An exchange that is! Sign ups have just been posted for our next exchange – Zizzer Zazzer Zuzz. March 2nd is Dr. Seuss day in America and what better way to celebrate than calligraphing your favorite Dr. Seuss quote – or better yet – writing your own in the same lyrical style.
It seems many calligraphers have at least one thing in common with Theodor Seuss Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss – he was a true perfectionist and threw away almost 95% of his work before settling on a theme for a book. He sometimes spent up to a year working on a single story. It took him a year and a half to write The Cat in the Hat.
The Cat in Hat was written as a reader for school children and contains only 225 words. One of my favorite quotes from Dr. Seuss is also one of the most important rules I learned in college while learning how to write,
“So the writer who breeds more words than he needs, is making a chore for the reader who reads.”
Dr. Seuss said of the nonsensical creations in his books, “I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living; it’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh at life’s realities.”
So if you are ready for some fun creating, visit the forum and sign up for the exchange (sign ups close on Monday, March 5th). I will leave you with this Dr. Seuss quote about one of our favorite things – the alphabet,
“My alphabet starts with this letter called yuzz. It’s the letter I use to spell yuzz-a-ma-tuzz. You’ll be sort of surprised what there is to be found once you go beyond ‘Z’ and start poking around!”
Yours in Friendship and Flourishing,
Erica
