The magic of matching words to the art

How the words and the art came together for this set of cards

I haven't yet told you how the words and the art came together for this set of cards! So here you go.
I didn't create the cards with words in mind.
The "art" came first. Happy messing about with 50 small pieces of card.
I typed up phrases and words, that have been meaningful to the way I live my life and printed them out.
I held each card, looked at the words laid out and attached the words to the cards that felt right.
So you might say the process was completely random.
But I like to think that the words and art chose each other, in a serendipitous, magical way!

Matching words to the art

The card art for card number 2 from the pack of 50

Quite often, I had no idea how a particular card would turn out, and this is one of those. After applying a watercolour wash, I traced the contours of colour with wavy patterns inspired by Amy Maricle's Drift pattern. You can see it in the photo above, lying cheekily at the top of the pile.

The practice

Today, I wanted to write about how I found little sprinkles of magic in my day but I find that I actually don't know where to look for them. Instead, I decided to take a walk to ease my anxiety.

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In a dark mood
I leave the flat a tad earlier than usual
And head out for a morning walk
A podcast interview with Mary Oliver accompanies me
The chilled air hits my chin and the tips of my fingers which peep out from my fingerless gloves
Ears snug and warm in my headphones

Ambient sounds filter through
My feet hitting the pavement
The morning bird chorus
People saying "good morning"

My heart longs for a sprinkle of magic in my day

Quintessence

"Keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable" Mary Oliver

• On Being Studios interview with Mary Oliver — Listening to the World

• If you want to find out a bit more about the project and a little bit of backstory, head to the About page