by now, i’m sure most of you know lindsay of lindsay letters.  she is a talented artist and friend and i’m super thrilled to feature her on monday mess.  i’ve known lindsay for a few years and she is lovely.  besides having a super talent for hand lettering she is a super kind, generous and fun gal.  i love that her work is beautiful and meaningful.  it’s pretty to feast your eyes upon and let your heart ponder on.  if you aren’t familiar with lindsay letters than be sure to check it out and if you missed her office tour, you’ll want to see that too.  oh, and she has some pretty rad t-shirts now too!

For a few days, all I could think was “I have a lot of messes, but none are really anything that I want permanently documented on the internet! But a few days later, I went to shake my ink without the cap on it. Whoops. Total ink explosion – all over my clothes and face. The table got the least of it. In a panic, I grabbed some kleenex and then laughed so hard at myself for thinking that several kleenexes could wipe the blackest black ink off my birch work table. Awesome. (I’m such an optimist!) At any rate, I don’t really mind the table being stained. It looks kinda like “yea, I do real work here!” My dress, however, is another story…

I sort of refuse to throw away any of my sketches. My sketches are a way of getting my lettering on to my computer. So it would make sense that I would scan them in and throw them away. Especially the ones where I mess up or spell something wrong or spill ink (*see “mess”). However, for some reason, I just can’t do it. I have boxes full. For some reason it makes me feel good it’s there. Like, proof that I really originally created it with two hands and some ink. It’s not a font, it’s me, and I mess up. A lot. And that’s okay because I’m human, and also because computers and cupcakes can fix just about anything. So I keep them, and I’m cool with that.

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why is that an ink spill on an artist table is endearing, enchanting and inspiring?  i’m sure if i spilled ink on my own table i wouldn’t’ feel the same but i can’t help thinking that the ink on lindsay’s table only adds character and artistic value to her space.  and i doubt i could throw away my sketches either.  would you be able to?  i told lindsay that one day her children and grandchildren will be very glad she held on to them.  i know if i had something of this sort from my mother, grandmother or great grandmother it would be a priceless treasure!

so what kind of messes have you got going on this week?  do tell!

images : lindsay letters