This work was done by Linda Lee.

Do the Thing You Fear Most...

This piece was part of our class gift to Reggie from the 2023 26-Seeds. We decided to create one page each, lettered with a favorite Mark Twain quote. We then chose the format, 8 inches square with a one inch binding for Japanese Stab Stitch closure. My first piece was sized completely wrong, as I forgot to compensate for the 1” binding. In that “practice” piece, many other details and issues got worked out, which helped make the final one go a bit smoother.

I chose this quote because it is something that I encourage in others, and advice I
try to follow myself. In 2022, I almost registered for Reggie’s year-long class, but my fear of not being quite ready held me back until when I finally decided to go for it, there was no room left. Alas, I had to wait another year.

One of my favorite modern poets is David Whyte, and his poem, Start Close
In, reflects a similar message, of courageously taking the first step. I wanted to find a way to combine them, but give emphasis to the Twain quote.

My goal was for the background poetry to act as a texture and not necessarily be
readable (though it is if you really want to). This would contrast the boldness of
Mark Twain’s words, sort of creating a subliminal message for the viewer. The paper is an earth tone Canson Mi Teintes, with gouache used for the larger letters, and Coliro Pearlcolors for the background poem and ruled lines. I can’t
remember exactly, but I think I used Mitchell nibs 1 1/2, 3, and 6.

Neugebauer style lettering was my favorite of all that we learned, second to the
brush script, and I loved ALL aspects of being a part of our amazing 2023 cohort
(even weeks and weeks of Romans)! But what I loved most was being able to create this final piece for Reggie… because of the way he makes everyone feel - that there is nothing to fear, just do the thing, start close in, and you’ll see.
Thank you Reggie ~