Work In Progress: Lettering Unbought and Unbossed
Shhhh…It’s a secret!
I’m working on a project for someone very special. It’s February, a month with A TON of special things going on, not the least of which are the Black History Month campaigns and Valentine’s Day.
But, it’s also my husband’s birthday. He’s that special someone.
The man loves graphic tees! If he’s not dressed for work, he’s got some t-shirt on that has some woke message for someone. Last summer, he mentioned wanting a t-shirt with the quote, “Unbossed and Unbought” on it. For the history buffs out there, you’ll know that the quote originated with Shirley Chisholm, the first, Black woman elected to the US Congress (and she was an educator too!).
If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen the first draft of the project. I put the project on the back burner at the time because I just didn’t feel up to the task. It’s such a powerful quote and I already had had visions dancing in my head of how I wanted it to look. But I never forgot it.
Still, I think to get to the level of finish I imagine, that’s going to take a few more years of lettering yet. But, it can’t hurt to do my best now and see where it takes me! I can always revisit the project later when I’ve learned a few more things about the look I want to achieve.
Last month, he noticed me practicing gothic calligraphy and liked the whips I put on some of the letters. So, I’m using that style for this project. What do you think?
One of the best things about doing projects like this is that you can learn so much in the process. In this case, I’m learning lettering, but I’m also learning so much more with this historical quote. That’s really important to me. I’m Black and I’m a woman, so I hit the genetic jackpot concerning the intersectionality of being a person of color and a woman and all that that entails. But, I also grew up in public schools at a time when Black history just wasn’t taught. Of course you heard the glossed over stories of MLK and Malcolm X…maybe Harriet Tubman (but probably not everything)…and later the accomplishments of Oprah Winfrey (as she was accomplishing them). But, the whole of Black history just wasn’t talked about much. Basically, left to the devices of an average education, I know about as much about Black history as a racist caucasian would. So, when you letter a project like this, the opportunity to excavate all that information is just soooo attractive!
I’m also learning more about using Illustrator for the iPad below (😳)…
Over the month of February, I’ll be sharing what I find for this project on my social accounts. Some fun facts for you to know:
“Unbought and Unbossed” is the title of Shirley Chisholm’s autobiography. Grab it here.
This month, it’s part of the title of a free video for Amazon Prime members that you can watch here.
You can read a copy of this kid-friendly book on Shirley Chisholm to a young person and help stop the spread of Black History Ignorance. I just made that up…you like? 😂
One other gem I found in my email was this challenge by Because Of Them We Can.
Maybe try a few this month!
Also, if you’re up for clicking around a bit, join me on the @crayligraphy account on Instagram. I’ll be hosting this month. Let’s learn some Black history together…maybe, in the process, we’ll make some too. 🥰
I hope I see you there!
