36 Carols

I was sketching during October General Conference, about the time of year I start thinking of Christmas things, and landed on the idea of wreaths made up of words. I love Christmas carols and wondered how many I could fit in a wreath. I began planning out the pattern by tying a bow from wired ribbon, lighting it, and drawing it so I could get the loops and turns correct. I began positioning titles into the ribbon spaces and then into the wreath.
The drama of white letters on a dark background appeals to many calligraphers and I wanted to try that, but it involves transferring the whole design onto the black paper rather than using a light table. This gives more room for inaccuracies and adds an extra level of challenge.
I wondered about elevating the whole design by making the wreath look dimensional and decided to initially lay down some watercolor to help the donut shape look rounded. My paper was not the right kind for so much water and it buckled. I decided to continue my experiment anyway. Once the words were on, I strengthened the shadow areas with colored pencil. With some heat and pressure, we eventually got the ripples out.

Reproduced from the artists original artwork of mixed media on paper.

Julia Fish Thompson won a handwriting award in elementary school, took her first calligraphy class at age 13, and majored in design at Brigham Young University.  She letters on anything that will hold still—paper, board, walls, metal, glass, canvas, fabric, various objects--and has maintained a home studio since her teens.  She continues to study with amazing calligraphers around the world.  The challenge of executing involved, hand-lettered pieces has exhilarated Julia for years and she loves to create custom works commemorating events or personalized for families or businesses.   Julia and her husband David reside in Zionsville, Indiana where they recently finished raising four children.  Julia met Liz Lemon Swindle at a community nativity event where they were guest artists and Liz invited her to join with other Havenlight artists, a true honor, especially for a calligrapher.

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