or art galleries because they were unique and very marketable.
Well, I didn’t … couldn’t really accept her comments as *truth,* but I kept making the mirrors as gifts for family and friends who reinforced comments by my friend. I was enjoying the creative process of deciding what to put on the mirrors and sensed that something *creative* was being birthed within me.
Then one other long night when I couldn’t sleep and I was working on a mirror, a thought passed through my mind: “A meditation – the mirror needs a meditation for people to reflect upon as they look at themself in the mirror.” Before I knew it, the Seeing Me meditation was written, MirrorMeditations emerged in a variety of themes, SoulistryCards were created along with an entry into the world of blogging and the emerging creative gift was being celebrated.
So, when a friend suggested I take a calligraphy class, I was ready – willing to try and learn about one of the visual arts; determined to have fun and not focus on the end product in comparison with others in the class; and maybe, just maybe, learn to do calligraphy for the SoulistryCard! “Negative voice – be silent!”
Some say that calligraphy is easy. Some say it’s difficult. I say it’s fun – joyful – a spiritual adventure! My calligraphy journey has begun – I’ve registered for my first calligraphy class. This is going to be a fun journey of discovery – not just of skills, but about me.
From time to time, I’ll add my thoughts as I journey on this adventure into the new world of calligraphy – where the correct terminology is “hands” not “fonts” and where words / phrases such as “cursive, Neuland, 30 degrees, C-2, galleria” are becoming part of my vocabulary. Come and join me in this “Joy of Calligraphy” blog which for me is a celebration of spirituality and calligraphy.
Some say that calligraphy is easy. Some say it’s difficult.
I’m just learning about calligraphy. I say it’s fun – joyful – a spiritual adventure!
Join me here as I journey on this adventure into the new world of calligraphy – where the correct terminology is “hands” not “fonts”; and where words / phrases such as cursive, neuland, 30 degrees, C-2 and galleria are part of the everyday calligraphic vocabulary.
who am I?
familial roles identify
daughter, grandchild, sister
mother, wife, mother in law
occupational roles define
author, educator, counselor
broadcaster, journalist
ethicist, consultant
vocational roles name
creative spirituality artist
writer, priest, friend
child of God
playful roles define
puppeteer, clown
flautist, blogger
and more
who am i?
am i one person today
and tomorrow another
am i all
all at once
interwoven
who am i?
i’m me
evolving, unfolding
creating
discovering and re-discovering
becoming the essence
of the spirit within
june mack maffin january 2007
Reginald is ugly. Plain and ordinary and ugly. Well, that’s what I’ve been told – and that’s how I’ve seen him since he first came into my life almost twenty years ago. And yet …
And yet … he’s not. He has become a very poignant reminder that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Some would say that Reginald is anything but a beauty or handsome. His legs are bowed. His arms are pudgy. His ears are big. His body is out of shape. His eyes bulge. His neck is short and almost non-existent. His arms and legs are disproportionate to the rest of his body. His mouth is – well, his mouth is … yep, ugly.
Even though for many years, I’ve done various crafts (at one time supporting my son and I with sales from macramé hangings, knitting, crocheting and tole painting art), I always seemed to have more than a critical eye about my efforts … measuring my work against the work of others. It’s been the same with puppet making, papercrafts, prayer beads. “Anyone can create them better than I can” was the tape running through my head.
I’ve borrowed craft books from the library which showed all sorts of wonderful possibilities. I’d try them, but they never looked the way they did in the photographs. I’ve taken craft classes and tried my hand at various projects over the years, and the results were … yech. Never good – never something I’d want to show, give, let alone sell.
Then I became ill – unable to work, unable to take craft classes, unable to do very much other than rest and be still. One morning, the Creator spoke … “Keep your mind active and your hands busy. Make time to reflect.”
Reflect. What a word! Before I knew it, a new craft began to emerge … a new craft working with wood mirrors. Then came the “Seeing … Me” Meditation – then the ‘name’ for the craft (MirrorMeditations) – then a website and business card for the craft (www.mirrormeditations.wordpress.com) – and then friends who looked at the results and asked how much I was selling them for.
Huh???
“They’re not good enough to sell – not pretty enough – not …” and here again, that critical voice took over!
Words in an unrelated email from a cyberfriend jumped out at me: “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” Duhhhhhh. Well, I know that! But, did I? Really?
An image appeared in my mind’s eye …
Reginald.
Why did the image of Reginald come to me at the moment I read the reminder that beauty is in the eye of the beholder? Could it have something to do with the fact that for almost two decades, I’ve been in love with Reginald?
Nawwwww.
And yet, the love I have for Reginald is deep. He speaks words which penetrate deep to the heart of the hearer when he preaches … he makes me laugh … he listens with intentionality and concentration … he …
Well, there’s just so much that I love about him. Ugly? If he’s so ugly, how is it that children delight in seeing him … that elders see beyond his ugliness and share in the joy he brings? Could it be that while society’s standards are such that he is unattractive at the very least, some can behold beauty within him. Reginald – ugly? Why is it that we allow society to dictate what is beautiful, of value, worthwhile … set standards for and what is not?
Why can we not see ourselves as the precious child of the universe who is someone with gifts to share, beauty to reflect, intelligence to use, wisdom to impart and so much more?
Reginald sits at my feet as I finish this little writing … smiling at me. It seems that this blip-on-the-screen-of-life time when I’m unwell, unable to work, must do a lot of resting is a time of grace to reflect on many things. And that brings me back to the craft that has been occupying these days of recovery … MirrorMeditations.
Mmmmmm, interesting — mirrors “reflect.” Reginald wouldn’t be surprised. Could it be that if I and others can see beyond what is evident to be ugliness by society’s standards in Reginald’s face and body and see beauty, others may look at the crafts I do with eyes that perceive beauty?
The Holy One doesn’t create ugliness. God creates beauty. The Creator looked and saw that “it was good.” In the eyes of this beholder, I am beautiful; my crafts are beautiful; Reginald is beautiful.
Created in a life-sized puppet class almost twenty years ago, Reginald was the ugliest in the class. Others laughed at him, literally. But Reginald has had the last laugh … he’s still delighting the hearts of children – endearing himself to the grown-up’s and elders – teaching me about the importance of looking beyond the surface of a person, a project, a craft.
P.S. To Anne who has no idea how her email got me going, to Krista and Kathie who continue to affirm and encourage me in creative pursuits, and to Reginald who is God’s gentle reminder that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, thank you.
